To ensure fans attending the Grand Prix Ski-Doo of Valcourt presented by FOX the weekend of February 15-17 anticipate the most competitive daily and final events, organizers of the 31st edition of the Great Quebec Winter Classic are already announcing the participation of some of the superstars that will take part in this year’s competition.

Included in the list are the winners of the last seven of eight Sunday ice oval Grand Finales and the champions of the last two Grand Prix Pro Snocross competitions. Jacques Villeneuve, one of the icons of snowmobile ice racing, will take part in his 29th Grand Prix of Valcourt. A three-time Eagle River World Champion, Villeneuve has also scored three victories on the famed Yvon Duhamel oval track, his last win coming in 2006. Villeneuve is vying for his fourth career Valcourt title, but opposition will be stiff.

Over the years the competition has always been fierce in Valcourt, and this year will be no exception with three-time Valcourt grand winner and defending event champion Dustin Wahl, from Greenbush, Minnesota and 2011 Valcourt champion Nicholas Van Strydonk of Tomahawk, Wisconsin already committed to the 2013 event. The 27-year old Wahl has three ice oval Eagle River World titles on his resume, his last big win coming in 2009, while Van Strydonk won his only Eagle River World Title in 2012 at the age of 21.

Both drivers are in their prime compared to the 59-year old Villeneuve. On the home front, Sabrina Blanchet of Quebec City continues to impress. The 15-year old athlete picked up where she left off last year at Eagle River after winning the 380 Champ class when she captured the Semi Pro Champ title and two Junior World victories. She will compete in five classes in Valcourt.

In snocross action, the Quebec-based SCMX Series riders, as well of those from the Ontario CSRA Series and the American East Coast Snocross Series (ECS), will once again face tough opposition in Valcourt from some of the superstars of the American National ISOC Championship Series. Quebec rider Tim Tremblay and his Scheuring Speedsports teammate Robbie Malinoski will spearhead the ISOC attack.

Tremblay, the 2012 ISOC defending Pro Class Champion and the 2011 Snocross Grand Finale Valcourt winner, will try to regain his Valcourt title from Minnesotan Malinoski who beat him at the finish in last year’s event. Malinoski is looking for his third Valcourt title. His first win came in 2005 when he interrupted Canadian Blair Morgan’s six-win Valcourt streak.

“Valcourt is one of the must-attend event of the season for all ice oval racers. Each year, most of the top riders head to the snowmobile Capital of the World in order to try to add their names to the prestigious list of winners. There is no doubt that more riders will add their names to this year’s event,” said Marie-Pier Lemay, General Manager of the Grand Prix. “Since the introduction of snocross competition on the Grand Prix program in 1999, the organizing committee has always been looking to invite the best athletes in this category. Each year, we get a positive response from the best of the best. To add to the prestige of the Grand Prix is the fact that in the last few years, management from the SCMX, CSRA and ECS Series have included Valcourt as part of their regular schedule in the Pro Open and Pro Lite classes, enabling us to welcome the best riders from each series. New this year, as the highlight of Friday race action, Valcourt will host the final leg of the SCMX/ECS Pro Open and Pro Lite Triple Crown Championship Series, where the top riders from the Plattsburgh, NY and Louiseville, QC events take each other on.”

For three days, Valcourt showcases the world’s best ice oval track snowmobile racers, as well as the top professional snocross riders in North America. Also on the program for the Grand Prix weekend are the exciting motorcycle, ATV and UTV Side-by-Side ice racing competitions and new this year, the Revstar STR stock-car Saturday competition. Fans are invited to attend free of charge on Friday after 3:00 p.m. and watch the Snowmobile Drag Racing Under the Lights competition. Also on the bill is the Saturday afternoon Freestyle Snocross competition. There is also plenty of fun and games for the whole family, including live rock bands, slides and snowmobile rides for kids.

Tickets for the February 15-17, 2013 Grand Prix of Valcourt presented by FOX are currently on sale at the ticket offices at 1-866-532-7543 Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or at www.grandprixvalcourt.com/en/. Until February 13, 2013 inclusively, fans can save $10 by purchasing a three-day heated trackside G Suite pass for just $90, taxes included. Fans of the great outdoors can also benefit from this special offer with a savings of 20% off the regular price for three-day general admission tickets at $45 instead of $55. Accompanied by an adult, children under 12 are admitted free on the Grand Prix site. However, all guests, including children, must hold a valid ticket to enter the trackside suites.

To learn more on the weekend’s activities, go to grandprixvalcourt.com

The International Grand Prix in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec was the second stop for the CSRA National Series. The event took place at the cities snow dump site so there is no shortage of snow and allowed for a large track to be built. This event seems to get bigger and bigger every year as spectators line the massive snow hills to watch the races.

Clear skies and a brisk -16*C was the forecast for Saturday’s Pro Open races. Jamie had an exciting battle in Moto 1 finishing 5th. In Moto 2 he finished 6th placing him in the backrow for the final. Snow dust played a visibility factor on the first lap of the final. Nearing the end of the race, the cold temperatures froze Jamie’s hands and he had a near get off finishing 10th.

The temperatures dropped drastically over night going to -25*C, -35*C with the wind-chill, with snow and wind for Sundays racing.

Jamie decided to jump on his 2012 race sled to try something different as his 2 sleds are set up differently. He strapped on a large set or Powermadd handguard flares to block some of the cold and keep his hands warm.

Jamie placed 5th and 6th in the Motos, again starting in the backrow for the final, which wasn’t too much of a disadvantage on the outside.

He got a good start and was able to stick down on the inside of turn 1 and get up to 6th. He had a great run going but made a couple mistakes and another near get off on the rough track and fell back to 10th.

“The jump into the Pro class this year is a lot bigger than I had thought, all the riders are fast and I need to step my game up to finish closer to the top.” Jamie said after the tough weekend. “I’m going to take these next two weeks to practice and work on some areas before the next race.”

The next scheduled CSRA Event is National Round #3 at the Lindsay Fairgrounds in Lindsay, Ontario February 2-3.

Thanks to All our Great Sponsors: Supertrax Magazine, Byers Equipment Motorsports – Polaris, Dayco Belts, Gamma Sales- Fly Racing, Coldwave, Dragon Optics, Amsoil, Woody’s, Creechers Design, CMSports.com Clean Media – Photography, Powermadd, TekVest, Digatron USA

After 5 weeks since the CSRA Season Opener, the Supertrax/ Byers Motorsports/ Polaris crew headed up to Cochrane, Ontario for the Cochrane Gold Cup.

What should have been a 7 hour drive turned into 12.5 hours, due to a Highway closure from icy/blocked roads from accidents. The team had to detour through Quebec to bypass the road closure and get to the races. The weekends weather went from plus temperatures and rain on Saturday to -7*C and snow on Sunday.

Jamie placed 6th in Saturday’s Pro Open Moto 1. In Moto 2, he got a great start going into the first corner in second place before getting tagged from behind, flipping the sled.

By the time Jamie got the sled upright and controls back in place he was a half lap behind finishing 6th. Jamie started back row in the rainy final and struggled with lines and visibility finishing 13th.

On Sunday, the track got hard which created underlying ice edges. Jamie struggled with the sleds handling on Sunday’s hard track. He finished 6th and 7th in the qualifiers, which put him in the back row for the final. Still struggling in the final, Jamie rode a smart race and was able to salvage a Top 10 finish in 10th.

“It was an off weekend for us, things just didn’t go our way.” Jamie said after the weekend. “I would have liked to get some testing time in over the break but we didn’t have much snow in central Ontario. Hopefully we can get things figured out for the next race.”

We would also like to welcome Digatron USA to the Byers Motorsports team. Digatron USA is a world class company specializing in Data Acquisition Systems.

We will be running their 50 Series instrument, which will provide us with race data to tune the sled for maximum performance. This will be an important piece of equipment for us to be competitive in the Pro Class.

The team is staying in Cochrane this week to do some riding and testing for the next race this coming weekend in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec for National Round 2.

Thanks to All our Great Sponsors: Supertrax Magazine, Byers Equipment Motorsports – Polaris, Dayco Belts, Gamma Sales- Fly Racing, Coldwave, Dragon Optics, Amsoil, Woody’s, Creechers Design, CMSports.com, Clean Media – Photography, Powermadd, TekVest, Digatron USA

Hosted by Outdoor Channel, the 13th annual Golden Moose Awards (GMAs) was recently held in Las Vegas at the Venetian Hotel. Winners of the GMAs are determined by a discreet group of fellow Outdoor Channel program producers. This peer-to-peer evaluation and recognition sets the GMA’s apart from other awards due to the higher level of judging discretion used in determining the winners.

With three submissions, Supertrax Media Inc. was nominated for Best Videography for Dirt Trax Television along with two nominations in the Best Off-Road Show category for Snow Trax and Dirt Trax Television respectively.

Luke Lester, host of the two shows had this to say; “Looking at the caliber of the other nominees for Best Off Road Show and Best Videography, we knew that winning either of the awards would be a great achievement.”

Standing out as the only Snowmobile themed show amongst all other nominees in the given category, it was SnowTrax Television that stood victorious as winner of the GMA for Best Off-Road Show.

“Accepting this award from the Outdoor Channel on behalf of our entire cast and crew was an honor. It means so much to everyone here at SnowTrax Television that our passion and hard work is appreciated by our peers” Luke Lester went on to say: “From writing to shooting to final production, we are dedicated and driven to create exciting and informative episodes that we hope make our passion addictive to all our valuable viewers.”

This now marks the third GMA won by Supertrax Media Inc. In 2011, Dirt Trax Television walked away with Best Videography and Best Off-Road show. “We’re all exceptionally proud of the recognition the shows have received.” commented Vern Putzer, Director of Sales and Marketing. “Winning Best Off-Road show for SnowTrax Television is especially meaningful seeing how SnowTrax is also celebrating its 20th year of production. We are forever grateful to the unwavering support we receive from our fans and from our sponsors; It is what has made the shows the most watched in North America and what drives us to continually improve the viewing experience.”

Celebrating its 20th year, SnowTrax Television is a magazine format show that is packed with editorial content that is tailored to every type of rider. Each episode features in-depth product evaluations, instructional tech tips, destination features along with the latest news in the industry. Affiliated with national broadcasters OLN and Wild TV in Canada and the Outdoor Channel in the United States, SnowTrax Television is the most watched snowmobile show in North America.

For more information and the complete broadcast schedule visit the SnowTrax Television website at www.snowtraxtv.com