January 20, 2004
Lac de Glace
None of us was sure what to expect from the day as we set out in the early morning darkness from Seattle on January 19th. It would be a long day and our expectations were high that our day at the dedicated TeamD test facility, Lac de Glace (Ice Lake) would prove beneficial. Our rented C-130 cargo plane and flight crew were right on time and in just a few hours we were on the ground again and warming up for a day of trials and tuning on the ice.
The temperature was above freezing, about 1.6C (35F) when we arrived about 1:00 PM. The lake was snow covered but the track plowed on the surface could be seen from above as we approached the lake. Very little snow had fallen over the last week and about 3cm of snow blanketed the lake. Once on the lake the course was harder to see but was outlined by small snow banks on either side of its 12m width. Several concentric tracks were available but the largest outer track was most interesting. There were two curves which had ice damage on the inside resulting in a long puddle and large chunks of ice so we worked around that by using what could be considered the pit lane to avoid the spots. In all our test track measured 1.9km (1.18 miles), with the start/finish at one end and the furthest point half that length down the lake.
None of us has that much experience with lakes that freeze so initially we were nervous about the soundness of the ice. We jumped and stomped like fools, examined the parts of the track that had holes torn in the ice at apexes and soon convinced ourselves that the ice was plenty thick.
The precise details of our driving and equipment test methodology is, of course, confidential information. What I can tell you is that it was totally awesome! The first few laps were exercises in finding the right path through the snowy track and then it was a simple matter of following the tracks. The somewhat slippery snow gave way to more predictable ice below after a dozen trips around. We began to learn the track and increased from slow second gear laps to faster laps that saw more third gear. As speed increased it became clear which driving lines worked and which didn't as the unforgiving surface was quick to show us our errors. Within the first hour all of us were very comfortable and loving every minute.
For tough winter driving like the Alcan Rally there is only one winter tire choice, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta. Jim's Subaru WRX has Hakkapeliitta 1's. My BMW 325iX has new Hakkapeliitta 2's that I've been breaking in. I recently switched from narrow, Hakkapeliitta 10's which are excellent for deep snow to the wider Hakkapeliitta 2's which are better suited for the compact snow and ice that we'll see on the Alcan. We expect the Hakka 2's to give excellent performance on the ice racing portions of the rally. Steve and I burned lap after lap dialing in our tire pressure settings on the BMW. It is amazing the huge difference in traction that a little change in pressure makes.
I love the sure footed feel of my BMW 325iX, the feedback that it gives through the steering and throttle and am very comfortable making it do what I want. After I drove my BMW 325iX until I was comfortable, I took some laps in Jim's WRX. Wow, what a difference. Switching to the WRX was a massive change and one that took some getting used to. The horsepower on demand and easier steering takes a light touch through the corners. I finally figured it out fine enough to stay on the track but boy do I prefer my BMW.
It is rare that you can spend enough time on a track to run out of setups to test and energy to drive. After four hours and almost 80 miles on the track we found ourselves standing in the fading light realizing that it was done. We rolled back to terra firma, loaded up for the trip home and took one last long look at our Lac de Glace. We all agreed, it was an excellent warmup for the long cold rally ahead.
Eric