FXR is pleased to announce the continued ties with Hentges Racing, one of the most dominant professional teams in snocross history.

Hentges Racing will be racing 16 rounds of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross series as well as competing at the 2013 Winter X Games in Aspen. Athletes Justin Broberg and Kody Kamm have one goal in mind: “Terrain Domination.”

“FXR could not be more excited to be aligned with a first class team like Hentges Racing this season,” says Doug Rust of FXR. “Hentges Racing has a solid team. Team manager, Tim Bender, is at the helm. He himself holds a spot in the snowmobile Hall of Fame. Between Tim and his technical partner Sean Ray, they know their way around the track as well as the finely tuned Polaris race sled. Insert Kody Kamm with his aggressive motocross riding skills and winning past, with the addition of the team’s newest member Justin Broberg, and we will be seeing FXR on the podium this season.”

Dedicated to development FXR’s industry leading world class outerwear is ready to take on the elements and anything the ISOC Race series can dish out.

Solid winners have chosen FXR including athletes and the ISOC race series staff for everything from making snow to flagging races and everything in between.

“FXR is second to none,” says Nate Hentges. “Our team operates on the same principle. We are excited to continue our strong partnership with FXR.”

FXR is the industry leader in world class outerwear dedicated to development. FXR is full throttle addiction. www.fxrracing.com

FXR is pleased to announce the continued ties with Bret Rasmussen as a Team FXR R&D Test Rider.

Rasmussen spends 150+ days a year on snow covered mountains riding and schooling snow mobile enthusiasts around the world.

Rasmussen teaches his “Rasmussen Style” of mountain riding in the most extreme conditions. His expertise in riding in all weather conditions is the perfect storm for the research and development team at FXR.

“We are extremely excited to continue working with Bret who brings his years of wisdom to our R & D team,” says Doug Rust of FXR. “I can’t think of another person who spends so much time riding in the snow. His proficiency on the mountain has already proven that our products are engineered for the ultimate test of standing up to long hours on the mountain with an elite level rider pushing the limits of his machine, body and gear.”

With an emphasis on quality construction, superior fit, fully functional venting and FXR excusive MMT Two Stage Dry technology, FXR is confident the product is ready to challenge new terrain and riders.

“Competitive. That’s the word. We do not want to follow the pack; we want to be the leader. That’s what it is all about,” Says Bret.

FXR is the industry leader in world class outerwear dedicated to development. FXR is full throttle addiction. www.fxrracing.com

Tickets for the 31st edition of the Grand Prix of Valcourt are currently on sale. Extreme sports fans can take advantage of a pre-Christmas special offer to purchase heated trackside suite tickets for the 2013 Grand Prix Ski-Doo of Valcourt, scheduled for the weekend of February 15-17.

Available until December 25, 2012 inclusively, this is the ideal Xmas gift for the whole family. Each three-day reserved seating pass in the “H” Trackside Heated Suite for the Great Quebec Winter Motorsport Classic, can be obtained for just $80, taxes included, a savings of 35% off the regular price of $125.

A trackside suite pass offers an incredible view of all the action on Circuit Yvon Duhamel from the comfort of a heated location, no matter the weather conditions outside.

“This offer is our Christmas gift to our faithful supporters. It is also an invitation to everyone looking to discover the intensity of a race weekend where they will witness close to 200 on-track practices, qualifying races and days-end final races on Circuit Yvon Duhamel over a three-day period,” says Marie-Pier Lemay, General Manager of the Grand Prix Ski-Doo of Valcourt. “The 31st running of the event will again feature all the major series that made this Grand Prix the greatest North-American snowmobile weekend of the winter. Furthermore, we are adding a spectacular snowmobile freestyle show for fans on Saturday and Sunday. This offer will make a great present under the Christmas tree.”

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.

To take advantage of these special offers and receive ticket vouchers in time for Christmas, fans must call the Grand Prix of Valcourt ticket offices at 1 866 532-7543 Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They can also go online and click the Buy Tickets tab to learn more about the weekend festivities, lodging and ticket package offers and order safely online.

Trackside Heated Lodge quantities are limited. Accompanied by an adult, children under 12 are admitted free to the Grand Prix site, but they must hold a valid ticket to access the heated trackside suites.

About the Grand Prix of Valcourt – The Grand Prix Ski-Doo of Valcourt is the great Quebec winter motorsport classic. Launched in 1983, this year the Grand Prix celebrates its 31st consecutive running the weekend of February 15-17, 2013. Some of the greatest names in snowmobile racing have had their moment at circuit Yvon Duhamel in Valcourt, including Canadian Blair Morgan, who won eight snocross Grand Prix finales. Also outstanding is the Wahl family of Greenbush, Minnesota who have earned 13 wins in the feature race finale on the ice oval speedway: four by David between 1988 and 1994, six by his nephew Terry from 1995 and 2003, and three by Dustin, son of David, in 2008, 2009 and 2012. For fans, Quebec’s Jacques Villeneuve recorded the most popular victories in Valcourt in 1986, 2005 and 2006.

Visit www.grandprixvalcourt.com/en/

FLY Racing is proud to announce Tucker Hibbert has signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement to wear its F2 Carbon helmet during the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 snocross race seasons.

Hibbert will debut his new helmet sponsorship at the International Series of Champions (ISOC) season opener in Duluth, Minnesota November 23-25. He will also compete in ESPN Winter X Games as well as select events overseas.

When asked about his new partnership, Hibbert said, “I’ve wanted to get involved with FLY Racing for a long time. I’ve always heard great things about the products and the people involved in the brand. We started to talk about the possibility of working together last year.” Hibbert wore the F2 Carbon helmet during the 2011/2012 snocross season and said, “I immediately knew I wanted to wear FLY Helmets moving forward. The quality of a helmet often gets overlooked by snowmobilers but it’s a critical element to both riding and racing.”

In addition to wearing FLY Racing’s F2 helmet during the next two snocross seasons, Hibbert will also wear FLY Racing motocross gear during select AMA Pro Motocross races. Hibbert’s motocross history includes eight AMA motocross 250 top 15 finishes, four AMA Supercross 250 top 10 finishes, one Supercross heat win, and six CMRC MX2 moto wins. “The FLY Racing brand has a lot to offer and I’m really excited to also wear their gear for motocross,” said Hibbert.

Once Tucker Hibbert finds a brand he likes and feels comfortable with, he likes to stick with that brand. He has raced Arctic Cat snowmobiles his entire life and has also been the owner and rider of Team Monster Energy/Arctic Cat since 2006. “Long-term partnerships are really important to me. I’m excited to know I’ll be with FLY Racing for the next two years and hope to continue to work with them for the remainder of my career.”
“FLY Racing is very proud of its newest partnership and wish Tucker Hibbert the best of luck this season and for seasons to come,” stated FLY Racing’s Rich Kumm.

About Tucker Hibbert – Tucker Hibbert was born in 1984 in Driggs, Idaho and now resides in the town of Pelican Rapids, Minnesota. Throughout his snocross history, he has accumulated 69 national pro snocross wins, six national pro snocross championships and 19 national semi-pro snocross wins. Hibbert has the second highest number of wins in pro snocross history and is the youngest gold medalist in Winter X history with his first gold at the age of 15. He has gone on to win 10 medals: six gold, three silver, and one bronze. Along with his several national championships and a record amount of X Games medals, Tucker is also the 2010 and 2012 FIM Snowcross World Champion.

The operation of Ontario snowmobile trails is solely funded by snowmobilers buying permits.

Ontario snowmobiling does not benefit from any dollars from fuel taxes, sled registrations or other government largesse for regular snowmobile trail operations.

So OFSC snowmobile clubs must rely on snowmobilers buying enough permits – and purchasing them early enough – to pay the considerable start up costs for trails and equipment each fall.

Annual Trail Preparations

32,000 kilometres of snowmobile trails in Ontario don’t appear each winter by chance or by magic or just because snow conditions are right. Virtually every kilometre of trail needs to be inspected and prepped to get it in shape before the snow comes, because after the white stuff falls or the ground freezes, it’s too late to do significant trail prep.

This means that thousands of club volunteers hit the trails each fall to discover what Mother Nature has wrought since the trails closed last winter. Everything from washouts to erosion ruts and from downed trees and new undergrowth to landslides and newly flooded areas (Thank you, Mr. Beaver!) have to be filled, graded, cut and removed – and that doesn’t take into account extraordinary damage frequently left by freak micro bursts, sudden wind storms and lightning strikes over the spring and summer. It’s a massive job even before putting trail signs back up, replacing missing or damaged map boards, repairing or building bridges and culverts, fixing ATV damage, opening gates and fences, and staking fields, water crossings and utility corridors.

Early Permit Sales Pay The Way

And it all takes money – dollars committed before December 1 to get trails ready for whenever it snows. These dollars pay for heavy equipment, professional contractors and operators, loads of fill, fuel, lumber, posts, signs, brushing and chainsaw rentals, insurance, groomer servicing and repairs – the list of work that must be done before winter arrives goes on and on. This is over and above the normal, ongoing expenses incurred by the clubs – groomer payments, bank loan payments, insurance premiums, administration and meeting costs, and all the other taxes and overhead involved in running a year-round business in Ontario.

Ontario’s 217 snowmobile clubs proceed to do all this hard work and incur these bills in good faith, faith that they can have the trails ready on time. Faith that winter will come. And most of all, faith that snowmobilers will support them by purchasing their permits early enough to pay for it all.

Here’s the Deal

Any time Mother Nature is involved, it’s a crapshoot. That’s why all snowmobilers have to stand together: The clubs to get the trails ready early, regardless. And the riders to buy their permit early, regardless. If either party reneges on this deal by waiting to know for certain what winter will bring, bad things happen. If the clubs wait, the trails won’t be ready to ride. If the snowmobilers wait, the clubs won’t be able to pay their bills and certainly won’t have the money to groom. Either outcome would break the faith and result in poor trail riding.

There are no guarantees with the weather. But there is one guarantee snowmobilers don’t want to lose – the guarantee that the clubs will be out there each fall getting the trails ready. And the only way to keep this guarantee in place is for every rider to buy a trail permit on or before December 1st.

It’s absolutely the best way to keep the clubs motivated, active and convinced that doing all this work year after year is worthwhile and appreciated. So what do you want to give you club this fall, a slap in the face by not buying a permit early, or a pat on the back by making your permit purchase by December 1st? Please keep the faith.