Dozens of ice racers from across Alberta braved -31°C temperatures in Chestermere for the first round of the Second Gear Club ice racing season, Jan. 16.
Among the riders representing Airdrie were Billy Ling, Charles Wilson, and the father-son team of Monty and Mitch Brown.
While Monty was unable to leave the event leading any classes, he took the runner up position in the open expert and Four-Stroke classes, and placed in third in the 250 Expert and Two-Stroke classes.
Mitch was unable to secure a top-three spot in four of the five classes in which he competed, but took home the overall win in the Two-Stroke class.
He says the cold had an impact on the racing, and was the reason the event was cut short.
“The weather was a little colder than we thought it was going to be, but we are ice racers and we are used to it,” said Mitch. “It makes the bikes really hard to start. It took my bike over an hour to heat up.”
One of the team’s bikes fell victim early in the event, as it quit on Mitch after running too hot for too long. Riders have to find a perfect balance of fuel jetting to get performance out of the bike, but also need to make sure the engine runs at the right temperature.
“We had one bike die, we didn’t know why but found out it was getting a bit too hot,” said Mitch. “We were able to get it going again.”
Holding the points lead in the Two-Stroke class heading into the second round of the season in Innisfail Jan. 30, Mitch isn’t sure of his chances at the title, as his primary Two-Stroke bike blew up a week before the Chestermere races.
“It’s going to be a question mark, my engine blew up a week before the race. I ran a friend’s engine,” Mitch said.
“As soon as I get a new engine in there, I will need to test it. I don’t know what it’s going to do.”
Mitch and Monty, along with dozens of other competitors have five more chances in Innisfail, Rocky Mountain House, Sylvan Lake, Rimbey, and Lac La Biche.
“I look forward to all the races, because they all count,” said Mitch. “Every race you have to put everything you have into it, ‘cause if you have a bad race, that can be your championship.”
