Chamonix to kick-off new series

It is also the first-ever round of the Ice Race Series International, a new FIA sanctioned series of ice races, which consists of two events this first year (Chamonix and Sherbrooke in Canada). In future years it is hoped that rounds in Finland, Italy and the USA will join them.

Chamonix is run on totally different lines from the well-established Andros Ice Racing series. Instead of individual performances against the clock, the drivers take part in more traditional races.

With grids of 16 cars at a time, racing for 25 minutes with an obligatory driver changeover, the cars take part in up to six races over the 24 hour period.

Four wheel steering is banned, putting the Andros Elite and Promotion cars on the same footing.

'It makes quite a difference to the car,' ice racer extraordinaire Yvan Muller said. 'We'll have to spend some time working on the set-up tomorrow. But it's a race where anything can happen.'

Muller is the reigning champion, having given Opel their fourth victory with Dany Snobeck last year. Another particularity is that the track is used in both directions, clockwise and counter-clockwise.

'It's quite strange,' Peugeot driver Pierre Colard said. 'It's like racing on two totally different tracks in the same weekend. Nothing's the same when you go round the other way.'

Philippe Gache, who won the race with Muller in a BMW Z3 in 1997, is a Chamonix regular.

'I've driven here nineteen times, or is it twenty?' he mused. His Peugeot 306 has been suffering from serious engine problems in the Andros events. 'I hope it will be OK now with a new engine. For Chamonix, it's reliability that counts.'

Gache will be driving with François Chauche. Although a majority of the competitors are the Andros regulars, as always a number of cars enter just this one event. Mega has entered two of the Mega Glace cars that came third in last year's Andros Trophy.

Among their drivers is Stéphane Peterhansel, who recently finished second in the Dakar-Cairo rally raid in a Mega T3. He joins former rally and F1 legends Ari Vatenen and Jacques Laffite.

Another newcomer is the Saab Ice Racing Team, with Swedish rallycross star Per Eklund driving his Saab 9-3 with Jean-Pierre Jarier and Simo Lampinen.