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The Okanagan Autocross 2023 season is now complete. The Okanagan Precision Driving Association hosted a total of twenty autocross competition events from May through September.

Congratulation to all our winners and runners-up especially to Kurt for his dominance in Hotshot and Rob for his brilliant season in sweeping all four championships in which he was eligible.

Here are our 2023 championship winners. Note that Hotshot champions are permanently moved to the Topgun category for the next season.

Championship	Winner
Overall Championship	Rob Hamilton
Kelowna Topgun Champion	Rob Hamilton
Vernon Topgun Champion	Rob Hamilton
Kelowna Hotshot Champion	Kurt Breton
Vernon Hotshot Champion	Kurt Breton
Vernon Eliminator Champion	Rob Hamilton
Rookie of the Year	Owen Wright
Most Cones	Wayne Terai

For a consolidated championship history, visit our Championship Results page. For detailed information on the 2023 and previous season results, visit the OPDA Forum.

2023 OPDA Championship Award Winners

The Okanagan Precision Driving Association is pleased to announce the addition of the National Bank of Canada as a 2023 Okanagan Autocross sponsor.

The National Bank of Canada is the sixth largest commercial bank in Canada. Headquartered in Montreal, the National Bank serves over 2.4 million personal clients and has branches in most Canadian provinces. NBC also provides a comprehensive suite of online banking services to customers across the country.

Darren Kiley (right), NBC’s Regional Manager, attended the OPDA’s August 4 Kelowna autoslalom event to present the award to OPDA President Steve Gunner who was assisted by OPDA member and NBC employee Stephanie Boyle. Darren emphasized the Bank’s continuing efforts to reach out to and support grassroots organizations such as the Okanagan Precision Driving Association.

The OPDA is very grateful for the NBC’s generous support and highly recommends their financial services to all OPDA Okanagan Autocross members, friends and family.

The Okanagan Precision Driving Association is pleased to announce CSN Collision and Lift Auto Group as 2023 Okanagan Autocross sponsors.

With over 200 locations and more OEM certifications than any other network, CSN Collision is Canada’s choice for quality collision repair.

The OPDA is grateful for CSN’s generous support and recommends CSN Collision‘s quality repair services to all OPDA Okanagan Autocross members, friends and family.

Lift Auto Group is a leader in the collision repair industry. Headquartered in Kelowna, Lift currently owns and operates locations in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario with plans for expansion coast to coast.

The 2023 Okanagan Precision Driving Association Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held online and is open to all 2023 members.

Be sure to submit your 2023 OPDA Membership application prior to the meeting in order to ensure your ability to attend as a voting member. Apply for OPDA membership at this location.

The Okanagan Autocross 2022 season is now complete. The Okanagan Precision Driving Association hosted a total of twenty-four autocross competition events from May through September. Fifteen events were planned for our Okanagan College lot but an early April sunset and a June rainstorm brought that number down to thirteen. Vernon fared better with seven full-day events and a two-day Eliminator held at the Kal Tire venue.

The 2022 season saw the introduction of the Overall Championship which consolidated the Hotshot and Topgun categories and the Kelowna and Vernon venues into a single championship fight.

Here are our 2022 championship winners. Note that Hotshot champions are permanently moved to the Topgun category for the next season.

Championship	Winner
Overall Championship	Nick Gunner
Kelowna Topgun Champion	Rob Hamilton
Vernon Topgun Champion	Doug Floer
Kelowna Hotshot Champion	Steve Wensley
Vernon Hotshot Champion	Ethan Delitche
Vernon Eliminator Champion	Jordan Valgardson
Rookie of the Year	Ben Hamilton
Most Cones	Matt Phillips

For a consolidated championship history, visit our Championship Results page. For detailed information on the 2022 and previous season results, visit the OPDA Forum.

The Okanagan Precision Drivers Association 2022 Annual General Meeting was held on January 26, 2022 and covered many topics of interest to Okanagan Autocross members. Most significant is the increasing cost of operating a motorsport event hosting organization. The OPDA has seen significant cost increases from everything from lot rentals to insurance coverage and has taken steps to ensure the organization remains viable and able to continue to host challenging autocross events throughout the Okanagan.

Here are the highlights from the 2022 OPDA Annual General Meeting.

Financial Changes for 2022

To cover increased operating costs, the OPDA has made two changes for 2022. First, the fee for Friday evening events at Kelowna will be raised from $20 to $25, while the fee for Vernon full-day events at Vernon will be raised from $40 to $50. Half-day entry has been eliminated for Vernon.

Second, the Okanagan Autocross punch card used for discounted entry at autocross events in the past has been eliminated. Outstanding punch cards will be honoured until the end of the 2022 season.

Trailer Wanted

Due to the many limitations of the current OPDA utility trailer, the OPDA Executive has approved the purchase of a replacement trailer in 2022. Unfortunately, the market for trailers is very hot right now with prices high and availability low. If you know of a trailer around 7’x14′ with barn doors that might be available, please contact Wade.

Event Registration Online

Beginning with our first event in 2022, both membership and event registration and payment will no longer be taken in-person or at the event. All registrations must be done online using the MotorsportReg.com motorsport registration system.

OPDA Championship Extended

In an effort to improve attendance at events, the OPDA Executive Board has approved the addition of an overall (multisite) championship starting in 2022. In addition to the traditional Hotshot and Topgun championship trophies awarded each year for Kelowna and Vernon, the OPDA will award trophies to the first, second and third place winners based on combined points totals for both sites.

Regional Championship

The Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs (CACC), of which the OPDA is a member, will be supporting a regional (provincial) championship for 2022. Three weekend events have been tentatively scheduled

• June 11-12 at Westshore Motorsport Park in Victoria, hosted by the Victoria Motor Sport Club
• August 27-28 at Mission Raceway Park in Mission, hosted by the VCMC Motorsport Club
• September 24-25 at Kal Tire Place in Vernon, hosted by the Okanagan Precision Driving Association

The CACC Autoslalom Discipline has set aside $5000 to assist participants with travel costs ($100 per event) and has provided $3500 for trophies and prize money for the regional championship winners.

Introduction to Autocross Day

Planning is underway for an OPDA Introduction to Autocross Day. The purpose of the event is to introduce newcomers to the sport of autocross in a friendly, low pressure way. Steve Gunner is taking the lead on event planning and is targeting a one-on-one trainer to trainee ratio for participants. Current OPDA members are encouraged to contact Steve to help in introducing autocross to newcomers. The event will not be a competitive championship points event.

Volunteers Wanted

It takes a lot of work to put on 21 OPDA autocross events over the spring and summer months. The bulk of that workload has been carried for many years by just a few hard-working and committed club members. The OPDA would like to encourage its members to step forward to help ease the burden for the core group. We need volunteers for everything from course setup to registration to timing setup and operation. If you can spare a few hours or more over the course of the season, please contact .

The annual CACC awards were presented at the 2021 Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs Fall Annual General Meeting and the Okanagan Precision Driving Association was front and centre.

Long-time autocross competitor and ODPA member Wil Dwyer took the trophy for the 2021 CACC Autoslalom Competitor of the Year. Wil has been competing in autocross events for more than a decade, placing consistently at or near the top of the field. Wil is not only a fearsome competitor but serves on the executive and is the Chief of Timing and Scoring at OPDA autocross events. Congratulations to Wil for his success in the sport and his contribution to autocross in the Okanagan.

The Okanagan Precision Driving Association was also honoured at the event with the 2021 CACC Club of the Year award for its success in the promotion of motorsport in the province. The OPDA began life in the fall of 2019 under the guidance of then-president Bruce Stevenson. Since that time the club has grown to be one of the most successful clubs in the province, boasting some 118 members and hosting 22 autocross events in 2021 under new president Wade Schmidt. Congratulations to the OPDA and its enthusiastic volunteers for the many accomplishments in the club’s short life.

The Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs is the sanctioning body for ASN Canada/FIA for the province of British Columbia. The Okanagan Precision Driving Association is a proud affiliate of the CACC.

The Okanagan Autocross 2021 season is now complete. After a late Covid start which resulted in cancelling five events in April and May, the Okanagan Precision Driving Association hosted a total of twenty-two autocross competition events from May through September. Thirteen events were held on Friday evenings at our Okanagan College facility in Kelowna while seven full-day events and a two-day Eliminator were held at our Kal Tire facility in Vernon.

Many thanks to all the hard working volunteers who help put together a great season of motorsport competition.

Here are our 2021 championship winners. Hotshot champions are permanently moved to the Topgun category for the next season.

Championship	Winner
Kelowna Topgun Champion	Richard Matte
Vernon Topgun Champion	Richard Matte
Kelowna Hotshot Champion	Doug Floer
Vernon Hotshot Champion	Matt Phillips
Vernon Eliminator Champion	Jordan Valgardson

For detailed information on the 2021 season’s results, visit the OPDA Forum.

Pre-registration Required for 2021 Okanagan Autocross Vernon Eliminator

The 2021 Okanagan Autocross Eliminator weekend will be held on Saturday and Sunday, September 18 and 19 at Kal Tire Place in Vernon. The Eliminator is a 2-day event with three half-day qualifying sessions on Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Your best times from the qualifying sessions will be used to determine your ranking for the Sunday afternoon Eliminator.
 
Note that no half-day participation is allowed for the 2021 Eliminator. You may participate on Saturday only (no Eliminator), Sunday only or both Saturday and Sunday. Attending both days will maximize your chances for ranking higher to start the Eliminator.
 
For 2021, all Eliminator attendees are required to pre-register at our 2021 OPDA Vernon Eliminator Registration site. No onsite registrations will be accepted. Registration closes at 5:00 PM on Friday, September 17. You must be an Okanagan Precision Driving Association member to attend. Anyone wishing to become a member in order to participate in either or both days of the Eliminator must apply for membership using our OPDA Membership Application form. No onsite membership applications will be accepted.
 
Onsite check-in begins at 7:30 AM on both days, course walk at 8:00 AM and competition at 9:00 AM. All competitors must complete the course walk in order to participate in the event.
 
On Sunday trophies will be awarded to our 2021 Okanagan Autocross championship winners, including our new Novice of the Year award.

And thanks to the generosity of PIHL Law Corporation and the OPDA, a pizza and a soft drink lunch is included in the cost of admission for all registered participants.

UPDATE May 29: the Vernon autocross facility has been secured and the first race will be help tomorrow morning, May 30. See you there.

UPDATE – May 28: Everything is now in place for Kelowna Autocross start tonight. Vernon start on Sunday is still tentative. Stay tuned.

With Tuesday’s announcement of a loosening of Covid-19 restrictions, the OPDA executive is working with the CACC and its venue partners to finalize preparations for commencement of the 2021 season with an autocross event this Friday, May 28 at Okanagan College. The event will be capped at 50 participants (spectators not allowed) in accordance to the Covid-19 guidelines. Work is underway to clear the final hurdles. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.