[Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January-February 1985 issue of Auto-X (now Grassroots Motorsports) magazine]
Story by Dave Looman
Winters in Michigan are grueling with the worst cold and snow lasting from January 1 to the middle of March. Most folks kind of hibernate watching football and drinking beer. Autocrossers occasionally tinker with their cars, longing for that …
This content is available for GRM+ members and Grassroots Motorsports magazine subscribers only.
Read the rest of the story
I think I'd like to try ice racing at least once before I die, mainly because I've spent so much of my life in a snow-free environment.
Ice racing is a hoot. They do it up in Wisconsin too. I think the Audi club is running a couple events this month up on MSR.
Ice racing is an absolute blast. You can spend the day at or past grip limits with minimal damage potential. Especially since we have good ice this year with almost no snow until yesterday. So there aren't even snow banks to hit (or use for bumpers...)
Try it if you can, low power, light, well driven cars are often the fastest of all.
I think Wisco Audi Club has an event this weekend 2/15 and 16 at local, ice race friendly Lk. Sinnissippi. Some lakes are not ice race friendly for a number of different reasons.
With winters warming up, there hasn't been much ice racing for the last several years in SE Michigan. Saginaw Bay was the spot for it 20 years ago. I would think they have to go quite a bit further north these days. I've autocrossed on a frozen lake, but never raced.
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:
With winters warming up, there hasn't been much ice racing for the last several years in SE Michigan. Saginaw Bay was the spot for it 20 years ago. I would think they have to go quite a bit further north these days. I've autocrossed on a frozen lake, but never raced.
This winter has been the exception, but generally things have been warming up, so I understand why organizations can't plan on this type of weather.
RonVon
New Reader
2/13/25 1:33 p.m.
In reply to petemc53555 :
Is this same PMC that got me into ice racing back it the late 80's in WI?
Totally agree ice racing is a blast. In my case, I only ran auto-cross type of events, not W2W because I always used my daily driver. But we did use an ice tire from Finland, Haka's, I recall.
It was only after I moved to TX and started W2W with SCCA did I realize just how much car control I had actually learned by being on the ice. Car control and sliding at 20-30mph is a great place to learn the craft, sliding at 90-110mph, well, that's a whole different environment to actual 'learn' in.
they are doing it again this month I miss W2W though
RonVon
New Reader
2/13/25 2:59 p.m.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
I noticed the same thing. In 2015 I moved from TX to NY, I was exited to get back into ice racing (Auto-X), looked into all the local clubs and noticed all races have been canceled due to warm weather and no ice....bummed! Now further north might still be going on, but not near me.
This was a staple winter activity for the Boston Chapter of the BMW CCA when I joined in the late 80s. We used to go out on Newfound Lake in Bristol, NH. The absolute best way to learn how to drive on snow and ice!
A club member and family lived on the lake and would plow the courses. The "hot" car was the "ICEMAN"-tagged Euro-spec M535 on studded tires (RIP Stan Jackson Sr.)...
I did pretty well in my '85 Audi 4000s Quattro on snow tires - low power, locked diffs, pedal to the metal at all times, and you changed direction with a touch of left-foot braking.
Need to scan in some of the pictures I have from that time...
