SnoCross Championship, Final Race this Weekend.
Seven Down and One to Go; Battle for Season Supremacy is On and Every Race Matters When the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series Hits Geneva
MINNEAPOLIS (March 11, 2009) – Nearly an entire season has unfolded during the inaugural AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series, yet the most important race of the year remains as racers battle for the biggest prize of them all – a year end championship. When the factory teams and standout independents set-up shop along the hills of Lake Geneva, March 20-22, many will face the biggest race of their career as every lap, of every race will have an impact on the year-end final standings.Perhaps nowhere is that pressure cooker atmosphere more apparent than in the Pro Super Stock field, where Garth Kaufman (Arctic Cat) and Levi LaVallee (Polaris) enter the weekend in a tie for the year-end crown. With a total of 195 points each, every race will matter, and with Ryan Simons (Arctic Cat) close on their heels just 10 points back, its anybody’s title to win.
“It should be an exciting weekend,” said Bob Coffin, Race Director for the International Series of Champions (ISOC). “With our scoring system, a racer has the opportunity to capture as many as 37 points in a weekend, that’s if they win both their heat race and the final. With the points so tight, one bobble or mechanical issue can ruin their chances. It puts a lot of pressure on not just the racer, but the entire crew to perform.”
In Pro Open, the chase is not as tight, but the top five are still in the hunt mathematically speaking. Polaris rider TJ Gulla sits atop the pack with 198 points, just 13 points ahead of his teammate Levi LaVallee and 25 points in front of first year pro Brett Bender (Polaris). Close behind are Brett Turcotte (Arctic Cat) and Garth Kaufman (Arctic Cat).
In Pro Women, the margin is relatively comfortable for Soldonta, Alaska racer Carly Davis (Arctic Cat) with 209 points. She sits ahead of JC Hupe – 188 points (Arctic Cat) and April Moritz – 169 points (Arctic Cat).
Davis, Tremblay, Ebert and LePage Face-Off for Semi Pro Crowns
Equally exciting and tension filled is the race for the Semi Pro year-end championships. Here the cream of the crop have been trading wins and podium positions all season long and the close point race atop both the Open and Super Stock standings is evidence of this.
In Semi Pro Open, Quebec hot-shoe Tim Tremblay (Ski-doo) holds a slim 11-point margin over Minnesota native Bobby LePage (Polaris). Close behind them just 15 points out is Dan Ebert (Arctic Cat) and on his tail is Swedish sensation Christian Salemark (Arctic Cat) with only a 20-point deficit.
“The racing action in the Semi Pro ranks has probably been some of the most closely contested and competitive of the season,” said ISOC Owner John Daniels. “Every week someone new steps up to take the win, and just when you think someone is going to break out from the pack to establish themselves, a crash, mechanical or fresh face comes on strong to change it up again. Lake Geneva will be interesting to say the least.”
Such change was evident during the previous AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series race in Hayward, Wisconsin in the Semi Pro Super Stock final. Both Cory Davis (Arctic Cat) and Ebert encountered trouble on the track and finished deep in the field, while Tremblay and Salemark capitalized. A look at the point standings in Semi Pro Super Stock shows Davis with a slim 4-point margin over Tim Tremblay, with Ebert (31 points back) and Salemark (47 points back).
Hentges Racing Leads Woody’s Team Challenge
Year-end supremacy is more than an individual effort on the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series tour. Every member of a national race team must bring their A-game in order to not only win but to simply compete. This reality is what prompted the ISOC crew along with help from Woody’s Traction Products to implement the Woody’s Team Challenge. The Team Challenge is designed to reward the best performing “team” for both the race weekend and the season, and with one race remaining there remains $25,000 up for grabs as part of the year-end payout with $10,000 going to the winning team.
Currently the Hentges Racing effort which fields such riders at Brett Bender, Bobby LePage and TJ Gulla is leading the pack with 801 points, but with points awarded in both Pro and Semi Pro classes, they can add up quickly and teams trailing Hentges such as Christian Brothers Racing and HC Racing are still in the hunt for the $10,000 top prize.
(Pat Bourgeois, ISOC Report #20, March 2009)
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