U.S.C.C. puts sponsors products to the ultimate test!

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U.S.C.C. puts sponsors products to the ultimate test!
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Minto, ND (January 21, 2009) - Over the span of two weeks, the U.S.C.C. course-setting crew put on over 5,000 miles on four snowmobiles while preparing and maintaining the course for the 2009 Red Lake I-500 race.

The machines consisted of a pair of 2009 Yamaha Nytro XTX’s and two 2009 Arctic Cat Bearcat models. These machines were subjected to a week of temperatures that were consistently in the -20 to -30 degree range. They also had to break trail through some of the nastiest terrain imaginable in an effort to provide the I-500 racers with a challenging course that would test the abilities of both the driver and his machine.

Amazingly, the four machines came through basically unscathed. “Arctic Cat and Yamaha each provide us with a couple of sleds that we use all year long in our course preparations. During the I-500, our guys put in 10-12 hour days for a couple weeks at a time and they don’t have the time or energy to do much maintenance on the sleds they use,” said U.S.C.C. President Pat Mach.

“We use the Bearcats to pull Orion Industries Moonwalker sleds that are full of course markers, chainsaws and all the other items we need to set and mark the course. The sleds weigh close to 800 pounds when loaded and the Bearcats pull them through deep snow, dirt, gravel and up steep river banks without a problem…they are amazing machines!” said Lee Gudajtes of the U.S.C.C.

Once the Bearcats get the course work done, it’s time for the Nytro’s to hit the trail. Two riders go out each morning of the race to pre-run each leg of the event to make sure the course is ready for the racers. When the pre-runners get back, the Nytro’s are refueled and the sweep-crew riders hop aboard to take their turn on the course. “Our sweepers are a couple of former racers who run the course to make sure that all the riders are accounted for. By this time, the race course is pounded out and in the worst possible shape. The Yamaha’s worked great all week long; they were bulletproof,” Mach said.

“We can’t thank Yamaha and Arctic Cat enough for the sleds they provide. They give us brand new machines and we put them through extreme conditions! When you consider that only 59% of the racers who started the race were able to finish the event, the fact that our sleds kept going day after day is a testament to the quality product we receive,” said Mach.

The United States Cross-Country Snowmobile Racing Association (USCC) is based out of Minto, ND and attracts more than 200 professional and amateur snowmobile racers to each of its events. The USCC series is North America’s premier form of cross-country snowmobile racing; it is the only racing organization that sanctions events comprised entirely of terrain cross-country races. The race courses include ditch lines, frozen lakes and deep woods trails. Its 2008-09 schedule marks the circuit’s seventh season with races hosted in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The USCC is sanctioned by International Snowmobile Racing (ISR); ISR has been serving the racing community for more than 25 years. Please visit www.usccracing.com for more information.

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