RICK @ the RACES (St Edouard De Lotbiniere, Que) 28th JAN 07

Last weekend, I attempted to visit my first new track of the year, for the ice racing at St Edouard De Lotbiniere, which is near to the St Croix Speedway, just outside Quebec City.

It didn’t work out for me, and this is what I happened.
21st JAN 07… “I had a dissapointing day … I had planned on going to the ice racing at St Edouard De Lotbiniere, just south of Quebec City … I got up early in minus 30 temperatures, and drove an hour to the Flying J Truck Stop at Veudreuil ( nr Montreal) for breakfast… When I restarted the car, the “Service” light came on… The ice track was still another three hours away, so I wanted to find out what the problem was before going any further… Eventually, I discovered it was only a head light bulb that had failed, but with uncertain weather ahead, I still chose to put it right before going on… The problem was, like most modern cars today, simple jobs like this , are not simple anymore, and involve taking the front end of the car apart. I got it done in the Walmart Service Dept , next to the Flying J, for 5 bucks ‘labor’ , plus the cost of the part, but by now, time was pushing on, so decided reluctantly to abandon the trip, and return home… so no new track for me today ” >>

Today, Sunday,  January 28th , I had another try, and had more success…. but only just !

I had planned on leaving home at 7-00am, but for some reason, either the alarm clocks ( I have two) never went off, or I ignored them and went back to sleep ! … I ended up leaving home in a hurry , at 9-00am .

There was no time for my usual buffet breakfast at the Flying J, just a coffee and croissant to go, from the local “Timmys”.

I made up some good time and was pulling off Autoroute 20 soon after midday. From here I thought it would be straight forward, as St Edouard was just a short drive from the exit.

Once I reached the small town , there was no sign of any racing, and very few people to ask directions. My command of the French language is very small, and this is a ‘very French’ part of Canada.

Even though I could ask “Ou est le Course de Glace pour auto racing ?  ” I couldn’t understand the directions I was given and must have driven at least ten miles in various wrong directions !

I was beginning to feel  jinxed and wondered if I’d made the journey for nothing, until I asked one lady getting out of her SUV, who , luckily was going to the track herself , and if I cared to wait five minutes, I could follow her.
I’m glad I did , as I doubt if I would ever of found the place. It was located way out in the boonies down ice covered, gravel roads at the back of a Hotel and Restaurant , called the RELAIS HAMEL.

Once there, it was free to get in, as I guess the owners of the place made there money from the excellent food and drinks available. There were about 30 rookie type 4 cylinder cars in attendance, which raced several times each during the afternoon. Contact was allowed, and it was a very similar style of event to what I saw at St Eulalie last year. The big difference being the absence of large 8 cylinder cars. The track was less than a quarter mile, kidney bean shaped, like the Lac Cayamant track ( but smaller)

I did manage a brief conversation with one guy, who told me they raced every Sunday during the season, and next week it would be non-contact ( probably for the more “race ready” ACGQ cars)

This was my TRACK # 152