Snow December 2013

Tucker Hibbert completes the Pro Open sweep of AMSOIL Championship Duluth National!

Geraldton and Longlac Snow Club, The Little Club That Could!

Servicing Your Sled Is Important Duluth Snocross Coverage

Tucker Hibbert Looks To Continue His Winning Ways

NORTH SUPERIOR PUBLISHING INC.

Levi LaVallee Is Excited About A Healthy Snocross Season

Levi LaVallee Is Excited About A Healthy Snocross Season

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Snowmobile News It was fun to sit down with Levi LaVallee and Jake Scott in their race trailer at Spirit Mountain in Duluth. Levi is one of the nicest people in the snocross sport and his enthusiasm for snowmobiling is contagious!

How are you feeling physically as we start the 2013/2104 season?

T he game plan is a full season of snocross. There are races I have been to in the past like Lake Geneva and New York that I miss going back to because there is such a great fan base there. The feeling you get when you see someone who is pumped to see you ride is like no other.

There are no specialty jumps planned but as we move forward I am always game to do a big jump so I’ll see what happens.

The game plan for me is to do freestyle, long jump and snocross at the X Games. I am really looking forward to long jump.

Physically I am in one piece and feel good.

ride them.

Will there be lots of Polaris sleds at the Levi compound in Longville this season?

This year I will have four trail sleds from Polaris to ride- Rush 800, Switchback 600, Indy 800 and Switchback Assault 600, so a whole fleet of sleds I hope to get out and ride. We have lots of sleds, some trail sleds, race sleds and freestyle sleds. It is cool and I am very fortunate to have a great relationship with Polaris and our

perk to have them here. It is a lot more work having three Pro riders but is fun and at the end of the day snocross and snowmobiling is my passion and the more I can surround myself with it the better. There are so many great riders. If Jake or Kyle does well I will be as excited as if I do well. Jake is 19 and Kyle 21 and I am the old guy. We have crew and mechanics that are a great group of people.

Have you been practice riding this season?

We have been riding at Quadna, Hill City and Planet X in Aurora. It was good to get on snow and run some good laps and testing. We made some changes on our open sleds and got them working really well. It is exciting and now you get to see if your work pays off on the track.

Jake Scott, you will run the Pro Open class for the first time this season?

We were able to get some good training and riding in the last few weeks so hopefully we are in the ballpark with everyone.

The hard part for myself is I raced three times last year and two times the year before that because of injury. It is more about trying to get back in the swing of things, see where I am at and where I have to improve for the next few races coming up.

Will you race the entire season this year?

PAGE 2

Last year the X games went really well for you Levi?

I was fortunately to win 2 gold medals.

Unfortunately I tore my lat muscle at the last race of the X Games and it put me out for the rest of the season. This year I would love making it through the whole season healthy because then I could just go out riding sleds at the end of the season like normal. Last year I got some Polaris trail sleds, an Indy 600 and Rush 800 to ride but ended up getting hurt so couldn’t

other sponsors. They allow us to do things at the highest level including having fun, which is what the trail sleds are for.

How is your team looking this season?

The team is looking awesome with Kyle Pallin, Jake Scott and Andy Lieders. Jake is now in the Pro Class. Andy Leaders finished second to Jake in the Pro Lite class and this is his year in Pro Lite. We are very excited to have this team. They work their tales off and are good people so it is a

SNOWMOBILE NEWS DECEMBER 2013

I am from Long Island New York and used to trail ride sleds in Vermont. Some friends told us we could race sleds so we gave it a shot. I grew up racing motocross. This winter I have my own little room called the dungeon, at the Levi compound. I was pretty pumped to win the Pro Lite class last year, as there was so much competition with 5 or 6 guys able to win any time.

I have been training hard all summer and hope to finish on the podium. In the past I did the National amateur motocross races but before I could go pro I got picked up in snocross. It is a great team and Levi has helped me out so much. This is for sure a dream come true. The first races you are in you are little nervous but I am here to have fun.

Good luck to the Levi LaVallee race team this season!

Visit www.slednews.com for videos from Duluth!

www.slednews.com Tucker Hibbert Looks To Continue His Winning Ways

BY SCOTT A. SUMNER

NW Ontario Snowmobile News My first stop each year at Spirit Mountain is the Tucker Hibbert race trailer. It is fun to sit down with Tucker and the whole team

here at Duluth but swept the races here the years before that am looking forward to getting back on track this year with a win. The rest of the season was great and ended up with a championship which is the number one goal.

ing life and hanging out with his kids. He is not a full time racer anymore, which takes most of your time so now he can spend time with his kids.

How is the 2014 Arctic Cat race sled?

The new sled is pretty similar to last years but better. We have a pretty easy transition into the season and should be good to go.

There is some different tuning from Speedwerx. The sled is awesome. We have been riding since the first week in October, starting in South Dakota when they got some early snow there and then at the Christian Brothers racetrack in Fertile.

How do you feel racing at age 29 Tucker?

I feel as good as I have ever had even though I am not 16 or 17 years old anymore. I feel better than ever. My fitness schedule has been the same for the last 10 years and is top secret!

Where do you live Tucker?

I live everywhere. In the wintertime we sent most of our time in Thief River Falls working with the team at the race shop and in the summer at Pelican Falls, which is two hours south of Thief River. Last year I did about 500 miles trail riding which is a lot for me so it as kind of fun.

including Mandy, Kirk, Rob, Garth and others.

Tucker you had a great season last year?

We did have a great season last year winning the Pro Open class, the X Games Snocross gold medal and Class of Nations in Sweden.

The World Championship conflicted with an ISOC race so I couldn’t attend that event.

The last two years I haven’t done super good

You are the only rider on your team?

Our team is 6 people and I am the only rider and have been the only rider for ten years now. We have a well-organized team. This season we brought on Garth Kaufmann as a mechanic. He is a great guy who has been racing a lot of years and knows what it takes to have a snowmobile ready to win.

How does it feel when you are on the starting line particularly at the start of the season here in Duluth?

When you start the race I still get excited and nervous with some butterflies. When I don’t feel that it may be the time to stop. For now I get excited to go racing and it makes it fun. At the race start line you are a little nervous but then the race starts you are not thinking about anything but are kind of on autopilot. All the test laps, racing and experience come into play and comes back to you and you operate on instincts.

How long will you continue on in the sport?

For me I don’t have a solid plan as to when I am gong to stop. This season it is business as usual and we will take it one season at a time.

Tucker Hibbert won both Pro Open races at the 2013 Duluth opener and seems poised for another dominant season!

How was your off season?

I had a really busy off-season racing motocross and some mountain bike races.

The summer just flew by. I raced local mountain bike but am not a profession mountain bike rider. We did 5 AMA National motocross races. I would have like to have done a little better but can’t complain too much. It was a fun summer of racing and my first season racing in the 450 class. I look forward to next summer and doing better. Motocross is not easy for me, really challenging and I have done better in the past.

2014 Chevrolet Silverado

You have been in the snocross race business for a long time now Tucker?

President

Miranda Bolt Graphic Designer

I started racing at 8 years old so it has been 21 years. My Dad raced a ton when I was growing up and I ended up going to the racetrack with him a lot and having a lot of fun watching races and hanging out in the trailer. I was trying to help out but probably getting in the way mostly but I learned a lot being there and I think it has helped me a ton. My first snowmobile riding was with the Arctic Cat Kitty Cat at 18 months old.

You are closing in on being the most winning snocross racer of all time?

I am getting pretty close to the all time win record on the National circuit. It is not something I am thinking that much about but obviously I want to win every time I go out there. It is cool getting close to Blair Morgan’s record. Last winter I was able to do a snowmobile ride with Blair at the Snowmobile Hall of Fame where he was inducted. We spent the day riding snowmobiles and then hanging out at the banquet with his kids. It was fun to see him and to get to ride with him. He seemed to be enjoy-

2014 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 * Preferred Equipment Group * 5.3 L DI V8 W/ VVT AFM * 6 Speed Automatic Transmission * Sirius XM Satellite Radio * Heated Front Bucket Seats * Auto Locking Rear Differential * Special Edition Package * Front Fog Lamps *

All New 2014 Silverado Has Arrived!

399 Memorial Avenue Thunder Bay, On P7B 3Y4

SNOWMOBILE NEWS DECEMBER 2013

Tel: (807) 683-4900 Fax: (807) 345-8005 Toll Free: 1-800-465-3915

PAGE 3

Tucker Hibbert completes the Pro Open sweep of AMSOIL Championship Duluth National w/ convincing Sunday Win DULUTH, Minn. (Dec. 1, 2013) - Blasting through the flat light at great speeds and handling the equally blinding roost while launching high above the Duluth skyline, Tucker Hibbert (Monster Energy/Arctic Cat/Ram) completed the sweep of rounds one and two of AMSOIL Championship Snocross, powered by Ram, with another dominant performance on Sunday - topping the 2nd place finisher by 17 seconds in the weekend's final contest.

And in the Pro Lite division Andrew Carlson (Sportech/Polaris) put together an excellent run to the checkers, winning his first-ever AMSOIL Championship Snocross Pro Lite main event.

Overall on the weekend the 35,200 fans in attendance was the third-largest crowd in the 22-year history of the Duluth National, just behind 2008 and 2010.

The Mystic/Polaris/Team LaVallee duo of Kyle Pallin and Levi LaVallee got off the starting line ahead of everybody to open Sunday's Pro Open main with Pallin pulling the Stud Boy Holeshot and leading the pack up through the Air Force Fly Zone. Hibbert would play it safe from the inside start position he selected as the No. 1 qualifier, getting out of the blocks in 3rd.

Coming down the Ram Rhythm Section Hibbert got by LaVallee, then stalked Pallin until the second lap where Hibbert cut up the inside of the AMSOIL Finish

Line table top jump and squared off the ensuing corner, forcing Pallin to the outside and taking the lead.

From there it was academic as two laps later Hibbert clicked off the day's fastest lap - a 27.417 smoker - that cleared him from the rest of the field.

"You couldn't ask for a better weekend.

Good starts, strong riding and my Arctic Cat ran perfect," said Hibbert, who is now three wins away from breaking Blair Morgan's all-time pro snocross win record of 84. "These are the kind of weekends you try and hold on to forever."

The action heated up behind Hibbert early on when Saturday podium finisher Cody Thomsen (Arctic Cat) was black flagged for running Tim Tremblay (Scheuring Speed Sports/Ski-Doo) off the track.

Tremblay, the 2012 AMSOIL Championship Snocross Pro Open champ, would regroup and finish 8th, while Thomsen had to leave the race with a DNF As Pallin rode a strong and consistent race in 2nd place, much like he did in Saturday's 3rd place run for the Michigander, Ross Martin (DuPont/Jack Links/Polaris) made a spirited charge through the field, passing Darrin Mees (Jimmy John's/Boss Racing/Ski-Doo) and fast rookie racer Kody Kamm (Hentges Racing/Polaris) to move up to 3rd place midway through the contest.

With three laps to go the three frontrunners - Hibbert, Pallin and Martin - were out of touch with the rest of the field. Hibbert had a near 20-second lead and was cruising, choosing not to make a run at Martin and Pallin to possibly lap the entire field again - like he did on Saturday. The podium would be populated by Hibbert (1st), Pallin (2nd) and Martin (3rd), with Kamm and Logan Christian (Christian Bros Racing/Arctic Cat) rounding out the top five, respectively.

Said Martin: "We had a little bit of a struggle this weekend, but got things worked out and came back and made the podium today - so I'm pumped with that."

Add Pallin of his 2nd place podium finish: "It's hard to get up here and ever harder to stay up here. I've just got to keep my head down and work hard and enjoy the times we can get up here."

Continued Next Page

PAGE 4

SNOWMOBILE NEWS DECEMBER 2013

Continued from previous page Pro Open results 1 Tucker Hibbert, Monster Energy/Arctic Cat/Ram 2 Kyle Pallin, Team LaVallee/Polaris 3 Ross Martin, Judnick Motorsports/Polaris 4 Kody Kamm, Hentges Racing/Polaris

5 Logan Christian, Christian Brothers Racing / Drift / Arctic Cat 6 Jake Scott, Team LaVallee/Polaris 7 Justin Broberg, Hentges Racing/Polaris 8 Tim Tremblay, AMSOIL/Air Force/Rockstar/Ski-Doo 9 Colby Crapo, Huber Motorsports/Polaris 10 David Joanis, Christian Brothers Racing/Arctic Cat 11 Iain Hayden, Rockstar/Energy Polaris 12 Darrin Mees, Boss Racing/Ski-Doo 13 Levi LaVallee, Team LaVallee/Polaris 14 Danny Poirier, Bailey Hulten/Polaris 15 Cody Thomsen, Arctic Cat

Lites. Never a question from the green flag through the igniting fire pots above the AMSOIL Finish Line banner, Carlson's 1st place performance was masterful.

"I'm so pumped right now - my first Pro Lite win," said Carlson. "Coming back from an injury (knee), I couldn't be more excited. Thanks to my trainer, Kurt, for getting me back into shape."

With the top spot on the rostrum never in question, a number of good battles played out chasing the final two trophy spots.

Justin Parnell (Ski-Doo) and Max Taillefer (Ski-Doo) would get together on the second lap, hitting the deck in their bid for the front of the pack. The middle-of-the-track accident held up a few riders just long enough to let Kevin Wallenstein (Ski-Doo) and Corin Todd (Polaris) break away in pursuit of Carlson.

Continued Page 8 Holeshot to checkers, Andrew Carlson was flat out on it Sunday in the Duluth Pro

SNOWMOBILE NEWS DECEMBER 2013

PAGE 5

Geraldton and Longlac Snow Club, The Little Club That Could!

by Michel Lafrance Wow, we had a great response this year with permit sales. We certainly want to thank everyone who has purchased a permit so far. Last year we barely managed to sell our minimum permit requirements to

year, with the permit discount the OFSC had prior to Nov 1st, and a lot of marketing from our end, this provided us with a much needed kick start to our season! For the first time in many years we are starting our season with 120 permits sold so far, all

stay in good standing with the OFSC. In the 2012/2013 season we had a total of 105 permits for both clubs. A lot of work went into making sure this happened. This

prior to Dec 1st. Wow that sure takes a load of my shoulders! Now I will be able to concentrate a little more on maintaining our trail system. With Mother Nature treat-

PAGE 6

ing us to early snow this year, it can only be a good sign that we will have a great season.

A number of poker rally’s and Crosscountry rides are in the works this season for both clubs. No firm dates yet, but we are planning them. One in particular will be to an area just past Beardmore called “Death Valley”. You can imagine with a name like this, it could only mean a lot of fun!. Most likely in February we’ll be

SNOWMOBILE NEWS DECEMBER 2013

making a trip that way and this would be a day trip from Geraldton. Longlac is also planning a Cross-Country trip from Longlac to Hearst using the old A 107 trail. This would be a two day trip sleeping overnight in Hearst. There will also be Cross-Country trip using the former Greenstone Loop. It’s looking to be a great season!! For more info check our web site www.snowclub.ca for all your snowmobiling needs.

Servicing Your Sled Is Important Submitted by Smith’s RV Centre Here is some great information on what you you be doing with your snowmobile to ensure a good season mechanically.

General Tips If you own a carbed sled you want the carbs cleaned every year to maintain peak performance.

Check engine idle & operation Check coolant levels ( liquid models) Check & adjust throttle cable Check for damaged or worn if necessary hoses

Check and grease all applicable fittings Check front steering system and alignment

If you own a 4 stoke machine you should change the oil every year.

If you sled uses a battery make sure it is charged and fluids are topped up. It is very important to keep the acid in the battery up to level.

Preventative maintenance is important to keeping your sled in good riding condition. It will lower the chance of breakdown and help make it last a long time.

Sled Inspection Check drive belt deflection and alignment Check track tension and alignChange spark plugs if necesment- adjust if necessary Check all lights, wires etc sary

Check rear suspension

Check brakes and cablesCompression Check adjust if necessary

Check battery & charge if nec- Check drive clutches essary ( electric start & EFI) Check wear bars Check fuel system ( lines & filCheck oil pump & adjust if Check safety switch operation ters) necessary Check Proper Operation of Change applicable fuel filters Check chaincase oil- change if APV Valves Change engine oil & filter if necessary if necessary necessary

Welcome To White River Snowmobilers!

Owners Marvin822-1876 & Joanne Picard Phone

126 Queen Street, Longlac, ON

216 Hwy 17, White River Pat & Linda Leadbeater

Paws Northern Cabins Ltd PO Box 460, White River, Ontario P0M3G0 Phone 807-822-1987 peggydavejones@yahoo.ca

We welcome you to the White River area and hope you enjoy snowmobiling here!

Peggy & Dave Jones

North Central Co-op Inc. Freshmart Store 204 Elgin Street, PO Box 400 Welcome White River, Ontario P0M3G0 Snowmobilers!

807-822-2389 807-822-1272 ncci@renegadeisp.com

SNOWMOBILE NEWS DECEMBER 2013

PAGE 7

Tucker Hibbert completes the Pro Open sweep of AMSOIL Championship Duluth National w/ convincing Sunday Win Continued from Page 5 Clicking off fast lap after fast lap, Carlson would put four seconds between himself and the next-fastest racer, which happened to be Todd by the race's midway point.

round two Pro Lite podium.

Pro Lite results 1 Andrew Carlson, Polaris 2 Corin Todd, Leighton/Polaris

11 Corey Watkinson, Arctic Cat 12 Justin Parnell, Huber/Ski-Doo 13 Maxime Taillefer, Ski-Doo 14 Dylan Hall, Royal Hall Racing/Ski-Doo 15 Matt Pichner, HAALA Racing/Arctic Cat DNS Brett Nastala, Goodwin Performance/Ski-Doo AMSOIL Championship Snocross, powered by Ram, returns to action Dec. 6th and 7th at Bessemer, Michigan's Blackjack Ski Resort for the Northern Clearing Snocross - rounds three and four of AMSOIL Championship Snocross.

2013-'14 AMSOIL Championship Snocross, powered by Ram Round/Date City/State

On lap 11 (of 14) Carlson was further in control, while Corin and Wallenstein space themselves out comfortably from Andrew Lieders (Polaris) and Dan Dolecki (SkiDoo). The five front runners would hold position through the last three laps, avoiding a number of tip overs (that brought out yellow flags) with Carlson (1st), Todd (2nd) and Wallenstein (3rd) making up the

PAGE 8

3 Kevin Wallenstein, Ingles Performance/Ski-Doo 4 Andrew Lieders, Team LaVallee/Polaris 5 Daniel Dolecki, Anderson/Dee's/Ski-Doo 6 Marcus Johansson, Carlson/Polaris 7 Riley McClelland, Arctic Cat 8 Zak Mason, Leighton/Polaris 9 Nisse Kjellstrom, Polaris 10 Korbyn Anderson, Ski-Doo

1 - Nov. 29-Dec. 1 Duluth, Minnesota 2 - Dec. 6-7 Bessemer, Michigan 3 - Jan. 3-5 Shakopee, Minnesota 4 - Jan. 31-Feb.1 Deadwood, South Dakota 5 - Feb. 7-8 Salamanca, New York 6 - Feb. 21-22 Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

7 - March 7-8 Fargo, N.D. 8 - March 14-16 Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Beginning with AMSOIL Championship

SNOWMOBILE NEWS DECEMBER 2013

Snocross' season-opening round in Duluth, Minn. and running through the season finale in Lake Geneva, Wis. CBS Sports Network will air 16 half-hour programs of the ACS races.

About ISOC Racing The International Series of Champions (ISOC) is the premier snowmobile race sanctioning organization in North America and sanctions national AMSOIL Championship Snocross, in addition to affiliating with nine regional circuits. Visit www.isocracing.com for more information, fan and racer memberships, schedule details and more.

See Our Next Issue: NW Ontario Snowmobile News January 2014 Ad Copy Deadline January 7th

Call our Marketing Department at