Yamaha Cross Country racers win Lake Parlin 100
Big win in the eastern series opener
Aboard his 2012 FX Nytro, Yamaha’s Erik Frigon put in a commanding performance to win the Semi Pro class at the Lake Parlin 100 cross-country snowmobile race in western Maine on Sunday, Jan. 29. So dominant was Frigon aboard the four-stroke Yamaha that he finished only three seconds behind the Pro class in the grueling three-lap, 18-mile race. The victory was the talented Yamaha racer’s first of the year while Scott Brownell, another FX Nytro driver, finished seventh. “We are proud of Erik’s first win of the season and look forward to more wins on his way to a Semi Pro championship,” commented Wade West, Yamaha’s snowmobile marketing manager.
The racecourse’s six long miles encompassed a wide variety of frozen terrain – including Lake Parlin surface ice roughened by wind drifts, its nearby shoreline, and the surrounding woods. Frigon, a Maine policeman and perennial Yamaha demo ride contractor, had just a single day to test his FX Nytro race sled and set the suspension, clutching and gearing to his liking prior to the event. Riders were flagged away at 20-second intervals, and when Frigon quickly caught the first rider ahead, he knew that his FX Nytro had a power advantage. In all, he eventually passed nearly a half dozen sleds by the finish. Posting seven-minute lap times, he also averaged over 51 mph – wicked fast considering the difficult nature of the course.
A time-trial event structure made it impossible for drivers to know their overall place or class position while competing – especially since Pro, Semi Pro and Masters sleds were on-course simultaneously. This meant the only approach was to go out hard and keep right on doing it for the entire race. And that’s precisely what Frigon did, using the FX Nytro’s blend of four-stroke power and handling to best advantage – and validating the machine’s multiple American Snowmobiler Shootout acceleration awards in the process. “I was impressed with the power,” he said afterwards. “Without a lot of test time I didn’t know how much power it was going to have, but I could easily tell that I was gaining on riders in front of me.”
| Semi-Pro Improved |
| 1 |
Erik Frigon - YAM |
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| 2 |
Nick Huff |
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| 3 |
Raymond Petrin |
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| 4 |
Karl Frankowski |
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| 5 |
Rich Knipping |
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| 6 |
Mike Perrino |
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| 7 |
Scott Brownell - YAM |
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| 8 |
Roger Paradise |
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| Sport 600 Improved |
| 1 |
Eric Stoddard |
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| 2 |
Michael Ewaschuk - YAM |
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