Western Canadian Championship Race Report

Ninety-one sleds navigated their way through tricky highway conditions enroute to Janvier to battle it out for the right to call themselves Western Canadian Champion! The speeds were high and the competition intense as some of the fastest sleds in the west ripped down the potato field of the Chipewyan Prairie First Nation.

Tech Notes:

- We are excited that competition is growing in the mini classes, it is great for the future of the sport. A note to mini-parents, all sleds are now required to come through tech. Mini 120 and Mini 200 classes are for stock sleds. Minis with modifications fall into the Mini Pro category.

- The most common area needing attention in tech at this race was regarding suspension. There are minimum ground clearance and suspension travel rules to keep drivers safe when snow drag racing. Several sleds needed to adjust their shocks/ride height to meet requirements. Should anyone have questions regarding suspension, please review the rules posted on this site or contact Dale or Tyler.

Race Notes:

Talk about your variable weather conditions. Over the course of the two days, we saw just about every kind of weather imaginable and temperatures from -20 to +5. If you didn’t like the weather, all you had to do was wait a few minutes, it changed constantly.

Any fans of the new-to-North America Lynx brand sleds out there? Enthusiasts thought they would be great off-trail, but our question was, “Would they be quick?” Well, that question was answered with a resounding “YES” as amateur racer Teegan Bouchier put on an impressive performance with his red 2022 Boondocker.

Historically, 800 Stock and 800 Improved have always been large classes. With the number of 850cc sleds growing every year, we are seeing increases in the 1000 stock and open stock classes. The open stock class was particularly large in Janvier as the 800s and 850s made the jump up to battle for the title of quickest stock sled on the snow. The DPH Racing team with pilot Jackie Jarema proved that by putting in the hard work testing and tuning, an 800 can indeed hang with the newer 850s. She took the title in the 1000 stock class. In Open Stock however, it was the Maxceleration Racing turbo-charged Yamaha SRX that overcame the 2 strokes as quickest stock sled in the west.

In improved stock, veteran racers Mike Fowlow, Cory Carter and Lance Burwash all made impressive performances. Hats off to all the racers who gave them a run for their money and kept the competition tight. In the end though, it was an improved Sidewinder M-TX that was the quickest non-studded sled of the race.

Fort McMurray racer Patrick Penton upped his game during the covid break and his orange and black Sidewinder ran hard, taking wins in ProSno 1000 and Open Mod 1000.

During the first day of racing on Saturday, few racers pushed the light with only a handful of red-light starts. As the contest heated up on Sunday, more and more racers took a guess at it and ended up with a foul start. One racer in particular seemed to have some trouble with his 2-step button and ended up with about as many red lights on Sunday as everyone from Saturday combined. Tyler Matt, your sled is fast, but you need to get that problem worked out.

Which brings us to the kings of the snow, the Outlaw class. It was a truly a battle and the races were close. It was 2 stokes vs turbo 4s, light weight vs big power, screaming pipes vs popping turbos. But when the snow dust cleared, it was the Mach-Zilla piloted by Lance Burwash, all the way from Flin Flon Manitoba, who was not only the top 2 stroke sled of the race, but edged out a win to take the Outlaw title and be quickest sled in the west.

Thanks to Chief Vern Janvier and his whole team for hosting the Western Canadian Championship. Your hospitality and support were much appreciated.

Complete Results