Chance to learn car control on ice

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This article was published 02/01/2018 (2998 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lake Winnipeg will be buzzing with Benzes again this February.

Mercedes-Benz is returning to Gimli with its AMG Winter Sporting tour, offering customers the chance to learn car control on racetracks groomed onto Lake Winnipeg near the Lakeview Resort and Conference Centre Gimli, which is the event’s host hotel.

“Last February was the first time AMG Winter Sporting was held outside Sweden, and the response and feedback from our participants was overwhelmingly positive,” said Danny Kok, chief instructor.

Kok said many of the registrants so far are returning customers, who will be bringing friends.

“As a result, registrations are much further ahead than this time in 2017.”

Lakeview Resort general manager Michael Lazer said AMG Winter Sporting provides a major boost to the area’s winter economy, and credited the program with an upsurge in activity that will really take off this year.

“That had a large factor to do with it, but the chamber of commerce and the council have been working to rebrand Gimli and give a push for winter activities in the Interlake,” he said. “The city is discovering, on top of AMG, there’s a lot of things to do out here in winter.”

Another noteworthy addition to Gimli’s winter economy will be Raw:Gimli, which expands the Raw:almond experience of winter dining on ice from The Forks in Winnipeg, to Lake Winnipeg.

“The contractor was starting to lay out some of the tracks (for the AMG program), and with all the ice-fishing shacks, and now with the main structure for Raw, there’s a small village going on. It’s unbelievable.

“We’re just doing everything we can to get heads into beds, so to speak. We have a new chef that’s turned the dining room 180 degrees,” Lazer said, crediting his chef and Travel Manitoba for attracting Raw to the area.

The AMG program, which last year attracted customers from all over North America, including Mexico, runs from Feb. 1 to 27, with prices ranging from $2,995 to $5,995. Lazer said reservations this year show the event is once again pulling in people from all three North American countries.

New for 2018 are two programs designed for customers seeking a little more, or a little less.

First is the AMG winter sporting PRO course, a three-day offering that gives each participant a car for the duration, instead of sharing cars and seat time with other drivers.

It is limited to 15 participants, and ends with a team endurance race. It is priced at $5,995.

Also new is a two-day AMG Winter Sporting performance course, which is designed for customers with less time to devote to the program. The price is $2,995.

Prices include accommodation, transportation to and from Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, and all meals.

Cars featured in 2018 include the Mercedes-AMG E 63 S, Mercedes-AMG C 63 S and Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4Matic. Kok said spaces are still available at mbdrivingacademy.ca.

kelly.taylor@freepress.mb.ca