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Brantford Ice Races '07

     The 5th annual Brantford Ice races took place on the afternoon of Feb 4th at the Wayne Gretzky Arena in Brantford ON.  The weather outside was fairly "brisk" so some practice time on the outdoor rink was out of the question prior to the start of the race.  About a dozen or so racers turned up with a myriad of ice racers and designs, and while some of the regular and expected attendees were absent, we had a couple new riders, a handful of new ice racers and plenty of time.  Pardon some of the blurry pictures because . . . some of the guys were going really fast!  Yeah, that's why :)  In standard fashion, I did a fairly lousy job of getting everyone's picture, so as I get more from the other riders, I'll post them here.  Thanks to Richard for some extra pictures.

     The format was an out and back timed slalom, 2 rider pursuit races, a 5 minute lap race, and a 6 rider relay race at the end.  Rubber tire only races were planned but there weren't enough entries unfortunately.  The racing was fast and furious, there were some really close pursuit and lap races.  There were also some fairly decent wipe-outs by Kendra Hicks and her dad, Tim.  Possibly a genetic thing . . .  Due to the nature of the home made studded tires, there were 3 or 4 flats during the event, one of which took out the Delta Force trike prematurely, unfortunately.  A few minor glitches, but a great assortment of prizes, lots of plans for future events and a few more plans for some new ice racers for next year.  The Brantford link is here with the final results and more pictures.

Bob going through his slalom run, which he placed 2nd in.
Steve Hicks doing his slalom run on his converted tadpole.
Steve Hicks pouring it on during his 5 min lap race.
Mike Channon working hard on his studded tire mini trike. The rubber tires were at a disadvantage on the smooth hard ice against the other blade/studded tire racers.
Mike being hunted by Kendra Hicks on her FWD RWS delta trike during their 5 min lap race.
Kendra during her pursuit race which she placed 2nd in, against Tina.
"Big Joe" Mitrovic hard at it on his studded tire tadpole in a pursuit race against Richard Dominick.
Jeff Hicks speeding into corner #1 in his pursuit race.
Wayne Pickett on his FWD tilting RWS delta trike. He was also running studded tires and ended up suffering two flats.
Bob Beechy at speed in his pursuit heat aboard the Blade Runner, one of the fastest trikes there.
Tim Hicks setting up for corner #1 in his pursuit heat on his converted tilt steer tadpole.
Rob Wazny in his pursuit race, 2nd lap.
Richard Dominick aboard Tim's tilting tadpole during his 5 min lap race. Richard did another 5 min lap race using Kendra's delta as well.
Tina Kawasniak on her new tadpole ice racer pouring it on out of corner #4 in her pursuit race.
Tim and his post-pursuit race crash. This was one of several "offs" during the day and apparently a blue line is trickier to cross than it would appear . . .
1st lap race heat. Kendra is hoping she doesn't wipe out again, Larry is trying to psych her out, Richard is getting into "the zone" and Mike is wondering if his coffee will still be warm when it's over . . .
Jeff laughing 'cuz he thinks he's going to make an inside pass on his dad . . . but he was wrong.
Some more of the great racing action as Jeff tries an outside pass, this time, on Bob during the 5 min lap race.
More tight lap racing action as Tina leads out over Steve on the Sabre, and Richard on the FWD RWS delta. Action stayed close like this for the whole race and closed up at the end.
Tight racing near the start of a lap race between Tim, Steve and Bob.
Bob slowly moving ahead of Jeff on the inside.
Jeff's expression as he suddenly realizes what his chances are in the upcoming race against his dad :) Age before beauty . . .
Mike's mini tadpole. He also has a full coroplast body shell for it.
Richard's FWD tilt steer delta that is normally a FWD two wheeled bent.
Wayne Pickett's FWD RWS tilting delta named Delta Force 1.
Wayne getting ready for his slalom heat.