As the 2018/19 Cor PowerSports / Midwest Extreme Snowmobile Challenge series closes in there has been some exciting news; for the upcoming season Cor PowerSports has expanded the Midwest Extreme Snowmobile Challenge from 2 special events to a 4 race series.
Since the inception of Midwest Extreme Snowmobile Challenge (MESC) in April 2015, Cor PowerSports has seen that one event at Lutsen Mountains in Lutsen, MN grow from just shy of 150 entries at the April 2015 event to over 300 entries at the April 2018 event! In 2016 Cor PowerSports added a second MESC event at Blackjack Ski Resort in Bessemer, MI which has also seen significant growth since its first year.
To expand MESC into a multi event series has been something we’ve wanted to do since the success of the first event in 2015 but we also wanted to make sure we partnered with the right venues and were ready for growth that the expansion into a full blown points series. There are numerous ski resorts in the Midwest but we wanted to find the best of the best to partner with. We wanted hills that were large enough to host the 3 disciplines (cross country, hillclimb, & hillcross) that are offered at MESC. Hillclimb and Hillcross only needed a couple runs but for cross country we needed a larger resort to be able to set up a 3-5 mile cross country course but also had enough elevation changes to be Extreme.
This past summer we finalized not just one but two great venues to partner with to create the MESC series: Sundown Mountain in Dubuque, IA & Giants Ridge in Biwabik, MN. Both venues have great history with racing; Sundown has been host to the national snocross tour for the last 3 years and Giants Ridge was a racer favorite of the old hillcross series.
Sundown Mountain will be the opening round of the 2019 MESC (Mar 23/24) series, racers will encounter steep hills for the hillcross and hillclimb disciplines and cross country will find a fun flowing 3 mile course that will route racers over the entire hill.
Giants Ridge will be the second round of the series (Apr 6/7), racers will have a hillcross course similar to what there used to be along with the hillclimb and xc racers finding challenging course layouts.
Blackjack Ski Resort will be round 3 (Apr 13/14), last year xc racers had one of the longest most challenging courses we have ever had at Blackjack and for 2019 we look to continue that excitement. Hillclimb and Hillcross racers will also be challenged with their courses routed right in front of the main chalet.
Series final event will be at Lutsen Mountains (Apr 27/28), this venue has been part of MESC since day one due to steep hills for the hillclimb as well as skills of the Lutsen Mountains hill crew to make sure we have great snow conditions for every one of our events! Last year the cross country course was routed through new trails on the property and there was not one cross country racer disappointed with the layout! Hillclimb racers found their own challenge with a hill rated as one of the steepest vertical climbs in the Midwest. Not to be forgotten the Hillcross guys run one of the longest hillx courses on the series.
MESC for 2019 will be the Premier Hillclimb series and qualify 4 racers for the 2020 Jackson Hole World Championship Hillclimbs! In Pro Stock, Mod, & Open each event will crown a King then at the Lutsen Mountains event there will be a King of Kings race for each class with the winner of the King of Kings earning their spot at the Jackson Hole World Championship. The 4th rider will earn his spot by being the Pro high point champion, all the points from every Pro class during the season will be added together and the rider with the most Pro class points will earn the 4th spot from MESC at the 2010 Jackson Hole event.
For more information on Cor PowerSports, Midwest Extreme Snowmobile challenge and our sponsors please visit www.corpowersports.com
