Thrills on ice

LEWISTON — They gunned it in a tight circle on the ice, 12 lawn mowers as loud as monster trucks. One flipped, one won and hundreds cheered.

On the same ice, motocross bikes flew around the track, leaned so far into the turns that the handlebars nearly glanced the ground.

Don Spearin from Gorham took the lead early in his heat and held on. A friend walked by and told him after, “You spanked ’em, bad.”

The Androscoggin Bank Colisee hosted the first Ice X-Races on Sunday afternoon, a mix of different bike classes and mowers speeding around center court.

The colisee teamed with Hemond’s Moto-X for the event, which drew 500 people. Organizers hope to make the Ice X-Races an annual event.

Spearin has been ice racing for three years.

“Me and my son ride every weekend in the off-season,” he said. “We’re just dirt bike freaks, so we try to ride it as much as possible.”

He credited special Canadian ice racing tires as “what allows me to dump the thing right over” without actually spilling.

Dave Tufts from Minot had snowmobile picks on the front tires of his modified Craftsman lawn mower and ATV screws on the rear tires — the better to skid around corners with, he said.

Every Saturday night from New Year’s to St. Patrick’s Day, he opens his pond to lawn mower ice racing with friends.

“I thought it might be slipperier being man-made ice,” Tufts said. “It was looking good, it felt good.”

Randy Philpot of Raymond figured he had 1,000 ice picks between his four lawn mower tires. A lot of people in the sport have a race car background, he said.

“(It’s) on the edge,” Philpot said. “Something that’s used to go around your yard at 10 mph, you’re going 40, 50 mph on it.”

He took the checkered flag in the mower race.

The crowd had young and old, some in St. Patty’s green.

Charles Thompson from Lisbon brought his whole family out to the event.

“It’s different, it’s not like normal motocross,” he said. “We’d come back.”

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2013 Ice-X Races winners

50cc: Owen Berry

65cc: Caleb Morris

Open 15+ Gold Screw: Luke Beaule

Vet Class 40+ CA Screw: Jeff Swensen

Novice CA Screw: Don Spearin