AMSOIL/Judnick Motorsports rider Ross Martin had questions on how he would hold up after breaking his hip at the Winter X Games last January.
For both riders, the start of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series in Duluth, Minn. this past weekend helped answer a lot of questions and concerns.
Malinoski proved that signing with Scheuring in the off season was the right move. The former 2-time champion finished strong in all of his heat races at the AMSOIL Duluth National, including a win in Sunday's Pro Open heat. He even grabbed the hole shot in the Pro Open final and battled with the leaders on way to a fourth place finish in some terrible conditions. It wasn't a perfect weekend for Malinoski. In Saturday's Pro Stock final, he made a brilliant move on Brett Bender for third, but the sleeve to his jacket got caught on Bender's sled, putting the number four sled on it's side. From there, a little bit of gas hit the brake pads and a fire started, meaning Malinoski's day was done."We were in the mix on Saturday night, and despite the bad luck, we know we have a couple of bulldogs on these sleds," said team owner Steve Scheuring. "We proved again on Sunday that we are a front running team. We can't wait to get to Milwaukee this weekend and get a win."
For Martin, there is no doubt that the 2008 Pro Rider of the Year is back on track. Despite a couple of glitches in Pro Stock qualifying, Martin won the LCQ and, from the back row, moved his AMSOIL/Polaris up into fifth on the final flag. On Sunday, it was vintage Martin. He went with a pair of seconds to get into the final. From there, Marin used a good start and a hand full of throttle to push past the field into second. He was gaining on eventual winner Tucker Hibbert, but time ran out and Martin finished second.
Meanwhile, his younger teammate, Mike Bauer started the weekend off with a win in Semi-Pro Super Stock 1 on Saturday and followed that up with a third place
in the Super Stock 2 class."We know we need a good start this weekend, and I think we got it," said team owner Scott Judnick. "Ross proved he is healthy and Mike really showed he is ready to battle in the Semi-Pro class."
The AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series heads to the famed Milwaukee Mile this weekend. You will be able to watch the event via pay per view. The AMSOIL Duluth National will air on Versus on January 3, 2010.
Until then, we'll see you at the races.
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