AMSOIL Snocross Championship at Shakopee: Jordan Lebel undefeated, Pelletier returns, Naeli holds on!
For the second date of the race calendar, the American Snocross Championship moved to Shakopee, Minnesota, for the annual PIRTEK Snocross National.
Not all Quebecers were present, but the Belle Province once again distinguished itself on American soil.
Pro-Lite: Jordan Lebel continued his winning streak in this class.
On Friday, the driver of the Warnert racing team started with a handicap in fifth position. Around him, the snowmobiles were falling like flies. Jordan kept his inside line and chased down Ryley Bester who had taken the lead. The two competitors had to pass the slower riders. On lap six, Jordan Lebel was able to pass Bester and was on his way to the win.
“I found a good line by doing a wheelie on the small bump before the finish line and it worked out really well,” said Lebel. “It was great not having to fight too much with Ryley, it’s still a really good race and it was a lot of fun.”
Bester once again took second place behind our Quebecer, but he has the ability to take on Jordan. This time, Riley had problems with his glasses, which caused him to lose precious seconds. So watch out for this competitor from Prior Lake MN, who has shown his speed in the starts.
Saturday was tougher for Jordan with small technical problems. He finished 1st and 4th in qualifying, with a small crash in the second qualifying race, always scary, but without consequences.
During the final, Riley Bester did it again and took the lead with Lebel chasing him. He even got a bit of a lead before making a small mistake on a jump, which threw him off his Polaris. The Warnert Racing driver took advantage of this and went on to win his fourth race of the season, and 15th of his career.
Jordan Lebel said, “It’s hard to see another rider crash in front of you. After that I just tried to stay on two skis and race with the line I had on the first lap. So, yeah, it was a good race.”
Also of note were the competitiveness of Scheele and Evan Daudt who took the other two podium spots in this final.
Jordan Lebel had a perfect record at the beginning of the season, but he will have to deal with a strong competition.
Emeric Legendre-Perron was back in business and took the 5th place in the final on Friday (the best result of his career) and the 7th place on Saturday. He is 6th in the provisional standings. The Sainte-Julie driver is back to racing after a season off due to an injury. He shows that he deserves his place in this class and he could surprise us in the future.
Pro: Francis Pelletier was the only driver entered in the Pro class. In the first weekend in Fargo, he was unlucky with a crash in the final on Friday and a 10th place finish on Saturday.
At Shakopee, the #20 won both qualifying heats on Friday. For the final, Francis started from the third row and managed to finish sixth.
On Saturday, Patenaude was the man to beat. Only Francis Pelletier was able to get close to him. He followed him from the start of the race. He stayed in his wake throughout the competition and did not hesitate to try to pass him before the finish line. Patenaude resisted and Pelletier had to settle for a nice second place which gives him confidence for the next race.
He leaves Pirtek in 6th place in the Pro Championship.
Pro Am Women:
Naeli Lebel who is now part of the Warnert team gave us a big scare in the Friday final with a scary crash. She was sailing in third place in her qualifying races, but she lost big points in the final by taking the 16th and second last position.
This did not faze her and she moved up to fourth in the Saturday final.
Pro AM plus 30 :
Frederick Godcher of Shawinigan was the only Quebec representative in this class and he finished 7th in both finals of the weekend.
Maxime Bellerive was absent, as well as Nathan Mailloux and Samuel Lavoie in the Sport class.Sport Lite: Dylan Lebel was in the top 5 on Friday, but he crashed in qualifying on Saturday and suffered a concussion that cut his day short.
It was a tough weekend for the Lebel parents who saw each of their three children crash, but fortunately without serious consequences.
In the Junior 14-15 class, Dylan won the Friday final and left Shapokee in second place in the provisional championship. Anything can still happen for the youngest of the Lebels!The next round of the AMSOIL Snocross Championship will be the U.S. Air Force Snocross National in Deadwood, S.D. on January 27-28, 2023.
You can watch all 16 rounds of the AMSOIL Snocross Championship season as well as the AMSOIL Dominator live on FloRacing with a subscription.
