Tremblay earns Pro Open snocross win in Utah

Story by Snowmobile.com Photos by ISOC Racing & John Hanson Jan. 11, 2010

Tucker Hibbert tastes defeat for first time in two years

It was mayhem and madness as the best snocross racers in the world battled it out bringing a surprising ending to the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series Western Nationals in front of a crowd of nearly 9,300 screaming fans at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 9. It was hard tight racing on the new track that proved to be the Talladega Superspeedway of snocross.

In an amazing race for the podium during the AMSOIL Pro Open final, Tim Tremblay took the checkers. Riding his Ski-Doo, Tremblay had an epic night with two podium finishes in his first season as a pro rider.

Following Tremblay to the Pro Open finish line was Ross Martin (Polaris), while Robbie Malinoski (Polaris) completed the podium. It was all Arctic Cat after that as Cory Davis and Garth Kaufman finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Tim Tremblay had his best day as a Pro racer with a win and a podium in Utah. (Photo by ISOC Racing)

Tucker Hibbert, who hasn’t lost a Pro snocross final in nearly two years, was sitting in third after the start, but had trouble gaining time on the leaders. Shortly after the halfway mark of the 22-lap event, he tipped over in corner one. He was quickly shuffled to the back of the field but was able to regain his composure to charge forward to a seventh place finish.

“This was a tough day of racing. For the first time in a long time, I felt nervous on the track. I struggled to get comfortable and my race results reflected that,” says Hibbert. “To be honest, I’m really upset about my performance in the (Pro) Open final. I got stuck in third and couldn’t figure out how to make up any time on the guys in front of me. I would gain a little then lose a little. It was really frustrating. About halfway through the race, I made up my mind that I was going to win and put on a hard charge then tipped over. It was an awful feeling – laying there and knowing I was going to lose.”

Does this look like the Talladega Superspeedway of snocross? (Photo by ISOC Racing)

Things had gone much smoother for Hibbert earlier on Saturday in Pro Super Stock. The Arctic Cat pilot grabbed the lead early and never looked back as he earned the wire-to-wire victory – the 51st Pro snocross win of his career.

“I was able to take the holeshot and win the stock class, which was awesome,” says Hibbert. “The fans at the Rio Tinto Stadium were unbelievable! It was an amazing feeling to race in front of a packed stadium and it was obvious they really enjoyed the show.”

Tucker Hibbert picked up his 51st career victory in the Pro Super Stock final. (Photo by John Hanson)

Ski-Doo’s Tremblay finished behind Hibbert in second, followed by Arctic Cat’s Dan Ebert and Zach Pattyn. Ross Martin rounded out the top five.

AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series Standings:

Pro-Open Standings				Pro Super Stock Standings
Pos.	Rider	Sled	Points	Pos.	Rider	Sled	Points
1.	Ross Martin	Polaris	133	1.	Tucker Hibbert	Arctic Cat	146
2.	Tucker Hibbert	Arctic Cat	130	2.	Tim Tremblay	Ski-Doo	107
3.	Robbie Malinoski	Polaris	111	3.	Dan Ebert	Arctic Cat	106
4.	Cory Davis	Arctic Cat	105	4.	Garth Kaufman	Artctic Cat	105
5.	Tim Tremblay	Ski-Doo	103	5.	Ross Martin	Polaris	101
6.	Levi LaVallee	Polaris	94	6.	Emil Ohman	Ski-Doo	101
7.	Brett Bender	Polaris	94	7.	Levi LaVallee	Polaris	92
8.	Dan Ebert	Arctic Cat	86	8.	Robbie Malinoski	Polaris	86
9.	Garth Kaufman	Arctic Cat	83	9.	Matt Judnick	Polaris	86
10.	Steve Taylor	Ski-Doo	82	10.	Zach Pattyn	Arctic Cat	82