Team Arctic / Speedwerx Results from the USCC I-500 Cross-Country

Pro 600 1. Dan Ebert 2. Ryan Huston 4. Cody Kallock 6. Chad Lian 8. Arne Rantanen 10. Brian Dick	Pro Open 2. Cody Kallock	Semi Pro 600 1. Cole Nymann
Semi Pro Improved 1. Erik Bute	Vet 30 Plus 1. Chad Lian 2. Arne Rantanen 3. Brian Dick	Masters 40 Plus 1. Jon Arneson 2. Steve Arneson 3. Brian Perreault
Legends 50 Plus 3. Paul Dick 4. Roger Skime	Trail 1. Chris Sobeck 2. Justin Morken 3. Casey Clement	Expert 85 1. Trevor John 2. Bryce Buchanan 3. Carter Diesen 4. Jeff Gruhlke 5. Joey Hallstrom
Expert 85 Improved 1. Jeff Gruhlke 2. Jason Kangas 3. Chris Sobeck 4. Brad Pecka	Women’s 1. Jolene Bute	Trophy 600 1. Chris Hoff 2. Pete Passuello
Trophy 85 1. Marty Feil 2. Dustin Grausam 3. Matt Austin 4. Ben Langaas 5. Cole Lian

DAN EBERT LEADS TEAM ARCTIC / SPEEDWERX SWEEP OF I-500

Thief River Falls, Minn. (Jan. 19, 2010) – In what many considered the toughest I-500 cross-country race in more than a decade, Team Arctic’s Dan Ebert combined solid preparation, raw speed and a dash of good luck to score the biggest win of his career. Ebert’s overall victory capped an emotional and wildly successful USCC I-500 for Team Arctic that included 11 of 13 class wins.

“This was the most brutal I-500 that I can remember, that simply to finish is a victory in itself,” said Mike Kloety, Team Arctic Race Manager. “For Dan to win it in his second attempt is outstanding, as was the complete domination of Arctic Cat in all but two of the classes.”

Never further back than fourth overall after the first of three legs, Ebert raced in his typical style: fast, consistent and cool-headed. When his Team Arctic teammate D.J. Ekre suffered a breakdown while leading on the third leg, Ebert took the lead and never looked back. Ryan Huston showed speed and resilience by taking third, with Cody Kallock, Chad Lian, Arne Rantanen and Brian Dick adding to Team Arctic’s lion-share of the top-10.

The debut of the Sno Pro 500 in the event proved better than even the most optimistic expectations. In the Expert 85 class, Trevor John led an Arctic Cat sweep of the top-12, while Marty Feil led the top-nine finishers in Trophy 85 and Jeff Gruhlke leading the top-4 in Expert 85 Improved.

Other notable performances included Jolene Bute’s fifth career win in the Women’s class, and Cole Nymann’s rise to win the Semi Pro 600 class. With intent to better understand and improve the future of Arctic Cat production machines, Vice President of Engineering, Roger Skime, raced a Sno Pro 500 to fourth place in the Legends 50-Plus class while Arctic Cat Product Manager Joey Hallstrom finished fifth in the Expert 85 class aboard his Sno Pro 500.

“We’re proud of the wins, but we’re equally proud of the young and first-time racers who competed in the I-500,” said Kloety. “Combining what we learn about building better snowmobiles with what they learn about racing for 500 miles will produce future I-500 champions.”

Team Arctic Cat / Speedwerx Crushes Grafton Cross-Country

Thief River Falls, Minn. (Jan. 5, 2010) – By the looks of it, 2010 will be a mighty fine year for Team Arctic. At the first USCC cross-country race of the season in Grafton, ND, Team Arctic delivered one of the most stunning performances of the past decade, winning 11 of 15 classes, including Cory Davis sweep of the Pro classes.

A winner at the USCC race in Munising, Mich., last season, Davis once again took advantage of a break in the National snocross season to focus on his family’s forte: cross-country. The result was the perfect blend of speed and conditioning, with Davis putting time into his rivals on each of the four laps of the Pro 600 class for a clear victory.

Davis’s Team Arctic/Christian Bros. Racing teammates Ryan Simons, D.J. Ekre and Brian Dick slotted into third, fourth and sixth. Add the strong rides by Chad Lian and Brian Carey, and Team Arctic notched six of the top-10.

“In 20 years of watching Team Arctic cross-country success, this ranks as one of the all-time great performances,” said Mike Kloety, Race Manager. “Better yet, Grafton was also the debut of our Sno Pro 500, which proved even better than we expected.”

How successful was the new Sno Pro 500 in its first cross-country? Bryce Buchanan led a Team Arctic sweep of the top-nine in Expert 85; Chris Klie led a top-14 sweep of Sport 85 and C.J. VandePutte led a top-8 sweep of Jr. 14-17, all aboard Sno Pro 500s. Just as impressive, Buchanan and second-place finisher Dave Dirkman clocked times aboard their Sno Pro 500s that would have won the Semi Pro 600 class!

“The Sno Pro 500 has transformed the 85-hp classes this year,” said Pat Mach, Race Director for USCC. “The sleds are easy to race for all abilities and are manageable, which brought new racers to the circuit and helped make our largest-ever event.

“Even better, there were 10 guys in the Sport 85 class that finished within one minute of fourth place. The racing was so close and enjoyable that most of these guys laughed and shared stories with each other post-race. That’s what cross-country is all about.”

While Team Arctic cross-country racers were crushing the Grafton course, the snocross contingent delivered a nine-win weekend at the ISOC Regional race at ERX Motorpark in Elk River, Minn. Factory Arctic Cat racers Dan Ebert and Cody Thomsen won a Pro class each; Andrew Carlson took Semi Pro Open, Britt Anderson won Sport Women and Tyler Riewer won Sport Stock, putting Arctic Cat on top of all race categories.