With the Theisen’s Snocross National taking place in the rolling hills of Dubuque alongside the Mississippi River, AMSOIL Championship Snocross Powered by RAM roared into Iowa for the second straight season. Snocross enthusiasts from the Quad Cities area arrived in large numbers as they were treated with beautiful March weather and great racing from the Worlds Greatest Snocross Racers. In the Premier Pro class, Tucker Hibbert was on rails once again as he dominated Round 13. As for the the Pro Lite class, Jacob Yurk was consistent and capitalized on mistakes to earn the victory all while showing himself as a true championship contender. With only four rounds of racing remaining and the championship standings tightening, tomorrow’s racing at the Theisen’s Snocross National will be one you do not want to miss.

Pro Lite

Round 1

When the first heat arrived to the starting line, all eyes were on Pro Lite points leader Daniel Benham. Benham launched himself out of the gate quickly but was forced wide, causing him to slide back to the fifth position. As the beginning lap progressed, Zak Mason had arguably his best start of the season as he found himself in the lead. Benham would have an off on the opening lap forcing him to the rear of the field. Travis Kern and Jacob Yurk capitalized on the points leader mistakes and moved into the second and third positions. Emil Harr aboard his Makita Ski-Doo, moved through the field including passing Yurk putting himself into the top three. Travis Kern would also have an off in this race taking him from second down to seventh. As the checkered flags flew it was, Zak Mason taking the win, Emil Hard is second and Jacob Yurk third. In the second heat of round one, Andrew Lindholm would nab the holeshot and lead the opening laps of the seven lap qualifier. Aki Pihlaja started the race in fourth, but after smart line choices moved to second in just two laps. Pihlaja’s Ski-Doo teammate, Marcus Ogemar, rounded out the top three in the early stages of the race. Pihlaja would make an aggressive inside pass on Lindholm to take over the lead with two laps remaining. After moving passed Lindholm, Pihlaja would check out from the rest of the pack and earn his first heat race win of the weekend. Lindholm would finish in second and Ogemar third. In the final heat of round one for the Pro Lite class, Pro veteran, Andy Lieders would steal the holeshot and lead the entire race flag-to-flag. Evan Daudt solidified the second spot while Oskar Norum rode in third. Lieders gapped the field the entire race while second and third battled to stay close. As the riders crossed the finish line it was Lieders, Daudt and Norum consuming the top three positions.

Round 2

With the final round of qualifying for the Pro Lite class set to begin, each rider was looking for a great round to solidify a good starting spot for the main event later in the evening. Jacob Yurk nailed the holeshot in heat one as he was able to lead the Arctic Cat trio of himself Travis Kern and Andrew Lindholm up the hill. Yurk would lead nearly the entire race before having an issue near the finish line, causing him to finish in second. Yurk’s misfortune propelled Travis Kern to his first heat race win of the weekend. Nisse Kjellstrom charged hard from fifth, to finish his qualifying efforts in third. The second heat showcased the composure of the 2017 Pro Lite points champion, Aki Pihlaja, as he was able to successfully pass Daniel Benham and run away to victory. The current points leader, Daniel Benham, did execute the start of the race well, but Pihlaja was too dominant in round two. The final spot in the top three was taken by none other then Marcus Ogemar. In the final Pro Lite qualifying race of the day, Evan Daudt would jump out to the early lead as he was chased by the two Warnert Racing Ski-Doo’s, Max Taillefer and Emil Harr. Harr would have a hard off on the downhill forcing him to the rear of the field. Daudt would run a near flawless race and lead the entire moto flag-to-flag. Max Taillefer would also run a strong race in second while Martin Moland made a last lap pass to finish in third.

Final

As the light went green for the Pro Lite final at day one of the Theisen’s Snocross National, Evan Daudt piloted his Polaris to the early race lead. The lead for Daudt was short lived as Aki Pihlaja made an aggressive move on the opening lap to take over the number one position. Jacob Yurk started his main event off in third but was also able to make quick work on Daudt and move to second. Starting in the back row, points leader Daniel Benham already found himself in the sixth spot. With the opening laps being completed, Martin Moland ran in fourth while Travis Kern was fifth. Daniel Benham was able to move around his teammate of Kern, and move inside the top five on lap four. As the halfway point of the race come into contact with the riders, Evan Daudt, Martin Moland and Daniel Benham all were battling closely for the final spot on the podium. Moland and Benham were both able to get around Daudt to force the Polaris rider down to fifth. With the battles behind the leaders taking place, Pihlaja and Yurk were able to gap themselves from the rest of the competitors. With the laps ticking off and only two laps to go, race leader, Aki Pihlaja, had a crash taking him out of the race lead. This crash forced Pihlaja down to fourth and advanced Yurk to the lead with only two laps left. Yurk would hold onto the victory and close the gap of points leader, Daniel Benham. Martin Moland would execute a near flawless race and finish in second while Daniel Benham finished third after starting from the back row. Aki Pihlaja crossed the finish line in fourth and Hunter Patenaude rounded out the top five.

 

1. #727 Jacob Yurk

2. #75 Martin Moland

3. #221 Daniel Benham

4. #128 Aki Pihlaja

5. #208 Hunter Patenaude

6. #144 Max Taillefer

7. #201 Travis Kern

8. #27 Nisse Kjellstrom

9. #63 Zak Mason

10. #114 Alexander Berglund

11. #31 Emil Harr

12. #21 Cole Cottew

13. #40 Oskar Norum

14. #413 Evan Daudt

15. #58 Marcus Ogemar

Pro

Round 1

In the first heat of Round 1 for the penultimate class of AMSOIL Championship Snocross, the 10x champion, Tucker Hibbert, was nothing less than dominant. Hibbert would grab the first holeshot of the evening and not look back, as he led every lap of the race. Reigning champion, Kody Kamm, also had a great start and found himself in the runner up position. Lincoln Lemieux was running a strong third before having an off on the downhill causing him to drop outside the top five. Petter Narsa sneaked around the downed rider of Lemieux and stole the third spot. Narsa would charge hard late in the race to catch his teammate but fell 3 sled lengths short of the reigning champion. The final Pro heat race of round one saw Corin Todd and Tim Tremblay battle intensely for the top spot in the moto. Todd earned the holeshot and led half the race before Tim Tremblay executed a huge triple on the downhill to move into the lead. Tremblay would gap the field and earn the win while Logan Christian made a last corner pass to finish in second. Corin Todd rounded out the top three.

Round 2

The final round of qualifying for Round 13 of the Theisen’s Snocross National featured great battles and high excitement. In the first heat, Pro rookie Jake Angove rocketed out of the gate to find himself in the early race lead. Logan Christian found himself in second while Lincoln Lemieux rode third in the early stages of the lead. Lemieux unfortunately had another off on the downhill forcing him once again to the rear of the field. This crash helped Kamm propel into third and set his eyes on the leaders. As the laps winded down, Angove held off the hard charging riders behind him. Kamm and Christian would go bar-to-bar for three laps before the two would tangle forcing Christian to have an off. This crash gave Adam Renheim an edge to finish inside the top three. Kamm and Angove would battle as the white flag flew for the entire lap but the rookie held on to win his first career Pro heat race. Kamm crossed the finish line in second and Adam Renheim third. The final pro qualifying race featured an epic three way battle for first. Montana Jess sealed the holeshot and early race lead over fellow Arctic Cat racers, Johan Lidman and Tucker Hibbert. The three Arctic Cat riders were three wide on the downhill giving the huge Dubuque crowd yet another reason to cheer. As the snow settled, it was Tucker Hibbert taking the win, Johan Lidman in second and Pro rookie Montana Jess in third.

Final

The moment the huge Dubuque crowd has been waiting for, the Pro final. As the riders started the race for Round 13 of AMSOIL Championship Snocross Powered by RAM, Pro rookie Montana Jess was the racer who earned the Studboy Holeshot Award. With Jess out front, Tucker Hibbert ran in second while Logan Christian rounded out the top three. On lap two of the eighteen lap main event, Tucker Hibbert was able to get around the Rookie, Jess, and move into the lead. Hibbert started his dominance early tonight as he already gapped the field by four seconds on lap five. Johan Lidman also moved passed Jess to earn the second position. The following lap Logan Christian made his move stick to now find himself in podium contention. Tim Tremblay started the main event in seventh and at the halfway point found himself in fifth. The following lap, Tremblay had a mechanical issue forcing him out of the race. On lap twelve, Hibbert is dominating the field while Johan Lidman and Logan Christian battle for the final spots on the podium, With the laps ticking off, Lincoln Lemieux moved into fifth and started chasing down Petter Narsa for fourth. As the checkered flags flew it was Tucker Hibbert winning by a stellar eleven seconds. Johan Lidman was second and Logan Christian third. Petter Narsa finished in a strong fifth while Lincoln Lemieux was fifth.

1. #68 Tucker Hibbert

2. #52 Johan Lidman

3. #43 Logan Christian

4. #54 Petter Narsa

5. #13 Lincoln Lemieux

6. #1 Kody Kamm

7. #765 Montana Jess

8. #311 Adam Renheim

9. #36 Corin Todd

10. #200 Elias Ishoel

11. #541 Ryan Springer

12. #248 Brett Nastala

13. #436 Travis Muller

14. #177 Jake Angove

15. #11 Tim Tremblay

Pro AM Women

When the light went green for the Professional women of the sport, Malene Anderson took the early lead while the points leader Megan Brodeur was in second. Brodeur moved passed Anderson late in the race to earn the victory all while extending her points lead. Malene Anderson ran a strong second and Elina Ohman rounded out the podium.

2017/2018 AMSOIL Championship Snocross Powered by RAM Schedule