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After a hectic winter of travelling and competing all over Central Canada, local sno-cross racers put on a bit of a show for the hometown crowd, March 5 and 6 at the Dryden Agricultural Fairgrounds.

For those accustomed to attending the annual UCMA event, it was a different kind of show in 2011. While big, controlled airtimes of years past were less of a factor this year, a twisty, rough and rutted course stretched riders’ technical skills to the limits.Low moisture content resulted in a sugary type snow that exploded over riders and continually reformed the track on a lap-by-lap basis.

Most entertaining for spectators was a straight stretch consisting of eight spaced humps followed by a 180-degree turn, which provided the bulk of the weekend’s carnage.Local semi-pro rider Jordan Szachury said there were a variety of approaches to that section of course that could either win a race or send you to the ground, hard.“You could jump them in doubles like most people were, or a triple-triple double,” said Szachury who grabbed a second place win in the Pro class this weekend. “You’re either going to go super-quick through it, or you’re gonna eat some snow. It’s really rough out there. It’s hard to get around the track. You have to find lines no one else knows how to get to.”

Dryden’s Daniel Shaffer was leading his Saturday afternoon semi-pro heat when he was passed in the final lap. The eight-hump stretch was weighing on his mind with another day of racing to go.“You’ve got to do it perfect, or you’re going down basically,” said Shaffer. “It’s rough. I just managed to find a fast line through there and got second place. It means a lot more here — the crowd, all of our friends are watching. We have to put on a show.”

Official results were not available at press time.

The event drew in the area of 500 spectators each day to the event, along with several hundred out of town racers, crew members and regional fans.Organizer Kevin Szachury says he’d hoped to garner more local business support for the event, saying that he’s received more sponsorship dollars from Red Lake than he was able to gather in Dryden.“They just don’t seem to support it,” he said. “Take a walk through the pits — there’s 400 people staying in town using gas stations and eating at restaurants. Everybody’s making bucks, but it’s going to be unfortunate if we lose it because we don’t have the support from the town.”