The new National Snow Bike MX Series kicked off with round one at the McCall Winter Carnival on Jan. 30.
The sponsors included Timbersled, Tarantula Tequila, Moto Trax, Fox Suspension, Red Bull, Rekluse, Raptor, HMK, Fly Racing, Western Power Sports, Rockwell Watches, Pro Moto Billet, Fastway Performance, Interstate Battery, Mile High Powersports, Mickey Ray’s BBQ, Carl’s Cycle, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, Grizzly Motorsports, CMX, Ride McCall, Pole Position Raceway, Life’s Too Short and DSG, who provided goody bags for the women racers.
The anticipation for the event seems to be growing every year and with more than 30,000 people in town for the 50th annual McCall Winter Carnival, it was no surprise that a record 1,187 spectators assembled to watch the race at the McCall Golf Course.
This year’s huge snowfall (almost five feet) ensured no bare spots on the course, but it also reduced the amount of available parking spaces for the pit area and staff and vendor parking.
Snow bikes have now been around for about eight years and there continues to be an increasing number of different manufacturers of snow bike kits, which fit most modern dirt bikes with a front ski and small track. Almost every brand of kit was on hand at the race including: North Idaho’s Timbersled and Moto Trax, Montana’s, CMX, (whose machines were fitted with the new Raptor twin-ski front end) Southern Idaho’s 2Moto, Canada’s exotic Yeti and the new Snow Tech MX unit from Utah.
The 2016 event featured mostly wind-free 30 degree F weather, although low clouds and flurries dropped in briefly just prior to the main events.
Not only were there a record number of spectators present, there were a record number of 57 racers, traveling from as far away as New Hampshire, Minnesota and various parts of Canada to compete. One fellow, Shannon Mason, even flew in from Australia and raced, doing quite well.
As expected, snow bike racers are getting faster every year as they continue to refine their riding skills and companies such as Fox and Raptor tweak and improve suspension components.
The revised 7/8- mile track featured more rolling jumps and banked turns, as well as the new Red Bull Double, which allowed for excellent spectator viewing from a number of points around the track. The competition consisted of a series of heats and semi-races to determine who would compete in the A, B, C and D main races later in the day.
It has to be stated that unbeaten and untested Canadian hotshot Brock Hoyer (Yamaha, FXR, Devol, Scot Concepts, Line Nine, Fastway Fox, FMR, Fourtna Posts and VP Fuel) is the fastest snow bike racer in the world, as he won the A Main for the third year in a row. It is also accurate to state that Canadian Reagan Sieg (Slednecks, 509, Rider Z, FMF, Riders Edge, Line Nine, Fastway, High Mark, VP, Cyclops, Interstate and Brewster West) and American Jimmy Jarrett are neck-and-neck for the title of the second fastest snow bike racer on earth, as both have shown great consistency and speed having swapped top three A Main finishes over the last three years.
Impressive speed was also turned in by the world-famous Southern California freestyler Ronnie Renner, (Red Bull, KTM, Timbersled, Fox, Go-Pro, Fastway and BTO) who looked scary-fast until he ended up on the wrong end of a first turn pile-up.
Also of note was Mark Olberding, sponsored by Carl’s Cycle, who at age 55 still managed to make the crazy-fast A Main, out-riding kids half his age. As the sport of snow biking continues to mature and develop, more young riders are continuing to show up to compete. As a result, a women’s class was added.
Idaho’s Shayla Fulfer is a world class desert racer and she is now the world’s fastest female on a snow bike, cruising to wins in both her heat and main events. She gave the guys fits too, finishing 7th in the C Main, sliding in right behind the legendary Damon Bradshaw’s young son Dalton, who made his first ever appearance on a snow bike.
Although there were a number of crashes, there were no serious injuries. Clearly snow is much better to crash on than dirt and snow biking is proving to be a pretty safe sport.
Special thanks are in order to the City of McCall and the McCall Chamber, Greg Lawley (track groomer) and Eric McCormick and his staff at the McCall Golf Course, as well as Ken Faught, Mike and Ray Robinette, Jeff Riechmann and Destry Haslett.
Round 2 of the National Snow Bike MX Series will be held in Detroit Lakes, MN on Feb. 13. For more information and to check on points standings visit: www.flashpointsnowbike.com.
Results
A Main
1. Brock Hoyer (2) Williams Lake, BC – YAM Timbersled
2. Reagan Sieg (17) Coldstream, BC – KTM Timbersled
3. Jimmy Jarrett (43) Meridian, ID – KTM Timbersled
4. Mick Olson (14) Roosevent, MN – KAW Timbersled
5. Andrew Watson (46) Coeur d‘Alene, ID – YAM Yeti
6. Brady Lasher (25) Meridian, ID – KAW Timbersled
7. Leon Dugan (71) Grafton, NH – HON Timbersled
8. Allen Mangum (20) Sandpoint, ID – KTM Timbersled
9. Chaun McCalister (15) Coeur d’Alene, ID – YAM Yeti
10. Mark Olberding (47) Boise, ID – KTM Timbersled
11. Darren Team (26) Post Falls, ID – KTM Timbersled
12. Lynn Hodges (6) Nampa, ID – KTM Timbersled
B Main
1. Peter Jacobs (10) Rochester, NH – KAW Timbersled
2. Kyle Lasher (12) Meridian, ID – KAW 2Moto
3. Richard Kelsey (51) Boise, ID – KAW Timbersled
4. Justin Homan (13) Redmond, OR – Husquvarna Moto Trax
5. Waylon Caldwell (27) Asotin, WA – SUZ Timbersled
6. Tyler Wettstein (1) Ontario, OR – KTM Timbersled
7. Matt Teichert (37) Nampa, ID – KAW Timbersled
8. Shannon Mason (69) Ambrose, AU – KTM Timbersled
9. Pete Olson (29) Roosevelt, MN – KTM Timbersled
10. Shawn Luhning (33) Saskatoon, SK – YAM Timbersled
11. Don Stanger (30) Boise, ID – KTM Timbersled
12. Corey Wettstein (5) Ontario, OR – Husquvarna, Timbersled
C Main
1. Dustin James (35) Enterprise, OR – YAM Moto Trax
2. Morgan Burger (44) Nampa, ID – KAW 2Moto
3. Corrie Brewster (38) Turner Valley, AB – KTM Timbersled
4. Austin Paden (39) Boise, ID – HON Timbersled
5. Jay Wettstein (8) Ontario, OR – Husquvarna Timbersled
6. Dalton Bradshaw (45) Eagle, ID – KTM Timbersled
7. Shayla Fulfer (36) Meridian, ID – KTM Timbersled
8. Kamron Hoffman (4) Clyde Park, MT – Husquvarna CMX
9. Calvin Brown (41) Boise, ID – KTM Timbersled
10. Jason Weis (40) Hamilton, MT – KTM Timbersled
D Main
1. Nathan Lyda (19) Twin Falls, ID – KAW Timbersled
2. Sheldon Hodges (9) Nampa, ID – KTM Timbersled
3. Isaac Muller (42) Nampa, ID – KTM Timbersled
4. Myles Lytle (16) Twin Falls, ID – KAW-2Moto
5. Brett Hallstrom (22) Bothell, WA – KTM Timbersled
6. Matt Hoagensen (2) Witsall, MT – KTM CMX
7. Jayden Luhning (34) Saskatoon, SK – YAM Timbersled
8. Mark Hoffman (3) Clyde Park, MT – KTM CMX
9. Jaron Ball (48) West Haven, UT – YAM SnowTech MX
10. Haydon Diggins (32) Boise, ID – KTM Timbersled
11. Chase Christensen (21) Boise, ID – Hon 2Moto
Women’s Main
1. Shayla Fulfer (36) Meridian, ID – KTM Timbersled
2. Leslie Atkinson (31) Boise, ID – KTM Timbersled
3. Sarah Whipple (28) McCall, ID – Yamaha Timbersled
4. Jessie Lyons (7) Florence, MT – KTM Timbersled
Men’s 2016 Snow Bike MX National Points after 1 of 5 rounds:
1. 100 – Brock Hoyer – Williams, Lake, BC
2. 95 – Reagan Sieg – Coldstream, BC
3. 90 – Jimmy Jarrett – Meridian, ID
4. 85 – Mick Olson – Roosevelt, MN
5. 80 – Andrew Watson – Coeur d’Alene, ID
6. 75 – Brady Lasher – Meridian, ID
7. 70 – Leon Dugan – Grafton, NH
8. 65 – Allen Mangum – Sandpoint, ID
9. 60 – Chaun McCalister – Coeur d’Alene, ID
10. 58 – Mark Olberding – Boise, ID
Women’s 2016 Snow Bike MX National Points after 1 of 5 rounds:
1. 100 – Shayla Fulfer – Meridian, ID
2. 95 – Leslie Atkinson – Boise, ID
3. 90 – Sarah Whipple – McCall, ID
4. 85 – Jessie Lyons – Florence, MT