MRP has some interesting parallels to another Solo II site in the home town of Tom's Garage, Traverse City, Michigan. An abandoned runway at Cherry Capital Airport, it was home of the Memorial Day weekend Cherry Pits for nearly two decades. Both were used by the U.S. Navy during World War II as runways for training. The Maui site had to be reclaimed from years of neglect before it could be used for Solo II events. The runway was buried under years of dirt that required lots of hard brushing before the old chipped-rock aggregate surface was exposed. Maui SCCA hopes to repave it with asphalt at some point. For more information about the Maui SCCA chapter, and for photos of recent events, visit their website at mauiscca.org. |
Maui Motorsports 2004 |
Copyright 2004, John DeSpelder and Birchwood Design |
By John DeSpelder Maui's motorsports scene is vibrant and growing. In the two years since my last visit, motorsports activity in the Valley Isle seems to have hit critical mass. As diverse as anything you're likely to find in such a small area, Maui's motorsports range from classic Asian-style street racing, to SCCA autocross, to motorcycle wheelie contests. Let's take a look at some of the people and vehicles that make Maui such an exciting place. Sunday, February 29, 2004 We'd been planning our trip to Maui for nearly a year. My wife Cindi and I have been visiting the Valley Isle every other year since 1998, and we were looking forward to sharing the enjoyment of the island with Tom and Gretchen. We'd arrived by plane Saturday night, and due to the time difference between Maui and home back in Traverse City, Michigan, arising early was easy. One of the first things we did was to drive to the top of Mount Haleakala, a 10,023 foot high volcano. The road up Mt. Haleakala is one of the most scenic in the country. On our way down we encountered a local group of bikers enjoying a wheelie contest. |
Enthusiasm was their strongest suit. There were a couple of riders who were fairly good at popping a wheelie and holding it. One, though, did this without benefit of a helmet, standing with one foot on the saddle and the other in the air, one hand on the throttle and the other waving to the crowd. His career may be rather short. Anyway, it was a good family gathering, with friends, girlfriends, wives and kids in abundance. Law enforcement was nowhere to be seen, leaving the crowd to have a fun afternoon. A local acquaintance told me that the police generally don't travel that far up the mountain, and since it's outside Haleakala National Park, it's out of the park rangers' jurisdiction. |
The most unexpected pleasure of the trip was certainly the SCCA Solo II event that same Sunday. We'd just finished enjoying the wheelie fest and were on our way back to the condo. Our way home took us by Maui Raceway Park. MRP has been in existence for many years, only now it's under the jurisdiction of the County of Maui. The county and the local motorsports clubs are working together to upgrade the facility , which is of course a good things for the quality of motorsports life on the island. Previously there had been circle track racing, and motocross, but now there is a dragstrip, kart track, and more significantly for Tom's Garage enthusiasts, a Solo II venue. |
Maui Raceway Park was the site of the first-ever SCCA Solo II event on the island of Maui. The pavement is composed of large, sharp volcanic chips. Abrasive and serpentine, the course was a treat for the Mauians at the event. I spoke with course master Robert Remington about the event. Robert told me that he set up the course to appeal both to long-time soloists and novices alike. A novel feature was the "roundabout" that Robert devised specifically for "drifting." The accompanying photos show what we mean. |
Robert is a long-term motorsports enthusiast. He told me that his supercharged VW Rabbit was featured in Grass Roots Motorsports Magazine back around 1988. When he lived on Oahu he competed in events regularly, however after his move to Maui there were no such opportunities. After a few years of appealing to the SCCA home office for support, they came through. Both Robert and Ed Menor have been working with Maui County, which owns the MRP property, for the necessary permits to run Solo II events. They recently were given a permit to run monthly events at the site, the first of which was run on the 29th. |
Robert and Ed are justifiably proud of the setting, which has 10, 023 foot Mount Haleakala in the background to the east. There's even a bit of history there. Maui Raceway Park was site of the first airport on Maui. When the U. S. went to war with Japan, a larger airport was built at its current site in Kahului, and the MRP site was used for practice by U.S. Navy aviators. |
MRP has some interesting parallels to another Solo II site in the home town of Tom's Garage, Traverse City, Michigan. An abandoned runway at Cherry Capital Airport, it was home of the Memorial Day weekend Cherry Pits for nearly two decades. Both were used by the U.S. Navy during World War II as runways for training. The Maui site had to be reclaimed from years of neglect before it could be used for Solo II events. The runway was buried under years of dirt that required lots of hard brushing before the old chipped-rock aggregate surface was exposed. Maui SCCA hopes to repave it with asphalt at some point. For more information about the Maui SCCA chapter, and for photos of recent events, visit their website at mauiscca.org. |
Upcountry Maui is a world apart from the golf courses and beaches that line the sealevel perimeter of the island. Makawao is the center of the paniolo cowboy culture, the Hawaiian-ized name for the Mexican vaqueros, because espanol isn't harmonious with their language. The little town is famous for its annual rodeo. Another famous institution in Makawao is the Rodeo General Store, owned by Gardner Howard. |
Several years ago Gardner and his wife moved to Maui from Traverse City, Michigan, the home of Tom's Garage. Gardner brought with him his Jaguar XK120, which he exercises regularly in the twisty upcountry roads. He was gracious enough to take me along for a ride one sunny afternoon. The light rain had just stopped, and even before, as is so typical in Maui, the sun had started to shine. We walked across the street from the general store, over to the fenced-in parking compound that held the XK. The top dropped easily, taking only a minute or two. We were off! As we headed out of town and uphill, I drank in the sensory treats of the minute. The sight of the burl dashboard (back when they were literally boards!), the sounds of the gears and the glorious 3.8 litre DOHC engine, the smell of the old English leather brought back the best of a glorious age of style and simplicity. We talked about upcountry life, the growth of Gardner's general store, family and the days back in Traverse City. The ride was over too soon, but we made plans to do it again the next time I was on the island. I took the photo of Gardner and the XK that you see here, with the Rodeo General Store in the background. |
Back in town, Gardner told me about the restoration of the car. He bought it in the early '80's, and did much of the work himself, with the help of local vintage mechanic Lee Johnson. Lee's done work on my GTI and on Tom's 914-6. He's a wonderful resource to all of the vintage car and boat nuts in the arera. He always has something interesting in his shop. Just yesterday he had a beautiful dark blue 1960's vintage Rolls parked out front. Gardner made me promise him to give Lee a copy of the picture off him and the car, and to tell Lee to get his ass out to Maui, because there's more restoration work to do! |
You meet the greatest people in the most unusual places. Tom, Gretchen, Cindi and I had planned a sunset dinner at the Seawatch, a beautiful restaurant in Wailea. When we arrived, Tom and I couldn't miss the beautiful Honda Civic that was parked up front. It turned out that our parking valet was the proud owner of the car that you see here. Tom and I peppered him with questions about the car, to the exasperation of our wives. |
The following week Cindi and I returned to the Seawatch for dinner, this time without Tom and Gretchen, who returned home a few days before. I was glad to see that Steve was working again that night, and we made plans to get together during the daytime to check out the Civic. Steve is justifiably proud of his car. The interior is a luscious JDM comination of red and black colors, which isn't available in the U.S. market. Steve had just had the headliner redone in matching red the day before, and the combination of the red headliner and spotless red carpet nicely set off the black of the dash. His goal is to have as much JDM as possible. Steve's philosophy is that engines should produce their power by natural means--no turbos, blowers or such. And his engine is a fine example of that philosophy. Starting with a 2 liter VTEC, he's added cams, head work, compression, a stainless header, exhaust, and a chip to produce about 220 HP at the wheels. We only went for a short ride, but it's clear that it's a naturally-aspirated powerhouse. Steve has plans for a more radical engine, again, a VTEC, but with more displacement and even more radical breathing. This is the car that I'd love to take to the SCCA Solo II the next time I visit Maui! |
The owner and our new friend, Steve Kahae, was more than happy to oblige us, but we finally had to go into the restaurant. We agreed to come back later when there would be more time. |
I asked Steve about the street racing scene in Maui. He told me that it's quite lively and diverse. There are a lot of the new school guys that love turbos, supercharging, etc., but there are also many like himself who feel that the best driving engines are naturally aspirated, with their lovely razor-sharp throttle response. There's a five-mile stretch of new asphalt, very flat and straight, that's a popular place for a variety of nighttime activities (I'm being deliberately vague because I don't want to get anybody in trouble.) Not everybody has Asian rides. One of Steve's friends has a Camaro that's good for 165 MPH (only on a closed track, I'm sure!) There's also some drifting going on in some of the industrial areas. The old guys can pick up on it really well because they learned to drive with RWD cars. The younger drivers mainly have FWD experience, and Steve says that they have a much harder time getting the feel of drifting a car. Steve plans to move on to another project after this car is completed. He hopes to change cars every year or so, and admirable goal! I'm definitely going to look him up the next time I'm in Maui because I know he'll have another great car to show off! |
