Photos: Katherine Images
WINCHESTER, N.H. – Veteran snocross racers Leo Patenaude and Corin Todd split the Pro finals over the weekend, as the new Eastern Snocross Tour (ESXT) made its debut at Winchester Speedpark.
Patenaude (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo) blasted to victory in Saturday’s final over Marco Travaglini (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo) and Todd, a former regular on the ISOC national circuit. Todd (Team Southside/Polaris), of Otego, N.Y., found redemption with his first eastern regional win in years on Sunday, with Patenaude and rising star Adam Ashline (Ingles/Ski-doo) filling out the podium.
In HK Powersports Pro Lite action, Dalton Jacquier (Team Southside/Polaris) outgunned his rivals to claim Saturday’s hotly-contested final. Adam Ashline (Ingles/Ski-doo) put in a solid effort to claim second, while series newcomer Mitchell O’Keefe finished third.
On Sunday, it was another rising star’s turn to shine. Gavin Fleury blasted to victory over Ashline and Nick Edwards. The Pro Lite class is loaded with young talent in 2020, meaning fans at every ESXT event will be entertained by these skilled athletes on their way to the top.
Other final round winners over the weekend include Jason Boron (Pro Am Sat. & Sun.); and Alissah Ashline (Ingles/Ski-doo, Pro Women Saturday and Sunday). Full results from all classes at Winchester Speedpark will be posted on the ESXT Website later today.
Weather conditions were a huge hurdle for the ESXT staff as they worked to present their first show. On Saturday, snow started falling in early afternoon to limit visibility and complicate matters. While there were a few issues to overcome on Saturday, they were addressed. Sunday was far better.
“We learned a ton during our first race weekend,” series general manager Shawn Longbook said. “Weather conditions just didn’t cooperate the previous week, meaning we had to build that track completely on Friday night. That is never ideal, so we were behind before we started racing.
“Yet we managed to create a track that kept the athletes safe, which has to be our main focus at every venue. Keep the racers safe and add exciting features, jumps, etc., as conditions allow, that has to be how it works. We’ll evaluate the opener, refine our procedures and hope for more snow in New York as we move forward.”
The Eastern Snocross Tour is owned by longtime racer and team owner Bruce Gaspardi Sr., of North Adams, Massachusetts. Gaspardi and his Team Southside/Polaris squad have been fixtures in eastern regional snocross since the early 1990s. Having him at the helm adds stability for 2020.
Eastern Snocross Tour officials would like to thank Deb and Fran McNamara at Winchester Speedpark for hosting our season opener. Officials also thank our valued series partners, including Ingles Performance, daSilva Motorsports, New England Racing Fuel and HK Powersports for their support in keeping a 27-year tradition of sanctioned snocross alive here in New England.
