The annual St. Labre 200 takes place this weekend and competitors have 24 hours to build a go-kart before the races begin on Saturday.
Francois Grenier, Vice President of St. Labre 200, shares the history of the race.
“The event started 15 years ago. Some cousins, friends, family, and my brother decided to pitch the idea of ‘let's build a go-kart in 24 hours and let's race it let's say 200 laps,’ and that's where the St. Labre 200 got started and it's been growing, eight teams the first year and we're up to 24 teams now,” he says.
Grenier is partaking in the fun and is the team captain of his group. He explains how much work and effort goes into the kart with only 24 hours to complete it.
“There's 15 years of design in this kart because we've learned from many mistakes, but at the same time, you'd think over the 15 years you'd get quicker, and stuff would go easier. But it seems that every year there's different hiccups,” Grenier shares. “We tried different little things, and it causes bigger issues, but all in all, we're having fun as a team. A little injury burning our hands here and there, but in the end, we're pretty safe and we're watching what we're doing and we're looking at other teams and having fun with the other teams too.”
This event takes a lot of teamwork to put on and Grenier says St. Labre comes together to make it a success each year.
“My favorite part of the event is just how much the community and volunteers help out and just ready to pitch in wherever we need.”
Event Coordinator, Hughette Vallee, speaks about other activities that go on over the weekend.
“The Boot Toss is my most favorite side activity that we have here at St. Labre 200,” she says. “It is based on a childhood game that I had with my brothers, where we would attempt to swing as hard as possible and then throw our shoes or rubber boots over the house. We have different divisions. There's the ladies, there's the men's, and then there's the kid's divisions and everyone gets his chance to throw the boot as hard and as far as possible.”
Another fun activity is the Excavator Rodeo which is held on Saturday at 1pm.
A gentleman from Townline Excavating comes down and gives kids and adults the opportunity to learn how to use an excavator.
“He gives them little challenges, whether it's moving a rubber ducky from the top of a bucket to another bucket, attempting to go into a small area, or grabbing the tiniest little thing with the bucket and just moving it. Little different challenges that one would do with an excavator.”
The canteen is open all day and Vallee says everyone must try their ice cream.
“It is the best soft serve in southeast Manitoba,” she explains. “I'd like to claim the prize and take the bragging rights for that. I mean, if someone else wants to try and attempt to beat our soft serve, we'll gladly take it as a challenge. But we truly believe that our soft serve is the best!”
Racers will receive a trophy for first, second, and third place. Vallee says winners will also get bragging rights which is huge at Labre 200.
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