Great day for a race

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Qikiqtarjuaq wildlife officer first to cross the finish line in memorial snowmobile race

The spectacular sight of Jimmy Noble Jr. crossing the finish line in the Bill MacKenzie Memorial Kimmirut snowmobile race on April 6 was as breathtaking as the spill he took seconds later.

Noble’s arms, stiff from the 250-kilometre sprint, prevented him from stopping smoothly. Wide-eyed hot dog venders watched apprehensively as Noble dropped from 80 km/h to zero at the finish line causing the racer and snowmobile to topple over. Neither man nor machine were injured.

The wildlife officer who lives and works in Qikiqtarjuaq could not be reached by press time.

Noble was the first of 20 racers to cross the finish line under a cloudless blue ski. His unofficial race time was three hours and 12 minutes. Ricky Kilabuk came in second some 15 minutes later. Official results from the Nunavut Production event have yet to be posted.

Event organizer Jay Wisintainer could not be reached by press time.

The race was named in honour of Bill MacKenzie, who died suddenly of natural causes at his Apex home last year.

Fifty per-cent of the estimated $2,000 raised from the $100 entry fees goes to the John Howard Society.

MacKenzie was a long-time supporter of the John Howard Society. But close friends were at a loss as to how organizers make the connection between their departed friend and the snowmobile race.

Cody Kenneally repaired the one machine MacKenzie used infrequently.

“He considered them a necessity, just to be used in emergency blizzards. He was not an avid snowmobiler,” Kenneally said.

Bryan Pearson said MacKenzie would have been upset by the use of his name.

“He would have never approved,” Pearson said.