Snow-Bike Racing Heats Up West Yellowstone
AMA Championship Snow Bike Race
Round 3 2016, March 13, 2016
West Yellowstone, Montana
The National Snow Bike MX Series sailed into round 3 at the popular West Yellowstone EXPO winter celebration on Sunday, March 13, 2016, and was sponsored by: Timbersled, Tarantula Tequila, Moto Trax, Fox Suspension, Red Bull, Rekluse, Raptor, HMK, Fly Racing, Western Power Sports, Rockwell Watches, Pro Moto Billet, Fastway Performance, CMX, Mountain West Racing, the West Yellowstone Chamber and Pole Position Raceway.
As is often the case with winter time outdoor events, the weather was marginal at best. Winds gusted throughout the day and at various times, the sky dropped snow, rain and hail, but at least it wasn’t too cold, with temperatures staying somewhere around 35F for most of the afternoon. Thirty-two 32 racers showed up to compete, with around 300 spectators assembled to watch. The wide, 4/10 mile race course was easy to pass on and featured a blend of banked turns and single jumps, and the fastest riders were turning lap times of around 45 seconds. Even with marginal snow, racers later said that this was their favorite track yet in the series.
There were few crashes and zero injuries and this venue provided excellent spectator viewing as well, with a large, raised grandstand area that overlooked most of the circuit.
Sunday’s competition consisted of a series of heats, semis and last chance qualifiers to determine who would race in the A, B, and C mains, (there weren’t quite enough racers to run a D main) later in the day. The day belonged to the always fast, always versatile off road legend, Jimmy Jarrett Racers getting ready for the start of the A Main Jeremy Weber – West Yellowstone News Shayna Lier not only remained undefeated in the women’s class. She also became the first-ever woman to make the men’s A Main. Jeremy Weber – West Yellowstone News who easily won his heat and then took the coveted A Main, holding off the young and determined, up and coming snow bike star, motocrosser Colton Davis, who won Round 2 of the series in Minnesota several weeks earlier in his first race ever. Both riders had to pass determined holeshot artist Chaunn McAlister from Northern Idaho who, at age 47, led the first two laps, crashed late in the race and still salvaged a fifth in the ultra fast and competitive A Main, beating riders half his age.
Davis wasn’t the only fast, young, new rider. Harris Huizenger had another solid weekend, taking third in the A Main and South Dakota’s Shayna “No Fear” Lier remained unbeaten and untested, winning the Women’s Main event handily, topping several other fast women including AMA National Hare & Hound talent, Shayla Fulfer, and the rapidly improving Sarah Whipple. Lier also made history by being the first and only woman to ever qualify for an A Main and there she finished in a really solid 8th place. This is her first year on a snow bike and it makes one wonder just how much more speed is in Lier’s tiny frame.
Once again the Jelinek brothers from North Dakota also had a great weekend: Jay took 9 th and Chad took 6th in the A Main, and Lee took a solid 2nd in the B Main. Justin Homan from Redmond, Oregon looked smooth and fast, easily winning the B Main and South Dakota’s Gary McNeil easily grabbed the C Main trophy.
Because round four of the series (scheduled for March 19 in Logan, Utah) had to be cancelled due to lack of snow, West Yellowstone awarded 1.5 times points toward the 2016 National Snow Bike MX Series title, (extra points will also be awarded at the fourth and final round). At present there are a number of men who still have a shot at clinching a national title, and several women are also in contention for their championship.
Special thanks are in order to the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce, Robbie and Joe (the groomer operators), and Thad Lawrence and the staff with Mountain West Racing. The last round of the National Snow Bike MX Series will be held at the Bogus Basin Ski Resort, 16 miles north of Boise, Idaho on April 16. Bogus is enjoying a terrific snow year with 53 inches of snow on the ground, so there is little danger of any “lack of snow” cancellations for the final round of the 2016 race season. For more information visit: www.flashpointsnowbike.com.
Round 3 results, West Yellowstone, Montana:
A Main |
Name |
Hometown |
Riding |
Sponsors |
Place:1 |
Name:Jimmy Jarrett |
Hometown:Nampa, Idaho |
Riding:KTM, Timbersled |
|
Place:2 |
Name:Colton Davis |
Hometown:Rocbert, Minnesota |
Riding:YAM, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Fly, Geame, Pro Taper |
Place:3 |
Name:Harris Huizenger |
Hometown:Mendken, North Dakota |
Riding:KTM, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Full Throttle Motorsports |
Place:4 |
Name:Wyatt Hooper |
Hometown:McGreger, Minnesota |
Riding:KAW, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Wyatt’s Towing, FXR, Zach Michelson |
Place:5 |
Name:Waylon Caldwell |
Hometown:Asotin, Washington |
Riding:SUZ, Timbersled |
Sponsors:One 16 Yamaha, Moto 365, Stripe-A-Lot |
Place:6 |
Name:Chaunn McAlister |
Hometown:Coeur d' Alene, Idaho |
Riding:YAM, Yeti |
Sponsors:Yeti Snow Bikes |
Place:7 |
Name:Jay Jelinek |
Hometown:Fordville, North Dakota |
Riding:KTM, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Jelinek Bros, Peterka Farms, Johnson Farms |
Place:8 |
Name:Peter Jacobs |
Hometown:McCall, Idaho |
Riding:KTM, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Ride McCall |
Place:9 |
Name:Shayna Lier |
Hometown:Strafford, South Dakota |
Riding:HON, Timbersled |
|
Place:10 |
Name:Chad Jelinek |
Hometown:Pitek, North Dakota |
Riding:HON, Explorer |
Sponsors:Jelinek Bros, Peterka, McLaughlin, & Johnson Farms |
Place:11 |
Name:Chris Kachur |
Hometown:West Yellowstone, Montana |
Riding:YAM, Snowtech MX |
Sponsors:Rocky Mtn. Snow Bike Rental, Snow Tech MX |
Place:12 |
Name:Colt Reisenauer |
Hometown:Pullman, Washington |
Riding:YAM, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Moto 365, St. Maries Saw & Cycle |
B Main |
Name |
Hometown |
Riding |
Sponsors |
Place:1 |
Name:Justin Homan |
Hometown:Redmond, Oregon |
Riding:HON, Moto Trax |
Sponsors:Fly, Metal Mulisha, Pro Caliber, MotoTrax |
Place:2 |
Name:Lee Jelinek |
Hometown:Pitek, North Dakota |
Riding:HON, 2Moto |
Sponsors:Jelinek Bros, Johnson Taters, Zack Fast Racing |
Place:3 |
Name:Kamron Hoffman |
Hometown:Clyde Park, Montana |
Riding:HUS, CMX |
Sponsors:Crazy Mtn. Motorsports |
Place:4 |
Name:Brad Tweten |
Hometown:Grand Forks, North Dakota |
Riding:KTM, Timbersled |
|
Place:5 |
Name:John Arland |
Hometown:Farmington, Utah |
Riding:KTM, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Gage Brothers Motorsports, Motely & Motley |
Place:6 |
Name:Pete Olson |
Hometown:Roosevelt, Minnesota |
Riding:KAW, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Pete’s Body Shop |
Place:7 |
Name:Matt Halseth |
Hometown:Hawley, Minnesota |
Riding:HON, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Muscatell, Full Throttle Motors, Timbersled |
Place:8 |
Name:Jeff Motley |
Hometown:Pullman, Washington |
Riding:SUZ, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Pre-Mix Concrete |
C Main |
Name |
Hometown |
Riding |
Sponsors |
Place:1 |
Name:Gary McNeil |
Hometown:Stratford, South Dakota |
Riding:KAW, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Gary’s Auto Body |
Place:2 |
Name:Roger Pinckney |
Hometown:Varges, Minnesota |
Riding:YAM, Timbersled |
|
Place:3 |
Name:Colton Olson |
Hometown:Roosevelt, Minnesota |
Riding:HON, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Pete’s Body Shop |
Place:4 |
Name:Shelby Lund |
Hometown:Rolla, North Dakota |
Riding:HUS, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Full Throttle Motors, Wilbur Ellis |
Place:5 |
Name:Jason Weis |
Hometown:Hamilton, Montana |
Riding:KTM, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Jerry Wessel Tires, Les Schwab, Hamilton KTM |
Place:6 |
Name:Matt Hogenson |
Hometown:Wilsall, Montana |
Riding:KTM, CMX |
|
Place:7 |
Name:Jason Whipple |
Hometown:McCall, Idaho |
Riding:HUS, Timbersled |
Sponsors: Ride McCall |
Place:8 |
Name:Bob Coffee |
Hometown:Livingston, Montana |
Riding:KTM, CMX |
|
Women |
Name |
Hometown |
Riding |
Sponsors |
Place:1 |
Name:Shayna Lier |
Hometown:Strafford, South Dakota |
Riding:HON, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Gary’s Auto Body, Evolution Powersports |
Place:2 |
Name:Sarah Whipple |
Hometown:McCall, Idaho |
Riding:HUS, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Divas Snow Gear, Ride McCall, ABS Airbags |
Place:3 |
Name:Shayla Fulfer |
Hometown:Nampa, Idaho |
Riding:KTM, Timbersled |
Sponsors:RK Motorworks, Ride McCall, Timbersled |
Place:4 |
Name:Cassia Whipple |
Hometown:McCall, Idaho |
Riding:HUS, Timbersled |
Sponsors:Divas Snow Gear, Ride McCall |
Men’s 2016 Snow Bike MX National Points after 3 of 4 rounds:
1
Colton Davis
Rocbert, Minnesota
242.5
2
Jimmy Jarrett
Meridian, Idaho
240
3
Harris Huizenger
Mendken, North Dakota
230
4
Wyatt Hooper
McGregor, Minnesota
192.5
5
Jay Jelinek
Fordville, North Dakota
190
6
Chaunn McAlister
Coeur d' Alene, Idaho
172.5
7
Waylon Caldwell
Asotin, Washington
158
8
Peter Jacobs
McCall, Idaho
147
9
Shayna Lier
Strafford, South Dakota
135.5
10
Matt Halseth
Hawley, Minnesota
124
Women’s 2016 Snow Bike MX National Points after 3 of 4 rounds:
1
Shayna Lier
Strafford, South Dakota
250
2
Shayla Fulfer
Meridian, Idaho
235
3
Sarah Whipple
McCall, Idaho
232.5
4
Cassia Whipple
McCall, Idaho
127.5
5
Leslie Atkinson
Boise, Idaho
95
6
Jessie Lyons
Florence, Montana
85