Multi-time national points champion Gunnar Sterne and enduro stud turned oval sprint rising star Joey Burch returned serve on Beausejour, Manitoba’s high-speed oval on Sunday, claiming victories ahead of the folks who won in the season-opening race there on Saturday.
The second race day of the FXR Season opener at the CPTC Complex in Beausejour was as much unique as it was similar to the prior day. With weather warming up, the ice was softer, speeds were up, mist was in the air and the skies were grey.
But the race format, the competition tension and the desire to be first still ruled the day.
The biggest difference was the absence of the No. 28 Ski-Doo of Matt Goede. After a difficult Saturday at the track and numerous mechanical issues, the 3G racing team opted to return home and address the gremlins that led to a very disappointing start to his season.
Gunnar Sterne Tops Pro Champ Oval Class
In the 440 Pro Champ class, the heat races followed true to form from Saturday with consistent finishes from both the No. 220 of Gunnar Sterne and Saturday’s ProStar Cup Tour winner, the No. 102 of Blaine Stephenson. Justin Peterson on the 39x Ski-Doo and Travis Macdonald on the No. 8 Ski-Doo also cemented their spots as front row contenders.
The mechanical gremlins from Saturday snuck back into the heat races with numerous sleds dealing with issues revolving around belts and jetting continually jumbling the running order.
With Sterne securing the No. 1 qualifying spot, he brought the field to the line for the 15-lap final. In another green-flag-to-checkered-flag final, the Red Bull Ski-Doo of Gunnar Sterne returned to form with a dominant 15 lap win.
After the opening few laps, the top five consisted of Sterne, Gavin Peterson, Travis MacDonald, Stephenson and Justin Peterson. At the halfway point, Stephenson had moved into second but the Red Bull Ski-Doo was dialed in and pulling away up front.
MacDonald faded slightly as both Petersons got around him. Stephenson kept his Polaris close until blowing a belt on the final lap resulting in an all-Ski-Doo podium with Gunnar Sterne, Justin Peterson and Gavin Peterson taking the top three spots. The remaining field included Tom Olson in fourth followed by Filipe Roy-Lalonde, Brett Keilbeck, Calvin Peterson, Danick Lambert, Hunter Sears, Will Garceau and Blaine Stephenson.
Burch Sits Atop F-III Oval World
In the F-III class, enduro specialist Joey Burch driving the No. 29 Polaris served notice on the sprint division with a very strong Sunday including a heat win and a win the competitive final. He was challenged regularly by the Wahl Brothers racing Polaris entries driven by Tom Olson and Blaine Stephenson.
The F-III final saw 7 of the 10 drivers being F-III-drivers-only with three of the drivers compete in both Pro Champ and F-III. Notable Champ drivers Calvin Cook, Gavin Peterson and Matt Goede were all scratches for the class on Sunday.
Tom Olson took the early lead followed by the 221 of Reed Klinger. As they entered the first turn on lap two, a slight high side by Olson appeared to initiate contact from the sled of Klinger, causing Klinger to lose control and visit the haybales on the outside of the track.
The restart saw Olson, Burch, Gunnar Sterne, Dakota Harris and Blaine Stephenson in the top five positions.
In what appeared to be intermittent electrical issues with his number No. 39 Polaris, Olson dropped from first to third in one quick turn of events. Burch assumed the lead followed closely by Sterne. The final lap featured a nose to tail finish with Burch just nudging out Sterne.
The finishing order for the F-III final included Burch, Sterne, Olson, Stephenson, Tanner Foss, Dakota Harris, Nick Wickerham and Tavish Perry. Dustin Schwandt and Reed Klinger were DNFs.
In other notable finals, Joe Schneider claimed the Outlaw 600 class ahead of Ronald Thuerauf and Kolton Abraham was the Pro Formula 500 winner. More complete results can be found on the CPTC website.
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