Press Release –

It started out as a season filled with promise and hope for Team Sportech. During the off-season the team matured, aligned itself with some of the best sponsors in the industry, acquired a top-shelf mechanic and spent hours upon hours training and practicing in preparation for the season to come.

By mid-season the hopes had turned to reality as both Andrew and Taylor Carlson were demonstrating incredible growth on the track, garnered a few podiums both on the regional and national stage, and we’re poised to make a run for their respective year-end point championships.

But then fate stepped in; first with a season ending knee injury to Taylor Carlson after she was pitched from her machine while competing at Brainerd, Minnesota during a national competition; and later with a similar injury to Andrew Carlson as he was poised to make a run for the Semi-Pro Super Stock crown during the last race of the ISOC Minnesota Regional series in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. “You always know injuries can be a part of this sport,” said father and team owner Chris Carlson. “You just never expect to have it happen to both of your riders at virtually the same time.”

Strong Start to the Weekend for Andrew Early in the day during qualifying action in Thief River Falls, Andrew was once again riding with consistency. Qualifying efforts were solid in all three Semi-Pro classes and he had the momentum and the stage set to capture the Semi-Pro Super Stock #2 year-end title in the final the following day by beating current point leader Devin Bertoch in two of three qualifying rounds.

But then during the final race of the day, on the last lap with just one corner to go, Andrew overshot a double and was pitched hard into his sled. As on-track medics assessed Andrew, it was quickly learned his race weekend was over and so too were his championship hopes.

After the conclusion of racing on Sunday, Andrew still netted a second overall in Semi-Pro Super Stock #1 and #2 and finished third on the season in Semi-Pro Open. “The injury not only dashed our hopes for titles at the regional level,” said Carlson. “But we were hoping for strong finishes at the last national race in Lake Geneva as well.” Chris Carlson Sweeps Last Regional; Claims Year End Titles in Both Plus Classes Despite the injury to Andrew, Chris Carlson regrouped and looked for more positive results in the Plus 30 and Plus 40 classes. Chris entered the weekend leading both classes and simply needed a strong showing in both to take home the year-end titles.

Never willing to simply settle, Carlson hit the track with guns loaded and swept both classes, easily claiming both championships. Taylor and Andrew Remain Positive and Focused It should come as no surprise that despite their injuries, both Taylor and Andrew were seen trackside during the final AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series race of the season in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. After watching Chris finish second in the Plus 40 class during the invitational Showdown at Sundown action on Friday, Taylor and Andrew were on hand for the Sunday evening awards banquet to receive their year-end trophies in national competition.

In Pro Women, Taylor finished the season in fifth, despite missing the last four races of the season. And Andrew took home seventh and fourth place hardware in Sport Stock #1 and Sport Stock #2 respectively. Currently both riders are ahead of schedule with physical therapy as they prepare for surgery in the coming weeks. And most recently, Andrew received great news from his doctor – in that his injury is not as severe as originally diagnosed and his expected recovery period has been greatly improved. Both Andrew and Taylor are fully committed to being 100% prepared for the season opener at Duluth, Minnesota, November 27, 2009.

Next Up While the snocross season is over and both riders face a summer of rehabilitation, Team Sportech is poised for even more success and perhaps some exciting changes during the summer months.Visit the newly updated website at www.teamsportechracing.com to stay abreast of the latest happenings.

Press Release –

Front row qualifying positions and a top-five finish proved to be the highlight for Yamaha Factory Racing at the final Pro-Open race of the AMSOIL® Snocross Championship season, held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin this past weekend.

Both Steve Taylor and Iain Hayden successfully put their FX Nytros® through the paces in their qualifying heats to advance directly to the main event with fourth and fifth place finishes respectively.

In the final, Hayden and Taylor expertly harnessed the explosive four-stroke power of their FX Nytros® to peg a lightning fast start out of the gate. By the end of the first lap both were in position to challenge for the lead. With Hayden running strong in second place, and Taylor equally secure in third, it looked like the teammates were both on their way to a podium finish.

Unfortunately, a hapless Taylor found himself flying off the demanding Lake Geneva track after being T-boned by another rider on the 3rd lap. By the time he got back into the fray he was at the back of the pack and finished 13th on the day.

“This was a very disappointing finish to the end of the season, as I believe I was well on my way to giving the team a podium finish,” said Taylor. “Everything was in place for a top finish. I was feeling really pumped to end the series on a positive note, my injured foot was cooperating well, and my FX Nytro® ran like a charm.”

Hayden, meanwhile, held on to his position for the greater part of the race until the unrelenting pounding dished out by the extremely rough track took its toll on his still tender shoulder, an injury he has had to deal with almost the entire season.

By the time the checkered signaled the end of the 14-lap event, Hayden found himself giving up three positions in the grueling race. He still managed to hang on to a respectable fifth place finish, however.

“Considering everything, it was still a good finish for me. My FX Nytro® ran flawlessly. I know I was riding a winning machine, but physically I was unable to use the sled’s power towards the end of the race” said Hayden. “It would have been nice to capture another podium like at the Hayward race, but it just wasn’t in the cards for this weekend.”

Despite the tough-luck finish to the season, team manager Andre Laurin took it all in stride, focusing instead on the developmental progress made with the FX Nytro® over the course of the eight-round ISOC sanctioned championship tour.

“We knew that proving the 4-stroke potential running against the best snocross teams would be a challenge. But we also knew that only Yamaha has the 4-stroke technology to develop and produce the revolutionary FX Nytro®,” said Laurin. “We made improvements to the sled every time out, and at every race the racer’s skill and the team’s hard work paid dividends. While we certainly had our fair share of bad luck when it came to injuries and crashes induced by other riders, we also showed that the FX Nytro® has what it takes to be competitive out on the snocross race track. The Yamaha 4-stroke power is just amazing.”

Everyone at Yamaha Factory Racing would like to congratulate and thank the entire snocross team for their dedication and hard work. Special notice goes to our drivers Steve Taylor and Iain Hayden, and our technicians Adam Robinson, Steve Simms, Jeff Torgerson and Jim Burton for their amazing work behind the scenes.

**IMPORTANT**
 
Unfortunately due to the mild temperatures, snow conditions and forecasted rain over the next (5) days in the Kitchener area, the Ryde-FX Pro Snowcross Races at Chicopee Ski Club in Kitchener, Ontario this weekend have been cancelled.
 
All Hotel rooms that were booked by racers at the race Headquarters Holiday Inn in Kitchener have been cancelled by CSRA. 
 
The CSRA National finals at Horseshoe Resort in Craighurst, Ontario on April 4-5 will go ahead as planned as Horseshoe Resort still has a great base of snow.
 
for more information visit www.snowcross.com

Press Release –

Four Victories and Two Championship Titles

The 2008-09 ISOC Snocross Series ended in the same way it began, with Team Arctic racers taking wins and filling the podium positions on their Sno Pro 600 race sleds.

The finale, held in its traditional location of Lake Geneva, Wis., saw Team Green score four class wins, three Championship titles and drop an exclamation point on another victorious season.

In the Pro classes, Garth Kaufman and Ryan Simons traded podium positions with Kaufman taking second in Open and Simons third in Stock. Kaufman entered Lake Geneva tied in points for the Stock championship, and a win in the qualifying round kept him on pace to take the title. Fourth in the final was a great result, but not quite enough to take the title.

“Garth was the emotional favorite of many race fans,” said Team Arctic Race Manager, Mike Kloety. “After Tucker Hibbert ended his season early with a large point lead, Garth made a huge effort to take command of the overall title. He was close, and we’re extremely proud of him.”

After a season of wins and podium finishes – including a second at Lake Geneva – Cory Davis earned a well-deserved Semi Pro Super Stock class championship title. Showing the depth of the team in this class, Christian Salemark won the class at Lake Geneva while Dan Ebert took third in the championship.

Team Arctic was equally strong in Semi Pro Open, with Ebert winning the final and Salemark in second. But the win proved bittersweet for Ebert, who ended up just two heartbreaking points from taking the class championship.

“Dan won the battles but lost the war,” said Kloety. “Had he not missed the first race of the season due to injury, I’m certain he would have taken the championship. But that’s racing: We won one championship with Cory, but just missed the other with Dan.”

Two classes where Team Arctic obliterated the competition included Pro Women and Sport Super Stock.

In the former, Carly Davis returned to the winning form that characterized the first half of her season to easily sew up the first of what appears to be many championship titles. Taking third at Geneva and second in points was JC Hupe, who rose the occasion with wins in the second-half of the season.

Likewise, in Sport Super Stock #1, Cody Thomsen nailed yet another convincing win to earn the title of Class Champion.

Press Release –

Cory Davis Captures Semi-Pro Open Crown; Carly Davis Wins Pro Women; Justin Tate Gets Long Awaited Championship in Pro Plus 30;

After coming up just one point shy of winning the year-end title a year ago, TJ Gulla (Polaris) who came into the Pro Open final Sunday afternoon with a 15-point lead over teammate Brett Bender (Polaris), was not about to let history repeat itself.

One day earlier, Gulla’s teammate Levi LaVallee had brought home his first championship in Pro Super Stock to the Hentges Racing Team. Now it was Gulla’s turn to do the same on what would be the final race of the year in the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series.

One thing was for certain when the top riders in Pro Open came to the line late Sunday afternoon at the base of the Mountaintop Ski Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Polaris would win the title as Levi LaVallee (Polaris) joined his teammates Gulla and Bender atop the point standings. The mission for Gulla however was simple, finish 13th or better and the title was his.

As racers grabbed a handful of throttle at the start of the 14-lap final, it was Bender who emerged from a turn one tangle involving three sleds at the top of the hill to take the lead as he plummeted back down the hill.

Close behind was Ian Hayden (Yamaha) who along with his teammate Steve Taylor (Yamaha) used the Yamaha four-stroke power to slingshot to second and third respectively. Following the Yamaha duo was Brett Turcotte (Arctic Cat) in fourth, Gulla in fifth and Garth Kaufman (Arctic Cat) in sixth.

In the early going, Turcotte was all over Taylor like a blanket as he tried to take over the bridesmaid position. But soon the blanket turned to a battering ram, as Turcotte pushed Taylor up and over the berm coming into the finish line jump, thereby shuffling Taylor well back in the mix and earning Turcotte a black flag for his efforts.

The exit of Turcotte gave the third place position to Kaufman, who had worked his way around Gulla and had his sights set on a podium finish. Not long after, Kaufman got by Hayden for second and settled into a groove behind leader Brett Bender, who continued to lay down a consistent pace up front.

While the championship was virtually secured for Gulla, he wanted more and executed a beautiful inside-out pass at the bottom of the hill to get by Hayden. The move by Gulla settled the top of the field into their final finishing order, with Bender nabbing back to back wins in as many races, Kaufman coming home second and the 2008-2009 Pro Open Champion, TJ Gulla grabbing the final podium spot in third.

“I knew exactly where I had to finish,” said Gulla as he celebrated his year-end title. “The year started out a little shaky but we stuck with it and got stronger near the end of the season. After losing the championship last year by one point I really didn’t care if I won it this year by one point or twenty.”

Davis Captures Semi-Pro Super Stock Title; Salemark Wins Final

The task for Cory Davis (Arctic Cat) was simple as the Semi-Pro Super Stock final came to the line. Keep Tim Tremblay (Ski-doo), the winner of the Semi-Pro Open championship on Saturday, behind him. In doing so, Davis would assure himself the year-end crown in Semi-Pro Super Stock.

Lining up on the far outside of the starting grid, Davis was along side Dan Ebert (Arctic Cat), while Quebec rider Tremblay chose the opposite side of the grid for the long up-hill charge towards the first turn. As sleds launched from the line, it was the green of Ebert and Davis cresting the hill first. Tremblay looked to disappear over the top on the fly-away jump in sixth, but a parking lot at the top of the hill saw Tim loose more ground as he made his way back down the hill in ninth place.

At the front of the pack, as the field sorted itself out, was Matt Pichner (Arctic Cat) followed by Dan Ebert in second, Cory Davis in third and Swedish rider Christian Salemark (Arctic Cat) in fourth. But just two laps into the 12-lap final, Ebert unloaded while negotiating one of the treacherous downhill portions of the course. That shuffled Davis and Salemark up behind Pichner.

Not long after, Davis slipped past Pichner for the lead, and Salemark followed suit one lap later. Much deeper in the pack, Tremblay was putting on a clinic of passing prowess, working his way up from ninth to fourth by lap seven. As he had for so many times this season, Tremblay was forced to overcome a bad start and was executing the fastest laps on the track by as much as 2-seconds a lap.

With Davis apparently content to ride smart, Salemark tucked his Ski-doo up under Davis with a smooth crossover pass near the starting grid to take over the top spot. Tremblay also had one more pass in him, slicing under then third place rider Logan Christian (Arctic Cat) for the final podium spot. At the line it was Salemark with the win; Davis in second for the year end title; and Tremblay in third.

“Coming into the final I knew where I was at in the point chase,” said Davis after the race. “I was thinking about the championship the entire time I was out there. I was so nervous and Christian (Salemark) was so fast, I just wanted to stay clean.”

Carly Davis Wins Pro Women Title; Justin Tate Claims Pro Plus 30 Championship

In other action on what was the last day of racing on the national tour for the 2008-2009 season, young gun Carly Davis (Arctic Cat) from Soldotna, Alaska took home top honors in Pro Women with another win on the season. In Pro Plus 30, long time pro racer and fan favorite Justin Tate (Ski-doo) won his first year-end championship and notched another victory in the Plus 30 class with a win Sunday afternoon.

The Season Lives On

While there is a lot of summer between now and the start of the 2009-2010 AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series in Duluth, Minnesota, you can stay abreast of all the latest news, rumors and changes in store for next winter at www.isocracing.com

About ISOC – The International Series of Champions (ISOC) is the premiere snowmobile race sanctioning organization in North America and sanctions a national snocross tour in addition to three regional circuits.