Ontario Watercross Racing – Snowmobile Racing

Snowmobile skipping, snowmobile watercross, snowmobile skimming, water skipping or puddle jumping is a sport and/or exhibition where snowmobile racers hydroplane their sleds across lakes or rivers. Watercross consists of crossing water while riding a snowmobile, which is possible because snowmobiles have wide tracks for traction and flotation in the snow. If one hits the water at an acceptable speed (5 mph per 150 lb or 12 km/h per 100 kg of weight) and keeps the sled's throttle open, the track keeps the snowmobile on the surface of the water without sinking. If the rider backs out of the throttle or the sled bogs or floods out, the sled will sink. A sunk sled is able to be revived by cleaning water out of the carburetor, exhaust, spark plugs, and replacing the fuel. The front of the sled is pitched upwards as riders commonly do in deep mountain powder snow. Source: wikipedia.org