THUNDER BAY - Aaron Sacek, 16, hasn’t been driving for all that long, but he is already gaining some valuable winter driving experience by sliding into corners and punching the gas on straight stretches.
“It’s really good experience,” he said. “Especially in the winter conditions we have.”
Luckily, these lessons are confined to a racetrack where Aaron competes in the Thunder Bay Auto Sports Club ice races at Mission Bay.
The season officially opened on Sunday after being delayed due to weather.
“Unfortunately, mother nature threw us a card of a very heavy, wet snowfall last December, which put a lot of pressure onto the ice slab and that pushed water up,” said Gary Adomko, president of the Thunder Bay Auto Sports Club. “We had to wait for these colder temperatures to get out there and plow the track.”
With very cold temperatures settling over the city for much of January, crews were able to plow the track and have it ready for Sunday, though it is slightly smaller than previous years.
But Adomko added that every year they plan for such delays because there is no way to know what the weather will bring.
“We always build it into the schedule that we may lose a date here or there because of some situation,” he said. “A couple years ago, we had rain where we had to cancel. We’ve had mother nature play some games on us.”
Mother nature still had a few games to play, with temperatures on Sunday of -28 and the windchill making it feel like -39 C, keeping some drivers at home.
“We are down a couple of cars today because of the cold temperatures,” Adomko said. “Some people decided to stay home in favour of a warm couch. But we are anticipating around 18 teams running this season.”
Those watching from the warmth of a vehicle could still keep track of what was happening on the ice with the reintroduction of FM broadcasting for play-by-play updates.
For Greta Sacek, braving the weather to watch the races has become a yearly tradition as she cheers on her son, Aaron, as well as her husband and daughter, too.
“It is a family thing for sure,” she said.
“My dad’s been doing it for about 14 years and my sister has been doing it for seven, so it runs in the family,” Aaron added. “And I love anything to do with cars.”
This being the first race of the season, Aaron said he still getting a feel for the car, which is fitted with studded tires. Drivers can compete in either the studded class or rubber class.
“There is a lot of traction and lots of snow out there,” he said. “So I’m just trying to break it in and get a feel for the car today.”
Last year, Aaron’s sister, Chelsea, said she enjoys the adrenaline that comes with racing, but what she has learned out on the track translates to her every day driving.
Even though he has only been driving for two years, Aaron’s skills on and off the track keep getting better.
“He is very good,” Greta said. “I’m very confident when he’s driving a car.”
But just don’t ask her to join him on the racetrack.
“Last year I took a ride in the car and I was afraid for my life,” Greta said. “I won’t go again.”
Races are scheduled to take place every Sunday at Mission Bay until Mar. 10. Races start at 12 p.m.
