A Chance Encounter With A Canadian Ice Race Sees Euro Victory In The Frozen North.
Yves Legris' tiny Citroen C2 with mid-engine V6 and AWD
In addition to great wines, champagne and fine dining, the French have bestowed upon the world one of the greatest motorsport events ever devised; ice racing.
It's been around in various forms for many years and reached its pinnacle in the 24 Hours of Chamonix - an ice racing spectacular in the French Alps. The event attracts WRC teams and top drivers like Alain Prost; a regular competitor. It's even been developed into a stadium event.
In 1999 the French series went international, with races around northern Europe and Canada. This was the start of Challenge Automobile Sur Glace Du Canada. The race took place in Sherbrooke, near Montreal, Quebec.
The following year the organizers partnered with Michelin and by 2001 had replaced the French T3F silhouette racers with WRC-spec Group A cars. The T3F cars returned in '03 with Alain Prost and by '05 Continental Tire was now the main sponsor.
The winners take the spoils | 
Henri Alder's 300hp B5 Audi S4 automatic |  |
Now in its tenth year, the Challenge Sur Glace has retained its Conti backing and the organizers strive to create a family atmosphere with free entry, a carnival and ice sculptures. Support races include motorcycles, ATVs and, bizarrely, horses.
We were on hand to sample Continental's latest snow tires but made the two-hour trip to Sherbrooke to experience the mid-engined T3F silhouette racers on studded tires.
The victorious Stievenart T3F Fiat Punto with V6 Toyota motor
Several teams came from France, bringing a BMW 1-Series hatch, Fiat Grande Punto and Citroen C2. Throw in a local B5 Audi S4 and it was looking like a Euro ice-capade.
During lunch I got the chance to experience the action up close, taking the seat beside Montreal resident Henri Alder in his S4. After buckling up we made small talk and I inquired about engine power: "It's only 300hp, but it's an auto," he replied, pointing to the stock gear selector, "so I can't give it much more. And I'm 63, so don't want to be shifting gears all the time!"
There I was, strapped into a 300hp racecar with my grandpa who intended to steer us between towering snow banks on skinny 16x5" Continental tires that were peppered with tiny studs to cut into the ice. Without time to finish my prayer, we were ushered out of the pits and into the white hell.
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French T3F regs allow cars to be tube-framed, AWD and run V6 engines in the back for maximum entertainment | |
Log on to www.eurotuner.com to find our shaky in-car footage from the experience, but it wasn't as terrifying as I'd feared. Henri's smooth style belied the chaos that ensued whenever we watched the cars from the snow banks. Of course, we didn't have a Mitsubishi Evo inches from our rear bumper either
Although Henri made Sunday's final, he retired after nine laps. The big race was dominated by the visiting French teams, won by the father/son Stievenart team in their T3F Fiat Punto with mid-mounted 3.0 V6 Toyota power. They finished 20sec ahead of the BMW 1-Series in second place, and 54sec ahead of defending champion Yves Legris' V6-engined Citroen C2 in fourth.
Considering the hordes of Mitsubishis and Subarus they were up against, it was a great showing for the Euros!