RICK @ the RACES (12 Jan 2014)
12 Jan Beauharnois, Que, Ice Racing
This past Sunday, I got my 2014 racing campaign off to a bit of damp start when I attended the season opener for the Kilo Watts Ice Racing Club. Each year this club races on the frozen St Lawrence Seaway at Beauharnois or Maple Grove, Quebec.
The stretch of frozen water that they use is at the point where both towns meet, and over the years the location of the oval has varied in its position. It was at Maple Grove back in 2003 that I saw my first ever ice race, and since then, I’ve tried to get back at least once a year.
I must admit, that I never expected the races to take place this weekend. Although the ice must have been plenty thick enough after all the frigid cold we’ve experienced over the past few weeks, this Saturday the weather suddenly turned warmer and began raining. A decision on whether to race, was going to be made Sunday morning. With water lying on the ice, I was surprised to discover that things were going ahead.
I arrived at about 12-30 in good time for the scheduled 1-00 pm start time, but instead of driving my car out on to the ice, I decided to park ashore and walk out to the action.
As usual there was a good selection of big eight cylinder cars, aswell as many small compacts. I stayed around long enough to get a few photos, then made my slippery departure to the warmth of my car.