Burnaby's Dino Milacic is hoping to celebrate his 40th birthday with his first race win of the season in June.
The manager of the Metrotown branch of Mark's Auto Body was the Confederation of Autosports Car Club's IP1 series champion last year.
Milacic, who teams with colleague David Dalmonte, the 2012 GTM champion as MioDino Racing, has five races left from a six-race season to achieve his goal of a back-to-back championships in the improved production class series at the River's Edge road course at Mission Raceway.
"I'm already behind the 8-ball," Milacic said. "The only way I can win is to place first in every single race from here on."
The feat is not impossible, however. Milacic loves the BMW 330i he drives for its quickness and reliability.
"It's a pretty bulletproof vehicle," he adds.
Milacic always dreamed of being a race car driver, and although his dreams were muted somewhat when the Westwood track in Coquitlam closed, he never lost his passion for motorsports.
It rekindled in 1997 with his first driver training experience, and was fueled outright when he drove in an invitational sedan race at the Molson Indy in 2002.
Milacic longs for those days again and believes that better days are ahead for local motorsports.
"I'm not giving up promoting motorsports," he said.
Money has always been a limiting factor to how successful a would-be racer can be in the world of motorsports.
But Milacic maintains there are plenty of realistic options at the local and regional levels that can give drivers all the thrills of the big-name events.
The Sports Care Club of British Columbia sponsors a varied race schedule involving two dozen race classes at Mission Raceway each year.
The key is a responsible budget that fits a driver's ability to support his passion for the track.
"It's a competitive environment and I love it, but I think I have a world-class skill set," Milacic said.
