EAST COAST SNOCROSS PRESS RELEASE:
Poirier, Lemieux split Pro finals at Louiseville for East Coast Snocross, Presented by AMSOIL and Woody’s Traction Jess, Patenaude trade Pro Lite wins
LOUISEVILLE, Quebec (Jan. 27, 2014) – Multi-time series champion Danny Poirier and Vermont veteran Lincoln Lemieux each posted Pro Open wins over the weekend, as East Coast Snocross (ECS) completed Round 4 of its 10-race 2014 schedule in the chilly confines of Quebec.
Poirier (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo), of St. Theodore, QC, held off a hard-charging Lemieux and Pro rookie Mike Pilotte for top honors on Sunday. It was his fourth victory of the season in eight starts, putting him in an ideal position to go after a fourth championship in the coming weeks.
“I had to get by Lincoln after he grabbed the holeshot, but was able to pull it off,” Poirier said. “Lincoln was very fast all weekend, but my team worked hard again and it paid off. My sled was perfect again which allows me to push hard all the way. This new Ski-doo is a fantastic machine.”
Lemieux started the weekend on a good note with his win Saturday, leading SCMX veteran Dave Allard (second) and Poirier (third) across the stripe. After winning six finals last winter, the pride of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom is poised to challenge Poirier as the action heats up next month.
“I got a great holeshot and made sure I kept the same pace the whole race,” Lemieux said. “The track was in good condition and got better as the weekend progressed. There was really no battle up front, I was able to build a big lead and get the win. I had a very consistent weekend overall.”
Defending Triple Crown Series champion Donavan Asselin and Pilotte completed the top five Saturday, while Asselin and Pro rookie Jake daSilva finished fourth and fifth respectively on Sunday.
Montana Jess (Jess Racing/Arctic Cat) stole the Pro Lite headlines over the weekend. The young athlete from Westminster, Mass., claimed a solid second place finish on Saturday behind Leo Patenaude (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo) before winning the Final on Sunday. Jess, along with teammate Mike Bauer, have given the Arctic Cat faithful reason to smile in 2014.
The weekend’s activities in Quebec included Round 2 qualifying in the 2014 Triple Crown Series on Friday evening. Heats were held in the Pro Open, Pro Lite and Sport classes in super-cold conditions. These conditions presented a major challenge for riders from both sanctioning bodies.
Poirier rode to victory in Pro Open, while Leo Patenaude earned a win in Pro Lite action. In the lone qualifying heat for Sport class riders, Cody Paolella rode his Team Southside/Mystic Lubricants Polaris to victory. The Finals in the prestigious 2014 Triple Crown series will be held on Feb. 14-16 during the famed Grand Prix Ski-doo de Valcourt.
Other final round winners over the weekend in Louiseville include Nykea Williams (Pro Women Sat. and Sun.); Joe Lemieux (Plus 30 Pro Am); and Cody Paolella (Sport Stock Sat. and Sun.).
Next up for teams in all classes of ECS competition is a return to historic Fonda Speedway this coming weekend, Feb. 1-2, for Round 5. This is a change of venue due to a lack of viable space in Lake George at this time. The site used for snocross twice last winter is currently under construction.
East Coast Snocross, presented by AMSOIL and Woody’s Traction, is the eastern affiliate of International Series of Champions (ISOC), the national sanctioning body for snocross. ECS strives to maintain a healthy level of grass-roots snocross in the northeast, while cultivating new talent for tomorrow’s factory-backed Pro teams.
For full results from Louiseville or more information, go to www.eastcoastsnocross.com.
