Pro Open... The spectators at the Grand Prix de Valcourt, in Valcourt, Quebec February 17/18 more than lived up to that reputation. Things looked great for the Yamaha Factory Snocross team, who had a busy time signing autographs and informing the swarms of people fascinated with the new Yamaha four-strokes. “The place was PACKED with spectators,” said Steve Taylor. “Our display area and autograph sessions were busier than ever!"
Once the riders hit the track those curious spectators were treated to a great performance by Taylor, who holeshot his first qualifier and sped to victory. In that second qualifier Taylor got tied up with slower traffic and fell, but remounted and hammered his way to seventh. “I went first, seventh and third in my qualifiers and just missed starting in the front row. So I had to ride the LCQ, which was ok because I got a huge holeshot!” That holeshot in the last chance qualifier turned into a runaway victory, putting Taylor in the main event but with a second row starting position.
"The track was very demanding, and I got up to tenth but it was hard work.” Carver adds “In the final at Valcourt they put the second row really far back. If he’d been in the front row and came out of the hole like he did from the second row, well - it would have been a whole different ballgame.”
Their top-ten finish in Quebec made the Yamaha Factory Snocross team a hit with fans. Their performance was made sweeter by the reliability and performance of the FXNytro. “We didn’t have any mechanical issues this weekend whatsoever,” says Carver. “The sleds worked perfectly, with zero tuning dramas in the pits.”
Pro Open |
| 1 |
Ross Martin |
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| 2 |
Levi LaVallee |
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| 3 |
Robbie Malinoski |
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| 4 |
Ryan Simons |
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| 5 |
TJ Gulla |
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| 6 |
Blair Morgan |
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| 7 |
Brett Turcotte |
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| 8 |
Dennis Eckstrom |
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| 9 |
Mike Schultz |
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| 10 |
Steven Taylor - YAM |
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Point Standings |
| 1 |
TJ Gulla |
284 |
| 2 |
Ross Martin |
277 |
| 3 |
Levi LaVallee |
260 |
| 4 |
Dennis Eckstrom |
252 |
| 5 |
Blair Morgan |
242 |
| 6 |
Brett Turcotte |
233 |
| 7 |
Ryan Simons |
232 |
| 8 |
Shaun Crapo |
226 |
| 9 |
Mathieu Morin |
223 |
| 10 |
Mike Schultz |
212 |
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Semi-Pro... Cory Davis also holeshot and won his first qualifier! Tthe Yamaha Factory Snocross team’s performance was especially demoralizing to their competition. In the second qualifier though, disaster struck when Davis went down.
“It was just a dumb get-off,” Davis says. “I dropped into a huge hole in the rhythm section and came out a little sideways so I had to step off.” Cory found out later that he has a slight fracture, but it is at a non-load bearing area and the team expects him back in time for Spring testing.”
Semi Pro |
| 1 |
Andrew Johnstad |
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| 2 |
Zach Pattyn |
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| 3 |
Dan Ebert |
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Point Standings |
| 1 |
Andrew Johnstad |
186 |
| 2 |
Bobby LePage |
182 |
| 3 |
Dan Ebert |
178 |
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