Team Arctic race report: Feb. 12-13

Team Arctic cross-country and snocross racers gathered more wins after impressive performances at the USCC cross-country race in Walker, Minn., and the ISOC National snocross at the Pontiac, Mich., Silverdome.

D.J. Ekre was the man-of-the-weekend, winning both the Pro 600 and Pro Open class at the USCC race in Walker to notch his first victories of the season. Racing for the dominant Arctic Cat/Christian Bros. Racing team, Ekre’s victories, along with teammate Chad Kyllo’s win Semi Pro Improved, set in motion a wave of winning for Team Arctic racers who claimed 15 of 20 class wins during the day.

Ryan Greening scored another win in Semi Pro 600 – his third of the season – while Jon Arneson topped the highly-competitive Expert 85 class for the first time. Proving the depth of the Team Arctic program and the strength of the Sno Pro 600 and Sno Pro 500 race sleds, 12 different racers stood atop the podium in Walker, with six podium sweeps.

“When one team wins 15 of 20 class finals, I call it a phenomenal performance,” says Team Arctic Race Manager, Mike Kloety. “Yet it was a bittersweet weekend for us, as we’re still grieving the death of USCC President Pat Mach, who guided the circuit into a premier venue for cross-country racing. One week after his passing, USCC crew provided a first-class event to honor Pat and the entire Mach family. I’m as proud of that as I am Team Arctic’s domination.”

Meanwhile, Team Arctic’s Tucker Hibbert delivered another win in the Pro Stock class in Pontiac, where ISOC ran an abbreviated class program for the indoor event. Garth Kaufman notched his second ISOC podium in a row, with teammate Logan Christian just missing the box in fourth. Hibbert was on his way to another double-win before an uncharacteristic get-off in the Pro Open final shuffled him back to fourth.

Although bad luck prevented a podium-sweeping performance, Team Arctic motored out of Pontiac with the championship points lead in four of six classes.

The next race in the USCC circuit is Feb. 19 in Red Lake, Minn., while the next ISOC National is March 5-6 in Hayward, Wis.