Press Release –

With just one race to go in the USCC AMSOIL Triple Crown cross-country race series don’t look for Arctic Cat rider D.J. Ekre to be letting off any time soon.

He’s two for two in the Pro 600 class and there’s a huge payout waiting for him if he wins it all. Good thing he’s on an Arctic Cat.

With no National snocross race scheduled and the AMSOIL Triple Crown event being held at the speedway in nearby Brainerd, Minnesota, Team Arctic snocross riders Dan Ebert and Ryan Simons signed up and became cross-country racers alongside Team Arctic’s cross-country regulars for the weekend. It turned out to be a good move because Ebert swept the Semi-Pro classes and Simons was the guy to beat all weekend.

A mechanical problem while he was leading the Pro 600 final stopped him from winning, knocking him back to second behind Ekre to make it an Arctic Cat 1-2 in Pro 600 with Brian Dick finishing fifth and Jesse West coming in seventh.

“We worked with Fox a couple days before the race and came up with a sweet suspension setup,” said Ekre. “My 600 Sno Pro is working so good, it’s a blast to ride. It’s too bad Ryan blew a belt because he was definitely fast. I’m looking forward to racing in Hayward and bringing home the Triple Crown.”

Ebert, a Semi-Pro on the National snocross circuit, swept the Semi-Pro classes showing he’s got skills way beyond those required to race snocross. It was a great weekend and Team Arctic racers won 7 of 18 classes at Brainerd.

“The ability to compete in more than just a snocross arena was one of the goals of this year’s race sled,” said Assistant Team Arctic Race Manager Mike Kloety. “Bringing over some of our top snocross riders along with the knowledge and experience of their crews really helped get our sleds dialed in for the rough endurance track at BIR. The Arctic Cat engineering department, along with our race teams, have done a fantastic job making sure this sled finishes races.”

Next up for the Team Arctic cross-country racers is the final AMSOIL Triple Crown event, the Hayward 300 in Hayward, Wisconsin, March 1-2, 2008.

Press Release –

This past winter has proven to be a good year for the snowmobile community’s Go Snowmobiling – Take a Friend Snowmobiling campaign.

A number of state and provincial associations have worked closely with the ISMA Grant Program Committee and sponsored exciting events where non-snowmobilers went riding for the first time.

The associations stressed safe snowmobiling training prior to each event and included the local clubs in coordinating the effort.

Club members served as guides and the local clubs prepared the trails so the experience was superb. A number of associations held special Go Snowmobiling events for elected officials and influential community leaders.

In a number of cases, directors of tourism and environment were introduced to snowmobiling and by the end of the day they were all smiling and educated on the proper way to ride a snowmobile.

The members also stressed the importance of snowmobiling to the economy and the fabric of the community.

In addition to working closely with the associations and clubs, the manufacturers have updated the family snowmobiling picture album that is available for all snowmobile organizations to use.

The photos feature family snowmobiling at its best and include newly designed snowmobiles from each manufacturer. The photos are available for use in the updating of snowmobile trail maps and snowmobiling brochures.

The photos are also available for use by Visitors and Convention Bureaus, Tourism Departments and the general media. They can be reviewed on the GoSnowmobiling.com web site.

The snowmobile manufacturers are looking to expand their efforts with the snowmobile community in 2009 by inviting non-snowmobilers to enjoy the winter outdoors on a snowmobile.

The manufacturers have joined together in sponsoring the 2009 Manufacturers Spring Sneak Peak show schedule.

The show format allows customers to view and touch the new snowmobiles from the manufacturers all in the same room. Snowmobile shopping has never been better!

Press Release –

One of the world’s toughest snowmobile races has been won by Arctic Cat 9 out of the past 12 years. This is true testament to the durability of an Arctic Cat chassis over the course of 1,976 miles.

Today’s Alaskan Iron Dog Race course starts in Big Lake to Nome and finishes in Fairbanks, making it not only the toughest, but world’s longest snowmobile race. Racers traverse in some of Alaska’s most remote and rugged terrain while tackling the harshest winter conditions.

They wouldn’t call this the World’s Toughest Snowmobile Race, if survival skills weren’t mandatory through white-out conditions, open water crossings and countless unexpected terrain changes.

All competitors in each race class are comprised of two riders aboard two snowmobiles for the safety of the competitors.

Year after year the winning riders choose Arctic Cat. This year was no different for the first place number 14 team of Eric Quam from Eagle River, AK and Marc McKenna of Anchorage, AK who netted an overall winning time of 42:33:40, while the number 18 team of Andy George from Wasilla, AK and Dwayne Drake of Fairbanks, AK finished second with a 43:55:17.

“This is the first year I’ve been on the new Twin Spar chassis; I was amazed at how little energy they actually take to ride,” said Marc McKenna. “Beyond the chassis being durable and well-thought out, these F6’s really have an advantage over the competition because the 600 motor is bulletproof! Something you need to rely on to finish a race of this magnitude.”

Other notable Arctic Cat finishes in the Pro class were the 2007 winners Scott Davis of Soldotna, AK and Todd Pallin of Wasilla, AK finishing fourth with a time of 45:32:07.

Press Release –

What do you get when you take two of the fastest cross-country snowmobile racers on the planet, stick them in the same race trailer, give them two Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600s and send them to the first AMSOIL Triple Crown event? A sweep, that’s what.

Brian Dick and D.J. Ekre teamed up to win both Pro 600 and Pro Open at the Mille Lacs 200 USCC event in Garrison, Minnesota, February 16-17, 2008.

The race was the first of three in the AMSOIL Triple Crown series which features the best cross-country racers in the world competing on the toughest courses imaginable for huge payouts.

Dick topped the time charts after the qualifying sessions followed by Ekre in third and Jesse West in sixth. Cat racers Chad Lian and Jason Kangas were also in the Top 10.

“The new 600 Sno Pro is a sweet sled,” said Ekre. “It’s a totally new and worked really well right out of the box . Like any new race sled, more testing time leads to better results. I think Brian and I showed the rest of the field what we’re capable of this past weekend and what kind of stellar results the Sno Pro 600 can post for the future.”

Riders left according to time in the Pro 600 final and Dick led the entire way until he had to pull over for a blown belt. From there, Ekre took over and nabbed the win followed by second place rookie pro Jesse West; who beat such notables like Dyrdahl and Bunke.

Lian and Dick rounded out the top 10. Dick’s luck was better in Pro Open where he and Ekre went 1-2 in the final with Jesse West coming in fourth.

“We are really proud of all our Team Arctic racers and the results they have posted aboard the new Sno Pro.” said Assistant Team Arctic Race Department Manager Mike Kloety. “With the strong field of talent in USCC racing, it’s quite an accomplishment for a rookie Pro racer like Jesse West to finish in second place. We are really pleased with his performance this season.”

Team Arctic’s run didn’t stop with the Pro classes. Bryce Buchanan won Semi-Pro 600, Kangas won the 440 class, Jolene Bute won the Women’s class, Adam Brandt won Amateur 600, Adam Mach won the Junior 10-13 class, Robert Doty won Fan 600, Noah Arneson won 120 Open and Sara Larson won the 120 Stock class.

In all, Arctic Cat riders won 10 of 18 classes. Team Arctic’s cross-country racers head to the second Triple Crown event in Brainerd this coming weekend, February 23-24, 2008.