SnowRider Online Magazine

PRESS RELEASE: West Yellowstone, Mont. (Jan. 21, 2008) - Tucker Hibbert and his Monster Energy/Arctic Cat dominated the World PowerSports Association Snowmobile Tour’s Jack Link’s West Yellowstone National.

Hibbert was no stranger to the area as he began his snowmobile racing career at West Yellowstone and was born in the nearby town of Driggs, Idaho.

Hibbert grabbed the number one qualifying spot for the Pro Super Stock final and was untouchable all 12 laps. He led every single lap and finished nearly ten seconds ahead of second place, Arctic Cat’s #67 Ryan Simons.

It was the first race of the season on a 100% natural snow track but heavy snowfall and poor visibility prematurely shut down Sunday’s racing, forcing the team’s and track crew to stick around to finish the remaining races Monday morning.

With the sun shining and below zero temperatures, 15 riders hit the track for the Pro Open final. With a nearly last place start in the 14-lap final, Hibbert put his head down, rode mistake free and passed first place, Ryan Simons, on lap ten for the win.

Hibbert and Monster Energy/Arctic Cat are on their way to Aspen, Colo. for the biggest race of the season, ESPN’s Winter X Games 12. This year marks the ninth appearance for the six-time medalist at the Winter X Games and a shot for his third gold medal. Look for Hibbert to continue his winning streak Saturday night live on ESPN.

Tucker Hibbert – #68 Monster Energy/Arctic Cat comments: “It was awesome to get my first stock/open sweep of the season and was great to be back in West Yellowstone. These wins give the team and myself so much confidence and extra motivation heading into the Winter X Games this week. Being able to come from behind in the Pro Open final and to win by a good margin really helps me mentally because now I know I can run down the field if I need to. With a 20 lap final event in Aspen, I know no matter where I am off the start I can fight my way to the front.”

Press release from: Jack Link’s West Yellowstone National
Round 4- WPSA Snowmobile Tour
West Yellowstone, Montana

Resources: www.tucker-hibbert.com • www.monsterenergy.com
www.arcticcat.com • www.wpsaracing.com

Posted by by Linda Aksomitis,
Managing Editor for SnowRider Online Magazine
and www.guide2travel.ca

One of today’s leading stories on snowmobiles addresses crossover sleds. Ed Klim from the International Snowmobile Association (ISMA) http://www.snowmobile.org/
indicates lots of drivers are moving to the snowmobile that can “do it all.” Leading the pace are places like Alberta, where riders are geographically close to both mountains and plains.

Read the Gazette story with Ed Klim.

The big question is will this trend carry over to other geographical areas? Aren’t crossover sleds just another name for snowmobiles that make a compromise? They don’t have the long tracks developed especially for soft powder mountain riding, nor do they have design that provides the ultimate in trail performance. How many riders will give up top performance on their favorite terrain, in order to have average performance under most types of riding conditions.

The sledders I know–male and female–want it all every time they hit the snow. If they don’t own a mountain sled and they’re heading off to the mountains, then they rent a mountain sled when they get there. Likewise, when they hit the backroads they want the same handling Blair Morgan has out there on the snocross track. If there’s one thing I’ve seen proven time and time again, it’s that snowmobilers expect top performance out of the snow machines they buy.

SnowRider has profiled some of the 2008 crossover sleds:

Arctic Cat Crossfire 5 snowmobile

Polaris Switchback snowmobile

Yamaha Apex LTX snowmobile

Ski-Doo Renegade snowmobile

by Linda Aksomitis,
Managing Editor for SnowRider Online Magazine
and www.guide2travel.ca