SHAKOPEE, MN | PIRTEK SNOCROSS NATIONAL
January 4-5, 2019
Canterbury Park
Writing and Photos by Crystal Wallem Photography
This past weekend, FXR athletes returned to Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota for rounds 5 & 6 of Amsoil Championship Snocross. This race has always been considered the “Daytona of Snocross” with an enormous grand stand, packed crowd, and a big-air-track.
We always seem to talk about the weather conditions each race weekend, but when you race outdoor events all over the country over the course of four months, the weather seriously varies. Last year in Shakopee, mother nature dished out -20°F wind chills—this year, it was a balmy 45°F and sunny. With that being said, the track was a bit shorter than years past due to heavy rains weeks prior, rather than snow. Nonetheless, props to ISOC and everyone at Canterbury Park for whipping out a track despite less than ideal weather conditions.
120 CHAMP
Brady Freeland #831 tops the box, yet again, to get the weekend started. Freeland was followed by Aiden Pierson #710 in 2nd and Colin Taggart #159 in 3rd.
TRANSITION 8-10
Tanner Johnson #313 had a solid day of racing, going 2-1 in his heats on Saturday. Johnson continued his success by claiming 3rd in his final.
Dylan Lebel #522 scores his third win in a row this season.
JR 10-13
Cameron Cole #747 was back on the box this weekend, with a truck load of fans along with him. Cole’s crew roared as he stood atop the 2nd place spot on the podium.
No stranger to the top of the box, Kellen Chapuran #254 snags another 1st place finish.
TRANSITION 9-13
Kellen Chapuran #254 does it again—1st place for the second time on Saturday.
JR 14-15
Jordan Lebel #511 made his debut on a Boss Racing Jimmy John’s sled this weekend. Lebel powered through his heats on Saturday, going 1-1 and kept the momentum going into his final where he scored the top spot on the box to round off a perfect day of racing.
JR 16-17
Another FXR podium sweep as Logan Frattalone #318 places 3rd, Brody Hasenack #722 takes 2nd, and Jordan Lebel #511 with another win.
SPORT LITE
Jordan Lebel #511 makes his third podium appearance of the weekend, placing 3rd in Friday night’s Sport Lite final.
Logan Frattalone #318 had a great day of racing on Saturday, going 2-1 in his heats. Frattalone snagged the 3rd spot on the box in Saturday’s Sport Lite final.
SNOWBIKE
Jesse Kirchmeyer #42 has been a force to be reckoned with in the Snowbike class all season. This past weekend was no different as Kirchmeyer finished 3rd in Friday night’s Snowbike final. X Games gold medalist, Brock Hoyer #2, made quite the appearance this weekend, snagging 2nd place in Friday night’s Snowbike final.
Hoyer kept the momentum going into Saturday’s races where he scored the big win.
One lucky fan was awarded Brock Hoyer’s FXR Racing Rockstar Energy helmet.
SPORT
Baily Forst #341 kept his winning streak going and, once again, made the top podium spot in Friday night’s Sport final. On Saturday, Forst got out front early in the final but came up short on his attempt to triple, resulting in a gnarly crash and the race being red flagged. Please keep Baily in your thoughts and prayers as he has been hospitalized with a number of injuries.
After the restart, Beau Tibbetts #223 rode one heck of a race. Tibbetts landed an exciting 2nd place finish in Saturday night’s Sport final.
PRO AM PLUS 30
Andy Lieders #57 had a perfect day on Saturday, going 1-1 in his heats and landing on top of the box for the final.
PRO AM WOMEN
On Friday, Malene Andersen #93 went 2-1 in her heats and went on to place 3rd in the final. After her big win in Jackson Hole, Taven Woodie #873 kept the ball rolling into Friday night’s final in Shakopee where she scored another win.
In Saturday night’s final, Taven Woodie #873 had the crowd on their feet—bar to bar action the entire race. Woodie held ‘er wide open and raced to the finish, but came up just short of her second win of the weekend. Woodie stood atop the #2 spot on the box.
PRO LITE
Max Taillefer #144 went 4-2 in his heats on Friday. Taillefer made his first podium appearance of the season, placing 3rd in Friday night’s Pro Lite final. A rookie to the Pro Lite class, Adam Peterson #113 put on quite a show in Friday night’s Pro Lite final, where he scored a huge 1st place finish.
Teammate, Evan Daudt, embraces Adam Peterson in celebration.
On Saturday, Woodie’s Racing’s Nisse Kjellstrom #27 went 3-1 in his heats with outstanding lap times. Kjellstrom scored 2nd in the final. Team LaVallee Racing’s Adam Peterson #113 was back on the podium for the second night in a row—this time with a solid 3rd place finish.
PRO
One thing is certain—Ski-Doo has been dominating this season and Friday night in Shakopee was no different. Boss Racing teammates Aki Pihlaja #128 and Elias Ishoel #200 joined each other on the podium. Both Pihlaja and Ishoel found themselves in the same heats where Pihlaja went 2-1 and Ishoel went 3-3. Ishoel stayed consistent with his heat results and scooped up a 3rd place podium finish. Pihlaja landed the #2 spot.
Saturday night’s Pro final sure was interesting. After not one, but two false starts, sending riders who jumped the line to the back row, we finally went green. Elias Ishoel #200 not only had the fastest lap time, but he also snagged another 3rd place podium finish. Kody Kamm #53 had a rough start to the weekend, having an off early in Friday night’s final. But Kamm rallied on Saturday, breezing through his heats where he went 1-1. Kamm got out front early in Saturday night’s final and led nearly the entire race. After a controversial potential pass-on-yellow, Kamm’s lead was taken over, and he accepted his 2nd place spot on the podium.
We’ll be heading back out west to the town of Deadwood, South Dakota in just over two weeks for rounds 7 & 8 of Amsoil Championship Snocross. Until then, peace out!
