Martin pulls a Monster holeshot and leads the Nielsen Enterprises Lake Geneva National from flag-to-flag; Polaris’ Kody Kamm again tops the Pro Lite field
For more information contact:
Pat Schutte, PR Director, ISOC Racing
Pat@ISOCRacing.com
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. (March 17, 2012) – The premier Pro Open class of the 2011-’12 AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series’ penultimate round (14) went to local Wisconsinite Ross Martin (Polaris), running flag-to-flag in 1st place in front of a massive, sun-drenched crowd at Lake Geneva Resort & Spa for the Nielsen Enterprises’ Grand Finale, presented by Bully Dog. And in the support Pro Lite class chalk up another win for Polaris racer Kody Kamm, who was equally as dominant as Martin in that class’ ten-lap main event.
A small miracle pulled off by the operations guys for ISOC – namely groomer operators Jake Haugh and Josh Pallin – who worked in concert with the Lake Geneva Resort & Spa Mountain Top ski area crew to scrape enough snow off the hill so that the legions of snowmobile racing fans from the region would even have a race to attend!
“We grabbed every last bit of snow off that hill that we could … I mean look at it, there’s none left,” said Haugh, pointing to the brown-topped ski hill. “And what we didn’t pull from up there, we imported from over there (pointing off into the distance). So yeah, given the near 80-degree temperatures here it’s a wonder we were able to be racing this weekend.”
AMSOIL Lake Geneva Pro Open Saturday Final
Right out of a cannon went Polaris’ Ross Martin on the start, pulling the Stud Boy Holeshot and leading the world’s best snocross racers up the ski hill, then extending his lead on the way back down. Martin was on a rail for the entire race, towing eventual podium placers Robbie Malinoski (Ski-Doo) and Tim Tremblay (Ski-Doo) through to the end of the 16-lap contest.
“It’s no wonder I like racing at home!” beamed Martin from the podium as the crowd went nuts for their local racer. “I felt like I had to win for you guys!”
Martin’s Polaris ran flawlessly – a testament, he said, to his team’s efforts getting him prepared for the season finale. “I told my team just to get me out early – and my sled was ripping. Hopefully we can be up here again tomorrow.”
With no question as to who was taking the Pro Open final, Malinoski charged equally as hard to place 2nd, holding off Arctic Cat’s Cory Davis early, then putting himself well in front of Tremblay so the current Pro Open point leader wasn’t a factor for the runner-up spot in the end.
“Ross got out early and man was he on it,” said Malinoski. “I almost came off on the last lap and handed 2nd over to Tim. Both of those guys ran well. Hat’s off to my crew for the job they did prepping my sled.”
Defending Pro Open champion Tucker Hibbert (Arctic Cat) got off to a poor start, but was charging like a madman through the pack – posting the day’s fastest lap time (38.3) – before he wrecked hard at the base of the downhill section. Hibbert was able to get off the track under his own power, but was unable to finish the race.
Noteworthy: Before Saturday’s Pro Open final at Lake Geneva veteran racer T.J. Gulla said this would be his last year of racing, bringing to a close the great professional snocross racing career of Vermont-based racer.
Sledhead 24/7 Pro Lite Saturday Final
Polaris racer Kody Kamm wrapped up the ACSS’ Pro Lite final a day early, pulling two holeshots – including one on a last lap red flag restart – to take Saturday’s Pro Lite main event.
Said Kamm regarding the one-lap restart: “I liked it when it was really rough. Then I thought ‘Uh, oh’ when the groomers came out and smoothed it out before the restart. Thought everybody was going to hit it fast. So I just pinned it off the top, held on and was able to win.”
On the initial start Kamm pulled out from a crowd that made it to the peak of the hilltop turn, charging down the downhill section in 1st place – a position he’d never relinquish. Behind Kamm the sunbaked crowd that packed the Lake Geneva bleachers was treated to a number of great podium-positioning battles, including Polaris’ Colby Crapo and Ski-Doo’s David Joanis. Two laps into the race Kamm began to set the precedence on the downhill section, tripling out at the base where no other rider would. The results gave him an early 39.0 fast lap – nearly a second faster than Crapo’s second-best time of 39.7.
By mid-race Joanis caught Crapo and got past into 2nd, while a charging Derek Ellis (Ski-Doo) made his way up to 4th –and was pressing for a podium finish – when he wadded up and lost a portion of his sled’s bodywork, exposing the engine. Unfortunately for Ellis he’d be black flagged for safety reasons, dashing his podium hopes on Saturday.
With Andrew Lieders (Polaris) moved up to 4th and Jake Scott (Polaris) in 5th, Kamm led a podium charge that included Crapo and Joanis. Polaris’ James Johnstad would rock past Scott to make the top five on the penultimate lap – right before a crash red flagged the race. On the one-lap restart Kamm was untouchable from his No. 1 spot, even though his 12-second lead heading into the last lap was erased with the red flag. Final: 1st – Kamm, 2nd – Crapo, 3rd – Lieders. And the overall Pro Lite point chase got real interesting as Lieders (397), Johnstad (394) and Scott (391) are separated by six points for the third and final podium spot heading into Sunday’s final round.
Lake Geneva, Wis., Pro Open Saturday results
1st – Ross Martin (Polaris), Wisconsin
2nd – Robbie Malinoski (Ski-Doo), Minnesota
3rd – Tim Tremblay (Ski-Doo), Canada
4th – Emil Ohman (Ski-Doo), Sweden
5th – Cory Davis (Arctic Cat), Alaska
6th – Darrin Mees (Ski-Doo), New York
7th – Kyle Pallin (Arctic Cat), Michigan
8th – Justin Broberg (Ski-Doo), Wisconsin
9th – Bobby LePage (Polaris), Minnesota
10th – Mathieu Morin (Ski-Doo), Canada
11th – Cody Thomsen (Arctic Cat), Minnesota
12th – Brett Bender (Polaris), New York
13th – Logan Christian (Arctic Cat), Minnesota
14th – Tucker Hibbert (Arctic Cat), Minnesota
15th – Mike Bauer (Polaris), Wisconsin
Pro Open overall points (after 14 rounds)
1st – Tim Tremblay (Ski-Doo), Canada – 544
2nd – Ross Martin (Polaris), Wisconsin – 522
3rd – Robbie Malinoski (Ski-Doo), Minnesota – 502
4th – Tucker Hibbert (Arctic Cat), Minnesota – 432
5th – Darrin Mees (Ski-Doo), New York – 424
6th – Justin Broberg (Ski-Doo), Wisconsin – 362
7th – Mathieu Morin (Ski-Doo), Canada – 333
8th – Brett Bender (Polaris), New York – 327
9th – Cory Davis (Arctic Cat), Alaska – 316
10th – Emil Ohman (Ski-Doo), Sweden – 301
Lake Geneva, Wis., Pro Lite Saturday results
1st – Kody Kamm (Polaris), Wisconsin
2nd – Colby Crapo (Polaris), Idaho
3rd – Andrew Lieders (Polaris), Wisconsin
4th – Travis Muller (Ski-Doo), Minnesota
5th – Jake Scott (Polaris), New York
6th – Renaud Alexandre (Ski-Doo), Canada
7th – Dylan Hall (Ski-Doo), Canada
8th – Andrew Carlson (Polaris), Minnesota
9th – James Johnstad (Polaris), Minnesota
10th – Corey Watkinson (Ski-Doo), Canada
11th – David Joanis (Ski-Doo), Canada
12th – Joey Sagan (Ski-Doo), Canada
13th – John Stenberg (Ski-Doo), Sweden
14th – Matt Pichner (Arctic Cat), Minnesota
15th – Derek Ellis (Ski-Doo), North Dakota
Pro Lite overall results (after 14 rounds)
1st – Kody Kamm (Polaris), Wisconsin – 557
2nd – Derek Ellis (Ski-Doo), North Dakota – 491
3rd – Andrew Lieders (Polaris), Wisconsin – 397
4th – James Johnstad (Polaris), Minnesota – 394
5th – Jake Scott (Polaris), New York – 391
6th – Travis Muller (Ski-Doo), Minnesota – 367
7th – Corey Watkinson (Ski-Doo), Canada – 358
8th – John Stenberg (Ski-Doo), Sweden – 346
9th – Andrew Carlson (Polaris), Minnesota – 327
10th – Colby Crapo (Polaris), Idaho – 301
Up next … Sunday’s Nielsen Enterprises’ Grand Finale, presented by Bully Dog. Pro racing action gets underway at noon.
ISOC/ACSS photos by Gary Walton
About ISOC Racing
The International Series of Champions (ISOC) is the premier snowmobile race sanctioning organization in North America and sanctions the national AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series, in addition to affiliating with nine regional circuits. Visit snocross.com for more information, fan and racer memberships, schedule details and more.