Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Two Winter X Games Medals for Team AMSOIL


 
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In the past,  the spectacle of the ESPN Winter X Games has held different meeting at the farthest ends of the spectrum for Team AMSOIL racers Ross Martin and Tim Tremblay.

For Martin, the Judnick Motorsports star has mirrored his AMSOIL Championship Snocross success at Winter X, picking up three medals before landing in Aspen this year. For Tremblay, Aspen has never been kind as the defending AMSOIL Pro Open champion had yet to finish a race at the high profile event. For one weekend, the stars aligned as both riders brought home some hardware from Colorado.

Martin drew the first major obstacle by pairing up with five-time gold medalist Tucker Hibbert in the first heat. Martin went bar-to-bar with Hibbert for the eight-lap qualifier, finishing second and earning one of the coveted transfer spots  into the final.

Scheuring Speed Sports rider Tremblay grabbed the first gate pick in the second heat, but the burly Canadian had to go up against teammates Robbie Malinoski and Darrin Mees.  Tremblay followed Matt Piche for the first few laps before taking the lead and the heat win. Malinoski crashed out of the contest while making a pass into third. Mees was running right behind Tremblay in second before a mechanical knocked him out of the race.

In the final, Martin and Tremblay were the odds-on favorites to stop Hibbert’s run towards a sixth straight gold medal. Martin grabbed the early lead with Tremblay in third behind Hibbert. A few laps in, Hibbert got around Martin and the battle for second was on between Martin and Tremblay. The running order would stay the same for the remainder of the race as the three top sleds stretched a sizeable lead over the rest of the field.  Hibbert won the gold, with Martin picking up his fourth medal and Tremblay leaving Aspen with the bronze.

Up next on the ACS schedule is a weekend stop in Deadwood, S.D. for two days of the worlds best riders going head-to-head. Racing will be held Friday and Saturday nights. A live stream will be available at www.isocracing.com

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