Q&A with 2013 I-500 Winner Ryan Simons

Read about his wicked crash, how he hits ditch approaches so fast, his career and how he won the 2013 USXC I-500 cross-country in this interview with Ryan Simons of Team Arctic/Christian Brothers Racing.

Click for the jump.

Video Recap: Tucker Hibbert Sweeps Traverse City

Tucker Hibbert swept both Pro finals for the third time (so far) at the 2013 ISOC snocross national in Traverse City, Mich. Her'e's a short video of his weekend.

The FIRST Ditch Approach for Ryan Simons in the 2013 I-500

Want to know how Ryan Simons won the 2013 I-500?

Check out this photo sequence of him hitting the very FIRST ditch approach on day-one of this year's race.

Unreal!

Drama Unfolds: 2013 USXC I-500 Cross-Country

Team Arctic's Ryan Simons won the Pro 600 class at the 2013 USXC Seven Clans Casino I-500 in Thief River Falls.

Once again, the drama of long-distance cross-country racing unfolded in the ditches and on the rivers of Northwest Minnesota.

Dreams were realized, heartache was felt and some form of victory was experienced by all.

Click to read.

Logan Christian on the Podium at Deadwood Snocross

Logan Christian nabbed his first podium of the season at the Deadwood Snocross Shootout.

Click to read the Christian Brothers Racing press release.

Tucker Hibbert's 2013 Deadwood Video Recap

Here's a nice video recap of Tucker Hibbert's snocross race weekend in Deadwood, SD.

Real-World Weight Comparison: 2013 Mountain Sleds from Cat, Polaris and Ski-Doo

Here's a very interesting and informative video comparing the weights of 2013 Arctic Cat, Polaris and Ski-Doo mountain sleds both in the snow and out of it.

Freerider Rob Kincaid sums it up nicely: "Who cares what it weighs when it leaves the shop?!"

Click to see pix and results.

Worth the Risk?: Allowing My Son to Race a Snowmobile

I admit to having mixed feelings about my 11-year-old son racing snowmobiles.

Despite the nagging mental gymnastics, we raced the USXC cross-country in Oslo, Minn., last weekend. It was awesome!

Click to read about the experience.

The Ditch Doesn't Lie: Team Arctic Keeps Winning in XC at the Oslo 100

The first true ditch-and-river cross-country of the USXC cross-country season went down in Oslo, Minn., this past weekend.

Arctic Cat's domination of the lake races led many to speculate that, perhaps, the tide would turn when the sleds hit the rough world of real cross-country.

Nothing changed.

Click for the recap.

Gold Medal Weekend for Team Arctic at X Games and in Oslo (Minn.)

X Games Gold in Aspen...

17 of 20 class wins at the Oslo XC...

Another pretty awesome weekend for Team Arctic!

Press Release: Team Arctic Honors the World Championship

Here's Team Arctic's press release about its participation in last weekend's Eagle River World Championship Derby.

Click for the jump.

World Champions Jim Dimmerman and The Phantom Return to Eagle River

Watch this awesome video of the 1984 World Champion duo Jim Dimmerman and the Phantom Sno Pro during the Friday Night Thunder portion of the 50th Anniversary of the Eagle River Derby.

Look for another video soon that highlights the Sunday ceremony.

Congrats to Dimmerman and the Nielsen crew!

Arctic Cat Fiscal 2013 3rd QTR Results

A very, very strong fiscal quarter for Arctic Cat in 2013 Q3.

My favorite sentence from this release:

Arctic Cat is committed to investing in research and development across its product lines, in order to remain an industry innovation leader and in anticipation of manufacturing its own snowmobile engines.

Click to read. 

Colt's-Eye-View of 2nd Place in Semi Pro Champ at Eagle River Derby

Want to know what it looks like to finish second place in the Semi Pro Champ class at the 2013 Eagle River World Championships?

Watch this GoPro footage from Team Arctic's Colt Dellandrea from Kincardine, Ontario, who notched the great result in his first year back to Eagle since sustaining a leg injury.

Congrats on the awesome finish, Colt!

Golden Years?: The 50th Eagle River World Championship Derby

The Eagle River World Championship Snowmobile Derby turned 50 this past weekend.

As always is the case at the Derby, there was plenty of pomp, ceremony and celebration. There was even a little bit of racing.

Click to read my review of the birthday party.

One More for the Derby: 1979 Arctic Cat Sno Pro Elsner Replica

He got it done in time to bring to Eagle River!

I'm referring to the 1979 Arctic Cat Sno Pro Bob Elsner replica sled that collector Tom Ische built for this weekend's 50th Anniversary of the Eagle River World Championship.

This was the surprise I referred to in yesterday's post.

Click to see the pix of this beautiful machine.

1969 Panther Replica a Tribute to Roger Janssen

As a tribute to Team Arctic legend Roger Janssen, and to help commemorate the 50th Anniversary Eagle River World's Championships, collector Tom Ische built a replica of Janssen's WC-winning 1969 Arctic Cat Panther mod.

Both the sled and Janssen will be at Eagle River this weekend, making a few laps together around the famed oval. What a sight it will be!

Click for the story.

(Special thanks to Brianna Ische for the great photos of the sled and Janssen.)

New 2013.5 Arctic Cat Wildcat X Model and Other Sweet Updates

Arctic Cat has again added to its Wildcat 1000 mode mix. Some of the highlights:

*90-plus hp on the new Wildcat 1000 X model

*New drive and driven clutch that puts WAY more power to the ground

*FOX Podium shocks

*Swaybar

Click for more info.

A Brief Report on the USXC Cross-Country in Willmar, MN

I checked out the Pro 600 class yesterday at the USXC cross-country at Willmar, Minn.

As has been the case all season, it was a Team Arctic crushing of the competition with some familar names standing atop the podium.

Click to see some pix and captions.

Winning & Autographs: Tucker Hibbert's Canterbury Weekend

Winning, Monster, RAM, autographs, FOX, Arctic Cat...

That pretty much sums up Tucker Hibbert's weekend at the 2013 ISOC Canterbury snocross.