RICK @ the RACES (8 Jan 2011)

8 Jan Ste Eulalie, Quebec.

This past weekend I drove up to St Eulalie, Quebec, situated about 130 kms north of Montreal for the start of their ice racing season. This was my third visit to this ‘land based’ ice track which runs every Saturday afternoon. The first time, was back in 2006 when I combined it with a trip to the races at Lac Mirage at Princeville.

The track can be found by taking exit 210 off the Trans Canada Highway (AutoRoute 20) , then once you’ve gone through Ste Eulalie it’s few kilometers east of the town.

The small D shaped circuit is located at the rear of a bar/restaurant.

The racing is organized by a friend of mine, Clo Gibbs and her boyfriend Jean Bernier, who are both Dirt Racing fans during the summer. I arrived about an hour before the 1-00pm start time and watched as the competitors arrived.

I chatted to Marc Dagenais # 20 , one of the Beauharnois/Maple Grove racers who was giving the track a try.

I also spoke to teenager Jenifer Vallee who was the driver of a very tidy looking Dodge Neon # 216 . Her dad told me that they got the inspiration for the color scheme after seeing Tabatha Murphy’s # 66 DIRT SPORTSMAN car.

I found Jean busy with track preparation while Clo was in the office ( a converted parcel van) in the pits.

There were two classes, which consisted of the small 4 cylinders and the ‘big banger’ V8’s. There were about 17 cars in the small division and eight in the larger.