While the weather was getting nasty in other parts of Ontario with the dreaded rain, Sudbury was getting hit with snow which kept everyone in the winter mood for this past weekend’s racing at Sudbury Downs.
A great track was put together by the CSRA and fans were able to view the whole track from the raised heated grandstands. This was the first weekend since the season opener in Calabogie that the whole Supertrax Magazine /Byers Motorsports/ Polaris team was together with both Jamie and Kyle racing.
Kyle returned to the track after 8 weeks of being on the sled due to prior schooling commitments. In Moto 1 of Sport 600, Kyle nailed the start and grabbed the hole-shot but struggled with the rhythm section and fell back to 5th.
In Moto 2, Kyle didn’t get the start he wanted and was mid pack. He was able to make a couple passes for 4th before the finish. Kyle got a good start in the final despite starting in the back-row and had got to about mid pack. Unfortunately for Kyle, he got caught up in a 3 racer pileup in the 2nd corner which took majority of the race to untangle and finished 14th.
Kyle came out Sunday wanting to show everyone he still had what it takes to run upfront. Kyle finished 2nd in Moto 1 after getting a great start and finding his racing groove again.
Kyle came out strong again in Moto 2, grabbing the hole-shot, got passed by a rider in corner 2 but charged hard down the front stretch and made the pass for the lead. Kyle led the remaining laps holding off 2nd place for the win. You could tell Kyle was in the groove and pumped after qualifying second, wanting a good finish in the final.
Kyle didn’t get the start he would have liked getting pinched in the first corner coming out in the latter half of the pack. Kyle was making time and picking off one rider at a time. He had made his way up to 8th before getting hit by another rider coming out of the corner and was tossed off the sled with 2 laps to go crossing the line 16th.
Jamie hit to the track on Saturday for the Semi-Pro Stock class grabbing the hole-shot in Moto 1. Jamie fell back to 3rd but soon after, 2nd place came off his sled in the rhythm section handing 2nd back to Jamie for the finish.
Once again, Jamie was on the throttle for the Green flag, grabbed the hole-shot and led from start to finish holding off 2nd place’s last lap charge. Qualifying 2nd for the final, Jamie lined up to the outside of the starting line.
He got pinched off on the start and had to let off the throttle coming out of the first corner near the back. He was able to make up some time on the outside of the rhythm section and pick off riders before the finish, coming across in 6th.
After the noon Pro/Semi-Pro practice, Jamie was very happy with the mod sleds performance and was confident going into the qualifying moto’s. His Polaris IQ 600 hooked up off the start and grabbed the hole-shot in moto 2.
Jamie was passed in corner 2 but stayed on the throttle down the front stretch, diving to the inside of the starting line corner, making a great clean pass for the lead and the win. In Moto 2, Jamie was 2nd and he and the leader were pulling away from the rest of the pack. Jamie overshot the finish line triple, got crossed up in the air and came off the side of the sled on the landing.
Falling back to 6th, he got back up quick, charged hard and was able to pass 2 riders for 4th. Jamie, once again, lined up on the outside for the final and was confident that he could grab a great start.
At the drop of the green, the sled hooked up and launched Jamie 1st into the corner. Fellow Polaris rider #381 got to the inside of Jamie putting the pressure on and Jamie blew the 3rd corner falling back to 4th.
Jamie got back on the gas and passed both riders in the first corner after the finish line taking back 2nd. Jamie pulled away from 3rd and grabbed the 2nd place podium position for his best finish of the year thus far.
“The mod sled worked awesome today and helped me grab every hole-shot” Jamie said after the race. “This Dayco XTX belt is working and hooking up great. I can’t believe we’re still on the same belt we started the season with!”
Jamie did not attend the CSRA Regional race 2 weeks ago in Kirkland Lake as he was offered with a great opportunity by Supertrax Magazine to attend the 2011 SnowShoot in West Yellowstone, Montana as a test rider. Jamie was able to ride all the 2012 sleds before they were released to the public and Supertrax took action photos for next season’s Supertrax issues. Jamie would really like to thank the Lester Family and the Supertrax Media Crew for this opportunity and great hospitality.
The next scheduled CSRA event is March 26-27, 2011 at Chicopee Ski Resort in Kitchener, Ontario. Kyle will be joining us again at the Season Finally at Horseshoe Valley Ski Resort near Barrie and Orillia, April 2-3.
