Polaris Racers Pilot IQ Race Sleds to Wins in Regionals Across the Snowbelt
MEDINA, MN (Dec. 22, 2006) – When the WPSA National PowerSports Tour takes a week off, Polaris snocross racers head home and dominate regional WPSA events on their Polaris IQ race sleds. After their totally dominant performance at the Amsoil Duluth National (Nov. 24-26), Polaris racers piled up more podium finishes at regional events on December 9-10. Polaris-powered oval racers also flexed their muscle to pile up wins in Manitoba.
Big winners on the weekend included:
• Levi LaVallee (Hentges Racing) won Pro Open in a 1-2-3 Polaris sweep at Park X II in Minnesota.
• Danny Poirier (Cycle Worx) won Pro Stock and took second in Pro Open in Rock Maple Racing and also qualified for the X Games.
• Mike Island (Royal Distributing/Bourque's Polaris) won Pro Open Mod at a Canadian Snowcross Racing Association event.
• Dustin Wahl used Polaris Liberty engines to lead podium sweeps of the premier Pro classes on the legendary ice oval at the Canadian Power Toboggan Championships in Beausejour, Manitoba.
“The regional races give our guys a great chance to get additional track time against strong competition, and the Polaris IQ race sleds helped them have a great weekend in every region,” said Polaris Racing Manager Tom Rager, Sr. “These sleds have the best ride and handling in the sport, and our racers are really using that to their advantage.”
POLARIS SWEEPS PRO OPEN AT PARK X II
Polaris racers earned numerous podium spots during the WPSA Minnesota State Championship Series “Park X II” held December 9-10 at Hill City, Minnesota. Polaris racers were at their most dominant in the premier class – Pro Open.
Levi LaVallee took first in every round to lead a 1-2-3 Polaris sweep in Pro Open, a class in which six Polaris racers finished in the top 12. LaVallee was followed by Polaris Pro racers Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) in second, Mike Schultz (Avalanche Racing) in third and TJ Gulla (Hentges Racing) fifth.
Other Polaris racers who won at Park X II were Kory Fasnacht in Sport Open, Nichole Lackore in Women’s Stock, Brady Phillips in Novice Open and Kyle Lacoe in Novice Stock 600. Chris Kafka (Hentges Racing) took second in Semi-Pro Stock and Rylie Hogue was second in Semi-Pro Stock 600. In both of these Semi-Pro classes, Polaris racers took four of the top seven places.
DANNY POIRIER SIZZLES ON HIS NEW IQ SLEDS
Polaris Pro racer Danny Poirier has adapted quickly to his new Polaris IQ race sleds and he won the Pro Stock 440 class and was second in Pro Open during Rock Maple Racing (RMR) on December 9-10 at Windham (NY) Mountain. Poirier joined Polaris Racing this season and got off to a strong start with his 1-2 Pro class finishes in the RMR season opener.
In Semi-Pro Open, Polaris racer Adam Sedlmeier (Cycle Worx) led a five-sled Polaris parade across the finish line. He won the class ahead of fellow Polaris IQ racers Dale Petrus (2nd), Derek Graham (3rd), Chris Chico (4th) and John O’Malley (5th). Tyler Sedlmeier (Cycle Worx) took seventh, giving Polaris six of the top seven places.
Dale Petrus won the Semi-Pro Stock 600 class while O’Malley took second, Katie Acker won on a Polaris in Women’s Stock 600 and Ken Tiedman won the Trail 600 class on both days of the weekend.
MIKE ISLAND IMPRESSES IN CSRA OPENER
At the Canadian Snowcross Racing Assn. (CSRA) season opener on December 9-10 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Polaris Pro-class racer Mike Island had a great weekend for the new Royal Distributing/Bourque's Polaris team. He dominated and won Pro Open Mod, finished second in the X Games qualifier, and took third in Pro Stock. In Sport classes, David Joanis accomplished a personal 1-2-3 weekend: He took first in Sport Open, second in Sport 500 Stock and third in Sport 600 Stock. Polaris racer Terry Hampson won the Sport Veteran 30+ class.
POLARIS LIBERTY ENGINES RULE IN BEAUSEJOUR
Combine racing chassis from Wahl Bros. Racing with Polaris Liberty engines and you have podium dominance at the Canadian Power Toboggan Championships in Beausejour, Manitoba.
Dustin Wahl used Liberty power to win the Pro Champ 440 and Pro Formula 600 classes. Matt Schulz and Shane Peterson ran Liberty engines to finish 2-3 in Pro Champ 440, and Terry Wahl and Schulz did likewise to go 2-3 in Formula 600.
Among racers on Polaris sleds, Nicholas Van Strydonk won three classes on the big oval – Pro Sprint 500 and two Semi-Pro classes, 600 Sprint and 500 Sprint. Trevor Fontaine also won three classes (Formula 500, Sport 600 Fan and Junior 14/15 600 Fan), Jake Beres won Semi-Pro 500 Liquid and Doug McDaniel won Sport 600 Liquid.
MICHIGAN NATIONAL POSTPONED; CANTERBURY IS UP NEXT
The December 16-17 Polaris Michigan Snocross in Gaylord, Michigan, has been postponed, so the next WPSA National event will be the Air Force Canterbury Snocross. It will be held January 12-14, 2007, at Shakopee, Minnesota.
POLARIS RACERS EARN INVITES TO WINTER X GAMES
Thus far, 10 Polaris racers – the most of any brand – have earned invitations to the ESPN Winter X Games in Colorado on January 25-28, 2007. The Polaris competitors with invites are: Levi LaVallee, TJ Gulla, Brett Bender and Bobby LePage, all of Hentges Racing; Shaun Crapo of Scheuring Speed Sports; Ross Martin and Matt Judnick of Judnick Motorsports; Danny Poirier of Cycle Worx; Mike Schultz of Avalanche Racing; and Johan Eriksson of Sweden.
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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