Press Release –
Yamaha 4-stroke snowmobiles captured four pro and semi-pro wins at the annual Haydays Grass Drags in Lino Lakes, Minn. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 6-7.
Jim Jones and Jerry Fix set the bar high on Saturday with a dominating 1-2 sweep of the Improved Stock 600 pro class aboard their four-stroke Apexes. Jared Spaulding likewise won Semi Pro Stock 600 on another Apex®, while Matt Thies and Rodney Burzinski went 1-2 in Semi Pro Stock 500 aboard their RS Vector® sleds.
In Sunday’s competition, Brett Huff, riding for One Stop Performance, set the quickest ET in Haydays history – covering the 500 foot course in a blistering time of 3.989 sec. at 131.8 mph – on his highly modified FX Nytro®, powered by a turbocharged Yamaha 4 cylinder 4-stroke engine, on his way to victory in the Outlaw Pro Mod class.
Hosted by the Sno-Barons Snowmobile Club, Haydays is the largest snowmobile event in the world, drawing some 40,000 spectators over a two-day period. Saturday’s weather was perfect for racing, and the Semi Pro Stock 600 final proved a great showcase for Yamaha four-stroke performance as the top three sleds included Spaulding on his Lustilla Racing Apex, along with Hauck Powersports’ Thies (RX-1®) and June Delveaux (Apex).
Spaulding also grabbed a second in Semi Pro 600 S on a 2009 FX Nytro. One of the day’s closest finishes belonged to Jones (Hauck Powersports) and Fix (Fix Powersports) in the Improved Stock 600 pro class, as only 0.028 sec. separated their Apexes at the finish line – barely three inches after 500 feet of racing.
“The key to getting the 4-stroke torque hooked up all comes down to the suspension,” Jones said. “The Apex transfers power to the ground awesome and just goes forward.”
Rain on Sunday morning hardly dampened the energy as fans enjoyed seeing Yamaha’s 2009 product line, meeting retired US Marine pilot Bob “Hondo” Davis, who broke the world record for the longest snowmobile trip in history (12,163 miles in 60 days aboard an RS Venture®), meeting Factory Snocross racers Steve Taylor and Iain Hayden and witnessing a big-air demonstration by Yamaha freestyle artist Jeff Mullin.
“I really credit the success of this event to snowmobile enthusiasts’ passion for the sport,” said Yamaha snowmobile marketing manager Wade West. “Everyone always wants to see what’s new.”
Haydays Grass Drag Race Results
Pro Classes:
Stock 600
1st: G. Breton
2nd: Pat Hauck / Yamaha Apex
3rd: Jerry Fix / Yamaha Apex
4th: Jordan Cole / Yamaha Apex
Stock 600S (Single Pipe)
1st: G. Breton
2nd: C. Erhart
3rd: Pat Hauck / Yamaha FX Nytro XTX
4th: Jerry Fix / Yamaha FX Nytro
Stock 500
1St: L. Hauck
2nd: G. Breton
3rd: Pat Hauck / Yamaha RS Nytro
Improved Stock 600 cc
1st: Jimmy Jones / Yamaha Apex
2nd: Jerry Fix / Yamaha Apex
3rd: S. Hartong
Improved Stock 800
1st: Pat Hauck / Yamaha Vmax 4
Outlaw Pro Mod
1st: Brett Huff / Yamaha 4-stroke w/ turbo
Semi-Pro Classes:
Semi Pro 600
1st: Jared Spaulding / Yamaha Apex
2nd: Matt Thies / Yamaha RX-1
3rd: June Delveaux / Yamaha Apex
4th: M. Rempel
Semi Pro 600S (Single Pipe)
1St: M. Rempel
2nd: Jared Spaulding / Yamaha FX Nytro
3rd: D. Parcel
4th: June Delveaux / Yamaha FX Nytro
Semi Pro 500
1st: Matt Thies / Yamaha Nytro
2nd: Ron Bureinski / Yamaha Vector
3rd: M. Rempel
4th: J. Danner
