LONDONDERRY, Vermont (March 9, 2015) – Four-time and defending Pro Open champion Danny Poirier swept the Pro finals over the weekend, as East Coast Snocross (ECS) completed Round 8 of its nine-race 2015 schedule at the Magic Mountain ski area.
Poirier, 35, of St. Theodore, QC, led all 15 laps of Saturday’s final on his Ingles Performance Ski-doo. Swedish invader Johan Dahlgren (Team Southside/Polaris) put in another solid effort to secure second, while his teammate and Pro Lite point leader Cody Paolella finished third in his first Pro race. Poirier also led Dahlgren across the line on Sunday, while Pro Lite regular Wade Acker filled out the podium. Both Paolella and Acker will step up to Pro full time in 2016 and are preparing now.
“The Ingles crew has been testing all winter to gain an advantage, and it paid off,” Poirier said. “After a couple of weeks off, the sled is pretty amazing to ride and I’m having fun on it. The machine is very predictable, which makes my job a little easier. After riding an NSK sled at Valcourt, I was back on my beloved Ingles special in Vermont.”
Vermont veteran Leo Patenaude (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo) went wire-to-wire in Saturday’s Pro Lite final. Fellow Vermonter Wade Acker (daSilva Racing/Ski-doo) rode a smart race and came home second, while Joe Bishop completed the podium with a solid third place run.
Acker made a brilliant late-race move to claim Sunday’s final, while Paolella settled for second. New York native Chris Coleman (Team Southside/Polaris) notched his second podium finish of 2015 with a respectable third-place finish.
“I got the holeshot and led for a few laps before Leo passed me,” Acker said. “Unfortunately, Leo crashed soon after he got by me so I reclaimed the lead. I stayed there until the next-to-last corner when Cody (Paolella) powered by me. I went to the inside and tried one last drive and made the pass in the final corner. It was a very satisfying victory.”
In Sport class action at Magic, Nicholas Edwards powered his way to victory in Saturday’s Super Stock final. Dalton Jacquier has been hot all season and claimed second, while Jeff Roylance filled out the podium in third. On Sunday, it was Bruce Gaspardi Jr. (Team Southside/Polaris) who nailed a great start and powered his way to the center of the box.
Gaspardi has also been on a roll in 2015. The veteran from Cheshire, Mass., rode his No. 33 entry to victory in Plus 25 competition both Saturday and Sunday to cap another successful outing.
Other final round winners over the weekend in Vermont include Nykea Williams (Pro Women Sat. and Sun.); Jamie Hutchison (Pro Am); Michael Newman (Jr. 16-17 Saturday); Anthony Paige (Jr. 16-17 Sunday); and Leroy Walker (Plus 35 Saturday and Sunday). Congratulations to all of our final round winners on a job well done.
East Coast Snocross would like to thank Kerry Mara and the entire staff at Magic Mountain for hosting the series. Skiers in southern Vermont have known about the beauty and warm hospitality at Magic for years, and now we know what a fabulous facility it is. We hope to return in 2016.
Next up for ECS teams is a trip to western New York for the season finale on Saturday and Sunday, March 28-29, at the beautiful Peek ‘n Peak Resort in Findley Lake. Points champions will be crowned after another grueling yet highly competitive winter draws to a close.
East Coast Snocross, presented by AMSOIL, Woody’s Traction and FXR, is the eastern regional affiliate of ISOC. ECS strives to maintain a healthy level of competition in grassroots snocross, while also cultivating new talent for tomorrow’s factory-backed national teams.