Maxime Taillefer won his bet and took his second victory in this unique competition, the Red Bull Sledhammers, which was held for the third time at La Réserve ski resort in Saint-Donat, ahead of Jordan Lebel and Emrick Ares.
Maxime had come to win, he had said so before leaving. However, I can tell you that he had a fighter against him in the person of Jordan Lebel. At 17 years old, the Chicoutimi native has just won the coveted Pro-Lite title in the United States in the ISOC Snocross series, considered the most competitive in the world. He also won the Dominator race which paired the Pros and Pro-Lites of the ISOC Snocross, with a nice check of $10,000. The driver of the prestigious Warnert Racing team had a head start, and it was he who set the fastest time of the day. His father Janathan, the manager of the Lebel Racing team, confirmed that they had worked on the Ski-doo in terms of shock and clutch settings.
At 33 years old, Maxime Taillefer has a great snocross past behind him. He was Tim Tremblay’s teammate in the ISoc Snocross team, in the Pro-Lite series. He also participated in the X-Games in 2015. In short, he is a specialist, who also won the first edition of the Red Bull Sledhammers. In an interview, he said, “I did some competitions this winter, but I came here to win. I really like this type of competition. The course is different every year.”
After the podium, he also said: “It was hard, but the experience was great! The track had big jumps this year, which made the course very technical. You had to fight your way to the top. I’m very happy with the modifications we made to my machine. It paid off.
It was the battle of the young pilot against the experienced. The latter won.
But Jordan enjoyed his experience and will be counted on in the future. Let’s not forget that he had a very intense season in his body.
For his part, Emrick Ares is also a Snocross regular who received his first snowmobile at the age of 6. He comes from a racing family, with his father Michel running the structure for him and his brother Charles-Antoine. The Lawrenceville rider has already been crowned SCMX Sport Champion. They are ambassadors of the GPSV Grand-Prix-Ski-Doo of Valcourt.
We will not forget the fourth, young Nathan Mailloux who held off this exceptional trio. Nathan has been successful this year in the SCRA races in Ontario and is currently competing in ISOC Snocross. In an interview, he said that his snowmobile was set up like a Snocross race.
The competition is unique. It took place on the main ski run of the resort. On a course of 150 meters of difference in altitude, the pilots had to launch themselves two by two on impressive and varied jumps. The start was given at the foot of the resort and the course was done in the direction of the climb.
You could hear the engines of the snowmobiles going up in the towers and then taking off on a succession of impressive jumps. The pilots had no right to make mistakes. There was no question of slowing down or the rhythm would be broken.
More than 4000 spectators came to enjoy the free show, under a spring sun and a mild temperature.
This competition has proven its worth and it is hoped that the Austrian company will continue to promote the image of snocross
