MotorFist Pilot Ross Martin Shines at ISOC Snocross Finale

Team MotorFist athlete Ross Martin was pretty much untouchable on final weekend of racing for the 2011-2012 International Series of Champions (ISOC) national snocross tour. Trailing in the year-end championship points chase, Martin knew he had to win every time he hit the track… and win he did.

The odds of Martin adding another national snocross champion title to his resume were slim after a series of missteps in the weeks leading up to the Geneva finale that included an on-track tangle, a black flag penalty, and a freak mechanical. Yet Martin rode with a level of speed and determination that made him virtually unstoppable, leaving competitors feeling helpless, and team owner and manager Scott Judnick nearly speechless.

“I’ve never seen him (Ross) ride like that,” says Judnick. “Every time he hits the track he’s gone!”

The jubilation in the Team MotorFist camp didn’t go without reward as Martin swept the Pro-Open division on Saturday, grabbing the checkeres each time he honed the Geneva track aboard his Polaris racer. Not wanting his teammate have all the glory, fellow MotorFist athlete Mike Bauer returned to the track after being on the mend for a wrist injury and clicked off a pair second place qualifying runs, earning a front row start in the main event. Unfortunately, a tangle in the final shuffled the first year Pro-Open rider deep in the pack where he was unable to recover before the close of the race.

The Geneva heat wasn’t confined to just the scorching pace being set by Martin. Weekend temperatures soared to near 80-degrees, turning the track into a compacted mixture of mealy snow and water filled holes.

Martin picked-up Sunday where he left off, winning both heat races and garnering a premium front row slot for the final. In the Pro-Open finial, it was Martin setting a blistering pace no other rider could match. On the charge and quickly reeling in early leader Kody Kamm, the dark side of lady luck struck once again, causing Martin to bobble on the bottom of huge downhill run. The off shuffled Martin back to sixth, but that didn’t slow the determined Wisconsin native, who regained his near breakneck pace, and once again charged to the front, passing both Malinosky and eventual year-end champ Tremblay. Unfortunately few laps remained, and Martin ran out of time, having to settle for second at the line.

“It felt like our best hunting dog had been shot,” says Judnick with a laugh after having time to digest the season the following day. “We lost the championship in New York, but if he (Martin) rides like he did this weekend next year, no one will touch him.”

Despite coming up just short of the ultimate year-end goal, Martin finished a convincing second in year-end points, with four Pro-Open wins and five additional podiums. As well, Bauer, gained valuable experience, and despite the second half of the season wrist injury, still finished the season 15th in the year-end chase.

Not to be outdone by his Pro-Open teammates, Pro-Lite rookie James Johnstad proved he belongs amongst the sport’s elite athletes, finishing the season fifth in year-end championship standings, and garnering several top-ten finishes including a podium box in Duluth.

“We couldn’t be more proud of the team and their accomplishments,” says MotorFist Vice President of Operations, Jennifer Jacobson. “The entire Judnick Motorsports organization is first class in everything they do. They brought a level of awareness to our cold weather line of snowmobiler outerwear few others could, and we couldn’t ask for a better group of people to represent our brand. We can’t wait for next season!”