Courtesy of WPSAracing.com

VALCOURT, Quebec (Feb. 18, 2006) — Brett Turcotte beat out teammate Willie Elam to win Saturday’s WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour Semi-Pro Stock race, part of the Grand Prix Ski-Doo de Valcourt at Circuit Yvon Duhamel.

Though Elam (No. 130 Blair Morgan Racing Team/Ski-Doo) grabbed the holeshot at the start, Turcotte (No. 196 Blair Morgan Racing Team/Ski-Doo) tracked him down going into the second turn. Taking the inside line, Turcotte took the point and then held off the charging Elam to secure the victory.

“Getting the holeshot has proven to be the way to win here this weekend,” said Turcotte, who earned his second Semi-Pro Stock victory this season, “but I got ahead of Willie and that was it. I got a little bit defensive with Willie at the end of the race, but it’s always nice to have a teammate behind you because you know he won’t try to take you out. So I was really comfortable and ran my own race.

“Willie did make some contact with me there at the end,” added Turcott. “But that’s how we are at Blair Morgan Racing; we’re all really competitive. He was just telling me in his own way to get my butt moving.”

Elam was second, ahead of Cory Davis (No. 160 Speedwerx/Arctic Cat). Interestingly, local racer Katejun Coonishish (No. 101 Blair Morgan Racing Team) climbed through the field to finish a close fourth, nearly snagging third from Davis at the finish line. Coonishish is from Ouje-Bougomou, Quebec.

Robbie Malinoski (No. 4 Olah Racing/Arctic Cat) swept Pro Stock qualifying, winning all three of his heats. Malinoski will start first in tomorrow’s Pro Stock final, ahead of Blair Morgan (No. 7c Blair Morgan Racing Team/Ski-Doo) and Dennis Eckstrom (No. 25 AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants/Polaris). Pro Stock points leader Ross Martin (No. 837 Judnick Motorsports-Dupont/Polaris) won the last chance qualifier (LCQ) and will start from the back row tomorrow.

Joey Sagan (No. 202 Royal Distributing/Ski-Doo) was injured during Semi-Pro Open qualifying late in the day Saturday. Sagan was transported to a local hospital for treatment of a laceration suffered in the off.

Comprehensive results from Saturday’s racing action are available for download in PDF format by clicking here (Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher required). HTML results are available at www.powersportstour.com.

Notebook:
LAST CHANCERS…Local favorites Mathieu Morin (No. 27 Warnert Racing-Formula XPS/Ski-Doo) and Karl Allard (No. 41 KIMPEX/Arctic Cat) were forced to transfer into tomorrow’s Pro Stock final through the last chance qualifier (LCQ). Morin, from Val-Dor, Quebec, and Allard, who hails from St. Felicien, Quebec, will join LCQ winner Ross Martin (No. 837 Judnick Motorsports-Dupont/Polaris), Steven Taylor (No. 2 Blair Morgan Racing Team/Ski-Doo), and Shaun Crapo (No. 3 Speedwerx/Arctic Cat), starting on the back row for the final.

QUALIFYING TROUBLES…Some notable riders failed to qualify for tomorrow’s Pro Stock final, including points contenders Steven Martin (No. 18 Dodge Trucks/Ski-Doo), Winter X Games 10 silver medal winner Levi LaVallee (No. 108 TEAM Industries/Polaris), and Michael Island (No. 8 Warnert Racing-Bud Light/Ski-Doo). All will attempt to qualify tomorrow for the Pro Open final.

FRENCH CANADIAN RACERS …The SCM oval racing series also competed during the weekend, racing on the track’s ice oval. Interestingly, Jacques Villeneuve, brother to the late French Canadian Formula One legend Gilles Villeneuve, is one of the SCM’s top riders and won Saturday’s race. Champ Car World Series racer Andrew Ranger, another standout in SCM competition, also raced here.

CANADIAN POWER…The Canadian Snocross Racing Association (CSRA) ran its third National Championship race this weekend as part of the WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour Snocross races. CSRA riders will earn points here, based on WPSA rules, which will be applied to their CSRA championship positions.

HOMETOWN CONNECTION…Title sponsor of this weekend’s race, BRP Ski-Doo’s corporate headquarters is located just a few miles down the road in downtown Valcourt. BRP Ski-Doo founder J.A. Bombardier is often credited with inventing the snowmobile.

About the PowerSports Snowmobile Tour
The PowerSports Snowmobile Tour is North America’s leading snowmobile racing tour and features the greatest show on snow. The Tour is North America’s premiere form of Snocross racing, with its high-flying aerial displays, jumps, jolts and high-speed runs on short tracks throughout the United States and Canada. The Tour is sanctioned by the World PowerSports Association, North America’s largest and most respected organizer and promoter of snowmobile racing on both the regional and national level.

For the latest information, visit www.WPSAracing.com