Tim Tremblay Ends Hibbert’s Run Of Perfection

Tucker Hibbert’s run of perfection is over, and the person who broke the string is somebody that hardly anybody would have picked a couple weeks ago.

     First-year pro Tim Tremblay, running a Warnert Racing, NSK-sponsored Ski-Doo, led pretty much from green to checkered Saturday night in Sandy, Utah, running away with the Pro Open final.

     The victory followed Tremblay’s second-place finish in Pro Stock moments ago, proving that his victory was no fluke. Some doubters may note that Hibbert crashed with eight laps left in the race, but Hibbert was not a factor in this final – he was running third at the time, roughly five seconds behind Tremblay, and three seconds behind Ross Martin, who held second place until the end.

     A sizable crowd was on hand in the Salt Lake City suburb, making host organization ISOC very happy they took the risk to venture west.

     After the race, the Quebecois winner searched for words to describe how good it all felt.

     “I’m living a dream right now, I can’t believe it — To get first place in the pros, I can’t believe it,” Tremblay said. “I felt like Ross Martin was behind me, but I just didn’t look back and I had great lines, and I tried to put everything (together) to go fast, and it just worked good.”

     Martin finished a solid second and solidified himself in the points, while fellow Polaris racer Robbie Malinoski recovered from some qualifying-race crashes that left him banged up and starting in the back row to finish third.

     “It was one of those deal where I found a little hole off the starting line and was able to get through it,” Malinoski said. “Then I just put my head down and continued to work hard. I’m super pumped. We were kind of down in the dumps earlier today after we had a couple of crashes in the qualifiers, this is exactly what we needed.”

     Cory Davis finished fourth, followed by fellow Cat racers Garth Kaufman, Dan Ebert and Hibbert, who remounted and climbed his way back up to seventh.

     Make sure to check out our story on the Pro Stock final elsewhere on this web site.

Big Excitement In Utah National

People in the pits talk about what it’s going to take to stop the T-Train, the nickname for snocross stud Tucker Hibbert.

      He went undefeated last year, and this year he opened the second by sweeping both pro classes at Duluth, Minnesota, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

      Well in Utah for round three, that train turned into a self described “monster truck” but kept on a roll in Pro Stock.

      Hibbert was the No. 1 qualifier and jumped out to a holeshot and immediately started pulling away from the field on his Monster Energy Drink-sponsored Arctic Cat.

      Behind him, two first-year pros battled it out for second place, as Minnesota Cat rider Dan Ebert and Quebec-native Tim Tremblay on a Ski-Doo swapped the second spot. Ebert was second off the line, but Tremblay took the spot by the end of the first lap. Ebert grabbed the spot back about four laps later and held the runner up spot until about lap 6, when the two traded paint and Tremblay returned to second.

      Behind them, Zach Pattyn, Ross Martin and Levi Lavallee slotted into the next three spots and stayed close to each other throughout the event.

      About eight laps into the 22-lap final, however, Matt Judnick and Ryan Simons got tangled up in turn in particularly loose snow, and they and corner workers couldn’t separate the two machines. That created a race-long obstacle for competitors, and it just about ended Hibbert run of perfection.

      Shortly before Hibbert entered the turn with about 9 laps to go, a third sled got tangled in the mess, and Hibbert came hot into the turn with nowhere to go.

      “It was pretty wild man,” Hibbert explained after the race. “Some sleds were stuck there the whole time, and I came around one lap and there was a third sled there and I didn’t know what to do, I just drove right into them….I thought I was done for sure, I said it to myself in my helmet.”

      But then Hibbert went “monster truck” on the whole event, clawing his way over Judnick’s sled to get out of the mess. He lost a couple seconds off of his 5-second lead, but he escaped.  

      “I think I owe those guy some new parts, because I wrecked their sleds there when I went over them,” Hibbert said with a chuckle.

      He expanded his lead back to 4.188 seconds by the time he went by the waving checkered flag with his 51rst Pro victory. Everybody behind him stayed in line, meaning Tremblay (Doo) was second, Ebert (Cat) third, and then Pattyn (Cat), Martin (Pol) and LaVallee (Pol). Kaufman (Cat) held seventh, with Steve Taylor (Doo), Robbie Malinoski (Pol) and Andrew Johnstad (Pol) rounding out the top 10.

      Tremblay unleashed a fist pump when he crossed the finish line in second. “Second place for my first year as a pro, that’s a pretty good finish, I think,” the French-Canadian racer said afterward.

      Ebert seemed to appreciate his spot on the podium, and his battle with Tremblay.

      “We had a little contact there but it was good, it was a lot of fun racing there,” Ebert said.

      The Pro Open final is just about an hour away – check back for details.

Hibbert Takes National Win No. 50 Saturday Night In Milwaukee

This just in, Tucker Hibbert is human – and he was actually beat at the snowy and windy Milwaukee National.

Tucker Hibbert took Pro win No. 50 in his career at Milwaukee

The problem, at least for the competition, is that Hibbert’s defeats came in heat races. When it was time to chase the cheese, Hibbert again schooled the field in both Pro Stock on Friday night and Pro Open on Sunday night.

            For Hibbert, the driver who swept every Pro weekend last year before leaving the circuit to chase his motocross dreams, it was another weekend sweep to start this season after doing the same thing last weekend in Duluth, Minnesota. It was win number 50 on the national snocross scene – between WPSA and ISOC – for Hibbert.

            Saturday night, Hibbert again scored a come behind victory. The holeshot and early lead was claimed by Brett Bender on the No. 19 Polaris of New York, Bender held the point for the first three laps in the 22 lap final before being passed in the air over the main tabletop jump by Hibbert. Hibbert again methodically pulled away on his Monster Energy Drink Arctic Cat, pulling away to a 9 second victory.

            On the podium, Hibbert said about the only problem he has was with the roost, reporting that one time he got a mouthful of snow when pulling up behind a sled he was about to lap that made it hard for him to breath. From the outside, though, nobody could tell, as Hibbert again looked close to perfect.

            Bender held second the rest of the race – fellow Polaris racer Ross Martin closed within .8 seconds a couple of times, but he never got close enough to truly challenge. Those two took the last two spots on the podium.

            “Right before the race I was telling my dad [hall of fame racer Tim Bender] and everybody [on his team] that if I just got through the first corner I’d be excited because it seems I haven’t got through that first corner yet this year,” said Bender, who had gotten tangled up with riders early in the other three finals this year.

            “As soon as [Hibbert] got by me, I though, OK, just calm down and try to stay with him and see what he’s doing,” Bender said. But Bender bobbled a couple times and allowed Hibbert out of his sights.  

            Hibbert, meanwhile, admitted being human on the podium, saying that sometimes he struggles to find the motivation to keep training for riding. But, between devine inspiration for the religious rider, a desire to not let his team down and the threat of competitors sneaking up on him, Hibbert continues to push to improve.

            “I’d like to say thanks to the fans, the whole team, and thanks to the guys on the podium for giving me the motivation to keep working hard,” Hibbert said.

            Robbie Malinoski (Pol) finished fourth, followed be Brett Tucotte (Doo), Cory Davis (Cat), Tim Tremblay (Doo), Emil Ohman (Doo), Dan Ebert (Cat) and Paul Bauerly (Doo). Crowd favorite Levi LaVallee struggled deep in the pack before coming off his ride with about five laps left.

            Earlier, Logan Christian claimed a very entertaining Semi-Pro Stock victory.

Hibbert’s Chase Of Perfection Continues In Milwaukee

If you like to watch perfection, keep your eyes on the ISOC racing series for the first half of this season. If you like to watch close finishes and various people winning? Well, it might be a long season.

        The Tucker Hibbert show continues Friday night at the Milwaukee Mile, where Hibbert again watched for a couple laps, then stormed away to an easy-looking victory in the Pro Super Stock final. It was the Goodrich, Minnesota, racer’s 49^th Pro victory on the national series, and it continued an upbeaten string that dates back a couple of years.

            Polaris racer Ross Martin actually gave Hibbert a decent challenge in a heat race, but when the money was on the line, local boy Martin could only hold back Hibbert for a couple of laps after grabbing the early lead. Six laps into the 22-lap final, Hibbert chose a different line on his Monster Energy Cat down the backstretch, swapped to the inside line in the far turn and then took a lead he’d never relinquish. Then, lap after lap, Hibbert pulled away, adding about a second each lap over the talented Martin.

            Martin held second for the rest of the event, but behind him, there was chaos, as drivers swapped positions, there was a small fire and racers battled for the final podium spot. Levi LaVallee held third for the first third of the race before fading to an eventual eighth place finish. Steve Taylor grabbed the third spot on his Ski-Doo at the midway point but he faded to fifth.

            Garth Kaufman, meanwhile, was going the other direction on his No. 48 Cat. He held eighth for several laps early, then started picking his way through the field. He claimed third with five laps left and held on. Robbie Malinoski started strong, faded in the middle, then came back to claim fourth on his Polaris. Tim Tremblay (Doo) was sixth behind Taylor, and second-best qualifier Emil Ohman overcame a first-lap tie-up with Brett Bender, among others, to work up to seventh ahead of LaVallee.

            More huge racing tomorrow, including the Pro Open final.

Bender Takes First Career Pro Podium at Valcourt

Arctic Cat Sweeps Semi-Pro Super Stock with Ebert, Davis and Salemark

It was perhaps fitting that it was at Valcourt’s circuit Yvon Duhamel during the Grand Prix Ski-doo de Valcourt, that young Brett Bender (Polaris) championed his first pro victory of his career. In a community known for its passion for snowmobile racing and at a venue rich with racing lore named after famed ice oval racer Yvon Duhamel, Bender scored his memorable victory where his father, world champion oval racer Tim Bender, also competed.

It was only a few weeks earlier in Brainerd, Minnesota that Bender found the podium for the first time in his fledgling pro career, finishing second behind snocross king Tucker Hibbert. At the time it was one of the most emotional moments of his young racing career, but in hindsight it will pale in comparison to his AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series victory at Valcourt. [Read more]

Legendary Yvon Duhamel Invited by Ski-Doo to Grand Prix de Valcourt

For some twenty years now, the circuit hosting every winter the Grand Prix Ski-Doo de Valcourt bears the name of one of motorsports greatest legends: Yvon Duhamel. A member of both the international motorcycle and snowmobile racing Hall of Fame and of the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Montreal native has been the very first Ski-Doo racing team star. His memorable accomplishments in snowmobile racing have been a world championship title earned on the Eagle River oval in 1970 and his win in the challenging Winnipeg/St-Paul 500-mile cross-country race in 1972. Also a winner of the Daytona motorcycle race in 1969 and a World Champion in 1972, Duhamel will be an honorary guest of BRP Inc. during the Grand Prix Ski-Doo de Valcourt weekend, a few months before he turns 70, next October.

Hibbert Ends His Snocross Season On A Perfect Streak

Tucker Hibbert completed his last race of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series the same way he started it – with a convincing win, completing his perfect condensed season going 8 for 8 in Pro finals aboard his Monster Energy Arctic Cat. With warm February sunshine, a technically challenging track and a packed house on-hand, Tucker Hibbert led the final field of 16 nearly flag to flag in the Pro Open main event at Brainerd, Minn.

The showcase race of the weekend was one of many firsts on the 2008-09 AMSOIL Championship tour. Aside from Tucker completing his perfect season quest, the race also marked the first pro podium for Brett Bender; as well as the first final of the season which saw both factory Yamaha sleds in the main. [Read more]

Best Snocross Racers in the World Set to be at Canterbury

MINNEAPOLIS (January 2, 2009) – The top professional snocross racers on the planet, as well as the leading freestyle athletes anywhere will invade Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota for Round 3 of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series. More than 15,000 fans are expected to witness the world’s best snowmobile riders compete side-by-side for more than $250,000 on a racetrack littered with huge jumps and insane terrain. Racers will fly more than 80-feet in excess of two-stories high as they negotiate a course laid out in front of the heated Canterbury Park venue.
Winter X Games Champions including Minnesota’s own Tucker Hibbert and Levi LaVallee as well as freestyle king Chris Burandt will be there, giving area fans one of the few opportunities of the year to see these incredible riders in person.
The weekend heats up fast Friday night at 7:00pm with a FREE Monster Energy Slednecks Invasion Tour freestyle showcase. The top freestyle athletes in the world including Chris Burandt and Paul Thacker will perform some of the most insane tricks ever seen on a snowmobile including a back-flip! Riders will launch their snowmobiles from two freestyle ramps to a backdrop of infused rock and free swag for the fans. Joining them will be the biggest names in snocross racing for an evening of hospitality, autographs and family fun.
Competitive juices flow early Saturday morning with support class racing, culminating with the Main Event from 4:00pm to 7:30pm. This all-out showcase of the top Pro and Semi-Pro riders anywhere will be bar to bar non-stop action, with Pro and Semi-Pro finals running back to back. During the action, the heated Canterbury Park facility will host displays from leading snowmobile manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers along with food and beverages. There’s also free snowmobile demo rides or the kids with a chance for one lucky participant to win a new Arctic Cat kids snowmobile.
Capping off the weekend will be Sunday support class racing, with local racers competing on a national track. Racing gets underway at 9:00am both Saturday and Sunday, but race fans will want to be sure they are in the stands 4:00pm Saturday for the Main Event. Advance weekend passes are just $30 with kids 12 and under FREE! Visits www.isocracing.com for more information and tickets.

ISOC Duluth Pro Open Qualifiers

The following are the top 9 and front row of the ISOC Amsoil Snocross Series Pro Open final to be held at Duluth Spirit Mountain later today: 

1. Tucker Hibbert (Arctic Cat)
2. TJ Gulla (Polaris)
3. Levi LaVallee (Polaris)
4. Mike Schultz (Ski-Doo)
5. Ross Martin (Polaris)
6. Matt Judnick (Polaris)
7. Ryan Simons (Arctic Cat)
8. Mathieu Morin (Ski-Doo)
9. DJ Eckstrom (Polaris) 

Six drivers won a spot in the final from two last chance qualifier heats for the ISOC Pro Open race. Each race pulled the top three finished for a back-row start in the final.

[Read more]

Tucker Hibbert Wins Pro Stock At Duluth

Tucker Hibbert won his 39th career snocross race when he put his Monster Energy Arctic Cat Sno Pro across the finish line first in the 30-lap Pro Stock feature. Hibbert launched to an early lead, settled into a rhythm and led the race from flag-to-flag. 

In the new longer race format, it was more like an endurance race than a typical snocross. When on the podium, Hibbert said the longer race was a “way to separate the guys who work hard, and you’re looking at three guys who work hard to put on the best show we can.” Joining him on the podium in second was Polaris-driver Levi Lavallee and Arctic Cat driver Ryan Simons in third.

LaVallee was in third from the start, and moved ahead of teammate T.J. Gulla to take second. Gulla remained in third for much of the race, but couldn’t match the pace of Hibbert and LaVallee who turned consistent lap times. At race end, only four drivers finished 30 laps: Hibbert, LaVallee, Simons and Gulla who finished fourth. 

Pro Stock Final (pending tech inspection)

1. Tucker Hibbert (Arctic Cat)
2. Levi LaVallee (Polaris) 
3. Ryan Simons (Arctic Cat)
4. T.J. Gulla (Polaris)
5. Matt Piche (Arctic Cat)
6. Garth Kaufman (Arctic Cat)
7. Mike Schultz (Ski-Doo)
8. Brett Turcotte (Arctic Cat)
9. D.J. Eckstrom (Polaris)
10. Shaun Crapo (Polaris)
11. Matt Judnick (Polaris)
12. Mathieu Morin (Ski-Doo)
13. Carl Schubitzke (Arctic Cat)

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