23rd October 2004
Fastest Speeds Achieved on Snow in NZ for the Last 14 Years

The race was held on the Race Line Speed Track on the Friday 22nd October. After 15 days of delays due to consistant poor weather conditions it was decided to abandon the Mangaehuehu Glacier Speed Track and use the Race Line track on the Turoa Ski Resort.

Special Thanks to - Mt Ruapehu Ski Areas, Turoa Grooming Dept, Dave Suckling (events co-ordinator)

Sponsored by- Mt Ruapehu Ski Resorts, Speed Ski New Zealand, MST (Mobile Ski Techncians), Pukenui Lodge, Snowco, American Crew.

After 15 days of continual bad weather at Turoa Speed Ski New Zealand Inc. is confident that the forecast for the next two days (Thursday 21st & Friday 22nd October) will be good enough to hold a safe limited competition on the alternate course, Race Line.

Turoa has had about 20cms of new snow in the last week which has made the Glacier Speed Track to difficult to prepare within the limited timeframe.

“We regret the situation that the weather has put us in but it is really beyond our control and we really want to hold an event”, said ex-Olympian and Speed Ski Association Vice-President David Scott. “The short notice and limited time will mean that the race will run with limited competitors and need to be completed within two days.”

Turoa Ski Area has kindly offered to groom the alternate course for the competition but cannot spare the terrain over the long Labour Weekend. This means that the training runs will commence after a briefing, course set-up and inspection tomorrow morning.

The two day event will consist of training runs and one race run on Thursday and race runs on Friday. Those athletes who cannot make it on Thursday will still be eligible to register and compete on Friday.

All current race entries will be valid plus if athletes want to register on the day on Thursday or Friday they will be able to.

Athletes are asked to report to the bottom of the course assist with the set-up of the course as early as possible on Thursday and Friday mornings. A race briefing will be held on the Giant Café deck at 10:00am both days.

The track record is 144.462km/hr set last year by Rob McCraken from the United States. “The conditions on the ski area are good enough to break this record.” said race organizer Chris Gebbie. “With the help of the Turoa grooming department competitors will be aiming for the New Zealand record which stands at 173.070.”

For further information please contact Chris Gebbie (07) 8922882.
For race information on Thursday or Friday please listen to SkiFM 94.4 National Park or 96.6 Ohakune.

The Race Line Speed Ski at Turoa (marked in pink).