As AMSOIL Championship Snocross Powered by RAM nears the halfway point, the racers and teams head back west to South Dakota for the US Air Force Deadwood Snocross. A near sell out crowd filled the grand stands for high-octane racing in both the Pro Lite and Pro divisions. The Pro Lite class saw Cole Cottew move through the stacked field to earn his first Pro Lite victory of the season. In the Pro class, Tucker Hibbert charged from the 6th position to earn himself his 6th victory of the season. The racing continues tomorrow at the Days of ’76 Sports Complex for Round 8 of AMSOIL Championship Snocross Powered by RAM.

Pro Lite

Round 1

As the Pro Lite contestants arrived at the starting line for their first heat of Round 7 in Deadwood, Alexander Berglund continued his heat race holeshot streak and jumped out to the early lead. The young Arctic Cat rider would lead the entire race but had much pressure from Travis Kern. Kern would put a late race charge on the leader but would finish Round 1 in second. Rounding out the top three was Korbyn Anderson. The second heat race for the Pro Lite division showcased the true grit of Andy Lieders. Lieders has been racing the Pro AM Plus 30 class this season but once again chose to race Pro Lite. The former race winner would win heat 1. Daniel Benham would run in the second position most of the race before having an off taking him out of contention in Round 1. Scheuring Speed-Sports rider Hunter Patenaude would finish second and Martin Moland in third. Points leader Jacob Yurk would start heat three in a close second behind the Ski-Doo rider of Max Taillefer. The red plate holder would get by the Ski-Doo rider and take his first heat race win in South Dakota. Taillefer would finish the race in second with Kevin Wallenstein in third. Reigning Champion Aki Pihlaja also contended in heat three but would have a late race off taking him out of the top three.

Round 2

Cole Cottew grabbed a holeshot to kick off Round 2 here at the Days of ’76 Sports Complex. Cottew was followed by fellow Polaris rider Evan Daudt. The duo of Polaris riders would finish 1-2 in the second round of qualifying. Alexander Berglund would round out the top three. In heat two, Aki Pihlaja would get out to an early lead but would crash early in the race taking him out of contention. With Pihlajas crash, Andy Lieders would move into the lead with a hard charging Daniel Benham moving to second. Lieders and Benham would battle for the entire 8 lap moto before Benham would get the edge and ride to victory. Andy Lieders would finish his qualifying with a second and Korbyn Anderson in third. In the final heat of qualifying for the Pro Lite class in Round 7, Nisse Kjellstrom would nab the holeshot and ride to victory. Martin Moland would put a late charge on the leader of Kjellstrom but would fall only two sled lengths short. Camryn Anderson would finish in third to end the rounds of qualifying here in Day 1 of the US Air Force Deadwood Snocross.

Final

Beautiful Deadwood, SD was in store for what was arguably the best Pro Lite final of the season. Hunter Patenaude jumped out to the early lead in the final with Alexander Berglund and Martin Moland rounding out the top three. Martin Moland did not waste any time and moved himself passed Berglund early in the race to solidify the second position in the final. Andy Lieders was having a great start to the race but had an off early taking him out of contention. The leaders started to run away from the pack and after lap five Patenaude still led with Martin Moland second, Cole Cottew third, Alexander Berglund fourth and Evan Daudt in fifth. As the race went on Cole Cottew started picking off the leaders and found himself in the second position and closing on the leader Patenaude. Pro Lite points leader Jacob Yurk was running in the sixth position but had on off moving him down to 13th position. With seven laps to go the leaders of Patenaude and Cottew are bar-to-bar. The two would go back and fourth but Cottew would have the advantage and lead his first laps of the season. As the race weened down Cole Cottew started to gap himself from the field on this rough Deadwood track and set his eyes on his first win of the season. Aki Pihlaja also is moving through the field and finds himself in the fifth position with only two laps remaining. When the double checkered flags flew it was Polaris rider Cole Cottew who gapped the field and earned the win. Hunter Patenaude would earn his second podium of the season with a second and Martin Moland in third.

1. #21 Cole Cottew

2. #208 Hunter Patenaude

3. #75 Martin Moland

4. #221 Daniel Benham

5. #128 Aki Pihlaja

6. #413 Evan Daudt

7. #144 Max Taillefer

8. #114 Alexander Berglund

9. #27 Nisse Kjellstrom

10. #63 Zak Mason

11. #727 Jacob Yurk

12. #302 Viktor Herten

13. #17 Korbyn Anderson

14. #201 Travis Kern

15. #57 Andy Lieders

Pro

Round 1

The premier class of AMSOIL Championship Snocross hit the track for their first round of qualifying after the great spectacle of opening ceremonies. Tucker Hibbert carried his momentum from Canterbury into Deadwood and nailed yet another heat race holeshot. Hibbert would lead the entire 12 lap qualifier flag-to-flag. After the carnage of the first corner Kristoffer Holm would settle into second and Adam Renheim third. Renheim would get the better of Holm and finish in second while Kristoffer Holm would earn an impressive third place in round 1. The second heat showcased the speed of reigning champion Kody Kamm. Kamm would also have an impressive round of qualifying by leading the race from start to finish. Travis Muller made his Pro debut today in Deadwood and would start the race in the second position. Muller would be challenged late in the race by the Sunoco Arctic Cat of Johan Lidman. Lidman made a last lap pass on the rookie Muller and earn a second place in Round 2. Muller rounds out the top three in his first round of qualifying in the Pro class.

Round 2

As the second round got under way Logan Christian piloted his DOC Arctic Cat to his first heat race win of the weekend. The field behind him was stacked and full of excitement. Tucker Hibbert and Lincoln Lemieux were in the top five but the two championship contenders tangled and found there machines to be stuck together. This forced the two riders to the rear of the field. Kody Kamm charged hard from the fifth position to second but fell back to the rear of the field late in the race. As the checkered flags flew it was Christian in first Jake Angove in second and Travis Muller in third. In the second heat race of Round 2 Brett Nastala had the best heat race of his young pro career. The Arctic Cat rider was able to jump out to the early lead and ride his way to the double checkered flags. This was his first career heat race win and to say Nastala was excited was an understatement. Following Nastala was the Red Bull Polaris rider of Kyle Pallin and the Makita Ski-Doo rider of Adam Renheim.

Final

The penultimate final of the evening, the Pro final! As the 15 riders left the AMSOIL start line, Logan Christian was the first rider around the first corner. Petter Narsa found himself in the second position and Kyle Pallin in third. 10x champion Tucker Hibbert started the race in the 6th position as he was pinched on the start at the beginning of the race. As the race moved forward and the racers settled into there groove, Logan Christian starts to gap himself from the other riders and Kyle Pallin moved into the second spot. Tucker Hibbert started charging through the field picking off competitors one per lap. On lap 8 Hibbert moves passed Pallin to find himself in second and chasing his training partner Logan Christian. Lincoln Lemieux and Johan Lidman battled in the 5th and 6th position with the edge going to Lemieux. Just before the race reached the halfway point, Tucker found himself battling with Christian. Hibbert was able to make the pass in the RAM Trucks section and move into the lead. At the halfway point, Hibbert was gapping the field while the battle between Pallin and Christian started to heat up. With the laps winding down and the race in full swing the top five stayed in the same tight positions. Hibbert leading, Christian second, Pallin third, Narsa Fourth and Lemieux fifth. As the white flag flew the leaders stayed in the same positions but Lemieux was able to pass the #54 Polaris of Petter Narsa moving himself into the top four. When the race completed it was once again Tucker Hibbert victorious, Logan Christian second and Kyle Pallin would round out the top three finishers. 

1. #68 Tucker Hibbert

2. #43 Logan Christian

3. #324 Kyle Pallin

4. #13 Lincoln Lemieux

5. #54 Petter Narsa

6. #1 Kody Kamm

7. #311 Adam Renheim

8. #52 Johan Lidman

9. #177 Jake Angove

10. #98 Nick Pattyn

11. #436 Travis Muller

12. #541 Ryan Springer

13. #248 Brett Nastala

14. #610 Kristoffer Holm

15. #36 Corin Todd

Pro AM Women

This class was one of the most exciting of the evening. The race featured young Taven Woodie earning her first career victory in the class. This is the young Wyoming natives first season in the class and to earn a victory this soon is a great accomplishment. Emilia Dahlgren would earn another podium finish with a second and Jakki Farmer rounded out the final podium spot.

2017/2018 ISOC National Snocross Tour Schedule 

Duluth, MN // November 24-27, 2017

Jackson Hole, WY // December 8-9, 2017

Shakopee, MN // January 5-6, 2018

Deadwood, SD // January 19-20, 2018

Salamanca, NY // February 16-17, 2018

Mt. Pleasant, MI // February 23-24, 2018

Dubuque, IA // March 9-10, 2018

Lake Geneva, WI // March 16-17, 2018

About ISOC Racing