Snowmobile races are back with the return of the Bonnechere Cup

The checkered flag is ready to wave in the champion, so let the races begin!

The 47th annual Castle Building Centre Bonnechere Cup is coming back to Eganville this February and the organizing committee is busy getting the site ready and the drivers registered for their spot on the ice track.

Unlike 2021 and 2020 when it was unusually quiet on a stretch of Highway 60 near Eganville. there was always one word that best described the sounds coming from the Eganville Sno-Drifters Club each February, and that word was loud.

It was loud up until February 2020 when the 46th edition drew the top ranked snowmobile drivers from all over North America to compete in one of the most highly rated racetracks on the circuit.

A few weeks after the last checkered flag signalled the winner of the final race, the whole world changed with the arrival of the deadly COVID-19 Virus. Practically every major event, whether it was sports, music or cultural event, was shut down. All the once-popular venues such as sports stadiums, arenas, concert halls and race tracks were silent.

Some of the greatest names in snowmobiling history have experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Well known names like Lee, Vandolder, Riemenschneider, Wahl, Vessair, Schulz and of course, Villeneuve, have all shaped the course of their careers at the Bonnechere Cup.

Today, the Bonnechere Cup is among the thousands of traditional venues hoping to make a big return to the main stage following its two-year absence. Once again, the winter classic is drawing on its core group of volunteers to stage a three-day event that has attracted thousands of spectators, racers and their families to the oval track as it has done since its inception in 1974.

Among those who have, and will contribute countless hours to make the event a success is Zach Plotz, the president of the Eganville Sno-Drifters Club.

“We are excited for the racers and their crews, the fans, but most of all we are excited to bring the races back after being away for two years,” Plotz said. “We had no idea that when we wrapped up the weekend back in 2020 that it would be the last time for a few years. We always joke about how loud it got down on the track and in the stands, but we certainly couldn't say that up until a few weeks ago.”

He explained this year it was decided to change the official name of the committee overseeing the event to Bonnechere Cup Inc. to keep the name and branding similar. Castle Building Centre is returning as the major corporate sponsor in addition to a new major sponsor, Honest Herbs of Pikwakanagan.

“This is Honest Herb's first sponsorship of the Bonnechere Cup and the business is one the new sponsors that have jumped on board to help make up for the two-year absence,” he said. “The staging of the race weekend is really a community event and having several first time sponsors shows the community is eager to welcome back one of the area's major off-season tourist attractions. “

One of the sad ironies is although the value and number of sponsors may have increased since 2020, the size of the club membership has decreased. A decrease in membership means a decline in the volunteer pool to stage the event.

“We have a really hard working group of about a dozen who have already spent many hours in the time leading up to the races,” he said. “One of the big changes the regular guests will notice is our food services will now be catered out so that way we can have our volunteers concentrate on other areas that may be short-staffed.”

One reason for the increased attendance in the stands and the quality of the drivers lined up at the beginning of each race is the prize money. With up to $10,000 to be won in the top category, it is hard for dedicated racers not to circle the first weekend of February on their calendars.

Like any major event, the organizers had to aware not only of local attractions going on at the same time, but for snowmobile races, they had to be cognizant of competing oval races.

“It is the opening of the Ontario Winter Games the same weekend but our racing committee was able to schedule the event to not conflict with the United States Snowmobile Association (USSA) Pro-Star Circuit,” he said. “We need those quality racers to continue the strong reputation that was built up over the years, so the races had to avoid overlapping.”

He said Tom Olson of Wisconsin, and winner of the 2020 Bonnechere Cup, will be returning to defend his title. He is just one of several American drivers coming to Eganville along with racers from New York, Western Canada, Ontario, Québec and some local drivers.

“We have always promoted the weekend as a family weekend and you can see that if you walk around the pit and see all the families that race and travel with each other,” he said “One of our most popular events is when the kids, some as young as five years old, come out to the track with their parents and line up for their races.”

One thing the organizing committee cannot control is the weather. Some years have been so cold that spectators could only spend a few minutes outside cheering on the racers. Other years were filled with rain and the track was slush and mud filled the outside of the track.

“All we can do is make sure we stage the greatest race weekend possible and just hope the long cold winter days remain long enough for the track to be in perfect shape and not too cold to keep the crowds away from this year's Bonnechere Cup.”

The 47th edition of the Bonnechere Cup is being held the weekend of Feb. 3-5 and information can be found at https://www.bonnecherecup.ca/