Motorcycles, quads and UTVs will hit high speeds on the ice the next two weekends in Central Alberta.
The 2018 Alberta Provincial Oval Ice Racing Championship Series, hosted by Rocky Mountain House’s Rocky Motorcycle Club, will be at Parkland Beach in Gull Lake this Sunday and in Sylvan Lake next Sunday.
“It’s high-energy, very fast racing,” said Brian Roberts, Rocky Motorcycle Club president. “We had an RCMP officer radar us at a recent race and he had us clipping 120 km/h coming out of the corner.”
This is the first year the Rocky Motorcycle Club has organized the series; a Calgary club operated the series the past 17 years.
It’s been a relatively smooth first year, Roberts said.
“Things have gone really well,” he said. “The ovals are a lot of work to get one set up and running and they’re a bit of a logistical nightmare, but we have some great volunteers.”
A number of those volunteers have been helping with the series for years, such as the person who plows the tracks.
“It takes a ton of pressure off of us. He knows what size the tracks need to be and how big the parking area and spectator area are,” said Roberts.
Roberts said he wasn’t sure how many people to expect to come watch the races in Gull Lake and Sylvan Lake, but there were nearly 200 spectators at a race in Cow Lake last Sunday.
Space for cars overlooking the track will be plowed and the race announcer will be transmitted over the radio.
“That way you don’t have to stand outside and shiver,” he said.
The race pits will also be open to spectators.
“If you want to come see how an ice bike is put together and figure how the heck we can hang a corner at 120 km/h without flying into the snow, you can come to the pits and talk to the riders,” said Roberts.
There are 19 different classes, with each class competing in a six-lap race three times - some of the races are finished within two-and-a-half minutes.
“It’s been a lot of work to get this going, but it’s been very rewarding. Hopefully we can finish the rest of this season off strong,” said Roberts.
The club is always looking for new racers, Roberts added. One racers is as young as six and another is around 80.
The races in Gull Lake and Sylvan Lake both begin at 11 a.m., with registration open at 8 a.m.
A national oval ice racing event will be in Lac La Biche Feb. 25.
More information can be found at www.rockymotorcycleclub.com.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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