Press Release –
Polaris snocross racers strengthened their WPSA stronghold on the points leads in the premier classes as they won both Pro titles and one of two Semi-Pro titles at the Grand Prix de Valcourt in Valcourt, Quebec, on Feb. 16.
Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) won the Pro Open class and Dennis Eckstrom (Scheuring Speed Sports) won the Pro Super Stock class as Polaris racers dominated the podiums in both classes. Polaris racers finished 1-2 in Pro Open and overflowed from the Pro Super Stock podium with a 1-2-3-4 finish.
Polaris racers currently hold the top four spots in the WPSA Pro Open and Pro Super Stock points races with two races left on the schedule.
In Semi-Pro racing, Polaris racer Andrew Johnstad (Avalanche Racing) won the Semi-Pro Open class and finished second in Super Stock. The strong showing helped him emerge as the WPSA points leader in both Semi-Pro classes.
Since the Valcourt event features a large slate of ice oval races, only the Pro and Semi-Pro classes competed in snocross.
Polaris Racers Dominate Pro Open Class
The Polaris snocross racing contingent is deep, talented and fast on their Polaris IQ® Race Sleds – claims reflected in the Pro points standings.
In Pro Open at Valcourt, Ross Martin took the victory and Levi LaVallee (Hentges Racing) finished second. Polaris racers earned three of the top five positions and five of the top nine as TJ Gulla (Hentges Racing) finished fifth, Eckstrom was eighth and Mike Schultz (Avalanche Racing) was ninth. Shaun Crapo (Scheuring Speed Sports) finished 11th and Parker Brown was 15th.
Gulla leads in Pro Open points and departed from Valcourt with a 7-point lead over Ross Martin, who is in second. LaVallee is third and Eckstrom is fourth. Only 32 points separate the top four racers. Crapo is in eighth and Mike Schultz is 10th.
Pro Super Stock Podium Full of IQ Racers
The Polaris racers finished 1-4 in Pro Super Stock and filled five of the top eight spots in the class. Eckstrom took the victory, followed by Gulla, Ross Martin and Crapo in second, third and fourth, respectively. LaVallee finished eighth, Danny Poirier (Hulten Speed Sports) was 11th and Mike Schultz was 12th.
The win gave Eckstrom a solid 24-point lead over Ross Martin in the Pro Super Stock points standings. Third in points is Gulla, followed by Mike Schultz in fourth, Crapo in sixth, LaVallee in eighth and Matt Judnick in 12th.
Johnstad Sets the Semi-Pro Pace
Andrew Johnstad continued his career-best season by winning the Semi-Pro Open class at Valcourt to give him a 4-point lead in the standings ahead of fellow Polaris racer Bobby LePage (Hentges Racing). Brett Bender (Hentges Racing) finished fourth in Semi-Pro Open at Valcourt, followed by LePage in fifth, Mike Bauer (Kafka Motorsports) in 14th and David Joanis (Royal Distributing/Borque’s Polaris) in 15th.
In Semi-Pro Super Stock, Johnstad finished second, followed by Bauer (fourth), Matt Bristow (Bristow racing) in fifth and Bender (seventh). Johnstad currently has an 11-point lead over the second-place racer in the points race, while Bender is in fourth, Bauer is in fifth, LePage is in sixth and Chris Kafka (Hentges Racing) is in sixth.
