Ironwood, MI
Misty Mountain Hop
The 2023 – 2024 ISOC Snocross season has o?cially begun with the opening rounds at Mt. Zion in Ironwood, MI! Unseasonably warm weather made for interesting riding (and spectating) conditions. Mother nature granted us the pleasure of rain from bell to bell on Friday. This made for low visibility, a continuously changing track, and a real notable layer of mud on…everything. Saturday would be clear skies but the mud remained a factor on and off the track for the entire weekend.
Friday was the Dominator, which included 16 riders from Pro and Pro Lite. This head to head, bracket style tournament kicks off the season and a shot at a $10,000 oversized check. Both Jordan Lebel and Topi Posti quali?ed for the Dominator, but did not make it to the ?nal round. No harm done, but it allowed for more track time to adapt to the odd conditions the drivers would see the following day. The Pro Women’s class was regularly scheduled programming. Naeli Lebel had great qualifying rounds (P1, P2) and was feeling good for the ?nal. Lack of visibility did not help her and ?nished P7 after racing nearly blinded by mud and sand. Dylan Lebel raced his ?rst weekend in the Sport class, making the jump this year from Sport Lite. The Weapon held it down and went wire to wire in the Sport Final bringing us our ?rst podium of the season!
Saturday was Round 1 for the Pro and Pro Lite classes. The day started off very promising, with Jordan Lebel and Topi Posti winning their ?rst heat races of the season. Round 2 would go smooth for Lebel ?nishing 2nd, while Posti had an off while leading his 2nd heat race of the day. Topi was still able to grab the last spot on the front row for the Pro Lite Final. Topi would ?nish the day P5 after starting on the furthest outside gate pick and working through the roost from the middle of the pack. Here is where the day took a turn and did not unfold as we had drawn it up. The Pro Final was about to begin, but a shorted wire on the 511 sled caused a brake light issue. Checking the brake lights is a standard practice before each race, and was checked before leaving the trailer. (Think of that phone charging cord that you should throw away that only charges your phone in one speci?c position) Mechanic Kyle Sacket kept his wits, and communicated to mechanic Nate McConnell about the situation. The 2 minute mechanical grace period would expire and the race would begin with Jordan Lebel idle at the start line. Nate ran a staggeringly far distance from the race
trailer to the starting line at breakneck speed with the replacement part. Jordan and Kyle were able to replace the entire seat assembly and get Lebel on the lead lap just seconds before the leaders passed the starting line. This was not an ideal start to the season, but the quick reaction and coordination from the team allowed Lebel to collect starting points and get him in the race. Jordan would gain two spots and ultimately ?nish P12. Nalie Lebel had a similar day to Friday, but a crash would put her at P12. Dylan Lebel had an almost opposite result from Friday. A crash in qualifying would put him in the back row for the Sport ?nal. Low visibility and not enough time would put him at P12. The team will take a welcomed Christmas break this weekend and settle in for the long haul when we return to racing in Shakopee, MN Jan. 12 – 13th. The team showed great speed on all levels, and will surely come to Shakopee highly motivated to put us on the box. Thanks to all of our sponsors for the support this weekend and leading up to the season!
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2023-2024 Team Sponsors
Makita Tools, Ski-Doo, GMC, NTN, XPS, Bob the Cooler Company, Speedwerx USA, SSi Decals, KYB-Enzo, CA Pro Skis, Stud Boy, Bell, Scott, ROX Speed FX, Mechanix Wear, Hayes, Crowell Machine
About Warnert Racing
St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Warnert Racing is the premier team in professional snocross racing and one of the sport’s pioneering “superteams.” The team is modeled after the most successful auto racing operations, managing the day-to-day operations of snocross racers, including sponsorship, transportation, marketing, sled set-up, driver development and technology development.