Ice Racing 2001: Slippin' And Slidin' Again

Jonathan Porath (photo by Peter Lee)

The lone BMW 325iX in Class S with street studs, driven by Adam Wales. (photo by Peter Lee)

Stephen Blethen. (photo by Michael Klepikov)

Chuck Cox. (photo by Peter Lee)

Mike Klepikov. (photo by Tom Tate)

Just as in 1999, I find myself writing the final Ice Racing article of the season here on April Fool's Day. As I look out on Newfound Lake, the ice shows almost no signs of deterioration and still appears to be perfectly safe, even at the shoreline. In stark contrast, and I am sure to the utter disbelief of many, my final perspective of two years ago (when we held what was probably the latest Ice Race ever on March 14th) predicted the ice would slip below the surface of the lake within only a week or so!

Unfortunately, as you all know, the state of the ice is just one of the dynamics we must consider. The massive volume of snow we received this winter buried the ice so deep that we now cannot find it, let alone plow it clear. But who knows, maybe we will have an extended cold snap and the first Autocross of the year will be a special Ice Racing event instead! I know that many of you were looking forward to the fifth Ice Race, and I too was disappointed that it could not happen. However, we held four fantastic events despite the heavy snowfall, which made 2001 another very successful Ice Racing season. For those who put off attendance too long (you were not really expecting to run in the middle of March, were you? This is New Hampshire not Alaska!), you now have months to plan for that first Ice Race in 2002.

Revving back a few weeks to March 4th, the fourth Ice Race of 2001 had to be the largest we have ever held. There were a total of 69 entries, without any of the Webers being able to attend and without having a Rent-a-Racer. We did manage to get in four runs per entrant, but it was a late day in Ice Racing terms.

There is no question as we head towards 2002 that pre-registrations will be one of the keys to having a full set of runs. That said it was a great event. The mix of veterans, first yearers, and first timers made for a nice brew.

After taking into consideration the unification of Classes A and B (Class A unfortunately had to be bumped up for the season), Paul Krasusky placed first in a class of ten in the fourth and final Ice Race. Had he attended another event, he surely would have put the pressure on Steve Bernstein's 528e to defend the honor of BMW from one of those "other" German marques. Veterans Mike Cox and Noam Levine also made their lone appearances at this event. On the other hand, Tom Kalinic's third appearance of the season was good enough for him to hold onto second for the season in the combined class. While Steve Bernstein was victorious in Class A/B for the season, had there been a fifth event, Alex Shchipkov, Justin Hughes, and Matt Jones might have had an interesting battle to determine Class A.

Bouncing back after having being beaten up in Ice Race #3, Stan Jackson reclaimed Class C and the Division 1 FTD, while Ed Karabec and Christine Deignan both came through with solid performances. Christine edged out Ed in the final standings by virtue of her third best event. Andy Price, Peter Weber, and the surprising Brittany Weber all came away in trophy position, despite having been absent from the fourth Ice Race. What a competition it would have been if they had all shown up. Not to mention that upstart Brad Weber who was positioned to win the class with another first place finish.

Sean Bauer could not win Class E on this day, that honor went to William Bacon. Though Sean's performance was enough to keep him ahead of Ryan Housman for the season. Meanwhile, Kieran Kelly learned the consequence of only setting down one good run as David Reeves beat her in her own Corrado, snatching a season trophy from her grasp. I wonder who will be driving what next season with them.

Class F was another Jackson dogfight, with Mike Klepikov holding his own in there too. Sarah Jackson walked away with the class victory and the Division 2 FTD. Alas, for the season it was a vain effort, as she could not catch father Stan Jackson; though, her brothers were kind enough to let her finish ahead of them (right!). SCCNH veteran Brian Goss managed to win Class G; however, a couple of pylons in his first run kept him from taking the Division 2 FTD. Terrence Martin Jr. had his best performance of the year, but it was not quite enough for him to catch Kevin Quigley for the season.

Out of I-don't-know-where came all the studded vehicles for this event! The Jacksons' M535is appeared for the first time, only to be trumped by Ted Mendham in his newly studded Nissan Sentra. Ted's impressive performance brought the Division 3 FTD honors to him. Perhaps just a bit more embarrassing was the fact that Steve Bernstein was allowed to drive the "M", and promptly beat the three Jacksons in their own machine! Needless to say, Chairman Stan Jackson was unsure if he should have driven the "M" that day, or whether he was glad that he did not. Steve B. will NOT be repeating this kind of performance in the future, I assure you. Further, I staunchly deny reports that the cancellation of Ice Race #5 had anything to do with these results - I have better ways to sabotage my competitors. Ask Steve B. about his, umm, "cross-lake" excursion. Simply stand in the middle of the lake and watch as the poor unsuspecting New York inhabitant drives right up to you, oblivious to your clear warning (I got out of my own vehicle and walked to my position). Imagine if I had been trying to get him in trouble! In the midst of this scuffle, Brian Hilliard had the ultimate word. He came through with a fine performance, moving him past Allen Luther to the top of Class S for the season.

Regrets, regrets. While getting my butt kicked in Class S, I also watched from the sidelines Kristopher Marciniak's stellar performance in Class X. A first place finish was just enough to put him ahead of me in the final standings - I no longer feel bad about exposing Kieran's loss. Despite my rambling intentions of beating my brother in his own car, Steve Jackson did manage to secure first in Class X for the year. I'll have to beat up on him in Club Racing instead. Class Y was the biggest class of the year with ten qualified entrants. The three top contenders, Pete Weber, Bill Sweeney, and Tom Tate were absent from the final Ice Race, allowing Raymond Blethen the opportunity to pull off an upset and move into trophy position to end the year. James McElroy held his own, finishing second in the event and finishing just above Raymond for the season. Raymond's brother Stephen, who also lost his trophy position in this event, was no doubt wishing that he too had switched from the yellow Audi to the red Audi, as it apparently had the better tires. The Modified Class had no entries at event four. Regardless, the season standings were determined by the tinniest of tiebreakers. Neither Chris Francis nor Michael Lawton had a third best event, and they had each beaten the other once. In the end, Michael's top performance was significantly better than Chris's (11 points to 6), giving him the trophy.

This all brings to a close the Ice Racing season of 2001. The full results from Ice Race #4 and the Final Season Standings are printed here in this month's Bimmer for your perusal. As you will see, we were forced to bump Class A up to Class B, which required re-scoring all events. The rest of the classes were able to stand on their own. The revised results for Ice Races 1 to 3, as well as for Ice Race 4 and for the Season, are available on the chapter web site.

I would like to thank our sponsors Foreign Motors West and Bavarian Autosport for their continued support. Bring them a cube of ice the next time you visit! I also want to thank all of those who routinely volunteer their time at the event. I hesitate to mention names, as I know I am missing someone, but Justin Hughes, Steve Bernstein, Gary Brundrett, Allison Feldhusen, Sean Bauer, and Chris Lanctot all come to mind this year. My thanks to the rest of the Ice Racing Committee is a given.

You all seem to be acutely aware of the effort involved in organizing and preparing for these events, and I am tremendously grateful of your appreciation. Please be sure to pass on that appreciation to the rest of the Ice Racing crew (Stan Jackson, Steve Jackson, Brittany Weber, and Sarah Jackson), who do not get to see all of your e-mail support. Rest assured, you will be dealing with me for years to come, but I may need some help keeping the rest of them involved! I unenviably look forward to a cold lake for the summer, but then a quick freeze come winter again. All thanks to an Ice Out that is unlikely to occur before June! Oh, and I checked; while we still had a small snow pile left around our house until April 28th, the ice was out on April 8th in 1999 and again in 2000. The record is sometime in May, and we are going to beat it in 2001.

May 2001 Bimmer

Reflections From The Hood: Use It Then Lose It by Joe Marko

Activities Alert: Spring Is Here! by Steve Goldstein

Bimmerscopes by Lady Dixi Isetta

Bimmer Pubs: What's Hot, What's Not: Total BMW by Michelle Demers

May 2001 New Members by Barry Tarr

Member Profile: Jimmy "Pencilneck" by Michelle Demers

First Quarter General Meeting: The E46 M3 Arrives! by Greg Scott

Boston Chapter Ice Racing: Ice Racing 2001: Slippin' And Slidin' Again by Stan Jackson Jr.

Why Can't I Get In?: Registering For Driving Schools by Denis Friedman

March 2001 Board Meeting Minutes by Bruce Augenstein

More Boston Bimmer articles by Stan Jackson Jr.

Boston Chapter Ice Racing: What A Winter! June 2003 Boston Bimmer

2002 Ice Racing: What Happened To Winter? May 2002 Boston Bimmer

2002 Boston Chapter Ice Racing: Stinson Lake April 2002 Boston Bimmer

Boston Chapter Ice Racing: Racing In (A) 2002 January/February 2002 Bimmer

Boston Chapter Ice Racing: Where's The Ice? April 2001 Bimmer

There are 9 more Boston Bimmer articles by Stan Jackson Jr.