so it begins...

17 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

Park Rapids day one... 

Best speed 113 mph 

That Jamie Smart doesn't live far from me.

2 hours ago, HSR said:

Best speed 113 mph 

That Jamie Smart doesn't live far from me.

That is course average.  There is something off in MyLaps to get that kind of average speed.

Edit:  Trig is a Jr 10-13 racer.  They do not run the full 108 mile course, so his time for a partial course is counted against the full 108 miles.

As far as I know, there is no good way to change this in MyLaps.

Edited January 29, 20232 yr by racinfarmer

pro-stock and pro-open... Zach had a good weekend.  doesn't look like Wes did. 

 

Edited January 30, 20232 yr by Crnr2Crnr

 

Great footage.  Shame they can't have drones follow the pro class racers.  

 

On 1/29/2023 at 3:35 PM, Crnr2Crnr said:

pro-stock and pro-open... Zach had a good weekend.  doesn't look like Wes did. 

 

Thanks for posting. I’m surprised at the number of entries, for the biggest XC race series I’d have guessed there’d be more racers. Can people race the Polaris 650 or are they stuck having to race older Polaris 600’s? 

600's only.  Some series will let you run 650's and 700's in trail classes.  I think one even allows 800's in trail class.

27 minutes ago, racinfarmer said:

600's only.  Some series will let you run 650's and 700's in trail classes.  I think one even allows 800's in trail class.

It seems like that would limit who can participate. If you aren’t accepted into the Polaris race program you are then stuck trying to find a used race sled or have to ride an older Axys 600 XCR. Maybe it’s not a big issue? 

All racing has a high cost of entry. 

XC is probably the second cheapest to try, after drag racing (snooze).

12 hours ago, racinfarmer said:

All racing has a high cost of entry. 

XC is probably the second cheapest to try, after drag racing (snooze).

That to me is why snowmobile racing continues to die away. It always seems to get too specialized. So it looks like if a guy buys a new XCR 650, he can’t race it. What happened to the 500 class with the SP500 and the Phazers? Am I correct in my assumption that when Yamaha dropped the Phazer the class went away soon after? I’m now wondering how long XC racing will be around since Polaris basically doesn’t participate unless a guy goes through their race program. Ski-doo doesn’t appear to have a big presence and Cat had its budget cut significantly by Textron.

Seems like things just keep getting more and more stacked against it.  

56 minutes ago, AK440 said:

That to me is why snowmobile racing continues to die away. It always seems to get too specialized. So it looks like if a guy buys a new XCR 650, he can’t race it. What happened to the 500 class with the SP500 and the Phazers? Am I correct in my assumption that when Yamaha dropped the Phazer the class went away soon after? I’m now wondering how long XC racing will be around since Polaris basically doesn’t participate unless a guy goes through their race program. Ski-doo doesn’t appear to have a big presence and Cat had its budget cut significantly by Textron.

Seems like things just keep getting more and more stacked against it.  

The xc class has been 600 consumer engine trail sleds for the last decade. Polaris comes out with a goofy 650cc sled. No you can’t race that as it is bigger than a 600. You can race any 600 sled you can get buy off a dealer show room. Nothing bigger. It’s a pretty simple rule. Polaris sells a 600 xcr if you snow check it 

15 minutes ago, Not greg b said:

The xc class has been 600 consumer engine trail sleds for the last decade. Polaris comes out with a goofy 650cc sled. No you can’t race that as it is bigger than a 600. You can race any 600 sled you can get buy off a dealer show room. Nothing bigger. It’s a pretty simple rule. Polaris sells a 600 xcr if you snow check it 

Polaris doesn’t offer the 600 in the XCR. Go to their website and see for yourself. The 600cc rule is not going to help XC racing, it now hurts it. If a guy wants to get into racing he now has to buy a used Polaris 600 or get one through the race program if he even qualifies, and he has to pay cash for the sled or get a personal loan. That is a very high barrier to entry. It’d be easier if they’d just remove the 600cc limit as there are only two OEM’s selling new 600cc high performance trail sleds. 

4 minutes ago, AK440 said:

Polaris doesn’t offer the 600 in the XCR. Go to their website and see for yourself. The 600cc rule is not going to help XC racing, it now hurts it. If a guy wants to get into racing he now has to buy a used Polaris 600 or get one through the race program if he even qualifies, and he has to pay cash for the sled or get a personal loan. That is a very high barrier to entry. It’d be easier if they’d just remove the 600cc limit as there are only two OEM’s selling new 600cc high performance trail sleds. 

Yea they do. 

It’s a snow check only sled. Just like the cat rxc, cat’s old school sp500, and current skidoo competition sled 

 

https://snowmobiles.polaris.com/en-us/600-cross-country/

8 minutes ago, Not greg b said:

It’s a snow check only sled. Just like the cat rxc, cat’s old school sp500, and current skidoo competition sled 

 

https://snowmobiles.polaris.com/en-us/600-cross-country/

That’s not a consumer sled, it’s only available through the race program by submitting an application and being accepted. There is no financing that sled and even if you are accepted there is no guarantee you’ll get the sled as they are sold, first come first serve. There is also no warranty with that sled. Evidently Polaris doesn’t care too much about XC racing as they are greatly limiting the availability of their machines to potential racers.

14 minutes ago, AK440 said:

That’s not a consumer sled, it’s only available through the race program by submitting an application and being accepted. There is no financing that sled and even if you are accepted there is no guarantee you’ll get the sled as they are sold, first come first serve. There is also no warranty with that sled. Evidently Polaris doesn’t care too much about XC racing as they are greatly limiting the availability of their machines to potential racers.

Yes it is. You can order it during sno check. No different than the skidoo competition and cat rxc. They are rare because 99.9% of consumers don’t want that type of sled. The difference between cat and the other 2 is cat markets the rxc racer where skidoo and Polaris don’t. The snow cross sleds from any of them is another story 

Anyone who is committed to taking XC racing seriously is running sleds and PG&A through one of the 3 race programs.  

Almost anyone starting out is doing it on a sled they already have or a used sled to get their feet wet.

If someone wants to go racing bad enough, they won't let a non-consumer sled stand in their way.

At the end of the day, I can go trail ride my XC sled as it sits.  Same can't be said for the Sno-X, oval, Soo/enduro, drag sleds, etc.  

18 minutes ago, racinfarmer said:

Anyone who is committed to taking XC racing seriously is running sleds and PG&A through one of the 3 race programs.  

Almost anyone starting out is doing it on a sled they already have or a used sled to get their feet wet.

If someone wants to go racing bad enough, they won't let a non-consumer sled stand in their way.

At the end of the day, I can go trail ride my XC sled as it sits.  Same can't be said for the Sno-X, oval, Soo/enduro, drag sleds, etc.  

You are correct, but buying a brand new xc sled as the average Joe consumer is easy, go sno check a xc racer and pay retail for it. A sno cross sled not happening very easily. A serious xc racer will get some kind of factory support when buying vs average consumer 

2 hours ago, racinfarmer said:

Anyone who is committed to taking XC racing seriously is running sleds and PG&A through one of the 3 race programs.  

Almost anyone starting out is doing it on a sled they already have or a used sled to get their feet wet.

If someone wants to go racing bad enough, they won't let a non-consumer sled stand in their way.

At the end of the day, I can go trail ride my XC sled as it sits.  Same can't be said for the Sno-X, oval, Soo/enduro, drag sleds, etc.  

I think you are not understanding what I’m saying. If someone wants to get into racing they are now stuck having to buy a used sled which is difficult to finance. There are a lot more people who would be mildly interested in racing to use the sled they already own which if it’s a Polaris, you can’t race. It’s only going to take a couple years for whatever used sleds are available to become obsolete. I don’t see Polaris dropping the 650 to come back out with a 600. 

 

2 hours ago, Not greg b said:

You are correct, but buying a brand new xc sled as the average Joe consumer is easy, go sno check a xc racer and pay retail for it. A sno cross sled not happening very easily. A serious xc racer will get some kind of factory support when buying vs average consumer 

Most guys are not serious. The majority who try it out find out it’s too much work and a huge financial drain. These guys go do something else. By Polaris not offering a new consumer sled that guys can race will, with time, reduce the number of people getting into that type of racing. 
 

They will either need to change the 600cc rule or keep dwindling away in entries. 

The number of riders who have to have 800/850's to trail ride at 35mph stops far more people from trying racing then a 650 does.

Why should ISR and the like cater to the manufacturer that came out with some fucked up engine size?

Why should Cat or Doo come out with a 725cc twin, drop their 600's, and strong-arm their way into the 600cc class?

But if you must know, here is a list of classes COR offers...

There is NOTHING stopping any dickswinger on a 650 Polaris from trying racing, at least in COR.

N
O
T
H
I
N
G

Classes available:

XC

Jr 8-12 Transition (select events)

Jr 10-13

Jr 10-13 Girls

Jr 14-17

Jr 14-17 Girls

Classic ('04 & Older 700cc & under Improved Stock)

Vintage ('85 and older, up to 600cc)

Trail (up to 700cc)

Vet 30+

Masters 40+

Masters 50+

Sport Stock

Sport Improved Stock

Sport Women's

Expert 600 Limited

Semi Pro Factory

Semi Pro Improved Stock

Pro Vet 35+

Pro Factory Women's

Pro Factory

Pro Open

Edited February 5, 20232 yr by racinfarmer

Thanks, I didn’t realize they offered a class for people to enter who didn’t have 600’s.

As far as them not changing to cater to Polaris I see your point. But I’m wondering why they are sticking with 600cc when it hasn’t been the most popular engine size for quite a few years now. Why not go 800+ as that’s what most people want and what most people buy. Big bores aren’t for me but it’s getting to be like when they were racing 440’s and the market had moved away from them for many years. Motocross races 450’s as their premier class. They don’t artificially set limits because they are worried a big bore is too fast. 

440 class race sleds  GONE!!!

85hp class race sleds GONE!!!

 

600 class race sleds used in SX, XC, F3 Ice Oval, MIRA enduro and let's not forget...  THE FUCKING IRON DOG  are not going anywhere... so, lame point of debate AK

 

8 hours ago, AK440 said:

That’s not a consumer sled, it’s only available through the race program by submitting an application and being accepted. There is no financing that sled and even if you are accepted there is no guarantee you’ll get the sled as they are sold, first come first serve. There is also no warranty with that sled. Evidently Polaris doesn’t care too much about XC racing as they are greatly limiting the availability of their machines to potential racers.

you obviously have no idea how easy it is to get a brand new Polaris race sled

9 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

 

you obviously have no idea how easy it is to get a brand new Polaris race sled

If it’s so easy then why don’t I see them up for sale everywhere? 

2 minutes ago, AK440 said:

If it’s so easy then why don’t I see them up for sale everywhere? 

do you want to purchase a used one?

wait until the season is over... 

1 hour ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

do you want to purchase a used one?

wait until the season is over... 

no, I don’t want a shit box used one, I want a brand new one. You said it was so easy to get a brand new Polaris race sled. I think you are full of shit. If it was easy to get one, then everyone would have bought one last year and this year but guess what? They were very limited and unavailable unless you were a racer and got accepted into the stupid program.