Winter X-Games
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Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports/DuPont) on the podium celebrating winning the Bronze Medal at the Winter X-Games. Photo courtesy of Jason Gilmour - Sno-X Magazine
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Results
In a test of endurance Levi LaVallee & Ross Martin persevere.
The 2006 Winter X-Games were full of surprises. One of the surprises was DJ Eckstrom and Carl Schubitzke not making the first cut along with Tucker Hibbert and Steve Martin. Another surprise is the increase in the number of laps. ESPN & WPSA increased the qualifiers to 6 laps from 4 in previous years. The final which has always been six laps went to 15 laps making it the toughest test of endurance yet in X-Games history. The format consisted of 32 racers competing on day one for 16 spots. There were four heats of eight racers where the top four went on to the semifinals and the bottom four go home. On day two were the Semifinals with two heats of eight where the top four go to the final on Tuesday night and the bottom four of each heat go to Monday night’s Last Change Qualifier. The top four from the LCQ go on to the final and the bottom four go home making a total of 12 racers in the final.
Levi LaVallee (TEAM Industries Racing), TJ Gulla (TEAM Industries Racing)Mike Schultz (Avalanche Racing) and Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports/DuPont) went on from the Quarterfinals to the Semi-finals. LaVallee won his semi-final and went onto the final and Ross Martin was 4th in his semi-final which sent him directly to the final. Gulla and Schultz had to go through the Last Chance Qualifier.
TJ Gulla (TEAM Industries Racing) went on to the final in the Last Chance Qualifier Monday night along with Mathieu Morin, Ryan Simons and Mike Island. Schultz did not make it to the big show.
The qualifying order for the final was Levi LaVallee, Robbie Malinoski, Dave Allard, Matthew Piche, Shaun Crapo, Blair Morgan, Zach Pattyn, Ross Martin, Mathieu Morin, TJ Gulla, Ryan Simons and Mike Island.
In the final, Malinoski and LaVallee got a great launch off the start line and sailed to the front with Ross Martin in tow. Malinoski led the first lap with LaVallee knocking on the door. LaVallee took over the lead when passing Malinoski the sleds made contact in the air and Malinoski came off his sled giving Levi a very comfortable lead with a nine second lead over Ross Martin now in second. Martin began closing the gap with each lap but he had company as by lap 5 Blair Morgan was in hot pursuit of him. LaVallee was riding a phenomenal race and Martin was holding off Morgan until lap twelve of the fifteen lap final when Morgan got by Martin passing him in the air over the finish line jump. Ross got Morgan back with a perfectly executed block pass parking Morgan in the next corner. Morgan did manage to get back past Martin and put a little space between them. Meanwhile Morgan was closing a little on LaVallee but Levi still had a decent lead. Just as the white flag comes out LaVallee gets crossed up on the double coming into the finish line jump and lands the sled a little sideways. The sticky snow there causes the sled to come to a sudden stop when it lands offing Levi. Morgan passes LaVallee as Levi re-fires his sled and gets going again now in 2nd place. With one lap left LaVallee does his best to make up the distance on Morgan but at the finish it’s Morgan with the Gold, LaVallee takes Silver and Ross Martin wins the Bronze.
The next WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour National event will be February 11th and 12th at Park-X in Hill City, MN. The Buffalo, NY race has been relocated due to the warm weather and the inability to make snow in time. Park-X will be round five and the halfway point of the season. Ross Martin holds a seven point lead over 2nd place DJ Eckstrom in the Pro Open class. Dave Allard & Robbie Malinoski are 10 points behind Eckstrom. Don’t miss out on the high-flying action. For more information visit www.wpsaracing.com.
2006 WINTER X-GAMES
| #7c |
Blair Morgan |
Ski-Doo |
| #108 |
Levi LaVallee |
Polaris |
| #837 |
Ross Martin |
Polaris |
| #518 |
Matthew Piche |
Arctic Cat |
| #67 |
Ryan Simons |
Arctic Cat |
| #167 |
Dave Allard |
Ski-Doo |
| #27 |
Mathieu Morin |
Ski-Doo |
| #44 |
TJ Gulla |
Polaris |
| #8 |
Mike Island |
Ski-Doo |
| #99 |
Zach Pattyn |
Ski-Doo |
| #4 |
Robbie Malinoski |
Arctic Cat |
| #3 |
Shaun Crapo |
Arctic Cat |
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At Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, CO
This high profile event showcases the best snocross racers in the world with live television coverage on ESPN. Admission to the event Is free.
For more information call WPSA at 651-209-7400 or visit www.wpsaracing.com.
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