Polaris race report: Nov. 26-28

Polaris snocross racer Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) led the most laps in the two Pro finals and earned two podium finishes at the ISOC Championship Snocross Series season opener, Nov. 26-28, at Duluth, Minn. Polaris racer TJ Gulla (Hentges Racing) rebounded strongly from an injury that sidelined him all last winter, and piloted his 2011 Polaris IQ Race Sled to two top-10 finishes in Duluth.

Martin, the defending ISOC Pro Open champion, powered his way to second-place finishes in Pro Open and Pro Super Stock, while Gulla, who sustained a season-ending injury at the Duluth race in 2009, finished fourth in Pro Super Stock and eighth in Pro Open. Five Polaris racers finished in the top 10 in Pro Super Stock.

Polaris racer Justin Tate won the Pro-Am Plus 30 Super Stock class, and Danny Poirier (Hultens Speed Sport) made it a 1-2 Polaris finish in the class. In Pro-Am Women Super Stock, Jennifer Pare (JFP RACING) won as Polaris placed four racers in the top 11.

Kody Kamm (Kamm Racing) won both of the weekend’s Sport Super Stock finals, and Dylan Jansen (Jansen Brothers Racing) won Jr. 16-17 as Polaris racers swept the top four finishing spots. Jansen also won Jr. 14-15.

Pro Classes: Martin Sets the Pace

Martin led the most laps of any racer in the two Pro-class finals, including 16 of 18 laps in Pro Open, but that was no consolation to the highly competitive defending Pro Open champion.

“I’m not happy with second at all. I guess I’ll just have to work a little harder,” Martin said after the Pro Open final. “If I can lead that much, I can lead the whole thing.”

He got caught up in lapped traffic late in the Pro Open final, got passed and finished second. Gulla finished eighth in Pro Open, followed by fellow Polaris racers Iain Hayden (Team Rockstar Energy Polaris) in ninth and Bobby LePage (Team LaVallee) in 12th.

Martin also finished second in Pro Super Stock at Duluth and was the first of five Polaris racers to finish in the top 10. Gulla was fourth, Hayden was seventh, and Christian Salemark (Hulten Speed Sports) of Sweden and Lee Butler (Team Rockstar Energy Polaris) of Ontario finished ninth and 10th, respectively.

The next race on the ISOC Championship Snocross Series schedule is December 10-11 in Fargo, ND.