Most wives might get annoyed if their husbands spent a lot of time in the garage, tinkering with a car. But not Mark Schwabenbauer’s wife.
“She loves it,” he said of his wife, Kim. “She never experienced the winter stuff, just the summer stuff.”
Schwabenbauer, 42, who lives in Morinville and works as an automotive technician at St. Albert Dodge, will be putting rubber to road this weekend at the Edmonton City Centre Airport in the Northern Alberta Sports Car Club Eurasia Cup GT Invitational, which is part of the weekend-long Edmonton Indy festivities.
He said that racing in Edmonton, which is as close as he comes to a hometown race, is always a special thrill for him.
“When you get out on the track and see all the people in the stands, it’s quite exhilarating,” said Schwabenbauer, who has been racing at the airport since 1996, when the old CASCAR series used to run events there. It also runs a few races each year in Calgary. “Especially in the pits — we get a lot of people come after our race.”
Schwabenbauer — who says he has always been “a Volkswagen nut” — competes in the GT4 class, driving his 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco, to which he has added fibreglass body panels, racing suspension and brakes, a roll cage and a five-point safety harness.
“Safety is the biggest thing for us,” he said. “As long as the car steers and brakes and has all the safety equipment, you’re good to go.”
The race is fairly competitive with about 50 drivers from across Western Canada competing. However, there are five classes in the Eurasia Cup GT Invitational and they’re all out on the track at the same time.
Schwabenbauer is competing in the GT4 class with his Scirocco, which puts out a maximum 200 horsepower. Cars in the other classes are often more powerful, including GT1 cars with up to 800-hp engines.
“When you get on the straightaway, you really have to watch your mirrors, because you’ve got these guys coming up behind you doing almost twice the speed you are,” he said. “For the fans, it’s amazing to watch our race because you’re always seeing passing on all points of the track.”
Last year Schwabenbauer finished fourth in his class in Edmonton in the Scirocco, which is sponsored by St. Albert Dodge, Artisan Bake Shop, Tazmech Ltd. and Chocolates by Michael and Nola.
Schwabenbauer started racing on ice in 1996 after watching some friends do it, then moved to asphalt later. He says he prefers winter racing.
“Ice is forgiving. When you hit a snowbank, it’s usually soft. I doesn’t really do too much damage to your car,” he said. “But a cement wall does not move.”
However, when he got married, Kim gave him an ultimatum.
“When I got married, I had to choose between winter and summer racing and I chose summer racing,” he said with a laugh.
Still, Schwabenbauer has put in a lot of time — and a lot of money — into the hobby.
“It takes up as much money as time,” he said with a laugh. “I mean race fuel is $17 a gallon.”
But no matter where he finishes or how much he spends on fuel, Schwabenbauer says he gets behind the wheel to have a good time.
“I’m out there to finish the race. I’m not out there to win the race,” he said. “I’m out there to have a lot of fun.”
Practice sessions for the Eurasia Cup GT Invitational run on Friday from 8:15 to 8:45 a.m. and on Saturday from 8:25 to 8:55 a.m. The qualifying race takes place on Saturday from 1 to 1:30 p.m., and the green flag drops on the main event Sunday at 8:45 a.m.
