POLARIS DOMINATES WPSA OPENER!
MEDINA, MN (Nov. 27, 2006) – Second-year Pro Ross Martin defied any trace of a sophomore jinx by utilizing the superior ride and handling of his Polaris 440 IQ race sleds to earn victories in the Pro Open and Pro Stock classes in the WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour AMSOIL Duluth (MN) National on November 25-26.
Martin, who races for Judnick Motorsports and finished second in Pro Open and Pro Stock points last season, took first in Pro Stock ahead of fellow Polaris racer Mike Schultz (Avalanche Racing), and totally dominated the Pro Open class – finishing first in every round – to earn first place ahead of Polaris racer Levi LaVallee (Hentges Racing).
“It was a great start for me, for Polaris and for our Judnick team,” Martin said. “We’ve got the sled and the determination. Now we want to win consistently.”
The Polaris factory racers’ Polaris 440 IQ race sleds use the innovative, smooth-riding, easy-handling IQ suspension that trail riders can enjoy on their Polaris snowmobiles.
Along with the Pro-class Polaris sweep, Brett Bender of the Hentges Racing team won both Semi-Pro classes and Polaris racers won the weekend’s Pro Women and Sport Open classes. In Pro Open, Pro Stock , Semi-Pro Stock and Sport Open, Polaris racers finished 1-2.
“It was a great way to start the season. You always want to get out of the gate strong, and our racers and teams really showed they were ready to race,” said Polaris Racing Manager Tom Rager, Sr. “To place so many racers in the Pro finals demonstrates our racers are in great shape and even more importantly, thje Polaris 440 IQ is the sled to beat this season.”
MARTIN SWEEPS THE PRO CLASSES
Martin finished first in all three rounds of Pro Open qualifying on the Spirit Mountain track in unseasonably warm weather. Martin adjusted to the changing track conditions on his Polaris 440 IQ and led the way for the five Polaris racers in the 15-man final. Along with runner-up LaVallee, the other Polaris finalists and their finishes in Pro Open were: TJ Gulla (Hentges Racing) fourth, Mike Schultz in sixth and Shaun Crapo (Scheuring Speedsports) in 11th.
Martin wasn’t as dominant in Pro Stock, but he placed well in preliminaries and won the final, which featured seven Polaris racers in the 15-sled field. Schultz finished second followed by these Polaris racers: Matt Judnick (Judnick Motorsports) in seventh, Crapo in 10th, Dennis “DJ” Eckstom (Scheuring Speedsports) in 11th, LaVallee in 14th and Gulla in 15th.
BENDER SWEEPS IN SEMI-PRO CLASSES
Brett Bender was perfect in Semi-Pro Open, winning every time he took to the track, and he also won the Semi-Pro Stock class, where he led a 1-2 Polaris finish as Andrew Johnstad (Avalanche Racing) came in second.
In Semi-Pro Open, five Polaris racers finished in the top 14. Following Bender were: Johnstad in fourth, Tyler Sedlmeier (Cycle Worx) in seventh, Dylan Martin (Judnick Motorsports) in 10th, and Brett Abrahamson (Abe Racing) in 14th.
In Semi-Pro Stock, Bender and Johnstad ran 1-2, Chris Kafka (Hentges racing) came in fifth and Brett Abrahamson was 12th.
ABRAHAMSON WINS IN PRO WOMEN
Kylie Abrahamson (Abe Racing) won the season opener in the Pro Women’s class and led the way for five Polaris racers in the final. Abrahamson was followed by these Polaris racers: Delene Dippel (Dippel Precision Racing) in eighth, Jennifer Pare in 10th, Ashley Parliament (Par Motorsports) in 11th and Diedra Dippel (Dippel Precision Racing) in 15th.
In Women’s Stock, Polaris racer Kendra Daniel took second, Melanie Acker was third, Katie Acker took fifth and Kristen Leirmoe (PMK Performance) ran sixth.
BRISTOW WINS IN SPORT OPEN
Matt Bristow (Bristow’s) took first place in Sport Open and also finished fifth in Sport Stock. In Sport Open, Bristow finished ahead of runner-up and fellow Polaris racer Derek Ellis (Rocky Mountain Motorsports). In Sport Stock, Polaris racer Seth Houkom finished third.
POLARIS RACERS HEADED TO WINTER X GAMES
Four Polaris racers were among the 10 WPSA snocross racers to earn invitations to the ESPN-hosted Winter X Games 11, which will be held January 25-27, 2007, at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado. The Polaris racers headed to the high-profile X Games include: Shaun Crapo, Ross Martin, TJ Gulla and Brett Bender. Fellow Polaris racer Levi LaVallee pre-qualified for Winter X by way of a media selected representative. Additional racers will be eligible to earn sports in the X Games or may be invited by the promoter.
NEXT RACE: Polaris Michigan Snocross, Dec. 16-17
The next race on the WPSA national circuit will be the Polaris Michigan Snocross, which is scheduled for December 16-17 on the ski slopes of the Otsego Club & Resort in Gaylord, Michigan.
INDUSTRY LEADING RIDE AND HANDLING
With the Polaris-exclusive IQ Chassis, snowmobilers can enjoy industry-leading ride and handling on several 2007 Polaris models. The IQ suspension was developed on the race track and the easy, responsive handling that helps Polaris racers win is available on models such as the 600 HO IQ CFI, the FST IQ and the 600 HO SwitchBack.
FOLLOW YOUR FAVORITE POLARIS RACERS
To keep track of your favorite Polaris racers all season, log on and bookmark the Polaris Racing page at www.polarisindustries.com/en-us/Snowmobiles/Racing
About Polaris
With annual 2005 sales of $1.9 Billion, Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), Victory motorcycles and the Polaris RANGER for recreational and utility use. Polaris is a recognized leader in the snowmobile industry; and one of the largest manufacturers of ATVs in the world. Victory motorcycles, established in 1998 and representing the first all-new American-made motorcycle from a major company in nearly 60 years, are rapidly making impressive in-roads into the motorcycle cruiser marketplace. Polaris also enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Pure Polaris apparel, accessories and parts, available at Polaris dealerships. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Pacific Stock Exchange under the symbol “PII,” and the Company is included in the S&P Small-Cap 600 stock price index. Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories is available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime from the Polaris homepage at www.polarisindustries.com.
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