Patenaude, Thibodeau post clean sweeps in Bangor for ECS Conx2share Series,
Presented by Woody’s Traction and FXR
BANGOR, Maine (Feb. 2, 2017) – Vermont veteran Hunter Patenaude and Maine native Kassie Thibodeau notched clean sweeps in their respective classes over the weekend, as East Coast Snocross (ECS) completed the first two rounds of competition on the 2017 schedule at historic Bass Park.
Patenaude (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo), of Hartland, Vermont, stormed to victory in Saturday’s Pro Open final ahead of Team Southside/Polaris teammates Kristoffer Holm and Cody Paolella. On Sunday, Patenaude dominated the 10-lap final on a challenging track as Paolella and Scott VandeBorne (Team Southside/Polaris) filled out the podium.
“It was a great day; I couldn’t ask for much more,” Patenaude said after winning Sunday’s final. “I have to thank my parents and team for the hard work that makes this possible. I’m thrilled for Ski-doo and Ingles Performance, who put so much into my program. I’m glad I had the opportunity to be here.”
Thibodeau, of Rumford, held off Ashley Baird for top honors in Saturday’s Pro Women final. With momentum from her recent podium runs in ISOC national action, Thibodeau rallied past early leader Sabrina Verville in the closing laps on Sunday to complete an impressive sweep. Alissah Ashline and Teresa Max also scored podium finishes in Pro Women finals over the weekend in Bangor.
“It felt great to get such a strong start to the season,” Thibodeau said after completing her sweep. “Now hopefully we can continue to lead the points all season. I had lots of friends and family here this weekend, even one of my teachers, so to sweep my finals for them is pretty rewarding.”
In Pro Lite action, it was Canadian athlete VandeBorne drawing much of the attention. The gifted athlete from Ontario has experience on the CSRA national circuit, and it showed in Bangor. VandeBorne grabbed the all-important holeshot in Saturday’s final and powered his way to victory. Patenaude settled for second, while former Sport class standout Ryan Dupont filled out the podium.
On Sunday, VandeBorne was rocket-fast again and finished second behind Patenaude in the final. Marco Travaglini showed why he was ready to advance into Pro Lite for 2017 with a solid third-place performance. He and fellow Sport graduate Dupont will add excitement to Pro Lite all season.
In the Southside Sales & Service Sport class at Bangor, Vermont-based rising star Bradley Tatro powered his way to victory in both Saturday and Sunday’s Super Stock final. Matt Simonson (second) and Nathan Bourassa (third) filled out Saturday’s podium, while Ryan Hoffman and Bruce Gaspardi Jr. (Team Southside/Polaris) finished second and third respectively on Sunday.
Action in the MotoTrax Snow Bike class was entertaining, as well. Andy Mathieu, 35, a veteran motocross racer from Lewiston, Maine, rode to victory in Saturday’s final and backed that up with another impressive win on Sunday, completing the weekend sweep aboard his Husqvarna-powered machine. The Snow Bike class continues to grow in popularity among racers while fans quickly embrace this exciting new class of competition.
In Junior class action at Bangor, Gavin Fleury and Jason Olsen led a full field of eager racers. Fleury won Saturday’s Jr. 16-17 Stock 600 final, while Olsen earned top honors on Sunday. Tucker Olsen (Saturday) and Travis Emery (Sunday) notched wins in the Jr. 14-15 class with solid performances.
Other final round winners over the weekend in Bangor include Nathan Bourassa (Plus 25/35 Saturday and Sunday); Tucker Kierstead (Sport Stock 600 Weekend); Sabrina Verville (Women Sport Stock 600 Saturday); and Theresa Max (Women Sport Stock 600 Sunday).
East Coast Snocross would like to thank Jennifer Khavari and the staff Eastern Maine Community College Foundation for hosting our series a third straight year. The community support from great folks like Dysarts, Darling’s Auto and Lane Construction made the event a reality, and we appreciate the work.
Teams and officials now prepare for the showcase event on the 2017 schedule, a companion race with the ISOC National tour in Salamanca, NY, this coming weekend, Feb. 3-4.
The East Coast Snocross Conx2share series, presented by Woody’s Traction and FXR World Class Outerwear, is an ISR-affiliated sanctioning body for snowmobile snocross in the northeastern states. ECS strives to maintain a healthy level of grassroots racing in this region while also cultivating new talent for tomorrow’s factory-backed professional teams.