Five Polaris cross-country racers finished among the top 10 in the Pro 600 class of the USCC’s I-500, which was reduced by one day to a two-day event after extremely high winds near Thief River Falls, Minnesota, limited visibility and made it unsafe to race on January 23, the scheduled final day.
Polaris racers Aaron Christensen, Corey Davidson, Justin Tate, Eric Gausen and Jesse Thelen finished sixth through 10th, respectively, and Gabe Bunke finished 12th in Pro 600, the United States Cross Country Snowmobile racing Association’s premier class. The finishing order was based on driver standings at the end of Saturday, January 22, the second day of racing.
In the Pro Open class, Polaris racers finished sixth through 10th in this order: Aaron Christensen (sixth), Davidson, Tate, Gausen and Bunke.
Three Polaris racers won I-500 class titles, including Ken Christensen, who won the Masters 40+ class while fellow Polaris racer Eric Christensen was third.
In the Legends 50+ class, Polaris racer Dennis Topp erased the first-day leader’s 13-minute lead to win the class, and Paul Anderson finished third on a Polaris.
Polaris racers swept the top four places in the Trophy 600 class, with Zach Griffin winning, Luke Routh second, Dustin Dohrn third and Dusty Cohoe in fourth.
In Semi-Pro 600, Polaris racer Ken Christensen finished second, Mike Hedlund was third, Travis Hjelle was fourth, and Bobby Menne IV was sixth. All four of these racers improved their rankings on the second day of racing, led by Christensen climbing four spots with a strong run. But bad weather on day three prevented them from making a final day’s run for the title.
In Semi-Pro Improved, Ken Christensen finished second, Travis was third and Menne was fifth.
In the final standings for the Vet 30+ class, Corey Davidson was second and Jesse Thelen was third.
The next USCC race is the Chase on the Lake 100, February 13 in Walker, Minnesota.
