Ice racers get formal instruction in Yellowknife

"Yup, yup yup — full throttle, full throttle, full throttle. Beautiful. Now that's fun."

Mike Elhard, an ice racing instructor from Edmonton, is teaching a Yellowknife racer how to properly skid around a corner on a racing track made of ice.

Since 2001, Elhard has been taking part in six different races a year, both on pavement, and on ice.

“Ice racing is a different kind of animal. It requires different skills, obviously vision’s usually diminished with the snow, and obviously traction is just unavailable. So, it's not more dangerous — in fact, I think it's more fun."

Elhard was in the city over the weekend teaching a course on ice racing.

Turns out, pushing hard on the gas like he instructed isn't exactly what racers expected they should do.

“It definitely seems like something you shouldn't be doing, but it definitely works,” says Mike Alix, one of the racers who took the course. “You just have to get over some mental hurdles."

About 10 people signed up for the course this weekend.

They plowed their own track just outside city limits off the Dettah Ice Road.

The event was organized by the N.W.T. Motorsports Club.

It was the first time they've held an event to help teach racers about racing on the ice.