Elliot Lake is known as a retirement community but it was anything but sleepy and quiet this past weekend when the CSRA’s Regional Championship Series stormed into town. The community welcomed the intense racing action and supported the event with two days of full grandstands and screaming fans.

Whenever the CSRA tour moves close to Iain Hayden’s hometown of Espanola, the results go decisively in his favour! This weekend saw Hayden sweep the Pro Class to the pleasure of the partisan crowd.

PRO RACING

Iain Hayden (OTSSF/Arctic Cat) responded to a supportive hometown crowd when he pulled a commanding holeshot in the Pro 440 Final and led the race from wire-to-wire. The East Lansing Michigan duo of Joshua Zelinski (Ski-Doo/Team Studboy) and Jon Zelinski (Ski-Doo/Team Studboy) pulled amazing starts and ran exactly in that order to the checkers as did the Grand Veteran of Canadian Snowcross – Ric Wilson (Ski-Doo/Team Vincent) in fourth followed by Michael Vandolder (Factory Recreation/Royal Distributing/Ski-Doo) in fifth.

In Pro 600 it was Iain Hayden’s show again with a powerful holeshot. The rest of the pack had to deal with a motivated Earl Reimer (Polaris/Boss Racing) who carved his way to an eventual second and in doing so moved back Joshua Zelinski to third. Mike Larmand (Factory Recreation/Royal Distributing/Ski-Doo) held onto fourth with Matt Turner (Evinrude/Ski-Doo/Supertrax) on his bumper in fifth at the checkers.

In Pro Open racing again Hayden thrilled the crowd by making a late-in-the-race pass on Michael Vandolder to claim his third victory for the weekend. Millington Michigan’s Justin Walesky (Ski-Doo/Team Flintriggers) was a notch back in third doing battle with Earl Reimer in fourth followed by a fast closing AJ Lester (Evinrude/Ski-Doo/Supertrax) in fifth.

SEMI-PRO RACING

Semi-Pro 440 Lee Butler (OTSSF/Arctic Cat) was a man on a mission this weekend making his mark in Semi-Pro 440 with an impressive ride ahead of Ryan Kenney (Polaris/Boss Racing) who looked stronger than anytime this season in second. Joey Sagan (Factory Recreation/Royal Distributing/Ski-Doo) was back on his game after an injury and ran convincingly to third at the checkers.

Semi-Pro 600 was another Lee Butler show with a wire-to-wire run to the checkers followed – but challenged – by Ryan Kenney. In third place was a new name – Peter Raymer on his Arctic Cat. Raymer is a motocross racer trying his skills in snowcross and looks to be a force.

Semi-Pro Open saw newcomer Peter Raymer from Keswick take his first CSRA Semi-Pro victory. In an unfortunate incident Lee Butler left the track on a stretcher after bailing hard. Hard charger Justin Parnell (Ski-Doo/Parnell Motorsports) pulled a strong second with Ryan Kenney tightly-in-tow in third.

Semi-Pro/Pro Women was again easily handled by Millington, Michigan’s Jamie Walesky (Team Flintriggers/Ski-Doo). Angela Vacchino (OTSSF/Arctic Cat) carded second with (Team Kodiak/Ski-doo) Stacey Orr from Coldwater in third.

CSRA Regional Championship Snowcross moves to Kirkland Lake, Ontario March 5th and 6th

By this time you’ve likely heard too much about the demise of Redline Snowmobiles. An interesting footnote to the story was the insistence by Redline staff of the existence of production Revolt 800s.

In fact, combing through the plethora of press releases sent out by the company, claims were made as many as 50 units were already shipped to dealers. So here’s our request.

If you know of the existence of a Revolt, send us a picture and we’ll make you a hero in our next issue. We’ve gotta think, if one of these sleds exists, it’ll be a collectors dream.

Pro Veteran Age 35+

1. EARL REIMER (POLARIS)
2. RIC WILSON (SKIDOO)
3. JIM SCOTT (SKIDOO)
4. STUART HUNT(SKIDOO)

Pro Open Mod

1. IAIN HAYDEN (ARCTIC)
2. MICHAEL VAN DOLDER (SKIDOO)
3. JUSTIN WALESKY (SKIDOO)
4. EARL REIMER (POLARIS)
5. A.J. LESTER (SKIDOO)
6. JON ZELINSKI (SKIDOO)
7. JEFF FULLERTON (SKIDOO)
8. JOSHUA ZELINSKI (SKIDOO)
9. RIC WILSON (SKIDOO)
10. JONATHAN ORR (SKIDOO)
11. ANDREW SLOOT (SKIDOO)
12. MIKE LARMAND (SKIDOO)
13. MATTHEW TURNER (SKIDOO)
14. BRANDEN WIRTANEN (SKIDOO)

Pro 600

1. IAIN HAYDEN (ARCTIC)
2. EARL REIMER (POLARIS)
3. JOSHUA ZELINSKI (SKIDOO)
4. MIKE LARMAND (SKIDOO)
5. MATTHEW TURNER(SKIDOO)
6. JUSTIN WALESKY(SKIDOO)
7. A.J. LESTER (SKIDOO)
8. JOHN O’MALLEY(SKIDOO)
9. ANDREW SLOOT (SKIDOO)
10. LEE BUTLER (ARCTIC)
11. JEFF FULLERTON (SKIDOO)
12. JON ZELINSKI (SKIDOO)
13. MICHAEL VAN DOLDER (SKIDOO)
14. RIC WILSON (SKIDOO)
15. JONATHAN ORR (SKIDOO)

PRO 440 Stock

1. IAIN HAYDEN (ARCTIC)
2. JOSHUA ZELINSKI (SKIDOO)
3. JON ZELINSKI (SKIDOO)
4. RIC WILSON (SKIDOO)
5. MICHAEL VAN DOLDER (SKIDOO)
6. JUSTIN WALESKY (SKIDOO)
7. MATTHEW TURNER (SKIDOO)
8. JEFF FULLERTON (SKIDOO)
9. EARL REIMER (POLARIS)
10. A.J. LESTER (SKIDOO)
11. MIKE LARMAND (SKIDOO)
12. JONATHAN ORR (SKIDOO)
13. ANDREW SLOOT (SKIDOO)
14. BRANDEN WIRTANEN (SKIDOO)

Press Release

The World Snowmobile Association U.S. Air Force Buffalo National went off with sunny skies and mild temperatures. It was a perfect day for snocross at Ralph Wilson Stadium and a good crowd was on hand to watch from the stadium’s seats.

Like the day before, fans and racer were treated to instant replays and interviews on the stadium’s jumbotron screens, insuring none of the action was missed.

After winning the U.S. Air Force Pro Open class the day before as part of the WSA Eastern National, Warnert Racing rider Steve Martin (Formula XP-S Ski-Doo) made the weekend a perfect one taking victory in Pro Open again on Sunday.

Martin was the top qualifier for the final and when the green flag flew he rocketed off the line, nabbing the Camoplast Holeshot Award once again. D.J. Eckstrom (Red Bull/Amsoil Polaris) and T.J. Gulla (TEAM Industries Polaris) slotted in behind Martin.

Martin set a blistering pace and five laps into the race he was into lapped traffic. The lappers slowed him down, but they also slowed second place rider Eckstrom down and he couldn’t make up ground on Martin, who rode away with the win.

Eckstrom took second followed by Gulla and Robbie Malinoski (Woody’s Arctic Cat). Martin has the lead in Pro Open points with 439 followed by Eckstrom (417), Malinoski (414), Carl Kuster (407) and Tomi Ahmasalo (394).

Visit wsaracing.com for more details.

The response to preregistration for the first annual Canadian Powersports Dealer Expo has been nothing short of phenomenal. Dealers from across Canada continue to call and register on-line daily to ensure they’ll be pre-credentialed when they arrive at Canada’s only Powersports Trade Show. WestJet airlines are providing special discount air fares for dealers flying to Toronto for CPDE. Book with WestJet by calling 1-888-493-7853 and quote QC #2797 for your automatic flight discount.

While the response to preregistration has been exceptional – there’s good reasons for the intensity dealers have shown for the show. Preregistered dealers will be immediately entered in a draw for a European Adventure Vacation, a big screen TV and entertainment system and weekend get-away packages for two. On top of these great prizes, Jim Rasmus, the Powersports Industry’s foremost retail expert and the featured speaker at the Indy Expo for 11 years – will be hosting FREE retail counseling seminars at CPDE. These 90 minute seminars will cover topics ranging from improving your retail environment at your Powersports store to guidance on purchasing retail advertising.

“This kind of information is so valuable in today’s competitive Powersports retail environment. Dealers’ profit margins are being stretched and competition is fierce in many markets. No Powersports dealer can afford to operate his or her business in a vacuum – knowledge is power and Rasmus is Powersports marketing torque for dealers interested in increasing margins and profitability” commented CPDE’s John Hildebrandt.

Rasmus will hold four Retail Seminars throughout the two days of CPDE. Dealers must be preregistered to attend the seminars.

Preregister by visiting www.cpde.ca or calling (705) 286-3304. Show admission is free to preregistered dealers, $20.00 at the gate.

Press Release

Since the introduction of the industry’s first performance four-stroke snowmobile in 2003, the RX-1, Yamaha has experienced consistent growth in sales and market share. The ground breaking 2006 model line has taken the four-stroke platform mainstream, offering all the performance, agility and fun found in a modern two stroke but with the many additional benefits only available from a four stroke engine.

The original RX-1 has been replaced with a totally new line-up of lightweight snowmobiles led by the APEX GT. The APEX family employs a new lightweight, fuel injected, 150hp, 4-cylinder engine, riding in a new Delta-Box 2 chassis. These snowmobiles address the latest trends in rider forward ergonomics but with no compromise to all day comfort. The critically acclaimed Yamaha Mono-Shock suspension now comes in multiple variations and models with one using an exclusive, push button, electronically controlled, Ohlins shock absorber, for accurate on-the-fly, calibration for any riding condition.

The 2006 Snowmobile line also has new models in the ‘rough trail’ categories with bump-sleds like the 120HP Fox Float equipped NYTRO and fuel injected APEX RTX. The touring rider has two models to choose from in the VENTURE series and the mountain specialists receive two completely new powder machines APEX MOUNTAIN and VECTOR MOUNTAIN SE featuring lighter weight and a 16inch x 162 inch x 2.5 inch footprint.

For complete details visit yamaha-motor.ca