Aboard his Yamaha FX Nytro snowmobile, All-Japan Snocross champion Yuji Nakazawa won his first US professional sno-cross final at the Eagle River World Championship in Eagle River, WI on Sunday, January 20. And he did so in convincing style by placing first and second in Saturday’s heat races, then grabbing the holeshot and leading every lap of Sunday’s final.

Racing conditions were beautiful in Wisconsin with crisp snow, blue skies – and wind chill well below zero on both days. Nakazawa’s heat-race performances earned him first gate pick for Sunday’s 16-lap final and he staged his modified FX Nytro on the inside of the Supercross-like track. When the flag dropped he used the Yamaha’s four-stroke torque to grab the holeshot and quickly opened an advantage over the field. But one competitor broke away and managed to catch Nakazawa on lap 13, and the pair raced nose-to-tail for two thrilling laps until they encountered slower traffic. Nakazawa quickly seized an opportunity to get past the lappers and rebuilt his lead at the finish.

Yuji’s first US victory for the Yamaha Minocqua Sno-X Team came on the 45th running of Wisconsin’s annual World Championship snowmobile event, which attracted riders from America, Canada and Japan. “The Yamaha four-stroke engine was strong and the suspension handled the track conditions very well” commented Nakazawa after the event. “I was very motivated by the challenge and by all the Yamaha fans watching. Also the sno-cross track was very fun, so I rode as hard as I could and am very happy I could take the win.”