By Shereen Siewert
The Wausau 525 Snowmobile Championship originally set for January 2020 will be postponed until January 2021 to allow for upgrades to the track and facilities, according to Wausau 525 track owner Ralph Merwin.
The event is now being planned for Jan. 22-24, 2021.
“We certainly don’t want to do this (not hold a winter event in 2020) but have a number of reasons and are looking at it as positive and necessary change of plans,” Merwin said. “We have put this event on for 15 years and at this time plan to make changes at the track and facilities to allow for continuing races many more years into the future.”
Based in part on feedback from several racing sanctioning groups, track’s 110-foot width will be narrowed, Merwin said. About 25 percent of the clay from inside the track is being removed and will be replaced with black dirt and grass. Drain piping, to help resolve water runoff issues, is also being installed at the track.
“These changes will prohibit our ability this winter to build a World Championship caliber ice racing surface that the sleds and our own expectations require,” Merwin said. “During this construction time we can also finish many of the other projects going on at the facility.”
The Wausau 525 is an annual fundraising race held in honor of Philip “Flip” Merwin, who raced under the number 525 and died in a 2003 crash. Money raised is distributed by “Flip’s Fund” to help critically ill children.
Top photo: Wausau 525 Facebook photo
