Over The River & Through The Woods
January 5, 2011
I was really feeling the holiday spirit this year, and it likely had something to do with the heaps of snow dropped on the Upper Midwest during December. While I grew up in northern Wisconsin’s snowy Northwoods, I’ve lived in Minneapolis for the last 10 years. I have never seen so much snow up here, and it wasn’t even Christmas!
I decided there was only one way to handle this turn of events; I cleared my schedule, took some vacation time between the holidays and loaded up a pair of snowmobiles for an extended holiday with friends and family in northern Wisconsin — and I was hoping to rack up as many trail miles as possible.
Driving up from the Twin Cities, the snow levels lessened as the miles added up. My hometown of Park Falls, Wisconsin, had about half the snow of my yard in Minneapolis. It was unusual, but the ditches were full and it looked like trail conditions were close to ideal.
Pulling in to my parents’ house out in the country, I played with the dogs while unloading the trailer and planning my upcoming riding. The goal? Revisiting the snowmobile trips of my childhood.
Judnick Motorsports Hentges Racing Working Together
July 14, 2009
Judnick Motorsports and Hentges Racing have always worked together as a phenomenal part of the Polaris Racing Team…this year they are taking it to a new level! They will remain two individual racing teams with their incredibly talented racer line-ups but will combine sled building, research and development via legendary snowmobile racer and mechanical expert…Tim Bender.
Bender will remain Hentges Racing Team Manager, in addition will work with both teams as the Technical Director building sleds for 2010 season. The combined research and data sharing will ensure that both Hentges Racing and Judnick Motorsports hit the track with the ultimate in sled performance.
Yamaha WILL race snocross this season
June 23, 2009
Amid speculation Yamaha was not going race snocross for the 20009-10 season, the company put out the following press release today:
Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Yamaha Snowmobile Division announced today that snocross fans will find the high-performance 4-stroke-powered FX Nytro race sled in the starting grid at races this coming season.
Legendary Yvon Duhamel Invited by Ski-Doo to Grand Prix de Valcourt
February 12, 2009
For some twenty years now, the circuit hosting every winter the Grand Prix Ski-Doo de Valcourt bears the name of one of motorsports greatest legends: Yvon Duhamel. A member of both the international motorcycle and snowmobile racing Hall of Fame and of the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Montreal native has been the very first Ski-Doo racing team star. His memorable accomplishments in snowmobile racing have been a world championship title earned on the Eagle River oval in 1970 and his win in the challenging Winnipeg/St-Paul 500-mile cross-country race in 1972. Also a winner of the Daytona motorcycle race in 1969 and a World Champion in 1972, Duhamel will be an honorary guest of BRP Inc. during the Grand Prix Ski-Doo de Valcourt weekend, a few months before he turns 70, next October.
SNOCROSS RACING AT GRAND PRIX SKI-DOO DE VALCOURT:
February 12, 2009
QUÉBEC’S TIM TREMBLAY PLANS TO SHINE ON HIS HOME TURF
Bryan Dyrdahl Preps For The Red Lake I-500
January 15, 2009
Bryan Dyrdahl checks the rate of a suspension spring as part of his preparation for this weekend's I-500.
The I-500 is a legendary cross-country race that’s been run by thousands of snowmobile racers since the inaugural Winnipeg-to-St. Paul in 1966. For some people, their goal is just to finish, but for Ski-Doo racer Bryan Dyrdahl, his goal is only to win. Racing for anything less than first place isn’t worth his time, he says.
To win the 500 requires not only a ton of rider skill and lots of luck; it also takes a well-prepared race sled. Dyrdahl has won the race four times, and this weekend he’ll be running a fine-tuned MX Zx 600 RS.
We recently caught up with Dyrdahl at his home in Bagley, Minnesota, to find out what goes in to setting up the machine that he’ll ride in this weekend’s United States Cross-Country (USCC) Red Lake I-500.
Full-Time Job
Dyrdahl works construction in the summer. But when winter rolls into northern Minnesota, his real job is put on hold until the spring thaw, so snowmobile racing becomes his temporary full-time job.
He’s already won the I-500 more times than anyone (Jack Struthers and Corey Davidson each have won the race three times), but he hopes to move further into elite status with a win this weekend.
Dyrdahl hopes this sled will carry him to his fifth I-500 victory.
Set-up for this weekend’s I-500 will take two weeks, working eight to 10 hours each day. Racers used to spend hours gusseting and welding their sleds to get them ready for the I-500. But modern sleds like Dyrdahl’s No. 55 don’t require extra reinforcements in order to survive 500 hard miles of ditches, rivers and rough trails.
Dyrdahl says his Ski-Doos have been tough and dependable. Other than stuff for which he takes the blame, Dyrdahl hasn’t wrecked anything in more than five years racing yellow, he said. Stronger, tougher sleds allow him to spend more time tuning and dialing-in to make the machine ride better and go faster.
JACQUES VILLENEUVE PROMISES TO BE PART OF THE UPCOMING GRAND PRIX SKI-DOO DE VALCOURT
January 8, 2009
RELEASE: Valcourt, January 8, 2009 – Since 1986, there has been only a few Grand Prix Ski-Doo de Valcourt editions that Jacques Villeneuve, by far the most passionate and most courageous driver of Canada’s motorsport history, has not entered. Comes February 20, 21 and 22, expect the St-Cuthbert (Québec) veteran to honour his annual rendez-vous with his fans. He intends to show up healthy, having fully recovered after an accident in the season’s opener at Beausejour (Manitoba) left him with a broken leg. In fact, as he stated this week, he could have entered the Eagle River vintage weekend kicking off tomorrow, or the World Championship Snowmobile Derby next week. But wisdom has prevailed and Villeneuve will instead return to the track at Boonville (New York), January 31st and February 1st.
‘’My thighbone has healed well. I don’t still put all my weight on my wounded leg but I could have raced my friend Guy Montminy’s vintage sled this weekend”, says Villeneuve who for a change, doesn’t sound frustrated to be home and away from the iced ovals. He adds: ‘‘ I felt that I had to be a little more cautious and choose to return to the track only at the end of the month. This way, I have better chances to do all of the Eastern Pro Tour races including of course, going back to Valcourt where I couldn’t race last year.”
For the legendary driver who turned fifty a few years ago and can claim a little less than forty winter seasons spent on the iced oval tracks, evidently the flame is still burning. Although, he admits that he is seing some things differently now. ‘’There is stuff that I don’t like or wish to do anymore. For example, I am no longer spending my nights working on my sleds. I let others play the mechanics. On the other hand, I still enjoy travelling and of course being the fastest on track. Here at home, not much beats a walk to the shop in my garage and the sound of an engine on my dyno. I am always willing to devote plenty of time for more power”, says a very serene Villeneuve.
Nine Wins for Yamaha in Snowmobile Grass Drags
September 25, 2008
Yamaha Press Release:
Yamaha snowmobiles stole the show with nine pro wins at three different grass-drag events in Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20-21. Most importantly, Hauck Power Sports driver Jim Jones gave the new 2009 FX Nytro XTX its first pro-racing victory at the third round of the 2008 NSRA grass-drag series in Douglas, Minn., then added three more victories on Apex and Nytro machines. Greg Omasta also contributed three wins for Yamaha on his Apex and modified SRX sleds in Ohio, New York, while Bryan Eckel racked up a pair of wins on his Apex and RS Vector in Presque Isle, Penn.
New “Team” class added for the U.S.C.C Red Lake I-500!
September 25, 2008
Now you can experience the thrill of competing in the legendary I-500, but at a fraction of the cost and with your friends. It¹s the result of a new “Team 600″ class, which joins 11 “individual” class options for the 2009 Red Lake I-500 (Jan. 16-18) at the Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.
Teams may consist of two or three members, with one person tackling each day. The team can opt to use one snowmobile for the entire event or a different sled for each day. Eligible snowmobiles must be no larger than 600cc two-stroke or 1050cc four-stroke, of any model year.
Boyesen’s CHANGE OF HEART Rage Cage Reed System Giveaway!
September 23, 2008
The first drawing is to be held on October 30th!
Lenhartsville, PA (September 5th, 2008) — Team Rosko Power Sports has joined forces with Boyesen and will be using the Boyesen Rage Cage system complete with Triple Staged Power Reeds to gain the extra competitive advantage that they are seeking.