Drivers gearing up for unique track at Calgary Nitro Rallycross event
Though the Calgary Stampede grounds are often associated with chuckwagons, it's a different kind of racing that will be taking place there this weekend.
Calgary is hosting a Nitro Rallycross event at Stampede Park’s GMC Stadium on Feb. 4 and 5, featuring a track that organizers say is "unprecedented."
Calgary competitors will face an array of winterized obstacles, including jumps and snow barriers, all set on an ice surface.
"There's some of the best drivers in the world," said Chip Pankow, Nitro Rallycross GM.
"We get drivers coming in from Formula One, we get drivers coming in from NASCAR, you get drivers coming in from Indy-car. They mix it up, they like to come in because it's so much fun to drive."
Pankow says rallycross is typically driven on dirt or asphalt and this is only the second time in it's history that it's been raced on ice.
Crews have spent weeks freezing the entire half-mile, and unlike other forms of racing, rallycross is fast paced.
"Rather than being a two or three-hour race, we have a race every 10 minutes, and the races are six minutes," Pankow said. "So there's battles, there's winners and losers, the winners advance.
"We always try to give the losers a second chance so there's a road to redemption and you can follow your driver throughout the day and see how they did – and that's what people really enjoy about it."
Calgary is hosting a Nitro Rallycross event at Stampede Park’s GMC Stadium. on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, 2023. (Supplied) Robin Larsson is from Sweden and drives for RX Cartel JC.
He says he enjoys the challenge of racing on different tracks because track conditions are constantly changing.
The cars use spiked tires to help drivers gain traction.
Larsson is one of the first ones on the new track, which looks much like fresh ice at a hockey rink, but as more drivers make laps the ice will get chewed up.
"In the finals its going to be a completely different track from what we try now," he said. "So now you get the best conditions, so that's one of the challenge I really liked – that you … don't know what the next corner is going to be like."
Larsson drives an electric vehicle capable of going from 0-60 in just 1.4 seconds.
"The FC 1x was developed for this championship by First Quarter," said Pankow. "It's 1070 horsepower, it's got four electric motors, it's a full EV vehicle.
"We think it's the fastest electric race car in the world."
Jim Laurendeau, the Calgary Stampede's vice president of Park Development and Operations, says he's hopeful the two-day event is a success and Nitro Rallycross can return in the future.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek echoes that sentiment.
She went out on track for a ride along with one of the drivers, hitting speeds of 140 km/h, and even took to the air over a jump constructed in the rodeo infield.
"That was amazing," Gondek said.
"I told them they have to come back every year, and I think they said 'yes,' but I couldn't hear anything over my squealing."
The Nitro Rallycross championship finale will be held in Los Angeles, Calif. from March 17-19.
To learn more, you can visit the Nitro Rallycross website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.