MARS HILL, Maine — A group of more than 1,600 spectators came out Saturday to witness the “Bite the Bullet and Battle Big Rock Hill Climb” at Bigrock Mountain.
“This overwhelming snowmobile racing event was dedicated to our lifelong friend and fellow competitor, Dustin McCrum who was looking down on the 152 racers that came out to support such a great cause and accepted the challenge of the hillclimb course,” said Jere Humphrey, event organizer. “Tyler and Gage were a part of this special snowmobile event and competed in the Kids 120cc races, along with cousin Victoria.”
The event offered nine classes involving 274 sledders qualifying single elimination heats maneuvering from the hole shot position and around four sets of gates set randomly on the mountain, before the checkered flag was waved.
Joe Pelletier of Fort Kent conquered the “thrill of the hill” as he captured the title in three out of the five classes entered and finished on the podium in one of the other divisions.
Despite the great success by individual racers, Arctic Cat once again prevailed with the majority of podium finishes with 11. Ski-Doo and Polaris were tied with six and the Savage Boys kept Yamaha in the hunt with four.
The 800cc class which was an addition to the original snowmobile program by the race committee, seemed to be great decision, as the 800 division was the largest with 74 different entries alone.
The Kids 120cc classes proved that there will be another great generation of racers to keep the sport alive as there were 29 young racers strapping on the helmet and swapping several positions through the five-lap qualifiers and 10-lap feature events.
The unofficial class results are as follows:
Kids 120cc Stock — 1, Evan Witham, Hermon; 2, Dayton Taylor Mars Hill; and 3, Gage Theriault Limestone.
Kids 120cc Modified — 1, Carter Wiggin, Carmel; 2, Austin Witham, Hermon; 3, Noah Willette Presque Isle.
Women’s Open Class — 1, Serena Collins, Portage; 2, Jessica Currier, Mapleton; 3, Ashley Case, Blaine.
Teen’s Open Class (ages 11-15 years) — 1, Tyler Brewer, Blaine.
500cc Class — 1, Joe Pelletier, Fort Kent; 2, Brandon Ouellette, Fort Kent; 3, Tadic Jobin Centerville, New Brunswick; and 4, Ross Grass, Mars Hill.
600cc Class — 1, Joe Pelletier, Fort Kent; 2, Erik St. Peter, Mapleton; 3, Casey Savage, Sherman; 4, Tadic Jobin, Centerville, New Brunswick; and 5, Mickey Savage, Sherman.
700cc Class — 1, Casey Savage, Sherman; 2, Mickey Savage, Sherman; 3, Sam Heckman, Plaistow, New Hampshire; 4, Chris Piper, Centerville, New Brunswick; and 5, Matthew Simonson, Greenville, New Brunswick.
800cc Class — 1, Casey Savage, Sherman; 2, Matt Reynolds, Presque Isle; 3, Joe Pelletier, Fort Kent; 4, Tom Smith, New Canada; and 5, Brent Grass, Blaine.
Open Class — 1, Joe Pelletier, Fort Kent; 2, Matt Reynolds, Presque Isle; 3, Matt Simonson, Greenville, New Brunswick; 4, Dylan Pelletier, St. John; 5, Sam Heckman, Plaistow, New Hampshire.
