World Championship Ice Racing Series comes to the ShoWare Center

Mix motorcycles and ice and what do you get?

You’ll find out when the World Championship Ice Racing Series comes to the ShoWare Center 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 in Kent.

More than 30 professional racers will compete on motorcycles and four-wheel, all-terrain vehicles around an oval track on the ice. Racers can go from 0 to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds on the motorcycles and reach speeds of 50 mph on the all-terrain vehicles.

“It’s quick, high-impact, extreme racing, up close and personal,” said Brent Densford, president of South Carolina-based International Championship Events, the sponsor of the event, in a phone interview Thursday. “There is a lot of bump-and-grinding and crashing. It’s very fast.”

Kent is one of 15 stops on the 2009-2010 series.

“It’s pretty insane,” said Densford. “It’s faster than anybody thought you could go on ice.”

This marks the 34th season of the racing series. Gary Densford, Brent’s father, helped start the series in 1976 when about a dozen or so motorcyclists raced at four events at indoor arenas.

The two professional divisions of the series include the Manufacturers World Cup Bikes and the Unlimited Outlaw Quads.

The state-of-the-art racing motorcycles feature lightweight aluminum frames with 450cc, four-stroke, single-cylinder racing engines. The bikes are manufactured by ATK, Honda, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki and Yamaha. Riders install studs on the tires for traction.

The quads are highly modified four-wheel, all-terrain vehicles built and prepared specifically for oval-track racing. The quads are noteworthy for a complete lack of spoilsport rules. That means any engine or chassis configuration is allowed, so long as the machine is rear-wheel driven and no wider than 50 inches at any point.

Nearly 2,000 razor-sharp tire studs are used on the quads for traction.

Amateurs can bring their own all-terrain vehicle to the ShoWare to try out ice racing during the event’s Ice Breakers race.

Amateur racers must be at least 16 years old. Machines must be at least 125cc or larger engine displacement. Riders must wear acceptable helmets and eye protection, high-top protective boots, long pants and sleeves.

Race officials will give the amateur participants 100 racing studs to install in their tires. The studs are provided as part of a $50 entry fee. Another $25 must be paid for a back gate fee to the pits.

For more information about the Ice Breakers race, e-mail info@icespeedway.com.

Fans will see more than 30 races during the night. Four racers compete in the pro qualifying heats. Eight compete in the main event.

“It’s high-energy crazy,” Densford said.

There are crashes as well as injuries. But Densford said the series has been fortunate this season to avoid any major injuries to riders.

“There is a lot of running into each other,” he said.

Besides the racers who compete on the full circuit, local racers also will join the pro division in Kent.

Two of the top riders to watch in the Manufacturers World Cup Bikes division include Jammin’ Jared Mees and Smokin’ Joe Kopp, who is from the Spokane area.

“We expect a good crowd,” Densford said about the series debut in Kent. “We’ve been in the (Seattle) area before and draw good crowds. It’s been well accepted.”

The series heads Saturday night to the Memorial Coliseum Portland.

For more information about ice racing, go to www.icespeedway.com.