Oracle Red Bull Racing takes on frozen frontier in ultimate winter race

Oracle Red Bull Racing takes Formula 1 machinery onto Wisconsin ice lake to face off against MotoGP, rallycross, snowmobile and off-road legends in unique racing showdown

Written by Justin Hynes

4 min readPublished on 12.11.2026 · 16:00 UTC

Fincredible racing machines, five world-class racers and one frozen, snowy, ultra-challenging playground. Only one motorsport legend would triumph. Who’d stay frosty enough to win the Ultimate Winter Race?

That was the question asked of Oracle Red Bull Racing when it took Formula 1 into uncharted territory at the Red Bull Ultimate Winter Race, putting the title-winning RB8 up against a quartet of incredible racing rivals on a frozen lake in one of the toughest tests ever faced by an F1 car.

In freezing temperatures of -17°C, Red Bull driver Patrick Friesacher lined up on a specially designed course alongside MotoGP legend Dani Pedrosa, former F1 racer and rallycross champion Scott Speed, snowmobile racer Gunnar Sterne and Pro 4 truck racing champion Andrew Carlson for a unique contest across 107 acres of ice. And at the end of a gruelling high-speed contest Friesacher steered the Oracle Red Bull Racing car to a close second place.

The event, an icy evolution of the original Red Bull Ultimate Race held in Houston in 2024, challenged each competitor to adapt to unfamiliar conditions. The circuit featured different routes and shortcuts to accommodate the contrasting strengths of the vehicles, with shorter inside lines giving the Formula 1 and MotoGP machinery an opportunity to compete against the winter specialists.

For Friesacher, the challenge demanded a different approach to driving an F1 car, with the lack of grip making precision, adaptability and lightning-quick reaction essential.

“Given it was -17 degrees Celsius, we made some modifications to the tyres and ride height. I would use longer spikes like Dani next time, but everything else was fine,” he said. “Compared to Houston, it was tricky because you sometimes went into the corner too quickly, had understeering and no traction, so to do that fine-tuning you really needed to be able to adapt,” Friesacher added. “Everything about Ultimate Winter Race – from the unique course to getting to compete with these great drivers – was a special experience.”

Victory ultimately went to Pedrosa, whose MotoGP bike was fitted with specially crafted spiked wheels to tackle the frozen surface. The 31-time MotoGP Grand Prix winner used the motorcycle's lightweight characteristics to his advantage, building an early gap before carefully negotiating the tighter corners.

“The start was crucial because my bike is one of the lightest vehicles, so I knew if I could gain a gap early, I could be more cautious through the turns,” Pedrosa said. “The second key was the line choice, because the turns were quite tight, so I needed the perfect line to give me the straightest routes. I was definitely surprised how well the engine held up in these conditions.”

Snowmobile racer Sterne brought the greatest experience of racing on ice; the Chicago-born athlete was more than familiar with the treacherous conditions. And to balance the natural advantage of Sterne’s 160km/h machine, the US racer had to tackle the longest route.

“I never thought I'd be out here racing against F1 and MotoGP on ice,” said Sterne. “I knew going into this race that whoever had the most traction on the ice would do the best. I also came in with the most experience racing in these conditions. A lot of the other competitors were definitely finding out that it's a lot harder to hook up on ice and snow; it's not the same as dirt, grass or pavement.”

The performance of the circuit-based machinery also caught the attention of the off-road competitors, with both Speed and Carlson impressed by how the Formula 1 and MotoGP machines adapted.

“Watching arguably one of the best designed racecars ever (the RB8) struggle to find traction was really something,” said Speed, who made 28 F1 appearances with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2006 and 2007 before embarking on a hugely successful rallycross career that include three Global Rallycross titles.

“There’s some real risk with the MotoGP if he lost traction, so to see how he got faster with each lap was very impressive,” added 2020 Pro Mod UTV World Cup winner Carlson.