Hibbert, Yurk and Wittwer Headline ACS Round 13 in Iowa

Pro Lite

Round 1

When the first heat arrived to the starting line, all eyes were on Pro Lite points leader Daniel Benham. Benham launched himself out of the gate quickly but was forced wide, causing him to slide back to the fifth position. As the beginning lap progressed, Zak Mason had arguably his best start of the season as he found himself in the lead. Benham would have an off on the opening lap forcing him to the rear of the field. Travis Kern and Jacob Yurk capitalized on the points leader mistakes and moved into the second and third positions. Emil Harr aboard his Makita Ski-Doo, moved through the field including passing Yurk putting himself into the top three. Travis Kern would also have an off in this race taking him from second down to seventh. As the checkered flags flew it was, Zak Mason taking the win, Emil Hard is second and Jacob Yurk third. In the second heat of round one, Andrew Lindholm would nab the holeshot and lead the opening laps of the seven lap qualifier. Aki Pihlaja started the race in fourth, but after smart line choices moved to second in just two laps. Pihlaja’s Ski-Doo teammate, Marcus Ogemar, rounded out the top three in the early stages of the race. Pihlaja would make an aggressive inside pass on Lindholm to take over the lead with two laps remaining. After moving passed Lindholm, Pihlaja would check out from the rest of the pack and earn his first heat race win of the weekend. Lindholm would finish in second and Ogemar third. In the final heat of round one for the Pro Lite class, Pro veteran, Andy Lieders would steal the holeshot and lead the entire race flag-to-flag. Evan Daudt solidified the second spot while Oskar Norum rode in third. Lieders gapped the field the entire race while second and third battled to stay close. As the riders crossed the finish line it was Lieders, Daudt and Norum consuming the top three positions.

Round 2

With the final round of qualifying for the Pro Lite class set to begin, each rider was looking for a great round to solidify a good starting spot for the main event later in the evening. Jacob Yurk nailed the holeshot in heat one as he was able to lead the Arctic Cat trio of himself Travis Kern and Andrew Lindholm up the hill. Yurk would lead nearly the entire race before having an issue near the finish line, causing him to finish in second. Yurk’s misfortune propelled Travis Kern to his first heat race win of the weekend. Nisse Kjellstrom charged hard from fifth, to finish his qualifying efforts in third. The second heat showcased the composure of the 2017 Pro Lite points champion, Aki Pihlaja, as he was able to successfully pass Daniel Benham and run away to victory. The current points leader, Daniel Benham, did execute the start of the race well, but Pihlaja was too dominant in round two. The final spot in the top three was taken by none other then Marcus Ogemar. In the final Pro Lite qualifying race of the day, Evan Daudt would jump out to the early lead as he was chased by the two Warnert Racing Ski-Doo’s, Max Taillefer and Emil Harr. Harr would have a hard off on the downhill forcing him to the rear of the field. Daudt would run a near flawless race and lead the entire moto flag-to-flag. Max Taillefer would also run a strong race in second while Martin Moland made a last lap pass to finish in third.

Final

As the light went green for the Pro Lite final at day one of the Theisen’s Snocross National, Evan Daudt piloted his Polaris to the early race lead. The lead for Daudt was short lived as Aki Pihlaja made an aggressive move on the opening lap to take over the number one position. Jacob Yurk started his main event off in third but was also able to make quick work on Daudt and move to second.

Starting in the back row, points leader Daniel Benham already found himself in the sixth spot. With the opening laps being completed, Martin Moland ran in fourth while Travis Kern was fifth. Daniel Benham was able to move around his teammate Kern, and move inside the top five on lap four. As the halfway point of the race come into contact with the riders, Evan Daudt, Martin Moland and Daniel Benham all were battling closely for the final spot on the podium. Moland and Benham were both able to get around Daudt to force the Polaris rider down to fifth.

With the battles behind the leaders taking place, Pihlaja and Yurk were able to gap themselves from the rest of the competitors. With the laps ticking off and only two laps to go, race leader, Aki Pihlaja, had a crash taking him out of the race lead. This crash forced Pihlaja down to fourth and advanced Yurk to the lead with only two laps left. Yurk would hold onto the victory and close the gap of points leader, Daniel Benham. Martin Moland would execute a near flawless race and finish in second while Daniel Benham finished third after starting from the back row. Aki Pihlaja crossed the finish line in fourth and Hunter Patenaude rounded out the top five.

1. #727 Jacob Yurk
2. #75 Martin Moland
3. #221 Daniel Benham
4. #128 Aki Pihlaja
5. #208 Hunter Patenaude
6. #144 Max Taillefer
7. #201 Travis Kern
8. #27 Nisse Kjellstrom
9. #63 Zak Mason
10. #114 Alexander Berglund
11. #31 Emil Harr
12. #21 Cole Cottew
13. #40 Oskar Norum
14. #413 Evan Daudt
15. #58 Marcus Ogemar