Anthony Barlow would like to expand on the idea that everyone’s a fatalist in a foxhole.
Everyone’s also a fatalist when racing around an ice rink on a speedway motorcycle with no brakes.
“You have to be, don’t you?” said Barlow, who races under the name “The British Bulldog.” “One of me friends got crippled a year ago, and that really upset me a lot, but I still went out and competed.”
Barlow, 36, figures that when your number’s up, it’s up. With that in mind, he and other riders will race in the X-treme International Ice Racing AMA Pro Tour at Comcast Arena on Saturday night. The competition in Everett promises to be either life-affirming or death-defying, depending on how you slice it.
“We’ve got to be honest here,” Barlow said. “People like to see a few crashes, don’t they, as long as no one gets hurt.”
The precise history of ice racing is uncertain. Some say it has been around for decades, as long as bikes and icy ponds have been available. According to Barlow, it started at least 25 years ago in a northern nation, possibly Canada. As extreme sports grew in popularity, it found a market in the United States, drawing sponsors such as automotive part manufacturers and, naturally, Red Bull energy drink.
Barlow, a native of Merseyside, England, started competing on dirt bikes when he was 19, and has gone on to win eight racing championship events in his career.
In 2004, he started his own tour with his wife, Marlene Barlow. The couple now lives in the St. Louis suburb of St. Peters, Mo. Their tour, XiiR for short, is certified with the American Motorcyclist Association. The association is treating the tour as a national championship event for the first time this year.
While the tour also features four-wheeler races, speedway motorcycles are the main draw, Barlow said. The small cycles weigh about 180 pounds. By pairing the light bike with a four-valve engine and studded tires, riders can shoot from zero to 60 mph in 3 seconds.
The racers also don’t use brakes. After all, what good are brakes on ice at that speed?
“To be honest, brakes would be dangerous,” Barlow said.
At the Everett event, Barlow will join about 12 other motorcyclists competing in four-person heats. A final race pits the six top riders against each other in a six-lap showdown.
The races require riders to get into the right mindset.
“You’ve got to be nervous to be focused, and if you’re not focused when you’re driving on the ice, you’re not going to do well,” Barlow said.
During his race, Barlow plans to wear some protection. He puts on a helmet, goggles, a cup, a back protector and a Kevlar-nylon suit. And yet, he wears no shoulder pads. He says the mark of a rider is a lump on the collar bone, and mentions he has dislocated his shoulder.
“I can’t go running anymore because I’ve messed the ligaments up,” he said.
In other words, he’s been injured, although never too seriously. Barlow is well aware of the dangers of the sport. While he knows accidents can kill, he keeps that threat in perspective.
“You can get run over by a bus, walking,” he said.
Reporter Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455 or arathbun@heraldnet.com.
X-treme International Ice Racing AMA Pro Tour
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Comcast Arena, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett, $41 for front row, $24 for reserved seating, $19 for general admission adults, $13 for general admission ages 2 to 12, 866-332-8499, comcastarenaeverett.com
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