After 500 miles of dirt, snow, bumps and wide-open racing at the Soo International 500 enduro in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., Team Arctic racers and crews claimed three of the top-5 podium spots aboard the consumer-based Arctic Cat Sno Pro 600 in the ProCross chassis.
Taking second place in what was a nearly first-time effort, the Christian Bros. Racing duo of Ryan Simons and D.J. Ekre proved the talk of the Soo. Running a mostly-stock Sno Pro 600 except for a Speedwerx mod engine package, the teammates climbed steadily through the pack and even led late into the race. Although it was Simons’ first trip to the Soo, you wouldn’t have known it by his speed and lap times, which were among the fastest of any competitor. Likewise, Ekre showed his typical grit and determination to run with the heavily-favored (and experienced) teams despite having raced it just one time more than a decade ago. Together with the CBR crew, Simons/Ekre finished less than 17 seconds out of first place and on the same lap as the winning driver.
Cadarette Racing’s strategy of bringing two teams to the Soo paid off with fourth and fifth place finishes, both aboard Sno Pro 600s. It was the trio of Brian Dick, Chad Lian and Gary Moyle who claimed fourth, running 498 laps and running trouble-free the entire event. Taking fifth was the duo of Troy Dewald (the 2010 Soo 500 winner) and Ryan Spencer.
The Arctic Cat/Tommie Bauer Racing team cracked the top-10 with Cody Badour and Chad Bower doing the driving duties. Other finishing Team Arctic teams included Ride All Racing King Cat Racing X-1, R&S Racing and Cat House Racing.
“We went to the Soo with a strong effort that included both experienced teams and some first-timers,” said Mike Kloety, Team Arctic Race Manager. “Putting three Sno Pro 600s into the top-5 proved the competitiveness of the ProCross chassis and the quality of our teams. Drawing upon the experience gained this year, I’m convinced each of these teams can place higher, including winning this incredible event.”
