Jim Adema
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Jim Adema | |
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| Born | January 29, 1942 |
| Died | December 14, 1975 (aged 33) |
| Cause of death | Snowmobile Accident |
| Known for | Snowmobile racing |
Jim Adema is snowmobile racing star of the first half of the 1970s. He was inducted in the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in 1988. An independent oval race driver, Adema claimed a record setting number of won races from 1970 to 1975, all of them while racing on one of his modified Sno-Jets, all ThunderJets models.
Collaborating with Sno-Jet's Advanced Research Team in 1970, Adema tested and advised on how to improve the new ThunderJet racer, at that time unstable and not competitive. His effort helped the design team develop the 1972 oval track racing sled that was laughed at at first. It's flat silhouettes was dubbed 'roadkill' or 'ThunderChicken' . After several winning races where Jim hung to the inside of the track while others were wasting in the banks, he started a trend later adopted by all competitors.
Capable of winning in all classes, thanks to major improvements in traction and handling. He personally won the Kawartha Cup in 1972 and is remembered for sweeping all classes, sometimes by lapping all the way up to the second racer. His company Belmont Engineering introduced many features to the sport in the then fast-changing technology known by manufacturers in these booming years: lightweight alloys, tungsten studs and runners, tapered tunnel for snow clearance, extra low center of gravity and offset engine placement, ergonomic steering and several safety feature like twin density foam seats that prevented high Gs impacts on a racer spine when a bump was hit at high speed.
Lack of snow and the OPEC oil crisis affected the entire industry Adema switched to Yamaha and was beginning another chapter of his career when an accident in swirling snow dust at the season opener on December 14, 1975, ended his life while racing in the motorsport he helped develop.
Death
On December 14, 1975 at Ironwood, MI during a race in wet snow with rapidly approaching darkness, Jim Adema clipped the vehicle of fellow racer Dick Trickle and lost control, throwing him off an estimated 100 feet. Adema got back up to his feet but Yvon Duhamel, unable to avoid a collision, struck Adema at a speed of 70 mph. A second machine, driven by Joe Wolfe also struck Adema.
A few hours later, Adema was announced dead on arrival at Memorial Hospital in Ashland, Wisconsin. Marking the first professional snowmobile racing fatality in the sport’s history.
References
- Dancz, Richard. "Memorial for Jim Adema", Ludington Daily News, Ludington, December 24, 1975. Retrieved on 15 March 2015.