The Summer Snow Mobile Grand Prix is set for mid-June 2027 at Sairaalanniemi, on the edge of the centre. The promoter expects 5,000 to 6,000 visitors.
Next summer a snowmobile race will be run on open water in the middle of Rovaniemi. The Summer Snow Mobile Grand Prix is a Finnish championship level event, and it will be driven on the Kemijoki by Sairaalanniemi and Nätynginnokka, on the edge of the city centre. The race is set for mid-June 2027. Promoter Arto Tuisku has not yet given the exact day, so there is nothing to build a trip around yet.
Tuisku says the point is to put the sport where people already are. “I want to bring events out among people. Being easy to get to matters, so that it is easy to set off,” he says. He has skied to a marathon finish line in the centre of Rovaniemi himself and calls that an experience. “To me this is a kind of art. We are bringing an event like this to a place where nobody has ever thought it could be done.”
Last spring Tuisku applied to the city authorities for permits for two races at Lainaanranta, the riverside on the other side of the centre where his winter events have been held: a winter race in March and a race next summer. The summer permit came, but for a different place. “At first it annoyed me that the water race could not be given a permit. Why can a fine spot not be used?” Tuisku says. He says he got fed up, and that the discussion with city officials turned harsh, to the point where he said he would not organise the winter event either. Over the summer he changed his mind. “I walked around the centre and mapped new places. Then, through a lot of wrangling, we now have a permit and a really nice place.”
Pertti Onkalo, technical director of the City of Rovaniemi, says the city had to look into a number of things before the permit, and that Lainaanranta would be a dangerous place for snowmobiles in summer. “The river has its own challenges, and there are currents at Lainaanranta that cause safety risks. There is also other activity there, such as a boat jetty and events,” Onkalo says. He adds that the city thinks summer events like this are worth having, and that they attract locals and hopefully visitors as well.
Summer snowmobile racing is not new, but this spot is
Championship level watercross, in which snowmobiles are driven across open water, has been raced in Rovaniemi in summer before. It has been held at the village of Hirvas, about 20 km from the centre. Tuisku’s own races have been winter events at Lainaanranta, run four times, in 2018, 2019, 2025 and 2026. The most recent one, on 14 March 2026 under the name Snow Mobile Grand Prix, drew 88 riders in 15 classes, according to the results archive of the Finnish Motorcycle Federation.
The winter race in March 2027 will not happen. Tuisku holds a permit for Lainaanranta, but says he no longer has the time to put the event together.
Date The race is in mid-June 2027. The exact day has not been announced, so there is nothing to put in a calendar yet.
Tickets The organiser has not said what entry costs, or whether watching is free.
Programme The classes and the running order have not been published.
Winter race The March event at Lainaanranta is not being held, although the permit for it exists.
Sairaalanniemi and Nätynginnokka are on the river at the edge of the centre, which is the whole idea: this is a race you reach on foot from a city hotel rather than one you drive out to. Tuisku expects 5,000 to 6,000 visitors, which is worth knowing when you book a room for a mid-June weekend in Rovaniemi. Our Rovaniemi guide covers where to stay and what else there is to do in the city, and our summer pages cover the rest of the season.
If you would rather see snowmobiles on snow, the Finnish snowcross championship season opens in Rovaniemi at Ounaspaviljonki on 5–7 February 2027, on a track that is being built from scratch for the winter.