2021 Soo I-500 snowmobile race cancelled

Perhaps snowmobiling’s most storied race has been cancelled due to COVID-19.

According to Powersports Business sibling publication Snow Goer, “The 500-lap race around a one-mile oval track in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula has pushed forward through weather both sub-arctic and unseasonably warm. It has been shortened by un-raceable conditions and rocked by tragedies, but it has persevered and been held every year since 1969, when Dan Planck, Otis Cowles, Leonard Cowles combined to win the first big challenge.”

However, according to an announcement on the race’s official Facebook page, “We cannot in good conscience host the #SooI500 Race Week in 2021.”

Instead, the 53rd International 500 Snowmobile Race Week will now be held from Monday-Saturday, January 31-February 5, 2022.

The announcement will no doubt be a blow to racing fans and consumers. You can see the official announcement post below: