Kuujjuaq crowd cheers snowmobile racers
on Stewart Lake

George Kauki says he surprised even himself with his victory Sunday at the annual Easter snowmobile race in Kuujjuaq.

Racers tackled a 200-kilometre course on Stewart Lake for the annual Easter snowmobile race in Kuujjuaq on Sunday, (Photo by Dominique Gené)

His machine had the smallest engine of the 15 snowmobiles entered in the men’s category, he said.

“When my little nephew came to me, he asked me, ‘Uncle George, are you going to be first place?’ I said I might be in the top five but I’m not gonna win,” Kauki said in an interview Monday.

The annual race, organized by Kuujjuaq Pinguatitsijingiit Inc., was originally scheduled for April 11 but was postponed twice due to weather and snow conditions on Stewart Lake.

On Sunday, more than 100 people turned out to cheer on the racers — 15 in the men’s division and six in the women’s category.

Both races ran for 20 laps in total, each lap being 10 kilometres long.

Kauki has been racing snowmobiles for 19 years and said the key is to stay focused.

“In the beginning, it’s a very big rush. Everybody is full of adrenaline,” he said.

“You have to be very careful for the first two laps, and then after that there’s a good spread of racers.”

Kauki earned $15,000 for his first-place finish. In second place, David Cooper was awarded $10,000 and third-place finisher Ahoyak Snowball got $5,000. In fourth-place, Diivi Gordon got $4,000 while Thomas Gordon received $3,000 for finishing fifth.

Six racers in the women’s category lined up for the start of the race at 9:30 a.m., after inspections were completed. Cash prizes were awarded to the top three finishers.

Katherine Tukkiapik finished first, taking home the $15,000 top prize, Jessie Mesher came second and earned $10,000, and third-place finisher Minnie Siquaq Tukkiapik got $5,000.

Kuujjuaq Pinguatitsijingiit Inc. published the official race results on Facebook Sunday evening.