USCC has been forced to cancel the New York 100 scheduled for March 3 in Inlet, N.Y. due to a lack of snow.

The area doesn't have enough snow on the site where the race was to take place, therefore forcing the USCC East and the promoter of the race to make the difficult decision to cancel it. There is no significant snow or cold weather in the forecast that would allow us to make this race work. The officials of the USCC East have tried to find an alternate place to hold the event, but the lack of a "true winter" seems to be effecting the whole Northeast.

"Making a decision like this is not an easy thing to do for sure. All year long, there is a lot of work and time that goes into planning these races and having to cancel one is a huge decision" said Erik Frigon, the coordinator for the USCC East. "We have a lot of racers that come from the New York area that drive long distances to the other races that were looking forward to the "home" race". "Unfortunately we can't control the weather and I hope that the racers and fans understand".

Both the USCC East and the promoter will continue to work together to start planning for the 2013 season and put this behind us. Look for a bigger and better event for 2013!

This race being cancelled leaves us with the Maine 100 in Greenville, ME to cap off the season. As of now, there is snow there and plenty of ice. So, the outlook is a good one and we look forward to seeing you all in Greenville.

Bill Rader, the long-time racing coordinator for the Polaris snowmobile race program passed away Monday, Feb. 20, 2012, after a courageous battle with cancer.

He was 54. Rader played a major role in the resurgence of the Polaris snowmobile racing program over the past dozen years. He worked closely with Racing Director Tom Rager, Sr., a close friend of Rader's for more than 20 years.

"He was extremely well-liked and everyone in the industry knows how instrumental he was in rebuilding this Polaris program," Rager said of Rader. "His specialty was working with young talent, the father-son race teams, nurturing them to get them to the next level. He worked with people like [Pro racers] TJ Gulla and D.J. Eckstrom and helped them as they rose through the program."

In the early 1990s, Rager was managing the Ski-Doo racing program and he hired Rader as his race program coordinator. Rader and his family - his survivors include his wife Tammy and daughter Dana - moved from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Wausau, Wisconsin, at that time for the job.

When Rager was hired as racing manager by Polaris in August 2000, he immediately hired Rader as racing coordinator. The two men led the rebuilding of the Polaris racing program back to the championship level program it is today. "Billy took care of the 'B Team' programs, assisted me with outside sponsorships and he dealt heavily with the ISR," the racing sanctioning body, Rager said.

The two men developed an incredible friendship over the years. "They always say you meet one person in life who is truly your best friend, and for me he was truly my best friend," Rager said.

A Great Sportsman
Scott Judnick, co-owner of the Judnick Motorsports snocross racing team, said Rader was a great influence on racers of all brands. "I can remember when we were racing for Arctic Cat - this is our 10th year with Polaris - Bill would always come up and talk to you at the track, give you encouragement. He was a great sportsman. He worked with the Sport-class guys and he'd go trailer to trailer and make sure everybody had what they needed and give them input... Bill was a big part of our team and our success and the championships we've won over the years."

Judnick said Rader contributed to the spirit and technology of racing. "He made it fun. He was always willing to help, whatever you needed, he was there for you," Judnick said. "He came up with ideas, he would run for stuff - nothing was beneath him. He was a big part of the success of this program. On a lot of different test trips Bill would be there and his input was always fantastic. The guy would be talking to you and he was so smart, and you'd be like, 'what did he say?' He's get into the chemistry end of things and he loved to study and read and figure things out."

Rader was unable to attend races while battling cancer, and he was missed. "The snowmobile racing world was very concerned about Bill," Judnick said. "Every single weekend people come up and ask, 'how's Bill doing?' I can't tell you how much we've missed not having him at the track, and now that he has passed, how much we will miss him going forward."

Judnick said commemorative decals were being prepared for racers to put on their sleds in Rader's honor.

A Vintage Mopar Enthusiast
William E. "Bill" Rader grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where he loved racing snowmobiles and stock cars. He worked for a time in the mines and served as technical inspector for the USSA snowmobile racing circuit, where he was exemplary in his fairness and his concern for racer safety. He was operating an industrial supply company when Rager hired him to work with the Ski-Doo racing program.

Rader was focused on his family and his job, and he enjoyed restoring old vehicles. "He loved building old hot rods," Rager said. "He rebuilt a '70 Road Runner, and his latest project was a '73 Dart. He loved the old Mopar stuff. He also did an incredible job refurbishing old Polaris snowmobiles, and his latest was an old StarFire sled."

A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, at Saint Andrew Lutheran Church, 3200 N. Mountain Road, Wausau. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23, at Brainard Funeral Home, 5712 Memorial Court, Weston, WI, and again from 9:30 a.m. until the time of services Friday at the church.

Joel Diamond won the Grand Prix Ski-Doo of Valcourt Pro Champ 440 final race.

The Lapeer, Michigan veteran edged a hard-charging Dustin Wahl of Greenbush, Minnesota and Nick Lagoy of Morrisonville, New York. Jacques Villeneuve of St-Cuthbert finished fourth, ahead of Grand Prix of Valcourt defending champion Nicholas Van Strydonk.

Wahl started his day on a strong note by winning his qualifying heat race ahead of Lagoy. Then, Travis MacDonald, a young, talented rider from Winnipeg, Manitoba, showed his stuff ahead of Villeneuve and the rest of the field. In the second qualifying heat races, Diamond won his first of the day finishing ahead of Wahl, while the fourth and final qualifying race went to Villeneuve, who was hotly pursued by Lagoy.

In the other ice oval race finale action, Felipe Roy-Lalonde of Saint-Jude, Quebec, won ahead of Dustin Gehrke of Morrisonville, New York, and Curtis Weatherdon of Barry's Bay, Ontario, in Semi Pro Champ. In the Factory 600 class, Lagoy edged Malcolm Chartier of Marine City, Michigan, and Mike Van Dolder of Owen Sound, Ontario.

Bunke Racing and Subway will be hosting a "Bunke Racing Meet and Greet" at the Subway in Roseau, MN from 4:30pm-6:00pm on Wednesday, February 22.

Coming off the 2012, Soo I-500 win, Pro-Racer Gabe Bunke and his team will be at
Roseau's Subway, a sponsor of the Bunke Racing race team where they will have their winning Soo I-500 sled on display. The Bunke Racing team will also be inside Subway signing posters and giving away Bunke Racing gear.

"We just wanted to come back home to Roseau and Polaris and thank everyone for their support," says Bunke. "We would love to meet our fan base in the heart of Polaris country and Subway has given us the opportunity to do that at their restaurant. It will be easy to stop by, meet the team, check out the Soo sled and grab some supper for the family on your way home."

Up next for the Bunke Racing team is the USCC's Oslo 100 scheduled for February 25 and the final race of the year, the Seven Clans 100 March 10-11 in Warroad, MN.

Mother Nature has caused the USCC to cancel the Red Lake I-500 in Thief River Falls, Minn. according to the USCC's website.
"We were hoping along with everyone else that we would get some snow, but it's just not happening," said USCC Race Director Jesse Strege. "The decision to cancel the race is a hard one, but there's no way we can get 500 miles of racing in on the little bit of snow on the ground in the area."

While it won't be racing the Red Lake I-500, the USCC will be hosting a race on the weekend nonetheless. The Oslo 100 will take place February 25, 2012, in Oslo, Minn.

"While we can't race the I-500, we can run a shorter race, so we decided to use the snow available in the Oslo area to stage a one-day, 100-mile event," said Strege. "The Oslo 100 will be a USCC-level event and we're hoping to see everyone there."

The USCC would like to thank all of the Red Lake I-500 sponsors and the people who had already done so much work leading up to the event.

Tim Tremblay won the Pro Open in front of a crowd of 20,000 snowmobile racing fans at the 2011-'12 AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series at the Pontiac (Mich.) Silverdome.

Pro Open
 
After Ski-Doo's Justin Broberg pulled holeshot, the Pro Open turned into a classic cat-and-mouse chase between Tucker Hibbert (Arctic Cat) and Tremblay. Hibbert would work his way back up the charts after getting caught up at the start, clicking off fast lap after fast lap before catching up to race leader Tremblay by lap 11 (of 28).
 
Whittling Tremblay's lead down to three seconds - much because Tremblay ran into lapped traffic on the tight, 20-second lap, all-left-hand-turn course. A Tremblay mistake in the first turn after the finish line would put Hibbert into the lead momentarily, but Tremblay grabbed it right back. Hibbert would lead once more before Tremblay charged back to the front.

Then, on lap 22, Hibbert got into the back of Tremblay's sled and clipped his ski on Tremblay's track leaving Hibbert tipped on his side. Hibbert would re-mount and charge back towards the podium, but fellow Arctic Cat pilot Logan Christian would shut the door on Hibbert's attempts at 2nd place.
 
The final Pro Open podium at the Silverdome read: 1st - Tremblay; 2nd - Christian; 3rd - Hibbert
 
"This was such a good night, I'm really happy to be up here," said Tremblay. "It was really hard to pass those guys (lapped traffic). Almost crashed once, but my Ski-Doo team worked very hard we won the race and I'm very happy for it."
 
" I'm happy I still made it on the podium but frustrated I didn't make my pass stick on Tim because I felt really good," Hibbert said.

Pro Light
 
In Friday's Pro Light final at the Silverdome Polaris' Kody Kamm looked to have 'er in the bag, taking a multiple-second lead into the white flag lap - before a mechanical gremlin stopped Kamm's sled mid-lap in last of the 16 lap main event. Ironically, Ski-Doo's Derek Ellis' sled seemed to be belching smoke for the entire main, but Ellis soldiered on - never losing much time on Kamm - and was there in second place when Kamm's sled quit to take the win.
 
"Wow. That was a wild race," said Ellis, the sizable Silverdome crowd cheering him on. "My Ski-Doo was there in the end. Pumped with the win."
 
Wrapping up the Pro Light podium at the Silverdome was John Stenberg (Ski-Doo) in 2nd and Chase Rosemeyer (Ski-Doo) in 3rd.
 
Western Powersports Michigan National Pro Open Friday results
 Pro Open:
1 Tim Tremblay     Ski-Doo
2 Logan Christian    Arctic Cat
3 Tucker Hibbert    Arctic Cat

Pro Open overall points (after seven rounds)
1 Ross Martin        Polaris
2 Tim Tremblay    Ski-Doo
3 Tucker Hibbert    Arctic Cat
 
Western Powersports Michigan National Pro Light Friday results
1 Derek Ellis        Ski-Doo
2 John Stenberg    Ski-Doo
3 Chase Rosemeyer    Ski-Doo
 
Pro Light overall results (after seven rounds)
1 Kody Kamm   
2 Derek Ellis
3 James Johnstad

Polaris has released a 2013 lightweight 800 Pro-RMK 155 with the QuickDrive Low Inertia Belt Drive System and dry weight of just 417 pounds.

The rest of the 2013 models will be revealed to the public March 5.

The new 800 Pro-RMK 155 provides mountain and deep snow riders with a strong, lightweight flickable chassis and outstanding power.

The 800 Pro-RMK 155 features the QuickDrive Low Inertia Drive system, the first belt drive system in production snowmobiles.

The complete system - lightweight brake, extruded drive shaft and maintenance-free belt drive in place of a chaincase - reduces sled weight by more than 6.5 pounds, and provides a 21% reduction in rotational inertia for enhanced efficiency and acceleration.

This Pro-RMK model has carbon fiber overstructure for strength and light weight, and the belly pan and suspension torque arms are also lighter yet strong and durable.

All-new PowderTrac Running Boards are strong, high-traction platforms consisting of minimal structure for ample open space for optimal snow evacuation.

The 800 Pro-RMK 155 is built on the PRO-RIDE chassis, which is 300% more rigid and is the most flickable chassis on the snow.

The RMK Coil-Over Rear Suspension is the ultimate deep snow suspension. Equipped with premium Walker Evans shocks, this suspension delivers outstanding flotation and deep-snow performance, and offers an improved on-trail ride.

The PRO-RIDE RMK Adjustable IFS also has Walker Evans shocks and the ski stance is adjustable to 39, 40, and 41 inches. This sled is powered by the 800 Cleanfire® engine, which provides outstanding throttle response for instant acceleration and automatically calibrates as elevation and temperature change.

A rider enjoys greater maneuverability and enhanced riding comfort with the new Pro-Lite Seat.

The tail of this new seat is 5.5-inches shorter so it's easier to throw a leg over. The front of the seat is flatter and over 2.5-inches wider for greater comfort, and the seat is lighter, as is the strong new seat support.

Fuels with more than 10% ethanol in them could be required to go through a comprehensive review before hitting the marketplace, after the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology approved a bill on February 7.

Wi.-US Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner proposed the bill, H.R. 3199, to prevent premature engine failure, lower fuel efficiency and void vehicle warranties caused by higher percentages of ethanol in fuel.

"I am pleased that the Committee voted today to put science before politics. When it comes to a decision of this magnitude that would impact every American who owns a car, boat, or lawnmower, we must base our decisions on sound science, not political expediency," Sensenbrenner said.

This legislation requires the EPA to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study the effects of E15 on vehicles and engines, including an evaluation of short and long-term environmental safety and performance effects of E15 on road and off-road vehicle engines.

This proposed legislation came after the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would allow the use of gasoline with 15% ethanol, called E15, in vehicles manufactured since 2001. The EPA relied on findings from the Department of Energy rushing the E15's introduction to the marketplace, according to a press release from Sensenbrenner.

"The fact that my legislation has garnered such broad support from diverse groups like automakers, small businesses, and environmentalists is a good indication that EPA needs to slow down and do the necessary analysis," Sensenbrenner said.

Ed Klim, President of International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, said in a email to AmSnow that the organization supports the legislation.

"We have sent a letter signed by many groups supporting the bill," Klim said.

Thirty-one organizations, including ISMA, have offered support on the H.R. 3199 bill in a letter.

Below is a copy of the letter that was sent:

February 6, 2012  

 The undersigned organizations urge you to support H.R. 3199. This important piece of legislation would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct necessary scientific and technical analysis on the implications of introducing mid-level ethanol blends into the marketplace before EPA moves forward with registering such fuels.
Several objective studies indicate that significantly more research and testing needs to be completed before gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol, known as "E15," or other mid-level ethanol blends can be introduced into commerce. H.R. 3199 will require the NAS and EPA to conduct a necessary comprehensive assessment of the testing that has been conducted and still needs to be done of on-road, off-road, and marine engines, vehicles and related equipment prior to the implementation of any waiver for mid-level ethanol blends. This bill takes a critical step towards ensuring that any mid-level ethanol blends are introduced into commerce in a manner that protects consumers and the environment.
While our organizations have divergent priorities, consumer protection is a common high priority and we are united in opposition to the premature introduction of E15. Simply stated, this bill will halt EPA's rush to introduce mid-level ethanol blends and ensure such fuel blends receive the proper scientific analysis before being put into the marketplace.
We collectively urge you to support Representative Sensenbrenner's legislation (H.R. 3199).
Sincerely,
 
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers     Motorcycle Industry Council       
American Frozen Food Institute     National Association of Shell Marketers       
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers     National Black Chamber of Commerce       
American Bakers Association     National Council of Chain Restaurants       
American Meat Institute     National Marine Manufacturers Association       
American Petroleum Institute     National Meat Association       
Association of Global Automakers     National Restaurant Association       
Boat Owners Association of The United States     National Turkey Federation       
California Dairy Campaign     Outdoor Power Equipment Institute       
Competitive Enterprise Institute     Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association       
Freedom Action     Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council       
Friends of the Earth     Snack Food Association       
Grocery Manufacturers Association     Southeast Milk Inc.       
International Liquid Terminals Association     Specialty Equipment Market Association       
International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association     Specialty Vehicle Institute of America       
Milk Producers Council      

By American Snowmobiler