This photo tells the story of why Todd Palin and Eric Quam came in second place in the 2011 Iron Dog cross-country.
Press Release-
TEAM ARCTIC SCORES SEVEN HILLCLIMB WINS, AND AN “ALMOST” IN THE IRON DOG
February Ends with Wins and Heartbreak
Thief River Falls, Minn. (March 1, 2011) – Team Arctic racers closed out February with seven class wins at the RMSHA Hillclimb in Grover Park, Wyo., and an oh’-so-close second-place finish in the Alaskan Iron Dog cross-country.
The hillclimb success underlined the all-around versatility of the team and its M Series snowmobiles, with wins notched in everything from Stock to Mod, from 600 to 800 and Open classes, and in Pro, Womens and Semi Pro divisions.
“We take great pride in the fact that our racers win in every engine category and across all divisions,” said Team Arctic Hillclimb Coordinator, Al Shimpa. “Grover Park was one of those rare occasions when Team Arctic didn’t dominate. The racers and crews might be slightly disappointed with not winning the usual 12-or-more classes, but they still performed great and will rebound at the next event.”
If there was a twinge of disappointment in at the Grover Park Hillclimb, it paled in comparison to what Todd Palin and teammate Eric Quam experienced in the final miles of the 2011 Iron Dog.
With a 13-minute lead going into the final stretch, the duo was poised to win this classic event. But an unfortunate encounter with an ice-heave with less than 100 miles from the finish broke the front suspension of Palin’s F6. They were able to limp-in the sled to the finish, but not before being passed and finishing seven minutes behind the winning team.
Finishing third in the Iron Dog was the father/son duo of Scott and Cory Davis, who were roughly nine minutes behind Palin/Quam. Of the 12 Pro teams that finished the Iron Dog, five were aboard Arctic Cat.
“It was a heartbreaking finish for Todd and Eric,” said Mike Kloety, Team Arctic Race Manager, “Yet they, the Davis’s and all other Team Arctic racers did a phenomenal job at this year’s race, which is being hailed as one of the most difficult in its storied history.”
Team Arctic RMSHA Hillclimb Race Results from Grover Park, Wyo.
600 Imp
1. Sid Archibald
2. Jeremy Archibald
3. Rob Kincaid
600 Mod
1. Nels Tapio
3. Sid Archibald
700 Stock
3. Ben Adams
700 Improved
2. David McClure
3. Sid Archibald
700 Mod
2. Russ Tapio
3. Tony Zollinger
800 Mod
2. Russ Tapio
3. Kyle Tapio
1000 Stock
2. Kyle Tapio
Open Mod
1. Kyle Tapio
3. Tony Zollinger
Pro Masters Stock
1. Lonnie Keller
Women Stock
1. Amy Zollinger
3. Rachel Humphrey
Women Imp.
1. Jan Ottobre
3. Amy Zollinger
Women Mod
2. Rachel Humphrey
3. Amy Zollinger (tie)
3. Charise Cook (tie)
Semi Pro Imp.
2. Bo Morss
Semi Pro Mod
1. Bo Morss
I was on the Iron Dog website a few weeks ago just kind of browsing around learning a little about that race…WOW! I say “Iron Dog” is a fitting name for that event. Congratulations to all the teams that even pulled up to the starting line to even begin a race like that!
congrats to all who even finished the irondog. wonder why the Quam/Palin team choose the F chassis over the sno-pro?
has anyone looked at the cat website lately? under the headline “the next species of cat”. check out the blacked out picture of a possible 2012 specimen.
@ Jerry
yes it is a 2012, on some websites they have shown the 2012 m series. people have been going out and taking pictures of them
Jerry…there is a “spy” photo that’s been looming around all over the web of the new 2012 “F4” chassis. Go to the Arctic Insider home page and scroll towards the bottom and you will see it.
got it. gotta love the seat on that bad boy, kinda like an 80’s 2 up .
What an awsome race it was! 2000 miles is a long way. Eric Watson and I were one of the finishing Arctic Cat teams. We would like to take this oppotunity to thank Arctic Cat. Our “rookie” year turned out just fine. See ya next year men…