By Manfried Rieder Starhemberg
There is a particular joy for an old gear-head like me to see, hear and smell a highly tuned old two stroke racing snowmobile thunder across a measured course on lovely Lake Memphremagog at up to 140 miles per hour. The snow flies behind the track, the driver is hunched deep over his handlebars and quickly disappears in the distance.
There were more than one hundred machines racing behind the East Side Restaurant today, February 1 and hundreds of spectators were at hand to enjoy the spectacle in brilliant sunshine with the skyline of Newport providing a superb visual backdrop.I figure between the cost of the racing machines, the trucks, trailers and equipment, there was more than two million bucks on the ice today...
Ken Wells, publisher of the Newport Daily Express superbly announced each rider and the times posted and a collective murmur went up every time one of the contestants hit over 100 mph.
The restaurant provided an outside bar and snacks which were enjoyed by many, including myself and Nancy. The sausages and the hotdogs were yummy!
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| Youngster Jonathan (#33) on his beautiful machine was a real crowd pleaser |
Last year's blustery weather had short cut this perennial favorite event at Newports Winterfest celebration but this year more than made up for it with riders coming from as far away as New York state.
Newport rocks - and on a special day like this with events everywhere from the park, Prouty beach and the Gateway Center and of course all along the ice fishing shacks along the lake shore, this beautiful city shows that she can pull her petticoats up and dance with the best tourist places in the North East.
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| Ready, set.... |
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| a spectacle for all ages |
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| and go..... |
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| long shadows on the track |
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| playing in the snow |
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| beautiful vintage Sachs engine |
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| another superb vintage racing machine |
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| fun on the lake |
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| lovely Tamara makes lunch |
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| and always - beautiful Newport in the background |
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