As part of their regular snocross program, ISOC is hosting three separate vintage snowmobile races this season, and they’re paying out a whopping $5,000 at each! With just a $35 entry fee, this will open up career opportunities for lots of would-be racers.
Race 1: Jan. 8, 2012 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn.
Race 2: March 4, 2012 in Fargo, North Dakota
Race 3: March 11, 2012 at ERX in Elk River, Minn.
There are classes for pretty much any sled 1995 and older:
*440cc-and-lower Fan
*Leafspring Liquid Open
*Leafspring Fan 340
*340-and-up IFS
*340 IFS
*1995-and-Older
For more info, CLICK HERE for the ISOC Website.
Will the Arctic Cat’s handle the bubble-nosed Ski-Doos, or will all old Panthers have to be destroyed for patent infringement? These questions and others will soon be answered.
What to expect from the Mercury snowmobile team? For sure there will be big speed and big air.
Will Kirk Hibbert prep a 1995 ZR and return to Canterbury to lead a parade of Arctic Cat racers, or will Toni Haikonen spoil the day on his Ski-Doo?
If Kirk does win, I hope he brings along some cattails for the dramatic finish line arm pump, like he did here at the Albertville, Minn., ISOC race in 1995.
If Kirk does come out to race, he might have to beat Brian Sturgeon on his red-hooded ZR? This oldie is from the 1995 ISOC race at Brainerd International Raceway.
And if Sturgeon races, perhaps Brad Pake will join the mayhem? (Another shot from the 1995 BIR event.)
Let’s hope none of that “agony-of-defeat” stuff happens at any of these events (or at least let it happen to somebody else). This little rollover occured at the 1995 ISOC race in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
For sure the riders who hang it ALL out will win races (and win style points with the ladies).
And like usual, I expect Arctic Cat racers to win the day. I just hope that the checkered flag has thousands of ridiculously-small checkers.(I wonder if the Ski-Doo rider in the background is discussing patent violations with a lawyer?)
John,
I noticed you made lots of references to the law suit BRP has filed against Cat. Does cat have any official comment on that situation yet?
No Jamie, whenever there’s pending legal action, companies don’t comment (except to say “we’re reviewing, no comment.”).
I’m going to write an opinion post about it sometime this week.
I believe the guy in the fur fedora hat in the last photo is a SkiDoo engineer looking at Cats skidframe in hopes of copying it so they might be able to win a race.
If I remember correctly, didnt Toni end his career on a Cat? I thought I remember him at duluth, late 90’s, on a grey/silver hooded ZR.
I want to see chris vincent come out of retirement and yes toni raced cat in 2000 as a privater
I always thought that if Toni had factory support that year he could have kicked some serious butt. I was kinda sad to see him go out the way he did.
Ski-doo was crazy to let him go and Arctic cat was crazier to not pick him up.
Just my thought.
Sandman
Thanks for the love on our vintage races,were excited to bring these classes, were going to live stream the event, cover it on sled head 24-7 and put the big money up , were planning on bringing the big bumps down and the track will be fairly flat but it will make good racing…how fun would it be to see all the guns from 1994 captian, K the Wolff boys Jesse, Steve Houle and the i can’t believe it’s a girdle Paul Mack back on the legendary Canterbury track, I will never forget the flying fin in year one…Happy Holidays…JD
The Larson snowmobile team? My first snowmobile was a 1968 Larson.
Dave R., Here are my own thoughts: “Bump-Beater” (AKA: early Bombardier and nowadays B(u)RP!!) in their early days still seriously thought into the middle 70’s that they only had 2 sleds requiring slide rail technology,, to this day I think they’re still kicking their own behinds for not being as SMART as Cat ever and are (in my mind) trying to rid themselves of the company they KNOW is most poised to overtake them period!
Heaven forbid were they ever really considered to be smart with their engineering over the yrs until finally one day a light clicked on in their heads (after their Federal Gvt had already bailed them out twice)
I think if I remember right there was a few years cats were not in business but seem to mention that. Kinda weird that cat people would bash skidoo since they copied the original rev not expecting much different from copy cats