Aboard his FX Nytro RTX, Fuel Med RX Yamaha’s Nathan Titus won the cold and windy Pro Am 30+ snowmobile ice race in Hayward, Wis. on Saturday, Jan. 19. He followed up with a fourth in Pro Sprint and a third in Pro Distance, while teammate Ben Lindbom finished third in Pro Sprint and second in Pro Distance, likewise aboard an FX Nytro RTX. Altogether, the pair gave the FX Nytro one win and three podium finishes in a memorably tough day of racing. In addition, young Mitchell Sebastian raced his Phazer to a third-place podium in Jr 16-17 and eighth in the Trail class.
Warm conditions and rain earlier in the week had caused the event to move from its planned location in Poynette to Hayward, where a hastily designed course covered 13 serpentine miles along the Chippewa Flowage. Frigid conditions started the day at 20 degrees and got progressively colder and winder from there, with breezes of 15 mph gusting to 30 mph and blowing snow across the course, ripping out markers and causing havoc for the racers trying to navigate at over 100 mph. In other words, it was snowmobile racing at its gnarliest.
In the afternoon Pro Sprint race, Titus started ahead of teammate Lindbom but the pair swapped positions on the first lap, then ran nose to tail right to the finish, with Lindbom on the podium in third and Titus in fourth.
| Pro Sprint |
| 1 |
Wes Selby |
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| 2 |
Zach Herfindahl |
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| 3 |
Ben Lindbom - YAM |
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| 4 |
Nathan Titus - YAM |
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| 5 |
Justin Steck |
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And finally, with weather conditions deteriorating and the light fading, the Pro Distance finale flagged off for three instead of the scheduled five laps. Once again, Titus started ahead of Lindbom before the duo again swapped places early in the contest. As Titus struggled with chassis setup, Lindbom forged past his teammate to move into second overall, with Titus holding on to take the final podium position.
“Racing in conditions like these proves not only Nathan and Ben’s determination, but also the adaptability and durability of Yamaha four-stroke sleds,” said Yamaha’s Eric Josephsen. “Corners as slow as 10 mph, straightaways as fast as 110 mph, blowing snow and wind, and temperatures approaching zero degrees all prove that Yamaha snowmobiles can handle just about anything – even under the most brutal race conditions.”
| Pro Distance |
| 1 |
Wes Selby |
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| 2 |
Ben Lindbom - YAM |
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| 3 |
Nathan Titus - YAM |
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| 4 |
Justin Steck |
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| 5 |
Nick Roehl |
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| Vet 30+ |
| 1 |
Phil Crick |
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| 2 |
Tony Taubenheim |
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| 3 |
Brian Brown |
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| 4 |
Wade Strop |
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| 5 |
Brent Liggett - YAM |
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| Jr 16-17 |
| 1 |
Matt Feil |
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| 2 |
Andy Junglen |
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| 3 |
Mitchell Sebastian - YAM |
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| 4 |
Ellie Wenzlaff |
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| Trail |
| 1 |
Trevor Taubenheim |
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| 2 |
Jenna Sobeck |
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| 3 |
Sarah Wiedmeyer |
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| 4 |
Jerry Kreuziger |
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| 5 |
Ross Ilstrup |
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