The Recorder
PROVIDENCE BAY—To conclude a very successful season, the third and final edition of the Manitoulin Snow Drags races took place in Providence Bay this past Saturday.
“We had a total of 121 entries into the races,” stated Rob Cranston, main organizer of the event. He pointed out the number of entries, “all depends on the weather conditions.”
As a measure of how popular the Manitoulin Snow Drags have become in their second year of operation, “we had four American racers on hand competing. One of the guys who took part told me had they known sooner that we have these races they would have taken part previously. He had seen information about our race on the internet and he would be telling all his buddies. They will be coming next year.”
“We try to keep the (snow drag) track in perfect condition for the races,” said Mr. Cranston. He pointed out it was an US rider, Chris Nordang, who won the trophy for having the fastest sled on Manitoulin Island. He travelled 103.1 miles per hour and finished the race course in 6.36 seconds.
In the 250cc stock non-studded division Darren Dewar took first place followed by Nevaeh Harper in second. In the 340cc division Alayna Cranston took top spot with Lindsay Addison and Nevaeh Harper in second and third, respectively; in the 800cc category David Middaugh took first place, Craig Young second place and Dwayne Wright third place.
The 440cc stock studded category saw Aaron Harris take first place place, followed by Alayna Cranston in second place; in the 500cc category Aaron Harris took the top spot, with Darren Dewar second and Sammy Stoneypoint third. In the 600cc category, Aaron Harris was first, with Alayna Cranston and Rob Cranston in second and third, respectively. In the 700cc category, Craig Robinson placed first. He was followed by Aaron Harris in second and Lindsay Addison third. In the 800cc category Craig Robinson came in first, Rob Cranston second and Lindsay Addison third.
In the open category, Craig Robinson was first with Rob Cranston second. In the factory stock turbo-digger division, Clark took top spot, with Kevin Mossip second and Craig Robison third. In the kids’ 120 cc stock division Emma Goldbach took first place with Ariella Lanktree coming in second and Lorne Middaugh third and Ayleana McDermid fourth.
In the improved category 500cc division Aaron Harris topped the field with Kenny Hayden taking the second place spot and Cole Corbiere was third; in the 600cc, Lindsay Addison took the top spot with Aaron Harris second and Rob Cranston third. In the 700cc category Craig Robinson was first, Lindsay Addison second and Brooke Addison third. In the 800cc category, Chris Nordang took first place followed by Craig Robinson and Aaron Corbiere.
In the open division, Kevin Mossip took the first place prize, followed by Louis Goldbach and Chris Nordang in second and third. The Outlaw division saw Chris Nordang first, Louis Goldbach second and Digger Clark in third.
The Vintage 600cc division category saw Rob Cranston take the top spot. He was followed by Alayna Cranston in second and Dave Gunderson in third. In the 700 cc category, Rob Cranston came in first, Alayna Cranston second and Tanner Wright third. In the 800cc category, Billy Bye came in first, followed by Rob Cranston second. Open division results saw Rob Cranston first followed by Billy Bye. In the under 300cc division, Alayna Cranston took first place followed by Nevaeh Harper second and Darren Dewar third. In the 340cc division Lindsay Addison placed first, Alayna Cranston was second and Nevaeh Harper third.
In the Kids’ 120 open division, Emma Goldbach was first, Ariella Lanktree second and Lorne Middaugh third.
“Kimpex Canada and BJ’s and Addison’s Tire shop donated a helmet for the races,” said Mr. Cranston. “We picked a winner a little different this year, instead of giving it to the rider who had the fastest time we decided that anyone that wanted to enter for the chance to win the helmet would pay $25 and if they won their race class their name went into a hat, so everyone would have the chance to win. The money that was raised from that goes to a kids’ charity on Manitoulin Island.”
Mr. Cranston pointed out that about $300 was raised for a kids’ charity on Manitoulin Island, not for Manitoulin Island Dirt Riders Association (MIDRA).
