What Happened To Winter?
by Stan Jackson Jr.2002 Ice Racing Final Season Results
I think everyone will agree there wasn't much of a winter here in New England. But despite what may have been the worst winter ever in central New Hampshire, the Ice Racing crew managed to hold an event as early as February 10th, and could have had one as late as March 24th. Just in case you were wondering, a "good" winter has more snow and colder temperatures, and a "bad" winter is usually more tolerable to city folks who like milder winters. As many of you know, the 2002 Ice Racing Series was only possible due to our hike higher into the mountains from Newfound Lake to Stinson Lake.
Stinson Lake is a picturesque body of water surrounded by mountains, and situated off a twisty road in Rumney, New Hampshire just inside the White Mountain National Forest. While we didn't have a clubhouse this year, we were well served by the Stinson Lake General Store, conveniently located at the ice entrance. They provided a room for morning registration, hot food for lunch (chili and pea soup as well as hot dogs and sandwiches!), and a "general store" ambience that I have not seen anywhere else in central New Hampshire for more than a decade. I think eating chili in front of an old wood stove at the store would make the trip north worthwhile all on its own. Now if the Chapter would purchase property and construct a training and event center somewhere on the lake...
So, what did you miss by not making the trip north this year? Five fantastic Ice Races!
This season we held our first ever Saturday event, The Parker Spooner Memorial Ice Race, on March 9th. Wow, were we lucky that weekend. Saturday was a gorgeous day with bright sun and comfortable temperatures, but quickly changed to high winds as night fell. Sunday, as we went to check on the Timing Bobhouse, Stinson Lake appeared and felt more like the Arctic Circle. High winds, snow falling, and temperatures around twenty degrees with a wind chill that must have been well below zero! Sure was glad not to be running an Ice Race that day.
Our final event of the year was held on March 17th, and was almost as beautiful a day as the Parker Spooner Ice Race. These last two events went so smoothly and ran so quickly that we were able to have 40-50 fun runs at the conclusion of each event. Add in some time on the Practice Course, and participants got plenty of experience on the ice.
We had a total of 220 entries with lots of new Ice Racers, but we would like to encourage even more of you to come up. The Subaru clan were not shy, but where were all the 330xi's and the 325iX's? I know plenty of owners out there who would enjoy exploring the all-wheel-drive fun bottled up in these cars. And don't be afraid to bring your two-wheel-drive BMW! You will be amazed at how well it handles. Feel free to give an Ice Race entry as a gift.
Laura Barber surprised her fiancé Paul Ferretti with just that. Not only did they both participate at both of the last two Ice Races, they are both absolutely sold on the fun we have. They are learning to control their German machine on one of the toughest driving surfaces. Pavement is easy once you have mastered the ice. If their enthusiasm continues, by next year they may very well be competing for a season trophy.
Another Ice Racing novice managed to not only win himself a season trophy in an extremely competitive Class C, but also put down a couple of impressive performances driving two different BMWs in the studded class. Posting times in both the "Iceman Machine" and the "Bernstein Turtle" (maybe the Turtle was the BMW he had planned to drive up?), Seth Willey - who was carefully trained and groomed by the Jacksons - went on to beat two-out-of-three of them in Class S. He gives most of the credit to Sarah, who rode shotgun for many of his Class C runs. See what a little practice and training can do?
Later this spring we are hoping to have an expanded Ice Racing trophy presentation. In addition to the season trophies and the event FTD trophies, we will have in-car and around-car video from this past Ice Racing season to show! There will also be a short discussion session with questions and answers for those who want to know more about Ice Racing. This would be a great time to discover more about our sport. Whether you want some winter auto racing competition, or whether you simply want to learn more about controlling your vehicle on any surface, you can get it Ice Racing. Please watch the Boston Chapter web site and the Boston Bulletin (e-mail) for details on this mid-May event.
Finally, I would like to thank our sponsors Foreign Motors West and Bavarian Autosport - without your support these events wouldn't exist. But more important, I want to extend a big "thank-you" to the rest of the Ice Racing crew, the Webmaster, the Bimmer staff, and all the Ice Racers who picked up cones and made this season such a great one.
I wish I had a photo of the three BMW's driving towards me at the Timing Bobhouse, their trunks open and full of orange cones at the end of Ice Race #4! And right beside it I would need a reverse shot of the Subaru drivers collecting all the cones in the parking area. What a feeling to see the enthusiasm and to have all that help! Check out the Boston Chapter web site for all Ice Racing results.
See you in 2003!
- May 2002 Boston Bimmer
- My Turn: Caribbean Vacation
- BostonMember: Ivars Avots: 2481: Opportunist and Innovator!
- Here's Looking at You Kid
- 2002 Ice Racing: What Happened To Winter?
- Photo Gallery - 2002 Boston Chapter Ice Racing: Ice Racing Photo Gallery
- 2002 Boston Chapter Ice Racing Screen Saver: Winter All Year Long
- 2002 Karting Leagues: Karting, an Inside View
- A Driving Adventure
- 2002 Tech Session: Driver's Tech Session at HMS
- 2002 Driving School Tech Session: Survival Kit
- 2002 Dent Removal Tech Session: The Dent Specialists
- SMG Chronicles: Part 1
- National News: The New York Auto Show
- 2001 Charitable Contributions
- Book Review: Illustrated Buyer's Guide: BMW
- May 2002 New Members
- More Boston Bimmer articles by Stan Jackson Jr.
- Boston Chapter Ice Racing: What A Winter! June 2003 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: Ice Racing 2001: Slippin' And Slidin' Again May 2001 Bimmer
- Boston Chapter Ice Racing: Where's The Ice? April 2001 Bimmer
- There are 9 more Boston Bimmer articles by Stan Jackson Jr.
