Duluth, MN (January 23, 2017) – Coming into the midpoint of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross season, Ross Martin has been one of the hottest riders in the Pro Open class with three podium finishes out of four possible rounds. On Friday night in Deadwood, South Dakota, Martin capped off his return from a rocky start to the season, winning the main event in front of a packed house at the Days of ’76 rodeo arena.
“I’ve definitely been building,” said Martin. I started off a little slow, I came into the season prepared so I don’t know if it was mental or what it was but once I started getting on the podium I got that feeling back that I belong up there and just have to keep pushing.”
The tight confines of the Deadwood track are notorious for laying claim to the best of riders and that was nearly the case for Martin on Saturday night. While there were close calls, he managed to avoid the bigger pileups and race to seventh place in the final and now sits just outside the top five in championship points.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Pro Lite riders Nick Lorenz and Jake Angove, who had to battle through on-track conflict all weekend. Both guys did a great job racing forward on Friday night with Jake finishing fourth and Nick fifth. However, Saturday was rough with the entire Pro Lite final turning into mass chaos.
Lorenz started the event at the front of the field and was challenging for the lead but was involved in a scary incident when he slowed for a yellow flag and was run over by another competitor. After being shot out the bottom of the rider’s track, Lorenz was able to get to his feet with a shredded jersey and skin, but was unable to continue riding.
Angove was caught in a multi-sled collision five laps into the event and had to wait for machines to be separated. He was, however, able to continue the race and finish ninth. Fortunately for both riders, the championship leader was involved in a tangle of his own and they did not lose as much ground in the standings as could have been the case.
The Pro Lite squad is now back in Wisconsin preparing for rounds nine and ten in New York in two weeks, while Martin and crew are already set up in Aspen, Colorado for Thursday’s ESPN Winter X Games.
RACE RESULTS – Round 7
Pro Open Heat 1 Heat 2 Final
Ross Martin 3 3 1
Pro Lite Heat 1 Heat 2 Final
Nick Lorenz 1 6 5
Jake Angove 3 2 4
RACE RESULTS – Round 8
Pro Open Heat 1 Heat 2 Final YTD
Ross Martin 7 1 7 6
Pro Lite Heat 1 Heat 2 Final
Nick Lorenz 2 1 14 2
Jake Angove 4 3 9 4
COMING UP
ESPN Winter X Games / Aspen, Colorado – January 26, 2017
TV SCHEDULE
Episode #7 Deadwood National 2/5/2017 11:00 AM
Episode #8 Deadwood National 2/12/2017 11:00 AM
Live Streaming https://snocross.com/livestream