- Racing
TEAM Racer Update: TEAM Bauerly ISOC Canterbury National update
Canterbury National Snocross – Jan. 6-7, 2012
After a one-year hiatus, the ISOC Amsoil Championship Snocross Series returned to one of the most famous events in snowmobile racing, Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN. With absolutely no snow on the ground in the Twin Cities metro area and daytime temperatures in the upper 40’s, winter sports enthusiasts had only one option to get their snowmobiling fix and the crew at Canterbury Park delivered. At one point during Saturday’s final, over 300,000 fans had logged onto the live stream of the event, and more than 22,000 spectators filed into the facility to take part in one of the most epic weekends of Snocross racing in history.
Team Bauerly was well represented with 4 riders competing and 2 trailers with a large crew supporting in the pits. Ross Bauerly (#821) ran in the Pro +30 class first on Friday night. In qualifying, Ross figured out the rough track and ran hard to finish 3rd in both of his heats. That qualified Ross 5th of 15 for the 8 lap final under the lights. In the final, Ross jumped the start on the hole-shot and had to hold back, resulting in a poor start position. Throughout the final Ross picked off riders making his way up to a solid 4th place overall finish. Next up was Paul Bauerly (#24) in the Pro Open class. Paul sustained a shoulder injury at the previous event, but was digging deep to do all he could at this big event. In qualifying Paul ran smooth and consistent and finished 6th and 5th in the 2 rounds placing him in the LCQ. In that race, he had some tough going and crossed the line in 10th. On Saturday Paul again tried to do all he could to compete in his condition, running mid-pack for a 7th and 6th in the 2 rounds and an 8th overall in the LCQ. There is now several weeks before the next event so Paul can get his injuries back to where he needs to be to run with the best as he has shown he certainly can.
The Pro-Lites class was stacked as always and the competition on this rough and tumble course didn’t disappoint. Chase Rosemeyer (#675) and John Stenberg (#259) both ended up in the same heat first round Friday and grabbed nice starts. The two raced hard to a 2nd and 3rd place finish respectively. In round 2, Chase found himself wrapped up in a multi-sled pileup but managed a 6th place finish and John after jumping the start was black flagged and had to settle for an 8th place overall. Both landed in the LCQ where Chase rode hard and made the transfer to the main event but John had to sit this one out, missing the cut by 2 spots. In the final coming from the back row, Chase rode hard and consistent for what was a very long final on a very tore up course, and gained himself a top 10 final finish crossing the line in 10th overall. Saturday the Pro-Lites class again proved to be tough not only in competition but on parts as the course was so inconsistent with the warm temps melting the snow on top, but leaving the icy conditions underneath. Round 1 found John and Chase finishing in 4th and 5th respectively. John had trouble getting enough power to make the jumps and bumps smoothly, and after round 1 found a motor problem that the team scrambled to fix before round 2. In round 2 John got a good start and charged hard down the front stretch, but another sled landed on his front end and bent his steering and suspension taking him out of the hunt up front. Chase on the other hand rode well and grabbed a 3rd place finish. Both guys had to run the LCQ where trouble struck right off the start and they had to fight from the back and only had time to get up to 7th and 10th overall.
Despite some bad luck and mechanical issues the team faced, the qualifying finishes were enough to help the guys hold onto their current points positions in the year-end championship standings. Ross is now sitting in 4th place overall in season points, a mere 2 points away from 3rd. John is in 7th place overall in the ultra competitive Pro-Lites class, and Chase sits in 17th out of 48. Paul hung onto the 18th spot out of 32 so things are still progressing in the right direction. With the break coming up, the team finally has time to do what they need to make the next leap. Now let’s just hope for some snow from Mother Nature soon!
