Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
COMPETITORS TAKE off from the starting line during one of the races Saturday at Mt. Zion during the Fire on the Hill Snocross Race.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Ironwood - With temperatures above freezing and the sun shining, it was a good day for racing Saturday as Gogebic Community College's Mt. Zion ski hill played host to the Fire on the Hill Snocross race.
"It's going very well. It's been a great turnout, we've got a lot of good riders," race director Keith Johnson said. "People are very pleased with our track and very pleased with the venue."
Around 120-130 racers competed in 17 classes, which were determined based on a racer's age and what machine they are riding.
Racers tried to complete the course on the side of the ski slope in the fastest times, racing through the jumps and banked turns that make it a Snocross race.
"It's the jumps, the bumps, the aerials, going around the track real fast with the banked corners. It's all of the above," Johnson said, regarding what Snocross racing was.
The race drew competitors as young as four from around the Midwest - including downstate Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Indiana.
Over 40 local sponsors helped make the multi-day event possible, according to Johnson, with racers practicing on the course Friday and competing all day Saturday.
