BUFFALO RIVER RACE PARK- FARGO ND. (December 12, 2015) – Gray skies cool temps and fairly rough track conditions make the course challenging for the riders to navigate in Round 4 of the season.  Close battles and a few unexpected finishes have tightened up the points in the Pro Open class with two riders tied for 1st (Tucker Hibbert(68) and Kody Kamm(53).

Pro Lite had no shortage of action in Round 3, home town rider, James Johnstad(14) took home the hardware last night with his first win of the season followed by Shane Sewell(219) the newcomer from the land of motocross landing a podium finish.

It is going to be a great day of racing for Round 4 of the 2015-2016 Season.

Working hard to go faster, race cleaner and bring home the win is the goal of any racer especially in front of the local crowd. Rider James Johnstad(14) did just that in day one of competition, however Johnstad had some troubles in the first heat while trying for an aggressive inside pass which forced him off the sled and out of a top five finish. Points leader Montana Jess(765) proved that he has regrouped from the 9th place finish in last nights final by taking the win in Heat 1.

In an effort to allow his injury to heal, rider Elias Ishoel(200) is only going to take the green flag and pull off the track, however Ishoel gets a little excited for the green and jumps the start sending him to the back of the pack in Heat 2. Off the line into the holeshot is Zak Mason(63) followed by Marcus Ogemar Hellgren(58) and Kevin Wallenstein(122) in pursuit of the top spot. Ogemar and Wallenstein would battle for the second spot through the Makita Front Stretch and into the FXR turn where Wallenstein would stick the pass and move into second, however  Ogemar would fight back to make the pass for first on lap 5 and never look back taking the checkers across the AMSOIL Finish Line.

Good battles between Travis Kern(201) and Martin Moland(751) early on in Heat 3 with Maxime Taillefer(144) in pursuit. Bar-to-bar racing for several laps between the three riders, but it would be the 201 of Travis Kern would come out on top. Maxime Taillefer(144) would eventually overcome Martin Moland(751) with two laps to go for the second spot.

After an all star day one of the Makita Snocross Nationals, the hometown boy James Johnstad gets rocked with some bad luck, while sitting one spot back from the final transfer position, Johnstad appeared to bring his hands off the bars to clean his googles, can’t find his grip  and lands off the sled taking him out of the Final.

Maxime Taillefer(144) makes a come back after some tough luck in the heats for a win and the first transfer spot, followed by Dex Savage(111), Michael George(307) Jordan Kraus and Korbyn Anderson(17) in the final transfer position.

Who is going to take the win in the Pro Lite Final, could it be the 765 of Montana Jess or would it be Maxime Taillefer aboard the 144 Ski-Doo,  or possibly Martin Moland(751) taking home the win before his return to the homeland in Norway.

Early in the race from the start Daniel Benham(221) gets a great launch off the line for the Stud Boy Holeshot and leads for the first four laps until he crashes hard through the rhythm section taking him quickly out of contention.  As the crowd and the announcers are watching the race unfold after Behnam is out, the battle for first much of the race appears to be between Montana Jess(765) and Maxime Taillefer(144) while Martin Moland(751) completes lap-after-lap getting scored Mid-Pack, but it is Moland who is actually in the lead for much of the race.

A timing and scoring glitch is the blame for the incorrect racing order at the AMSOIL Finish Line when the checkers flew, after careful evaluation by the ISOC Officials, it was determined that Martin Moland(751) was the winner of the race.

A great way to end the weekend for Moland who has to return back home to Alta Norway after this weekend. A little disappointed was Montana Jess, but still takes home the runner up spot followed by Maxime Taillefer(144) who started on the back row after an LCQ transfer.

Despite the efforts of the ISOC Track Groomers, the track is wet, rough and tough to navigate. A big start from Kyle Pallin(324) in Heat 1 but it is Kody Kamm(53) who is hot through the entire race going flat-to-flag for the win followed by Kyle Pallin(324) and Cody Thomsen(62) in third.

Packed and stacked Heat 2 on the line, green flag ready to drop and it is Tucker Hibbert(68) who gets trigger happy and jumps the start. Going to the back row, Hibbert lines up on the inside, green flag drops and Hibbert makes quick work of the field to quickly get into second. But it is the dynamic Tim Tremblay(11) coming off the win Round 3 is so smooth throughout the race for the flag-to-flag win. Top three – Tim Tremblay(11) Tucker Hibbert(68) and Trevor Leighton(3).

Finding the groove and the win is the Petter Narsa(54) from Shakopee, MN for the third Pro Open heat followed by Corin Todd(36) and David Joanis(115) in the third spot. It was a big finish for the rider out of Port Jefferson Station, NY. – Jake Scott(42) who throws a fist in the air as he crosses the AMSOIL Finish Line for his first win.

Corin Todd(36) who had a rough day on the first day in Fargo has a great a top finish after dominating the Round 2 Heat 2 race. Finishing out the last qualifier of the day goes down in the books with Lincoln Lemieux(13) grabbing the win followed by Kody Kamm(53) and Logan Christian(43) in third.

Some big names  in the Pro Open LCQ, Pallin, Christian, Renheim all top riders find themselves in unfamiliar territory having to work a bit harder to make the final. John Stenberg(259) gets the holeshot, but it is Kyle Pallin(324) that quickly moves into the first spot and holds on for the win and the first transfer. Following in second is John Stenberg(259), Logan Christian(43), Adam Renheim(311) and the Rookie Ryan Springer(541) takes the final position in the back row line up of the Pro Open.

No doubt the riders are excited for the next round in the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series when the teams take the show to Shakopee MN a favorite stop for many of the riders and fans. The action is always over the top at Cantebury Park for the Pirtek Snocross Nationals Presented by Jimmy Johns on January 8th and 9th. This is a must not miss race in the 2015-2016 season!