Elite riders to compete at Snowmobile Olympus

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Ironwood - More than 200 of the best snowmobile racers in North America will be in Ironwood this weekend to show just how fast the stock and modified machines can go around the ice-covered oval track at the Gogebic County Fair Grounds.

The Ironwood Snowmobile Olympus will be held Jan. 4-5, 2020 at the fairgrounds racetrack, 648 West Cloverland Drive. The event is one of six annual competitions that are sanctioned by the United States Snowmobile Association.

New and returning fans can expect to see a 30-class racing schedule that repeats on both days so there is nothing to miss by coming for just one day, said Bob Richardson, USSA director of competition.

"I think the biggest thing for a lot of spectators is to get out there and see the capability of the production snowmobiles on a racetrack," he said. "It's amazing how fast these guys can go on glare ice and just how competitive they are."

There will be a meet and greet with the drivers following the Saturday races at 4 p.m. in the concessions building. The fans can also mingle with the drivers in the pit area and take a look at the racing machine haulers they travel with all over North America, he said.

"I was in Ironwood Wednesday to look at the facility and it looks to be in great shape and we should have a real successful weekend," Richardson said.

There is no question that the half-mile track in Ironwood is fast, and the USSA is trying to limit the speeds of the new classes in the interest of safety because the sleds are that powerful and easily exceed 100 mph, he said.

"The drivers like the wide, long corners of Ironwood and racing with more than one lane makes for good competition," Richardson said. "It's a great venue and a well-promoted event. Everyone at the Friends of the Fair has been fabulous to work with and I think we're received by the community very well."

Richardson isn't sure when the first Ironwood event was held but said he has been attending them since he was a youth in the early 1970s when his father was an official in the USSA.

"We are going into our 53rd year of sanctioning races and we travel all across the country," Richardson said.

Many of the racers will be here to rack up two days of competition point opportunities leading up to the World Championship Snowmobile Derby in Eagle River, Wisconsin on Jan 17-18. The remaining four 2020 Prostar Cup Tour stops include the "Fire on Ice" in Weyauwega, Wisconsin; the "Grand Prix Ski-Doo De Valcourt" in Valcourt, Quebec; the "World Series Snowmobile Championship" back in Eagle River, and the "Canadian Power Toboggan Championship" in Beausejour, Manitoba.

Coming a week after the Ironwood Snowmobile Olympus started with a Pro Vintage Racing event, Richardson said the USSA sanctioned event this weekend will have four vintage classes with the Super Stock 340 and 400 models, and the Super Mod 340 and 440 models.

These vintage models were selected for their performance, he said. As big and as old as these sleds are they do run fast with a lot of modification.

"They push the border of still remaining vintage," Richardson said. "They are vintage cosmetically, but internally they are as advanced and as much a late model as the full blown pro championship stock."

The new machines, with riders often sponsored by the manufacturers, run the gamut of stock machines from the 400 to the 600 production models. The core classes include a Formula 3 event for models two years old or newer that have performance modifications to make them handle better on ice and at high speeds, he said.

The motors are stock and even with a modified chassis they look like the same production models that could be purchased at a local dealer, he said. The manufactures, Arctic Cat, Polaris and Ski-Doo, also take part in sponsoring riders and various class events.

The newest classes include the Pro Champ Class, the World Championship Class, and the Pro Cup Tour Class, Richardson said. These are based on 440 stock motors on fully modified chases.

"These are strictly hand-built race sleds and the performance is superior and second to none," Richardson said.

There are forced air, fan, and liquid cooled models, he said. Most are running with two-stroke engines but there are some of the newer four stroke engines, he said.

The Premiere Feature Class and the Outlaw Class have some sleds with designer cockpits and roll cages.

The drivers come from all over the U.S. and three provinces of Canada, he said. The registrations should reach 220 or 230 by the Thursday evening deadline, he said.

The most competitive Prostar drivers are serious athletes, Richardson said. They train physically all year long because racing is as much about endurance as it is about having the skill to race more than 100 mph on ice.

"When the body starts to get weak the mind starts to get weak," Richardson said.

Some of the sponsors go so far as to make conditioning a prerequisite for the drivers, he said.

The competition will also include more than 30 youth racers aged 4 to 15 from various youth snowmobile racing organizations that teach snowmobile racing in a safe, controlled and competitive environment. The kids compete within the entry-level Kitty Cat division, or the 120 Governor Stock, Modified and Junior divisions.

"These kids are the future of the sport," said Branden Christensen, president of the Wisconsin Kids Snowmobile Racing Association.