Monday, January 25, 2010

Rain Doesn't Slow AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series in Shakopee

When the skies open up during a Minnesota January, snow usually prevails. With a strange storm hitting the Midwest this past weekend, the temps stayed above freezing causing a watery mess at the fourth round of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series.

For Team AMSOIL, and more than 20,000 fans cheering on, the conditions didn't matter much in the way of podium finishes. For AMSOIL/Judnick Motorsports rider Ross Martin, the battle wasn't with the elements but rather with Tucker Hibbert in the AMSOIL Pro Open final. Martin led for almost the entire race before Hibbert completed a remarkable comeback from eighth place to take the win. Hibbert even surprised himself with the win,
“I seriously don’t know how I got here,” Hibbert said on the podium. “That was the hardest I’ve ever had to work to get here.”

With Martin and Hibbert going bar-to-bar during the final four laps of the 22-lap final, it was one of the best races of the ACSS season. With Hibbert finishing first, Martin was a close second and Tim Tremblay third.

The AMSOIL Pro Open race in Canterbury tightened up the season points standings considerably as Hibbert was able to catch Martin. The two former champions are now tied at 179. Team AMSOIL Scheuring Speed Sports rider Robbie Malinoski finished 12th at Canterbury due to a blown fuel pump but still sits fourth overall.

Up next for Team AMSOIL is the ESPN Winter X Games this weekend. Practice and qualifying will be held on Saturday. The final will be on Sunday afternoon (1:30 P.N. EST) on ESPN. The next ACSS race will be in Farmington, N.Y.

Until then, we'll see you at the races.