After months of training, eight weekends of racing and hundreds of miles on the highway, it all boils down to one last shootout.
Points contenders are hoping to seal the deal while others hope to salvage their seasons with a podium finish, as East Coast Snocross (ECS) gets set for its 2011 season finale on Saturday and Sunday, April 2-3, at the beautiful and historic Pico Mountain ski area in Killington, Vermont.
Spectator gates open at 10 a.m. each day, with early qualifying rounds already in progress. Admission is $20 per day for adults, or $30 for a two-day pass. Children age 7 and under are admitted free with a paying adult. Pit passes valid through the weekend will be available for an extra $10.
Along with a full card of points racing for all five divisions of snocross, the ECS season finale at Pico will also feature three shows by the gravity-defying Rave-X Outer Limits Freestyle team. With two exciting shows on Saturday and one Sunday afternoon, the high-flying Rave-X athletes will have fans in southern Vermont talking for weeks.
Leading the charge into Pico Mountain is soon-to-be-crowned Pro division champion Mathieu Morin. The super-fast Quebec native has been dominant aboard the Ingles Performance Ski-doo, winning multiple finals while other veterans gave chase. Morin’s chief rival and fellow Quebec native Danny Poirier will be at Pico hoping to steal Morin’s thunder, if at all possible.
Other Pro riders to watch at Pico include multi-time champion Jason Boron, of Leverett, MA; Minnesota natives Matt Piche and Matt Pichner; rookie sensations Corin Todd and Lincoln Lemieux; along with talented New York veteran Jason Stone. These athletes can hustle a 400-pound snowmobile around an incredibly rough and physically demanding track like it was easy.
In the talent-filled Semi-Pro division, riders to watch include Lucas Brunelle, Jacob Muller, Chris Ackerman, Jesse James Bonaduce, Joey Stock, Jake daSilva, Todd Smith and Chris Coleman. Muller, Brunelle and Ackerman have battled atop the Semi-Pro point standings all season. Fans at Pico Mountain will see these riders go all-out for one last victory before a new champion is crowned and the sleds are put away.
Along with qualifying races and finals for the exciting Pro and Semi-Pro divisions, the season finale at Pico Mountain will also include the last points races for riders in the Sport, Women and Junior divisions. Class championships will be decided here, as well, putting pride on the line at the season finale.
Pico is owned by and located just around the corner from Killington, a world-renowned ski resort that stands above all others in nearly every category. Pico opened on Thanksgiving Day, 1937, hauling skiers up the mountain on a 1,200-foot tow powered by the engine from an old Hudson automobile. Today, skiers and riders can enjoy over 50 well-groomed trails, a vertical drop of 1,967 feet and a variety of terrain for all ages and ability levels. To learn more, visit them online at www.picomountain.com.
East Coast Snocross, presented by Woody’s Traction and AMSOIL, is the new sanctioning body for snowmobile racing in the northeastern United States. ECS maintains a regional circuit intended to keep grass-roots snocross racing healthy in this part of the snowbelt, while also cultivating new talent for tomorrow’s factory-backed Pro teams.
For more information, please go to www.eastcoastsnocross.com.
