The field is now set for the 2013 Friday Snocross Triple Crown Valcourt showdown.
Two grand finales will feature the best Pro and Pro Lite riders from the Quebec-based SCMX and the US East Coast Snocross Series (ECS) on February 15. It will be a Quebec versus USA drivers’ battle: the first finals of three days of hard-fought competition at the 31st running of the Grand Prix Ski-Doo Valcourt presented by FOX set for February 15-17.
The combined results of the first two events which were held January 12 in Plattsburgh, NY and in Louiseville, Quebec on February 2, has set the starting grid for the big race. In Valcourt, everything is up for grabs. The victor in each of the two classes will be crowned champions.
American rider Derek Ellis leads Quebecers Jean-Sébastien Côté (24) and Franky Paré (738) in the last event at Louiseville. All three will face-off again on Friday, February 16 in Valcourt in the Triple Crown Pro Open Showdown.
Photo courtesy of Michel Brault – Bromic
In the Pro Open class, Corin Todd, of Otego, NY, who was victorious in Plattsburgh, and Louisville winner Lincoln Lemieux of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, will start from the inside. Todd and Lemieux are currently tied in first place in the ECS standings and lead the pack for the total number of wins so far this year.
Two other ECS riders should be on the watch list: Derek Ellis, from West Fargo, North Dakota who recently finished eighth at the X-Games in Aspen, Colorado, and defending ECS Series Pro Champion Danny Poirier of St-Theodore d’Acton, QC. Maxime Taillefer of Laval, QC and Lac St-Jean region riders Dave and Donovan Asselin, as well as Franky Paré and Jean-Sébastien Côté, will lead the Quebec attack. Taillefer currently leads the SCMX Pro standings, followed by the Asselin brothers. In a long 20-lap race, on a very difficult Yvon Duhamel snocross track, this could be anyone’s race.
Lincoln Lemieux of Hartland, Vermont, who leads here Quebec rider Maxime Taillefer (144) will start side by side in the Triple Crown Pro Open Showdown at the Grand Prix of Valcourt.
Photo courtesy of Michel Brault – Bromic
In Pro Lite, only two Quebec riders qualified for Friday’s final. David Tremblay of St-Bruno and Jonathan Lebel of Chicoutimi will respectively start from the sixth and seventh positions. Tremblay currently leads the SCMX Pro Lite standings, closely followed by Côté.
The five American riders who qualified further up the grid, will surely try to take full advantage of their starting positions. Massachusetts’s riders Mike Pilotte of Cheshire, who was victorious in Plattsburgh and Montana Jess of Westminster, who took top honours, in Louiseville, will start in front. Pilotte leads Jess in the ECS Pro Lite standings.
Mike Pilotte, victorious in Plattsburgh
The other three ECS riders to look out for are Leo Patenaude of Hartland, Vermont, Andrew Bailey of Malone, NY, and Jesse James Bonaduce of Somerville, New Jersey.
Aside from these two Friday grand finales, fans will enjoy plenty of action with close to 200 open practice sessions, qualifying heats and race finals during the three days of the Grand Prix. Valcourt showcases the world’s best snowmobile ice oval racers, the exciting motorcycle riders, the ATV and UTV Side-by-Side competitors, and the Revstar STR stock-car drivers as they tackle the challenging Circuit Yvon Duhamel track.
The top professional snocross riders in North America will also try to show who rules. Thursday is Open House Day and the public is invited to watch open practice sessions free of charge where riders set-up their machines for the upcoming big show. It’s also free admission on Friday after 3:00 p.m., for the Snowmobile Drag Racing Under the Lights competition.
Also on the bill after 3:00 p.m. is the Saturday Freestyle Snocross exhibition with an admission fee of only $10. There is fun and games for the whole family, including live rock bands, slides & snowmobile rides for kids.
Tickets for the February 15-17, 2013 Grand Prix of Valcourt presented by FOX are currently on sale at the ticket offices at 1-866-532-7543 Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or at www.grandprixvalcourt.com/en/. Until February 13 inclusively, fans of the great outdoors can benefit from this special offer with a savings of 20% off the regular price for three-day general admission tickets at $45 instead of $55. Children age 12 and under are admitted free with an adult holding a valid ticket. All guests, including children, must hold a pass to enter the trackside suites.
