It’s a busy month for the Cochrane Vintage Riders Snowmobile Club. This coming Saturday, it has its annual Tom Saul Memorial Ride, raising money for the chemotherapy room at Lady Minto Hospital.
Then the following weekend – March 14th and 15th – oval racing is back on Lake Commando.
Vintage Riders executive member Dan Girard says some fine tuning has been done for the second year of the Polar Bear Cup.
“The track will be bigger, hopefully faster,” he states, adding that the Ontario Snowmobile Oval Racing Association likes the set-up in Cochrane, on the lake and with things like the Pavilion so close.
“We’d like to see more communities get involved, possibly creating a circuit in Northern Ontario of oval racing, like to used to be at carnivals and stuff.”
Girard is encouraging local sledders to get involved. He says they’re often hesitant because of concerns about safety and cost.
“People have the misconception that it’s very expensive to build a sled,” he notes, “and no, if you start in the lower class, the stock class, it’s mostly work involved, it’s not a large amount of money.”
Girard admits that it can be costly, once you move into the modified classes.
He’s also asking that any ice huts be removed from the area of the lake where the oval goes… in preparation for the event.
More information about the Polar Bear Cup is on the Vintage Riders’ Facebook page.