Since 2006 The Canadian Sport Compact Series has served as the entryway to competitive Motorsport for much of Ontario, both in the stands and behind the wheel. My first CSCS event was in 2009 and I’ve been to at least one event a season ever since.
I keep going back year after year because its one of the best combinations of both the show and track that exists in Ontario.
On top of the cars it’s the people personalities and stories that make CSCS a great event for me personally.
In addition to seeing friends compete for the first time in cars they have been working on for ten years, show for the first time, or run their first drift tandem, I’ve seen blindingly fast race cars of all sorts and yes even a spectacular crash or two.
The CSCS staff, which is comprised of volunteers many of whom I’m lucky enough to call friends, have a dedication to improving the series that is seriously admirable.
Is CSCS a perfect event? No, and no event truly is, but the difference between CSCS and other events that have tried to take its place is that the team behind it has years of experience that simply can’t be replaced. Series changes are implemented to better the event itself, not line pockets and increase social media standing.
As judging became more standardized the quality and diversity of show cars went up in kind creating an eclectic mix of off the wall attention grabbers and no bolt left unturned creations.
I can’t recall a single CSCS event within the past two years where there hasn’t been a car that Drake or myself have not wanted to pull aside for a detailed photo shoot, and often we do just that to truly capture the unique qualities of the vehicles in attendance.
As improvements are made the spectator attendance numbers have grown both this year and last which has lead to no shortage of awesome cars in both the parking lot and infield.
At any one of the venues CSCS takes places cars travel at length to be part of the event and quite often there is at least one car at a CSCS event you won’t see at any other event that year.
The show and shine is a relatively small, and much less complex aspect of the series and of late the Motorsport side of things has grown tremendously.
The changes to how the track sessions were run started in 2014, and continued into 2015, have led to increased organization and awareness of everyone on the track from flagmen to drivers.
These changes have made the series attractive some of the best drivers in Ontario who regularly break track records at CSCS events.
I have not been to a few of the other time attack series in Ontario yet, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a wider variety of competitive and exhibition vehicles at other events.
For the 2015 season CSCS also introduced the ‘Max Attack’ event bringing door to door racing to the series for the first time. The reception of this new event has been overwhelmingly positive and one can expect it to return to the series in 2016.
Drifting too has seen improvements which has resulted in quicker paced competition that is more exciting to watch.
Local Formula Drift Drivers Pat Cyr, Stephen Van Sleuwen and Riley Sexsmith even came by for the last round to put on a show for the CSCS fans and bang doors with some of the rising stars in the local community.
Lets not forget Riley and Steve were both competing in this series last year finishing second and fifth respectively.
With the final CSCS event of 2015 coming to a close just under a month ago I’m sure the CSCS staff will be gathering together soon to discuss improvements for the next year and hopefully I’m not alone in looking forward to the 2016 season and what’s in store.
It’s a long wait but it will be worth it.
