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If you picked up the latest issue of Supertax you may have read our story on synthetic oil entitled: “Is Synthetic Oil Worth It?”

On page 40 of that story we mentioned that a company called Hatco originally synthesized poly-alpha-olefin esters to produce ester-based synthetics for aircraft and automotive engines.

This part is accurate. However, we inferred in brackets that AMSOIL was the same company. The fact is Hatco was not associated corporately with AMSOIL.

These two have always been separate companies and although AMSOIL may have utilized some base stocks synthesized by Hatco, there are a number of different suppliers that could have done so also.

AMSOIL was one of, if not the earliest company to offer ester-based synthetics for automotive engines.

Its research highlighted the unique molecular structures true synthetics possess when compared to petroleum-based synthetics.

Fresh off the ISOC Turtle Creek’s US27 Snocross in Traverse City, Mich., Christian Brothers Racing riders Logan Christian and Garth Kaufman are headed to Tuuri, Finland, to represent the United States at the FIM Snowcross World Championship.

Originally scheduled as a three-race points championship, the Snowcross World Championship format was changed to a one-race event set to be held February 16 in Tuuri. Tuuri also hosted the event in 2011; last year the World Championship was held in Semigorje, Russia.

“Garth and I are really excited to be representing the United States a the World Championship in Finland,” said Logan Christian. “Some of the rules are different, but it won’t take long for us to get our DRIFT Racing/Troy Lee Designs/Arctic Cats up to speed. We are hoping to bring the championship home to America again this year!”

The team will be helped by Bengan Westerlund who will prepare the machines Garth and Logan will race at the event. Unlike Open class rules here, the team will have to run a stock pipe, pump fuel and studs are not allowed.

Christian is used to racing under European rules as he has competed at Clash Of Nations and other events overseas. The event will be streamed live as well as televised on FOX International Channels Asia.

“We are looking forward to racing at the World Championship this weekend,” said Christian Brothers Racing co-owner Dwight Christian. “Representing Arctic Cat and the United States at the event is definitely an honor for us.”

Christian and Kaufman are coming off a tough weekend of racing at the ISOC Turtle Creek’s US27 Snocross. Christian finished 12th in one final after he got hit by another rider and knocked off his sled; in the other ran into bad luck with a 10th place finish. Garth landed a pair of solid 6th and 7th place finishes.

“We had high hopes and a lot of momentum coming out of the last race in Deadwood, South Dakota, where we ended up on the podium.” said Dwight Christian. “We lost a little in Michigan, but we’re hoping Garth and Logy can get it back in Finland and we can carry it through the rest of the season.”

Recognized as the longest snowmobile race in the world, the Iron Dog traverses 2,000-miles of some of the most rugged and unforgiving terrain Alaska can dish out.

Readying for his second attempt at the race, Christian Brothers Racing rider Brian Dick will be on the start line this coming Friday as one half of Team 23.

Last year he paired with his father, Paul Dick, but they weren’t able to finish the race. This year Brian will be paired with 2008 race winner Eric Quam who has a ton of Iron Dog experience.

He has competed in every Iron Dog since 1999 either as a rider or crew and won the race in 2008 when he was paired with Marc McKenna.

He has also paired with multi-time race winner Todd Palin in past events. Team 23 will ride a pair of specially-prepared Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600 race sleds.

The Iron Dog is scheduled to start February 17 at Big Lake near Wasilla. From there, riders will head West to Nome, then turn back East and race to the finish in Fairbanks.

The racers will arrive on February 23 and when they are done they will have raced for a full seven days and traveled some 2000 miles.

The Iron Dog first ran in 1984 and the course roughly follows the famed Iditarod Trail. Competitors race in pairs and riding and mechanical as well as survival skills are essential.

“The Iron Dog is a big race, it requires a lot of resources and effort,” said Brian Dick. “This isn’t a race you enter and win the first time out, you need to run it a few times to learn all the secrets. Last year I was paired with my dad Paul and we learned a lot. This year I will be paired with Eric Quam – he’s won this race and I am looking forward to competing with him.”

“Brian is a smart racer and as one of the engineers behind the Arctic Cat race sled no one knows the machine better than he does,” said Christian Brothers Racing co-owner Dwight Christian. “He and Eric have all the skills and know-how to do well in this race, so the team is really excited for them.”

Old man winter decided to show up just before this past weekends Royal Distributing Cup snowcross in Lindsay, dumping close to a foot of fresh snow in Central Ontario.

The CSRA National Round 4 event, original scheduled to take place in Barrie, had been moved to Lindsay due to issues within the OLG facility.

The Supertrax/ Byers Motorsports/ Polaris team picked up a rider to compete in the Pro-Lite division for the Lindsay #2 races. Tom Adams, from Peterborough, Ontario, came out to race, for his first time on a sled this season, after recovering from an injury this fall.

Tom started the weekend off with a flying start, launching his Dayco belt equipped Polaris IQ into the lead and taking the win in Moto 1. He didn’t get the best start in Moto 2 finishing 7th. In the final, Tom rode a great race finishing just outside the top 10 in 11th.

On Sunday, Tom hit the kill switch in his first moto, falling to last and battling back to 7th. In moto 2, Tom grabbed a good start and was battling for the lead majority of the race. Just after the white flag, he landed awkward and came off the sled finishing 10th.

Getting the last pick in the final, Tom started in the back row in the extended lapped final. Tom rode well but fatigue set in near the end of the race finishing 13th.

Jamie hit the track on Satruday in the Pro Open class taking a 7th in Moto 1. In moto 2, he was running a solid 3rd but got into another rider half way through the race causing him to come off the sled finishing 9th. Jamie started in the back row for the final and got a decent start setting him mid pack finishing 7th at the checkered.

With the sun shining bright on Sunday, Jamie finished 5th in Moto 1 and 7th in Moto 2. He qualified 6th for the final and grabbed the inside starting position.

His IQ racer and Woody’s studs hooked up and got a great start in the final and had him battling for 3rd for the first part of the race.

About half way through the final, Jamie landed in a hole in the landing of the triple in the rhythm section, tweaking his wrist and tossing him off the sled. Jamie got back on the sled finishing 8th.

The team’s next stop will be this weekend at the Grand Prix de Valcourt where Jamie will compete against some of the top Pro’s from around the world.

Polaris cross-country snowmobile racer Aaron Christensen put together three strong days of racing to finish second in the Pro 600 and Pro Open classes at the United States X-Country Snowmobile Racing (USXC) Seven Clans I-500.

The race was run near Thief River Falls, Minnesota, on Feb. 8-10. Polaris racer Eric Gausen earned top-five finishes in both Pro classes, and Spencer Kadlec and Bobby Menne finished in the top eight.

Kadlec came back with the third day’s fastest time to finish third in the Semi-Pro 600 class. Jill Tangen finished second in the Women’s class, Richard Hanson took second in Masters 50+, and Robert Nichols won the Trophy 600 class.

Consistency Pays in Pro Classes

Aaron Christensen, who is from Metiskow, Alberta, Canada, posted three strong Pro 600 finishes as he came home fourth on the first day and second on both of the next two days. Gausen finished consistently higher through the weekend, finishing 11th on Friday, then sixth and finally fifth on the final day. Kadlec got off to a slow start, coming in 17th on the first day. But he backed it up with a 13th on day two and a third place finish on the final day to rise to eighth overall.

Other Polaris racers in the Pro 600 class were: Bobby Menne in 11th, Eric Christiansen in 13th, Joshua Bloomquist in 15th, Gabe Bunke in 16th, Corey Davidson in 20th, Ryan Faust in 21st and Tommy Mulligan in 23rd.

In Pro Open, Christensen had daily finishes of fifth, third and second, which earned him second place overall. Gausen finished fifth in Pro Open, followed by Menne in eighth and Mulligan in 13th.

Spencer Kadlec Rebounds in Semi-Pro 600

In the Semi-Pro 600 class, Polaris racer Spencer Kadlec finished 14th on the first day but improved to fifth on day two and was the fastest in the class on the final day, which boosted him to third place overall in the final standings. Travis Faust was seventh in Semi-Pro 600, Dylan Stevens was 12th, Mark Chesterman finished 16th, Alex Hetteen was 21st, and Scott Chesterman was 23rd.

Travis Faust finished fourth in the Semi-Pro Improved class, Eric Christensen was fourth in Masters 40.

In the Women’s class, Jill Tangen finished second all three days and wound up second in the final standings. Anne Pladson was third, Callie Slominski was fourth, and Jennifer Fuller was sixth. Robert Nichols won the Trophy 600 class while Taylor Bunke was third, Jason Woods was sixth, Nels Wicklund finished seventh, and Jared Christensen was eighth.

About Polaris – Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual 2012 sales of $3.2 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER and RZR side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles. Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the global on-road small electric/hybrid powered vehicle industry with Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Goupil Industrie SA, and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Polaris and KLIM branded apparel and Polaris accessories and parts. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PII, and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock price index.

Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime at www.polaris.com.

Polaris snocross racers Kody Kamm (Hentges Racing) and Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) delivered gritty performances and earned Pro Open podium finishes during ISOC racing at Traverse City, Michigan, Feb. 8 and 9.

In Pro Lite racing, Jake Scott (Team LaVallee) won his third straight race on Friday night and was one of three Polaris racers to reach the podium in the weekend’s two finals.

Pro Open: Kody Kamm Earns Two Top-5 Finishes

In Friday night’s Pro Open racing, Kody Kamm (Hentges Racing) grabbed the holeshot to open the race and ran well throughout. He finished second and was followed by fellow Polaris racers Johan Lidman (Carlson Motorsports) in fifth, Justin Broberg (Hentges Racing) in eighth and Kyle Pallin (Team LaVallee) in ninth. Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) got tangled up with another racer whose ski got stuck in Martin’s rear skid, and Martin finished 14th.

On Saturday, Martin struggled in qualifying and had to earn his way into the final via the last chance qualifier, which meant he started the final in the back row. He delivered an inspired performance, charging through the field to finish third, earning one of the most impressive podium finishes of the ISOC season. Kody Kamm finished fifth to cap off a strong weekend, and was followed by Kyle Pallin in sixth, Justin Broberg in eighth, Johan Lidman in 14th and Colby Crapo (Leighton Motorsports) in 15th.

With just three ISOC National events left on the schedule, points are of paramount importance. After the Traverse City weekend, Martin was tied for second in Pro Open points, Kamm was fifth and Pallin was ninth. Other Polaris racers included: Broberg in 11th, Lidman in 13th, Crapo in 14th, Levi LaVallee (Team LaVallee), who was injured and missed his second straight weekend of racing, in 16th, and Bobby LePage (Cottew Motorsports) in 19th.

Pro Lite: Scott, Leighton, Lieders Reach the Podium

The weekend got off to a great start for Jake Scott (Team LaVallee) as he won on Friday night for his third straight Pro Lite victory. Trevor Leighton (Leighton Motorsports) finished third to earn a spot on the podium, while Andrew Lieders (Lieders Racing/Leighton Motorsports) was sixth and Andrew Carlson (Carlson Motorsports) was 10th.

On Saturday, Andrew Lieders ran well and finished second while Trevor Leighton was sixth and Andrew Carlson (Carlson Motorsports) was seventh. Scott, meanwhile, was knocked from his sled by another racer early in the race and finished back in the pack.

Scott left Traverse City tied for first in pro Lite points, while Lieders was in third and Carlson was seventh. Leighton was in 12th and James Johnstad (Judnick Motorsports) was in 16th.

Polaris Sport Racers Run Well in Michigan

Polaris racers finished 1-2 in both of the weekend’s Sport class finals. On Friday, Polaris racers owned the podium as Zak Mason (Z.M.R.) won, Andrew Lindholm (Lindholm Racing) finished second and Luke Wollenberg (2 Three 7 Motorsports) was third. Jake Angove (Fort Fremont Racing) was fifth, Dalton Johnson (Team Johnson Racing) was seventh and Adam Weiler (Wright and Filippis Racing) finished ninth.

In Saturday’s Sport final, Jake Angove won and Zak Mason was second. Also in the top 10 were Dalton Johnson in fifth, Cole Cottew (Cottew Motorsports) in sixth, Evan Daudt (Daudt Racing) in eighth, and Luke Wollenberg in ninth. Polaris racers dominate the Sport class points standings, including: 1. Angove; 2. Braydon Love (Ducky Racing 444 Motorsports); 3. Mason; 8. Wollenberg; and 9. Cole Cottew (Cottew Motorsports).

In the weekend’s Pro-Am Women’s final, Jennifer Pare (Leighton Motorsports) finished second and Tabitha Bode (Team BSR) took third. Rachelle Fountain (Fountain Racing) was fifth and Jennifer Martel was sixth. Pare remained atop the Pro-Am Women’s points standings, followed by Bode in fourth, Martel in fifth, Fountain in eighth, Martel in 10th and Melanie Acker (Team Southside) in 15th.

In the Junior 16-17 class at Traverse City, Jacob Yurk (Team Vermillion) won and Nickolas Lorenz (Lorenz Racing) was second. In Junior 14-15, Lorenz won, Yurk was second and Freddie Grove finished third.

About Polaris – Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual 2012 sales of $3.2 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER and RZR side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles.
Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the global on-road small electric/hybrid powered vehicle industry with Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Goupil Industrie SA, and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Polaris and KLIM branded apparel and Polaris accessories and parts.
Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PII, and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock price index.

Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime at www.polaris.com.

Monster Energy/Arctic Cat’s Tucker Hibbert was unstoppable at the inaugural ISOC National Snocross event in Traverse City, Mich. winning all of his qualifying rounds and both Pro Open final events.

Hibbert excelled on the wide, boomerang shaped U.S. 27 Motorsports National track held on the grounds of Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel.

Hibbert kicked-off the weekend by laying down the fastest practice lap Friday afternoon, setting him up for the top start line pick for his qualifiers.

He convincingly won both qualifying rounds. In the final, he got a third-place jump off the start in the 15-rider, 20-lap race. Before the close of lap one, he tucked under front runners Kody Kamm and Ross Martin in the corner before the finish line, passed both riders at the same time and made the move stick. On lap five, he blasted a burner of a lap and ran away for his 75th Pro National career victory.

Saturday was deja vu for Hibbert. He set the fastest practice lap, won both qualifiers and went on to win the final by over 11 seconds, proving once again he is the man to beat on the ISOC tour. He now has a 62-point lead in the Pro Open Points Championship.

The ISOC tour will take a one-weekend break before heading into the final stretch of the season. Hibbert will spend his off weekend in St. Germain, Wisc. celebrating the Snowmobile Hall of Fame induction of his long-time friend and competitor, Blair Morgan.

Tucker Hibbert – #68 Monster Energy/Arctic Cat

“The track was awesome in Traverse City. It was nice to have room to race and opportunities to pass. I was surprised by all the recreational snowmobilers we saw around the area. The fans were full of energy. It’s a great location to have an event. It feels awesome to win all my races and set the fastest practice laps. A weekend like this doesn’t happen easily or often. It’s a good feeling walking away form an event knowing you’ve done the best you possibly could. It made a big impact on the points standings and I feel really good. The plan right now is to take a couple days off, regroup with the team and get dialed for the final stretch of the season. We’ve been working super hard and have been on the road for a long time. It’ll feel good to get recharged to hit the rest of the season strong. With all this fresh snow, I plan to get in some trail riding on my new Race Replica for the first time. I’m excited to go to the Snowmobile Hall of Fame this weekend to see Blair and hang out with a few people I haven’t seen in a long time.”

www.tucker-hibbert.com