Indianapolis? Daytona? You can now add Aspen to one of most unique races in motorsports
Aspen, Colorado is known for several things: very wealthy residents, the Aspen Film Festival, lots of snow in the winter and world-class competitive and recreational skiing.
But this past weekend, Aspen added yet another element to its rich history with the F.A.T. Ice Race, the first time such a race of this nature to be held in North America.
With primary sponsorship to kick off the 50th anniversary for Mobil 1, the event featured nearly 50 specialty and rare race cars competed for prizes and trophies on a very slick and snowy track.
F.A.T. International is a lifestyle brand centered around motorsports, with the company’s home base in both France and Austria. The Aspen race, according to promotional material, featured “some of the world’s most exquisite cars racing on snow, embodying the spirit and excitement of the 1980s and 1990s Motorsport era.”
Mobil 1 Brand & Partnerships of North America Manager Ryan Allen explained why the event was so important to the brand, as well as serving as the kickoff for a year-long celebration of Mobil 1’s legacy not only as a motor oil brand for consumer cars, but also for its outstanding history in auto racing and all forms of motorsports.
“As part of our 50th (anniversary), we were looking for unique ways to share both our legacy and our future,” Allen said. “The team at F.A.T. International made short work of a tough question.
“We live for the love of driving, and we’re always eager to create memorable experiences for enthusiasts of all kinds. We (brought) some of the most legendary Mobil 1 cars into a totally new environment, unlike anything the world has seen, made possible by our products.
“This is truly a showcase of how far our brand has come over the past 50 years and how we’re looking to the future – from both a brand experience and product performance standpoint.”
The three-day event was contested primarily on the Tree Farm RFV in nearby Carondale, Colo., and featured both amateur and professional racers who showcased their skills behind the wheel on arguably one of the most challenging track layouts and racing surfaces they’ve ever competed upon.
Among the most renowned race vehicles were the 1998 Le Mans-winning Porsche GT1-98 – which won on a slippery, snowy track surface that day – and the Hoonipigasus, a 1,400-horsepower Porsche 917//20.
The Porsche brand has been synonymous with the Ice Race, which began in Zell am See, Austria in 1952 to honor Porsche founder Prof. Ferdinand Porsche. Mr. Porsche’s great grandson, Ferdi Porsche, is deeply involved with the F.A.T. brand and helped revive the ice race five years ago after several years of being on hiatus.
Other cars that took part in the event included the 914 Safari, Formula Supra, Toyota GR Cup car, Toyota Stout, the Nissan Safari Rally Z Tribute, the Mobil 1 Eurowise UA Overlander Porsche Cayenne, Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, and the 2025 Cadillac CTV-5.
All photos by Stephan Bauer.
One of the chief drivers on hand for the event was Pat Long, longtime Porsche factory driver for more than 20 years. Long is one of the winningest drivers in Porsche annals on a wide variety of racetracks, but the ice race was a first for him.
“The ice discipline is about as far from my background is as it gets,” Long said. “But that part of it is the magic for me. It's a challenge. I always enjoy the technical side of racing, where it's a bit of a chess game. It's a thinking man sport, and it's very much strategic.
“For me, you go out there and you want to attack. You want to have big sideways moments and be sort of creating a show. But the fast way is to know when and where to slide. And I've just been sort of picking up little tips from a lot of guys that I raced with that did learn in the snow.
“I'm a Southern California native, so I never saw snow in my house once in my first 20 years. But excuses aside, I think that I was able to kind of pick it up today and make it to the finals in the all-wheel-drive class and super honored to (earn the pole).”
Having the career he’s enjoyed racing around the globe, it’s hard to find something new that impresses Long – but the ice race certainly did that for the veteran racer now turned race car builder, not to mention a collector of numerous Porsche’s from the 1960s through 1990s.
“There's so many great cars here,” Long said. “I mean, one of the parts I love about the spirit of this race is that they're icons (the variety of cars entered). They're vintage, they're modern, they're electric, they're combustion.”
But there was more to the event than slipping and sliding on snow and ice.
“This is a cultural event,” Long said. “It's about community. It's about people linking up from all over the world, and really creating a pinnacle diverse experience. I think Aspen in itself is an international town. it's somewhere that I haven't spent much time and I've been really blown away by the culture, the cuisine, the diversity.”