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Ice racing is hot stuff.
And on a night like Saturday in Independence, the hotter the better.
With winter temperatures plummeting to single-digits, a large crowd pushed into the warm interior of the Independence Events Center to watch not Missouri Mavericks hockey nor a local sporting event or even a world famous singing act – but extreme international ice racing, a sport that is getting more and more popular as the years go by.
What is extreme ice racing, you ask?
Leave it to Russell Green, an 18-year-old California resident and first-year racer, to say it all in four words. He stood by his bike an hour before the show, checking the gold studs on each tire, fastening lose fittings.
“It’s bicycles on steroids.”
The professional racing tour raced into the events center Saturday for a two-slot performance – one on Saturday night and another on Sunday afternoon. It was the fifth stop in a tour that started in October and ends in late March. Racers, competing on speedway bikes or quads, go for points at each event, amassing them until the last stop when they are declared winner.
At 54 years old, Eddie “Double E” Martinez was the oldest racer Saturday night. An Arizona native, Martinez said he started ice racing in 1987 as a hobby. In 1999, he met others who shared in his passion, and he began competing, compiling impressive wins throughout the years. He was the champion at Victorville, Calif., and as of Saturday night was tied for ninth place in points.
“It started out as a hobby, but it got serious after that,” he said.
Martinez competes on a speedway bike, which, like any machine fitted for ice racing, is modified for this type of event. Most – if not all – the bikes can accelerate from 0-60 in about three seconds. Screwed into the tires are metal studs specifically created to grab, or punch, the ice, creating a tire/ice consistency that, believe it or not, is a bit more effortless than dirt riding.
“It’s like riding on a tarmac surface,” Martinez said.
Equipped with an engine of about 60 horse-power (but about a 90 horse power feel on the back wheel), the speedway bikes are powered with nitro-methanol. Whereas an average car has about 5,000 RPMs, an ice bike has a maximum of 14,000.
And to complicate matters even more – there are no brakes.
For Anthony “The British Bulldog” Barlow, ice racing is a first love. When he’s not competing on the ice during the winter months, he’s dirt racing in Europe. Currently living in St. Peters, Mo., he’s a three-time world champion and four time national champion. He won rookie of the year in 1999.
Ice racing is hot stuff.
And on a night like Saturday in Independence, the hotter the better.
With winter temperatures plummeting to single-digits, a large crowd pushed into the warm interior of the Independence Events Center to watch not Missouri Mavericks hockey nor a local sporting event or even a world famous singing act – but extreme international ice racing, a sport that is getting more and more popular as the years go by.
What is extreme ice racing, you ask?
Leave it to Russell Green, an 18-year-old California resident and first-year racer, to say it all in four words. He stood by his bike an hour before the show, checking the gold studs on each tire, fastening lose fittings.
“It’s bicycles on steroids.”
The professional racing tour raced into the events center Saturday for a two-slot performance – one on Saturday night and another on Sunday afternoon. It was the fifth stop in a tour that started in October and ends in late March. Racers, competing on speedway bikes or quads, go for points at each event, amassing them until the last stop when they are declared winner.
At 54 years old, Eddie “Double E” Martinez was the oldest racer Saturday night. An Arizona native, Martinez said he started ice racing in 1987 as a hobby. In 1999, he met others who shared in his passion, and he began competing, compiling impressive wins throughout the years. He was the champion at Victorville, Calif., and as of Saturday night was tied for ninth place in points.
“It started out as a hobby, but it got serious after that,” he said.
Martinez competes on a speedway bike, which, like any machine fitted for ice racing, is modified for this type of event. Most – if not all – the bikes can accelerate from 0-60 in about three seconds. Screwed into the tires are metal studs specifically created to grab, or punch, the ice, creating a tire/ice consistency that, believe it or not, is a bit more effortless than dirt riding.
“It’s like riding on a tarmac surface,” Martinez said.
Equipped with an engine of about 60 horse-power (but about a 90 horse power feel on the back wheel), the speedway bikes are powered with nitro-methanol. Whereas an average car has about 5,000 RPMs, an ice bike has a maximum of 14,000.
And to complicate matters even more – there are no brakes.
For Anthony “The British Bulldog” Barlow, ice racing is a first love. When he’s not competing on the ice during the winter months, he’s dirt racing in Europe. Currently living in St. Peters, Mo., he’s a three-time world champion and four time national champion. He won rookie of the year in 1999.
“You get great racing on the ice,” Barlow said.
Rich Schoeberl, a quad racer from South Dakota, this circuit was his first time back in two years.
“I broke my leg and my kids were getting older, which made it tough,” Schoeberl said. “I used to dirt race, but it’s too hard on my back. I’m getting too old for that.”
Schoeberl’s son, Jacob, performs on his quad during intermissions.
Will he race like his father?
“Maybe,” the soft-spoken boy said as he checked his machine. “Maybe.”
Comparing motocross and ice racing must be done by comparing intensity. Just four laps on a speedway bike is the equivalent to 10 minutes on a motocross bike
Steve Sygorski of Blue Springs came to the event Saturday night to see not only the event but the events center itself – neither of which he’d ever seen.
“It’s fun to watch, and the arena is cool, too.”
Racers said Saturday that if people are interested in ice racing, they can visit the Web site www.xiir.com.
