Organizers of the North Bay Snowmobile Speed Runs are hoping for a better turnout Sunday, after Saturday’s storm keep a number of competitors away.
Approximately 60 people registered for Saturday. The first weekend tends to attract around 80 racers from across the province and beyond.
“Look at the weather. There are some people still driving from down south. I guess it is bad all the way from Huntsville. A lot of the guys have turned around and gone home because of the snow storm. If it is not minus 40 this year, it is snowing,” said event organizer Claude Levasseur about the first day.
“Speed runs on Lake Nipissing have been around since 1998. I took over in 2001 and started N.B.S.S.R. and have been running it since then,” said Levasseur.
“It is a great venue for the city and for tourism. It is a safe place to keep the speeds off the trails and all these guys with the (noisy) exhaust that the OPP do not want anywhere else, it is safe to run them here and make the noise you want at a race event.”
One noticeable change this year is the number of young people competing.
“The number of kids is growing. They’re really enjoying it. We’ve had kids run at four years old at six miles an hour, and usually, the dad walks beside him. It is a love of the parents and they keep the kids involved, and so it is a family weekend,” said Levasseur.
“They’ve come out with all these new sleds from the manufacturers. We’ve even had some kids grow up to bigger sleds. We control their speeds, it doesn’t matter on what sleds. We control their speed by age. If they’re seven years old, we don’t allow them to go over 70, and if they’re going 70 miles an hour, they should be racing since they were five.”
One of the young drivers, 9-year-old Addison Rioux is experiencing her first competition.
“I enjoy just driving and having fun. I focus on getting ready to ride and come back and go again. My ultimate goal is to go fast enough that I might win a trophy,” said Rioux.
“My dad told me to stay straight when I go down the track and use the brake and the gas.”
Standing on the sidelines cheering her on, is mom Anita.
“It was kind of scary, but she did well. Her first run was 51.5, and she’ll be going again later today. She’s only been on the machine twice. She got it for Christmas. It is a 500 phaser, but we put a throttle block on it so she doesn't go too fast,” said Rioux.
“Dad took her out last Sunday for the first time without the throttle block and she went 30 to 40 mph and she creeped up. They went down the track about 15 times to test her out. He sat on the back and told her what to do and what to watch for. She went up to 80 with dad, so that’s when we said okay, let's get the throttle block on.”
Among the many spectators was Lionel Belanger and his family.
“We’re here every year. The kids always like the sleds. They enjoy seeing everything go down the track, and like hearing the sounds of the sleds, and seeing all the hard work everybody puts into everything,” said Belanger.
“I was impressed by some of the newer sleds, the speeds they were going and the sounds they were actually making. Not as loud as the ones I remember when I was younger, but it is still fun.”
As of late Saturday afternoon, the top speed was in the 140’s.
“It is not good. They said because of the snow, it is hard to see at the bigger end. So they just save it for another day, and ride their smaller sleds.”
The weekend event is the first of four for the season.
“On family day weekend, we go to Gravenhurst. The next one in North Bay is March 2 and 3. On the weekend of March 9, we are in Sudbury.”
Trophies are handed out at this event. The March weekend is when racers will see some purse money.