Pro racer Mathieu Morin and semi-pro Swedish snowmobile racer Emil Sundvisson earned wins in their respective classes this past weekend, as East Coast Snocross (ECS) kicked off its 2013-14 season at the Riverbrook RV Resort in Rumney, New Hampshire. ECS is the eastern affiliate of International Series of Champions (ISOC), the national sanctioning body for snocross.
Morin, of Val D’Or, Quebec, beat Mike Bauer and teammate Danny Poirier for top honors in the premier Pro class. Sundvission, of Ostansjo, Sweden, led all 12 laps of the Pro Lite final on his Polaris as Jesse James Bonaduce and Montana Jess filled out the podium.
Racing on Sunday featured a doubleheader for Pro and Pro Lite teams; a lack of snow cancelled racing for those classes that day. But Mother Nature dumped a foot of fresh powder on Rumney overnight, allowing officials to improve the track significantly for Sunday’s busy schedule.
For Morin, the victory was sweeter than usual on his Ski-Doo after a shoulder injury plagued him last winter. The 2010 Rock Maple Racing series champion and 2009 winner in Duluth, Minnesota, is in top racing shape.
“I jumped a little bit on the start, so they put me in the third row,” Morin said after the race. “I was pretty mad, so I think that motivated me to get out front early. A few riders tangled in the first corner, but I was lucky enough to sneak by them.”
Series newcomer Bauer slotted into second after the first lap of the final and started to gain on Morin. Shortly after the halfway point of the14-lap race, Bauer took the lead, forcing Morin to dig deep again.
“Mike is pretty fast, and when he passed me I knew it would be a good battle,” Morin said. “I found a good line on a pretty nasty track going down the backstetch and retook the lead. I have to thank my Ingles Performance team and Ski-Doo. They gave me the sled to pull this off. It feels fantastic.”
Pro Lite winner Sundvission will return to Sweden this week after competing in the first two weekends of ISOC races, and Rumney.
“I didn’t qualify as good as I wanted to, but I was focused on the light in the final and took the holeshot,” Sundvission said. “The sled worked well the whole race, but in the last two or three laps, I was getting a little tired. The track [was] very difficult, but I hung on for the win. I need to thank Team Southside, Polaris and Bruce for this opportunity. Now I’ll go home and train for our own season.”
In the second Pro and Pro Lite finals on Sunday, Poirier came out on top in Pro over Morin and Lincoln Lemieux, while Bonaduce won ahead of Jason Boron and Hunter Patenaude in Pro Lite. The exciting doubleheader gave fans a chance to see plenty of action after digging out from the snow storm. Next up for the series is the debut of snocross at historic Fonda Speedway near Albany, New York.
Other final round winners in Rumney: Nykea Williams (Pro Women Sat. and Sun.); Joseph Lemieux (Plus 30 Pro Am); Bruce Gaspardi Jr. (Plus 25/35 Stock Sat.); Rene Desrochers (Plus 25/35 Stock Sun.); James Obine (Sport Super Stock Sat.); Cody Paolella (Sport Super Stock Sun.); and Marco Travaglini (Jr. 16-17 Sat. and Sun.).
Got to the ECS website for full results from Rumney and more information about the circuit.
