Byers Motorsports / Supertrax / Polaris Race Team was full of excitement heading into the CSRA season opener at Calabogie Ski Resort in the Ottawa Valley.
This was one of three conjoined races with the Quebec SCM Snowcross circuit this season which meant for more riders and more competition.
The warm weather and rain heading into the weekend held off enough to allow the event to go. The event was changed to a One Day Points Event with Saturday being practice. With the lack of snow, the track was a smaller, tight track at the bottom of the ski hill.
Prior to the start of the CSRA Season, racers Jamie and Kyle Byers have been training hard, getting themselves ready for the start of the season. Jamie spent the week before Calabogie at Planet X in Minnesota getting seat time on the new Polaris IQ Race Sled and tuning the suspension. Kyle will be joining us for his first race in Lindsay, Ontario January 21-22, 2012 due to prior commitments.
Sunday Morning came early with a 7am drivers meeting before sunrise. With the SCM circuit and Sport racers jumping up, the Pro-Lite (formally Semi-Pro) Stock class saw 36 entries battling for the 15 position final. Jamie got a good start in Moto #1 and battled hard with the leader the whole race coming across the line in 2nd. In Moto # 2, he had an outside starting position which put him at a disadvantage going into turn one as he was held outside in the corner but was able to come out in 3rd.
He made the pass for 2nd down the pack straight and was charging for the leader but was passed back a few laps later. The top 3 had a good battle and Jamie finished 3rd. With a 2nd and 3rd qualifying finish, he qualified 6th for the final. Off the start, he was near the back going into the first corner but made up time on the inside and down the back straight getting up to 5th. Jamie rode a hard race and battled up to 3rd finishing on the Podium for the first Pro-Lite Stock race of the year.
The temperature started to warm up in the afternoon which made the snow soft and allowed the track to get down to dirt in some sections. The dirt played a huge factor with visibility from the roost from other sleds. Jamie placed 2nd in Open Moto 1. In Moto 2, the Dayco Belt and Woody’s studs hooked up and got Jamie into the corner top 2. He made a hard charge down the front stretch making the pass on Shawn Elmhirst’s #99 Arctic Cat.
From there, Jamie had clear vision and checked out from there taking the win with a 9 second lead over 2nd place. Qualifying 2nd for the final, Jamie lined up second from the inside. He didn’t get the start he wanted and found himself going into the first corner 10th. He made time up on the inside of the corner getting up to about 5th but made a bad line choice down the back stretch falling back to 8th. He had a hard time seeing with the mud roost but worked him way up to 6th for the finish.
“It was good to get the first weekend under our belt and get the finishes we did. After seeing the number of entries, we knew we needed consistent finishes to qualify for the final.” Jamie said after the races. “The Polaris IQ Race sled worked great once again this year.”
The next scheduled CSRA race for Byers Motorsports is January 14-15, 2012 in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec for National Round 2.
