TUURI (FINLAND), 25th March - The 2011 edition of the FIM World Snowcross Championship is on with a short free-practice session; a first glimpse of the kind of action we’re about to have on tomorrow’s races.

After a fair amount of snow and strong winds since the start of the day, a brilliant sunshine made a special appearance to warm up the 44 riders who attended the free-practice session at the Keskinen Brothers VillageShop circuit in Tuuri, Finland.

The huge motocross style double jump on the finish line immediately impressed the crowd who showed up on this first day of competition such was the height these mega powered machines were jumping, considering weights of around 200kg plus rider.

The Swedish Lynx snowcrossers already started to show they’re at ease with this ultra-fast circuit as they dominated the first two groups riding today. To the top of the list returns Peter Ericsson, the 2009 World Champion with a lap time of less than 35 seconds; a combination of speed and a 700 meters long track.

Reigning World Champion Tucker Hibbert came close with the fourth fastest lap while the best Finnish was Aki Pihlaja with his Arctic Cat machine. All the riders in the second group could not replicate the same quick laps as the first as the track became rougher.

What the riders said:

Johan Lidman – “I’ve been racing in the US in the past year and it’s been an incredible experience for me, the results are already starting to appear. I live close to Emil Ohman so it’s good to have someone to hang out with when you’re not in your country and also to get some advice. I’m here to replace that number two on my snowmobile and take the title with me; I’m going to try my very best. There were some parts on the track where I couldn’t go any faster because of the ice as I couldn’t stop afterwards!”

Janne Jurvelin - “I was very close to get on the podium last year. My goal is to achieve it this year; I’ve been practising hard to get it. We’ve been putting our best efforts to prepare my snowmobile at its best and the factory has been giving a lot of support in the process. This year I think the competitive level is at its highest but I want to put a good performance for my home crowd and my team.

Tucker Hibbert – “I arrived in Finland earlier in the week and I’ve been practicing as much as possible for Saturday’s race. Last year in Sweden, I was overwhelmed by the fans. I really enjoyed racing on the European-style track in Sweden, with the rough, long track and longer races it’s more like motocross than American snowcross. We have to see how the track is going to look tomorrow, today I found it very icy in many places and it’s shorter than usual.”

Tomorrow’s timetable:

Saturday 26 March: 09.00 – Free Practice 2; 10.15 - 11.35 – Qualifying Races; 12.40 – Race 1; 13.55 – Race 2; 15.30 – Race 3

LINKS

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FIM

Photo: 2009 FIM World Champion Peter Ericson back on the pace

Read the next news: Parade of champions in Tuuri (24 Mar 2011)

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