Rookie sensation Corin Todd fulfilled a lifelong dream Saturday, dominating the Pro Stock final as Day 1 wrapped up at the Ossipee Fire Department in Round 3 on the 2010-2011 East Coast Snocross (ECS) campaign.
Todd (JAC Racing/Arctic Cat), of Otego, New York, was competing on a sled borrowed from teammate Jesse James Bonaduce after his primary machine suffered mechanical failure. The 17-year-old athlete followed fellow Pro rookie Lincoln Lemieux into Turn 1, but led the field across the line for lap 1 and never looked back. What makes this win even more special is the fact it was 25 grueling laps, tough for even the most seasoned veterans.
“I’m just speechless right now,” Todd said trackside after the win. “We’ve worked so hard to get here, night after night in the shop and working out in the gym. My Dad has worked his heart out to make this happen, and I can’t thank him enough. This feels absolutely incredible to reward Dad, Mike Kolety at Cat and all of our sponsors for their valued support. “
Mathieu Morin (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo) worked his way past Danny Poirier to take over the second position just past halfway, and hung on for the runner-up spot. Minnesota native Matt Piche (Hulten Speed Sports/Polaris) came home third, another solid run for the man they call “the Bull-rider.”
In the day’s other big show, New York racer Dale Petrus (Polaris) earned his first final round victory since 2008. The cagey veteran went wire-to-wire in the Semi-Pro Stock Day 1 tilt, holding off the big guns for top honors.
“It feels fantastic to be back on top of the podium,” an elated Petrus said after the race. “The snow dust is making for limited visibility out there, and there are some gnarly square edges inside some of those big holes. It’s a tight little track here, but I kept it pointed in the right direction, and it feels great.”
Other highlights in Saturday action here at Ossipee include another victory for Connor Roscoe in Jr. 14-15 Stock 600, while Ed “The Bandit” Bandel powered his way to victory in a thrilling Sport Super Stock final. We’ve got a little light snow falling here in Ossipee this evening, which will make for an ideal backdrop when we kick off Day 2 in the morning.
Tomorrow’s card calls for another round of Semi-Pro Stock, the ground-pounding Pro Open sleds, another freestyle show from Rave-X and a whole lot more. For a complete wrap-up of the weekend, go to www.eastcoastsnocross.com Monday night.
Our sincere thanks to everyone here in the Greater Ossipee region for hosting ECS Round 3.
