GP Ice Race, the Coolest Event of Winter, Canceled due to Warm Weather

The GP Ice Race, a European winter festival of great sports and racing cars driven at speed on ice, has been canceled because it’s too warm in Europe.

The GP Ice Race was on its way to becoming a great winter classic. The event dates back to 1928, when organizers in the Austrian resort town of Zell am See (See is pronounced "zay," meaning "lake") decided that skijoring was a fun way to while away the winter.

Skijoring is where you tow a human on skis behind a horse. They did that until 1937, then started towing the skiers behind cars, usually Porsches. Various world events intervened and the GP Ice Race carried on and off until 1974.

Then, Ferdi Porsche, great grandson of Ferdinand Porsche (and grandson of Ferry Porsche), brought back the GP Ice Race. The first revival, in 2019, was just for friends. Then in 2020 they opened it up to the public and 16,000 people showed up to see 150 really cool cars race, some of them towing skiers. Then COVID-19 hit and the event still went on but was closed to the public. Now, with the pandemic (maybe?) under control, warm weather hit. The event just can’t get a break.

“Much of Europe is currently experiencing unseasonably warm weather conditions, with several countries in the continent recording their warmest January day ever on New Year’s Day,” read a recent CNN story.

“By the end of the century [it’s] just going to be over... skiing in the Alps as we know it,” climate science professor Win Thiery told Sky News. “In the future, these problems will get worse, because the snow will continue to melt as long as the climate warms.”

Average temps in Europe are up 14.4 degrees Fahrenheit this winter. Ski resorts, especially those at lower elevations, are closing up for the season. Zell am See sits at only 2461 feet, and just doesn’t have the ice for ice racing.

“It is therefore with regret that we have had to cancel this iconic ice racing event,” said managing director Ferdi Porsche. “The current warm weather system did not leave us with another option.”

“We are beyond disappointed,” said managing director Constantin Klein. “In particular since we had been looking forward to seeing the fans again after two years without spectators. This event runs on passion. But there is no sense in forcing something through despite clear facts.”

Zell Am See is the traditional family home of the Porsche family, so they aren’t going anywhere. Who knows, maybe the event will be back next year. In the meantime, if you bought a ticket, you are automatically getting a refund.