Morin, Bonaduce notch big wins in Salamanca for East Coast Snocross, Presented by AMSOIL and Woody’s Traction Lemieux, Pilotte & Bauer qualify for ISOC Pro Final
SALAMANCA, N.Y. (Feb. 9, 2014) – Former regional champion Mathieu Morin and New Jersey veteran Jesse James Bonaduce claimed impressive victories in their respective classes Saturday, as East Coast Snocross (ECS) completed Round 6 of its 10-race 2014 schedule at the Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel.
Morin (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo), of Val-d’Or, Quebec, jumped out to an early lead in the Pro Open final, with rookie Mike Pilotte (Team Southside/Mystic Lubricants Polaris) and Wisconsin native Mike Bauer (Jess Racing/Arctic Cat) slotting into second and third. Bauer would eventually get by Pilotte for second, while points leader Danny Poirier (Ingles Performance/ski-doo) claimed third in a late-race charge. Pilotte just missed another podium in fourth, while Kevin Wallenstein (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo) completed the top five.
“These tight little tracks are a real challenge, especially when they’re this rough,” Morin said. “I got a good holeshot, found some decent lines and was able to build a nice lead early on. My sled ran like a charm the entire distance, and my body held up until the end. It feels awesome to win again.”
Bonaduce (Miksen Racing/Ski-doo), of Somerville, also went flag-to-flag in his Pro Lite final in a stellar effort. Multi-time regional champion Jason Boron slotted into second at the start, with Wade Acker (Lemieux Racing/Ski-doo) and Montana Jess (Jess Racing/Arctic Cat) not far behind. Leo Patenaude was nursing a sore ankle, yet settled into fifth during the opening laps.
At the finish, it was Boron with another solid second place run, and Patenaude enduring his pain to secure third. Chris Coleman (Team Southside/Polaris) and Connor Roscoe (daSilva Racing/Ski-doo) completed the top five.
“I got a great launch out of the hole and was able to check out,” Bonaduce said. “The track was rough, but I found some good lines pretty quickly that helped me build a gap on the field. My sled ran perfectly the whole race and I stayed focused to the end. It feels great to be back on top of the box.”
In a weekend where several riders were doing double duty, ECS regulars Lincoln Lemieux, Mike Pilotte and Mike Bauer all qualified for Saturday’s ISOC Pro Open final. Lemieux had the honor of piloting Tim Tremblay’s AMSOIL/Scheuring Speed Sports Ski-doo after Tremblay suffered a broken leg Friday. Pilotte ran his own Team Southside Polaris to a 14th-place finish, while Lemieux finished eighth just one lap down to the leaders. Bauer soldiered on to a collect a ninth-place finish on a physically demanding day for all three riders.
Tucker Hibbert (Monster Energy/Arctic Cat) swept both Pro Open finals over the weekend in Salamanca, adding to an already insurmoutable lead in the points. With just three ISOC points shows remaining, it appears as though the sport’s all-time win leader is headed for another championship.
Montana Jess stole the headlines Friday with a brilliant performance in the ISOC Sport 1 final. The rising star from Westminster, Massachusetts, outgunned some of ISOC best, including Adam Weiler and Cole Cottew, for top honors.
On Saturday, Bruce Gaspardi Jr. was the man to beat in Sport 2, besting an unheard of 16-rider field for the win. In fact, if it wasn’t for some unplanned contact that knocked Cody Paolella off his sled, Team Southside would have had a 1-2 finish. Paolella recovered nicely to finish third.
Other final round winners over the weekend in Salamanca include Steffanie Lemieux-Bell (Pro Women); Bruce Gaspardi Jr. (Plus 25/35 Combined Sat.); Todd Smith (Plus 30 Pro Am); and Marco Travaglini (Jr. 16-17 Stock 600). Congratulations to all of our final round winners on a windy, crisp weekend of racing in western New York.
Teams in the Pro Open, Pro Lite and Sport classes will now prepare for another trip to Quebec, as next weekend’s prestigious Grand Prix Ski-doo de Valcourt draws near. Friday will see the Finals in the 2014 Triple Crown Series, pitting our ECS warriors against the top SCM riders from Quebec. It will be, without argument, one of the biggest weekends of snowmobile racing on the planet this winter.
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.