Over the course of the two-day event we enjoyed watching professionals and amateurs alike as both figured out how best to navigate the frozen course. Certainly some were gunning for the top time, while others were simply out there to give the fans a show by throwing up huge roosts of snow. Despite an uncharacteristically warm and dry winter, we left feeling like Big Sky is a natural fit for FAT Ice Race and should be home to the event for years to come.

Of course it’s not up to us, so we got in touch with Ferdi Porsche to find out how he felt the event went and what else is on the horizon for FAT International in the near future. Photo by Hagop Kalaidjian, Courtesy of FAT International COOL HUNTING: How do you feel the first edition of FAT Ice Race Montana went overall?Ferdi Porsche: It’s been a few nice weeks since Big Sky where I could reflect on what happened and collect all the learnings and the things I want to do differently next year. In general, I think it was a super successful first edition in Montana.

People had the best time. We were able to transport the vibe that we always wanted FAT events to have to the US. Everybody had a smile, even though we did not have the best conditions in terms of ice and cold.

Of course, it was perfect in terms of sun and the track holding up both days. So yeah, it was a very good first edition, and I’m back with the team cooking the next one. Photo by Hagop Kalaidjian, Courtesy of FAT International CH: One of the highlights from my viewpoint was the diversity of cars, which felt like a step up from Aspen.

How involved are you personally in selecting which cars attend?Porsche: We compiled a list of applicants and then we picked them. Simple! One thing that made Montana very different from Aspen was the use of spikes.

I think we need to double down on that even more; there were still a few cars that didn’t run proper spikes and that’s going to change next year so everybody has long spikes and can go faster. In general the diversity of cars is something unique to FAT events. The ice and snow make everything look fun because you’re not used to seeing these cars in this environment.

Also the snow has the advantage that you can literally put any car on there, whether it’s a race car or a rally car. It somewhat levels the playing field, so you can have everything from a home-built rally car to a proper factory race car on the same circuit. Photo by Hagop Kalaidjian, Courtesy of FAT International CH: Was there a vehicle or driver that surprised you or was there something you didn’t see coming that was particularly exciting?Porsche: Good question.

There were a bunch of really cool moments and some great combos of cars on the ice. The trophy trucks, I thought, were really fun. I didn’t expect them to be that fast with the big tires, because usually you need skinnier tires for ice racing to really be fast.

That was something I found surprising. The whole Mobil 1 squad was really cool. Ryan Turek in his Corolla was mega, a very good-sounding car.

I wasn’t really surprised by the cars because I knew what was coming, but I was very happy to see everything come together. You talk about and work on this for such a long time, and then finally seeing it all click and it feels like the most normal thing in the world that you have an F50 next to some ’60s-era rally car on the same track. Photo by Hagop Kalaidjian, Courtesy of FAT International CH How many different cars did you personally drive over the weekend?Porsche: I only drove Ken Block’s 911.

That was it. But if you’re going to drive one, that’s a pretty good one. CH: On the experiential side, you had some great new partners Nike ACG being a standout.

As you think about next year, how do you hope the sponsor village and paddock experience evolves?Porsche: This was the first edition, so my list of things I want to improve and make cooler and more visually pleasing and more seamless for spectators is long. Basically every single spot on the event side has a note from our team on what we’re going to improve or change. The excitement from all the partners who were there and believed in us for the first year was huge, and everybody wants to come back and think bigger with us, which is a plus. Photo by Hagop Kalaid