AL ORES - Inducted 2002

Pioneer - Sports Car and Road Racing

by Tom Johnston, 2004

Alois Al Ores was born in Slovenia in the Julian Alps near Ljubljana on May 3, 1933. The onset of World
War II caused the family to move to Austria where Al received his training as a machinist and mechanic. He served an apprenticeship at the Puch motorcycle works.

After the war was over he came to Vancouver and later brought his parents and sister to join him. As Al was not fluent in English, he worked on railway maintenance for two and a half years on the Nanaimo and Esquimalt based in Victoria.

Having mastered his English, he came to Vancouver where he worked as a mechanic at the Texaco station at 12th. and Main.

After a few years, he linked up with fellow Pioneer Bert Laakmann and went on to be service manager at Bert’s Automotive for thirty one years.

It was with Bert and another friend, Charly Godecke that Al got involved in motorsport. The three took drivers training at Westwood in 1968 in a

Al Ores, 2002

Al Ores in his Formula Vee  (Gerry Frechette)

Formula Vee, the kind of car that Al continues to race to this day. Al is no slouch of a driver as he holds the Formula Vee closing lap record for the

Westwood racing circuit and, as recently as the summer of 2004, held the same class record at the Mission road racing circuit. Al Ores has competed in hundreds of race events, mostly in self owned and prepared Formula Vee racing cars.

Beside his racing, Al has been a tireless worker for the Sports Car Club of British Columbia (SCCBC) and is now honoured by being a life member. Aside from his racing, the two roles Al is known for are running the annual drivers training program and being the pace car driver at many Mission road racing events and at the SCCBC race held annually at the Vancouver Molson Indy.