Season finale at Titus Mountain in the books for East Coast Snocross series,
Presented by AMSOIL and Woody’s Traction
MALONE, NY – After one of the most difficult seasons for snowmobile racing within the last decade, officials at East Coast Snocross (ECS) were able to successfully put the wraps on 2012 last weekend at Titus Mountain.
Record warmth and little or no natural snowfall across much of the east presented major obstacles all season long, yet racers and officials persevered. When all was said and done at the season finale, two familiar names were in the spotlight once again.
Quebec veteran Danny Poirier (Bailey/Hulten Polaris) recorded his sixth clean sweep of the season with wins in Saturday’s Pro Stock final and Sunday’s Open battle. This has been without question one of Poirier’s most impressive seasons to date, and he shows no signs of slowing down.
He went wire-to-wire Saturday and finished eight seconds ahead of runner-up Renaud Alexandre (Damexco/Ski-doo). Dylan Martin (Team Southside/Polaris) was super-fast all race and claimed third, while Lincoln Lemieux (Lemieux Racing/Ski-doo) and Corin Todd (daSilva Racing/Ski-doo) completed the top five.
In Sunday’s Open final, the newly-crowned three-time champion led all 14 laps once again to cap a stellar season. Todd slotted into second at the start, with Mike George (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo) third, Alexandre fourth and Kenny Murphy in fifth. Alexandre blasted from fourth to second in two laps (8-10) and finished just three seconds behind Poirier. George finished third in another impressive performance from the first-year Pro. Todd settled for fourth, while Lemieux filled out the top five.
In Pro Lite action over the weekend, two young athletes had the rides of their snocross careers. Leo Patenaude (Patenaude Pools/Ski-doo) pressured newly-crowned champion and eventual winner Lucas Brunelle for 12 laps in Saturday’s final, even leading at lap 10, before settling for second in a head-turning effort. Montana Jess, the red-hot Massachusetts native who’s been tearing up the Sport division all season, made his debut in Pro Lite and landed on the podium Saturday ahead of guys like Mike Pilotte (fourth) and Andrew Bailey (fifth).
On Sunday, it was Pilotte (Team Southside/Polaris) who came out on top, yet another young athlete stole the show for a while. Ed “Big Air” Bandel grabbed the holeshot and led the first nine laps. Pilotte blasted by and hung on for top honors, with Bandel second, Bailey third, Jesse James Bonaduce fourth (charged up from sixth at the start), and Jess solid again in fifth.
Action in the Sport classes was hard-fought at the season finale, as well. Vermont veteran Brent Royea (Arctic Cat) capped a solid 2012 season with a victory in Saturday’s Super Stock final over Tyler Brancifort and Connor Roscoe. On Sunday, Roscoe (daSilva Racing/Ski-doo) was back to “rocket” status and sailed to victory ahead of longtime snocross veteran Bruce Gaspardi Jr. and Ben Holmes. Montana Jess wrapped up a championship season with a win in Sport Stock 600 over Gaspardi and Holmes.
In Junior action at Titus Mountain, Wade Acker (16-17 Stock 600), Hunter Patenaude (10-13 Stock 600 Fan), Zac Roberts (14-15 Stock 600), Brad Tatro (10-13 Stock 380 Fan) and Vinnie Ruggiero (8-10 Stock 500) all notched multiple wins. Cassidy Kislowski, Thea Hanscom and Tucker Kierstead also rode to wins in their respective classes to cap off a successful season of competition.
Other final round winners over the weekend in Malone include (Steffanie Lemieux-Bell (Pro Women Saturday & Sunday); Todd Smith (Plus 30 Stock Pro Am); Leroy Walker (Plus 25 Stock Sat.); Mark Pillsbury (Plus 25 Stock Sunday); and Bob Holmes (Plus 35 Stock Sat. & Sun.).
East Coast Snocross would like to extend a sincere thank you to the entire staff at Titus Mountain for hosting our season finale a week earlier than originally planned. When summer-like temperatures rolled into the region and canceled Findley Lake, the series was in a pinch. The folks at Titus stepped up and were ready last weekend, and we’re thrilled to have at least been able to race. Our year-end awards banquet was a huge success, with a record attendance of over 250.
Congratulations to Danny Poirier, Lucas Brunelle and all the rest of the 2012 ECS class champions. This was a tough season for everyone for a number of reasons, but we’re glad you hung with us. We wish all of our race teams, officials, sponsor representatives and dedicated fans a safe and wonderful off-season. Let us all hope for a “normal” winter for 2012-13 with lots of snow and cold!