Press Release –

Tucker Hibbert again proved he’s just as competitive on snow as on dirt, as he won his second Winter X Games Gold Medal, and sixth overall medal, at Buttermilk Mountain Saturday night. The Snocross event was part of Winter X Games 11.

Hibbert (No. 68 Monster Energy Drink/Arctic Cat) took the lead on the fifth circuit of the grueling 18-lap final, and ran away with the victory. Ryan Simons (No. 67 Speedwerx/Arctic Cat), who led the first five laps of the final, finished second, earning his first Winter X Games medal. TJ Gulla (No. 44 Pirtek/Polaris) collected his second Winter X Games Bronze Medal for his third-place effort.

Hibbert, a regular in AMA Supercross competition, returned to his Snocross roots this season, competing part time on the WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour. Though he had a slow start, the Goodridge, Minn. native, swept the most recent two rounds of the Tour’s Pro Stock class, held at Brainerd International Raceway earlier this month.

Hibbert failed to qualify for last year’s Winter X Games Snocross final and he credited his experience on the Tour this season for the victory.

“I think that made a huge difference,” said Hibbert. “We have some good races under our belts and really got things dialed in. The team just built me an awesome sled. I just put that confidence in the back of my head and rode like I needed to for 18 laps.”

The next race for the WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour is the Eastern National, scheduled for Feb. 10-11 at Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y.

Press Release –

Polaris Dominates Top Snocross Classes at Eagle River

Nick Van Strydonk Wins 4 Oval Titles & Snocrossers Sweep Pro, Semi-Pro

Polaris oval racer Nick Van Strydonk tied a record for victories and Polaris snocross racers dominated the podium during racing at the 44th annual World Championship Snowmobile Derby in Eagle River, Wisconsin, on January 18-21.

Van Strydonk tied a Derby record by winning four class titles in a single weekend on the legendary ice oval.

The Tomahawk, Wisconsin, racer won the Pro Sprint 600, Pro Sprint 500, and the Semi-Pro Sprint 600 and Sprint 500 titles aboard his Polaris race sleds.

In snocross racing, Polaris racers swept the top spots in the Pro and Semi-Pro classes and they crowded the podium in several classes.

“Eagle River is a special place and there’s nothing like Derby weekend, so it’s extra special to win big on Derby weekend,” said Polaris Racing Manager Tom Rager, Sr. “Some of our young racers really stepped up to win big races and gain valuable confidence in themselves and their Polaris race sleds. What Nick Van Strydonk did was outstanding, and it gives him momentum for the remainder of the season.”

The checkered flags and trophies awarded to class winners at Eagle River are among the most coveted prizes in snowmobile racing, and Polaris oval racers earned a large share of the weekend’s hardware.

Along with the impressive record-tying performance of Van Strydonk, other Polaris racers who won on the unique banked ice oval were:

Dustin Wahl, who led fellow Polaris racer Matt Schultz in a 1-2 finish in Formula 1 Open. Jeff Ludwig, who won the Top Gun Champ 440 title. Trevor Fontaine, the winner in Formula 500 and young Dylan Jansen, who led a 1-2-3 Polaris sweep in the 120 class ahead of Kevin Kuklinski and Jake Drexler.

In the World Championship race on Sunday, Dustin Wahl finished second, Matt Schultz was third, Terry Wahl took fourth and Jeff Ludwig finished eighth.

Press Release –

Snowmobile club volunteers across Ontario will be blitzing OFSC trails this winter to check for permits and to promote safe snowmobiling. According to the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC), hundreds of S.T.O.P. (Snowmobile Trail Officer Patrol) and Trail Patrol members will be out in full force to spearhead a massive new effort to promote the OFSC’s user pay system.

“Ontario law stipulates that any sled traveling off of its home property to enter an OFSC trail for the purpose of recreational snowmobiling must have and display a valid permit,” stated Bill Harrison, OFSC Manager of Safety and Public Education. “Many snowmobilers generously support their local clubs by purchasing a trail permit, so we’re targeting the minority who try to cheat everyone else by entering an OFSC trail without paying for that privilege.”

The blitz effort includes a multiple series of new province-wide Checkpoint Weekends, often in cooperation with local police services.

Here, S.T.O.P. and Trail patrol will set up coordinated, on-trail spot checks, similar to what the R.I.D.E. program does. The OFSC is heavily promoting these Checkpoint Initiatives on local radio, on The Weather Network and through the snowmobiling media.

“We’re giving everyone fair warning in advance about the Checkpoints, because there will be no tolerance for recreational sleds without permits on OFSC trails this winter,” said Harrison, “and because the penalties are steep — fines range from $200 to $1,000 plus costs!”

Given that the OFSC and its clubs invest over $20 Million and hundreds of thousands of hours of volunteer hours each winter to operate and maintain snowmobile trails, permit enforcement is crucial. The permit fee has not increased for the past three seasons, because the OFSC believes that strong enforcement is preferable to raising the price.

“It’s not fair to charge more to law-abiding riders who already buy a permit if everyone’s not paying their fair share toward trail operating costs,” concluded Harrison. “There are many places other than OFSC trails that do not require a permit to ride, but we are insisting that everyone who rides our trails recreationally must comply with the law.”

Another new element of this winter’s blitz effort is that the OFSC has assembled special teams of OFSC S.T.O.P. members, who are sworn in as Special Constables and Provincial Offences Officers, to travel to regions where a greater trail enforcement presence is required.

In addition to their provincial mandate to enforce provisions of the “Motorize Snow Vehicles Act”, these S.T.O.P. officers also assist police in sobriety spot checks in accordance with the Criminal Code of Canada.

Snowmobiling on OFSC trails is a tremendous way to enjoy the winter and see breathtaking scenery with family and friends; statistics clearly show that staying on the trail is by far the safest way to ride, but the OFSC encourages riders to get legal first.

Press Release –

Black Magic Powersports/Team Arctic racers finish well at this past weekends United States Cross-Country Snowmobile Racing Association (USCC) Drummers Diesel 100 in Minto, ND. Racers Jim Wilson (#177 Pro), Nathan Potucek (#151 Pro), Arne Rantanen Jr. (#175 Pro), Jason Kangas (#24 Semi-Pro), Justin Morkin (#93 Juniors/Amateur), and Sara Larson (#6x 120 stock & mod) post some good results this weekend.

The racing took place in and around the town of Minto North Dakota. Snow cover was not the greatest, but the Black Magic/Team Arctic riders forged ahead. In the Pro Open class, rider Jim Wilson (#177) was the only racer from the Black Magic Powersports/Team Arctic stable to compete.

The race was a one-lap sprint over the 17-mile long course. Wilson crossed the line in 19 minutes 16 seconds, good enough for a 7th place finish. 2nd through 7th place were separated by only 17 seconds!

In the Semi-Pro 600 Open class, Jason Kangas, the Goodridge MN racer, had another solid run. 1st through 5th place were separated by only 10 seconds and Jason ended up with the 5th place finish.

In the Pro Stock 600 final, Jim Wilson rode his Black Magic Powersports prepped Arctic Cat F600 to a hard earned 6th place finish. Nathan Potucek continued to show improvement with his 12th place finish out of 27 competitors. Arne Rantanen Jr. finished in the 14th position.

The Semi-Pro 600 Stock class saw a field of 27 racers sign up for the day’s competition. Once again competition was fierce as the top 10 finishers were separated by a minute. Jason Kangas rode is #24 Arctic Cat to a 5th place finish.

In the amateur ranks Black Magic Powersports/Team Arctic racers Sara Larson and Justin Morkin were competitive all weekend. Justin went home 1st in the Amateur Fan and 1st in the Junior 14-17 class. Sara Larson took 5th place in 120 stock and a 3rd place in 120 mod.

Points standings after the first 3 races have Black Magic Powersports/Team Arctic racers occupying top positions. Jim Wilson currently sits 4th in Pro 600 Stock and 7th in Pro 600 Open. Arne Rantanen Jr. is 12th in Pro 600 Stock and 12th in Pro 600 Open. Nathan Potucek is 19th in Pro 600 stock.

Jason Kangas currently sits in a tie for 6th place in Semi-Pro 600 Stock and is 2nd in Semi-Pro 600 Open only 2 points from first. Kangas also sits 2nd in points in the 440 class. Justin Morkin has a strong lead in both the Amateur Fan and Junior 14-17 classes. Sara Larson is leading the 120 mod class aboard her Dean Larson/Black Magic prepped mod sled, and sits 2nd in her 120 Stock class.

January 27th and 28th are the dates of our next event. The Stallion 200 will take place just outside the town of Albertville, MN, which is north of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. A large crowd of spectators is expected for the event.

The entire Black Magic Powersports/Team Arctic race team will be attending the event and hope to place well and showcase their talents and the abilities of their Arctic Cat snowmobiles.

Racing on TV Start Friday Night; Snocross Finals Are Saturday Night

Press Release –

Polaris snocross racers – and snowmobile freestyle athletes – have been cleared for landing atop the podium at the Winter X Games, which will be contested – and broadcast – Friday through Sunday, January 26-28.

Eleven Polaris snocross racers are competing for slots in the X games final on the slopes of Aspen, Colorado, where they hope to win the coveted gold medal.

The X Games are a non-points event, but they create the season’s most high-profile event with live broadcasts on ESPN and ABC.

“The X Games are something that everybody wants to win for the bragging rights and the exposure,” said Polaris Racing Manager Tom Rager, Sr. “Polaris race fans should be excited because we have an outstanding lineup of racers in the event, and their seasons are off to a great start on the Polaris IQ race sled.”

Along with the 11 Polaris racers in the snocross competition, three Polaris riders have qualified for the Snowmobile Freestyle event, which makes its Winter X Games debut this winter.

“While the snocross is intense and super-competitive, the snowmobile freestyle is really fun,” said Rager. “Polaris is extremely well-represented by some high fliers who have an excellent chance of winning the first Winter X Games gold medal in this event.”

Since we published a look at the now-famous Scarab snowmobile out of China, we’ve been exposed to more snowmobile links in the Orient.

This one offers a large selection of weird and wonderful stuff we never would have imagined is available. We still think the 800cc Scarab is the coolest Chinese product we’ve seen but some of this stuff just fractures the imagination.

Take a look for yourself.

Here’s the link to the chinese website:

www.made-in-china.com/products-search/find-china-products/0b0nolimit/SnowMobile-3.html.