What do you get when you put a high-performance engine on a lightweight snowmobile chassis? You get some wicked acceleration and speed. The Eastern Pro Tour rolls into Burk’s Falls this weekend, for the second annual Almaguin Cup.
BURK’S FALLS – With just days left before the sledders of the Eastern Pro Tour hit the oval in Burk’s Falls on Feb. 2 and 3, drivers are tuning up their machines and preparing for the second annual Almaguin Cup.
For Tony Pettinelli, snowmobile maintenance uses up most of his spare time during the winter.
“About 15 to 20 hours a week is the norm,” said the driver from New York State. “Then you’ve got guys like Villeneuve, who spend 40 hours plus and that’s their full-time job, period.”
Pettinelli races in the Champ 440 and Vintage 800 classes, along with his brother, Dave, his son and his nephew.
“It’s kind of a family affair,” he said. “We follow the whole Eastern Pro Tour.”
Pettinelli has been racing snowmobiles for more than 20 years, and riding them all his life.
“My dad used to be a Motoski dealer back in the 60s and early 70s,” he said. “During that time, they had some sleds they were grass dragging back in the day, and that’s what caught our interest.”
Pettinelli started racing in high school, and never stopped. The speed and competition hooked him.
“It’s kind of like a drug addiction, that’s the best way to describe it,” he said.
A 440cc carbureted engine might not seem like much by today’s standards, but Champ sleds are powerful, putting out approximately 130 horsepower. This heavily souped-up engine is mounted on a custom-built chassis. Long, low and built for tight left turns, the Champ sled is also extremely lightweight, but must stay above the 370-pound minimum set out in the rules.
The result is a machine that goes very fast in a very short distance.
“On the take-off, it takes about 1.2 seconds to go the first 60 feet, so your acceleration is pretty quick,” said Pettinelli, noting that although this is the standard measure of acceleration, the speed does continue to increase beyond that.
Add a tight oval track and other machines into the mix, and the result is pretty exciting. Pettinelli likes the racing to be close, which is why he enjoyed Burk’s Falls last year.
“It was a driver’s track,” he said. “Small, competitive, it kept the riders close.”
But as fierce as the competition is on the track, the camaraderie off the track is just as exceptional, like an extended family.
The Pettinelli family enjoyed some success at the Almaguin Cup last year, and they have high hopes for this weekend.
“We’ll be ready,” he said. “And if luck has it, we’ll be on the podium again.”
Ottawa-based Dave Baldwin hasn’t raced quite as long as Pettinelli, but they share the same life-long love of snowmobiling and racing in general.
“I’ve been racing since 2000,” said Baldwin. “I always watched it as a kid, and always wanted to do it.”
Baldwin races in the Stock and Pro Stock 600 Fan classes, as well as Formula 500. His son Jerett, 10, races in the 120cc, 7 and older class, and has raced since he was five years old. Jerett won the points championship for his class in 2006.
Baldwin said that he had followed the sport closely for years, and enjoyed watching the races at Eganville.
“It just got the better of me, I guess,” he said. “I took the plunge.”
Plunge might be a strong word. There was nothing sudden or impulsive in the decision. Baldwin followed the tour as a spectator for a whole season, attending every race, and talking to everyone involved.
“I asked a thousand questions,” he said.
Baldwin’s Stock machine is an Arctic Cat, factory-built for racing. However, some modifications were required to make it suitable for oval racing specifically. That was accomplished with the assistance of knowledgeable friends and family. It has been a group effort all the way.
“You need a lot of help behind the scenes that people don’t see,” said Baldwin.
And the drivers themselves are always willing to help each other off the track to ensure a good race on the track. It’s all about competition, and the satisfaction of seeing hard work pay off.
“The competitive edge is what drives me to do it, and it’s just a whole lot of fun,” said Baldwin. “It makes the winter just fly by.”
Baldwin is happy to see Burk’s Falls on the tour for a second year, providing another Ontario race for the tour, and bringing snowmobile oval racing to more people. Like Pettinelli, he considers the small track a good thing, and looks forward to some close-up competition with the other drivers. But there is work to do.
Racing three sleds requires at least eight hours of maintenance between races for Baldwin, not to mention taking up most of his winter weekends. The drivers of the Eastern Pro Tour are a dedicated bunch, and they have to be. Oval racing requires a commitment, and that scares more people away than the speed or the competition.
“It’s a time-consuming, expensive, inconvenient sport,” said Baldwin. “But once you try it, boy, it’s sure hard to quit.”
The Almaguin Cup is this Saturday and Sunday at the Burk’s Falls fairgrounds. Races will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Admission is $20 for one day or $30 for both. Kids 12 and under are just $5 per day. For more information, visit www.almaguincup.com.
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