Team Arctic Cat Race Report: USXC Round 1

As the 2014-2015 USXC cross-country season kicked off at the Gerald Dyrdahl Memorial Pine Lake event near Gonvick, Minn., Team Arctic captured 14 of 20 class wins and 36 of 50 podium finishes on production ZR6000R XC and ZR4000RR snowmobiles.

The wins came in all categories and at all levels, starting with Zach Herfindahl’s victory in Pro Open. Herfindahl and teammate Wes Selby delivered strong performances in the thrilling 100-mile Pro Stock final, with Selby finishing second and Herfindahl in fourth, less than three seconds separating the top-four finishers. Dylan Stevens debuted in the Semi Pro Stock class and on Team Arctic with a win. And Lance Efteland delivered the ironman performance of the weekend, winning Semi Pro Improved, taking a close second to Stevens in Semi Pro Stock and then jumping into the Pro Stock class where he finished eighth.

Team Arctic’s Dylan Stevens wins Semi Pro Stock at 14-15 Pine Lake. (Photo by ArcticInsider.com)

Other Team Arctic class winners at Pine Lake included Chad Dyrdahl, Jeremy Grove, Mason Kallock, Marty Feil, Hunter Houle, Ean Voigt, Keaton Black, Sara Larson, Savannah Landrus and Tyler Knutson. Team Arctic racers swept the podium in five classes at Pine Lake.

“We’re thrilled to win 70 percent of the finals and the podium places,” says Mike Kloety, Team Arctic race manager. “The first race of any season requires a huge effort on the part of our racers and crews to set up and dial-in their snowmobiles. Especially for first-year sleds like the new ZR6000R XC with the 600 C-TEC2 engine and the new ZR4000RR in the ProCross chassis. We have some more work to do to help all of our racers better learn about these sleds, but earning 11 class wins with these new machines is a great start.”

The next stop on the 2015 USXC cross-country schedule is Jan. 3, 2015, in Detroit Lakes, Minn.