The Christian Brothers Racing team was in Aspen, Colorado, to compete in ESPN Winter X Games 15 this past weekend. With riders in two of the four snowmobile events (Snocross, Speed & Style) it was a busy event for the team. The Winter X Games is perhaps the biggest event in snowmobiling and the Snocross and Speed & Style competitions feature the best of the best in both snocross racing and snowmobile freestyle.
CBR rider Cory Davis was set to compete in Speed & Style on Friday, January 29. Davis was a number 3 seed coming into the event and was paired against fellow snocross racer Willie Elam in round one. In Speed & Style riders negotiate a snocross-type course while pulling tricks off ramps. It is part race and part freestyle and riders are judged both on their freestyle performance and race times. Davis bested Elam in the first heat with a score of 82.07 to Elam’s 72.33. In round two Davis lost to eventual gold medal winner Joe Parsons scoring a 84.91 to Parsons’ 87.33. This landed Davis in the bronze medal round against Daniel Bodin, where Davis bested Bodin with a score of 100.48 to Bodin’s 86.66. Speed & Style was only Davis’s second event after coming back from a severe foot injury sustained in training this past summer.
“It’s so great to be back with the team and competing on the sled,” said Davis. “Just to be here riding is sweet and winning bronze in Speed & Style is awesome.”
The Snocross competition took place on Sunday, January 30. CBR riders Logan Christian, Garth Kaufman, Ryan Simons and Zach Pattyn were all set to compete. Simons, who has a string of Top 5 Winter X Games Snocross finishes, ran into trouble in his first heat when he blew a corner off the start and re-entered the track at the back of the pack. This landed him in the LCQ, which he won to make it into the final. Pattyn finished 7th in his heat and also landed in the LCQ where he finished 5th – the Top 5 transferred from the LCQ so Pattyn was in the final. Christian finished 8th in his heat and in the LCQ finished 11th, ending his day. Kaufman finished 11th in his heat and then finished 7th in the LCQ putting an end to his day as well.
The 15-rider final was set and Simons and Pattyn were lined up in the back row. On green both came off the line OK but Simons got held up when another rider came off their sled in front of him. Pattyn used the 15-lap final to his advantage and made it up to 7th during the race while Simons finished 13th.
“Starting from the back row is tough,” said Pattyn. “You’re fighting roost and the light wasn’t always the best with the clouds, so I’m really happy to get 7th place.”
“Our team did great this weekend,” said team co-owner Dwight Christian. “This is a huge event with a lot of pressure and the best riders in the world. There aren’t a lot of medals to be had here but we got one of them, so we’re happy.”
Next up for CBR is the ISOC Vision KIA Eastern Nationals at Finger Lakes Casino & Race Track in Farmington, NY, February 4-5, 2011. For more information on Christian Brothers Racing please visit www.christianbrosracing.com.
