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Morin, Patenaude post clean sweeps in North Adams for East Coast Snocross, Presented by AMSOIL and Woody’s Traction

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (Feb. 24, 2014) – Former Pro champion Mathieu Morin and Vermont veteran Leo Patenaude each swept the finals in their respective divisions over the weekend,
as East Coast Snocross (ECS) completed Round 8 of its 10-race 2014 schedule at The Range hosted by MVP Promotions.

Morin, of Val-d’Or, Quebec, rode his Ingles Performance Ski-doo to victory in Saturday and Sunday’s grueling 14-lap Pro Open finals. Patenaude, of Hartland, dominated Pro Lite action both days and found redemption for the incident in Fonda that took him out of contention of the 2014 title.

Mike Bauer (Jess Racing/Arctic Cat) and Danny Poirier (Ingles Performance/Ski-doo) placed second and third both days in Pro, keeping the pressure on Morin as he notched his fourth and fifth wins of the season.

In the 13 stand-alone ECS Pro finals (excluding Valcourt) contested thus far, Poirier and Morin have claimed 10 wins. Only Lincoln Lemieux (2) and Mike Bauer (1) have been able to dethrone these Canadian-born stars in 2014. Canada’s Iain Hayden and Swedish racer Petter Narsa won in Valcourt.

“Going to North Adams was very exciting because I knew I had a brand new Ingles-built sled waiting for me,” Morin said. “I started the weekend with a lot of trust in my machine, and that’s a big thing. I nailed almost every holeshot, thanks to excellent tuning by my mechanic, Sebastien Fortier. I enjoyed a perfect weekend, because everybody on the team helped out. I want to thank Robin and Mike Ingles for their support. It is a pleasure to win races for them and Ski-doo.”

In Pro Lite, Jesse James Bonaduce kept his title hopes alive with a solid second place run on Saturday. Hunter Patenude, easily the hottest thing on snow in 2014, finished third in Saturday’s final and followed Leo across the line in second on Sunday. Multi-time champion Jason Boron (Team Southside/Mystic Lubricants Polaris) filled out Sunday’s Pro Lite podium with another excellent performance.

“After that injury in Fonda affected my title hopes, I’ve had a different approach to these races,” Patenaude said. “I got good holeshots and found some great lines, but that’s not the only reason I swept the finals. I just went out there and had as much fun as possible riding my snowmobile. It worked out pretty well for us.”

Cody Paolella also had his broom on hand in North Adams. The super-talented young athlete from Wallingford, Connecticut, led Junior class regular Marco Travaglini and Joe Bishop across the stripe in Saturday’s Sport Super Stock final. On Sunday, Bishop and local favorite Bruce Gaspardi Jr. (Team Southside/Mystic Lubricants Polaris) finished second and third as Berkshire County fans looked on. Paolella will be turning heads in Pro Lite next winter, but for now, the Sport class belongs to him.

Other final round winners over the weekend include Nykea Williams (Pro Women Saturday and Sunday); Todd Smith (Plus 30 Pro Am, a race which featured the return of snocross veteran Chad Luczynski); and Marco Travaglini (Jr. 16-17 Saturday and Sunday).

ECS officials would like to thank Peter Greenbush, Jamie Zdon and Josh Little of MVP Promotions for hosting Round 8. Their hard work and strong support from the community made our debut in Berkshire County a huge success. With great weather conditions and ample snow, those who attended enjoyed one of the nicest events of 2014. We hope to return to North Adams in 2015.

East Coast Snocross, presented by AMSOIL and Woody’s Traction, strives to maintain a regional circuit intended to keep grass-roots snocross racing healthy in this part of the Snowbelt while also cultivating new talent for tomorrow’s factory-backed Pro teams.