Rounds 3 & 4: Pelletier Stars in a Dramatic Weekend
January, 18th 2021
After a disappointing opening weekend of the ISOC Nationals, the team went back to work during the week looking for the missing ingredient. With a few tweaks and discoveries, Warnert Racing headed to Dubuque optimistic for rounds three and four. Friday practice saw both riders topping the charts in the race against the stopwatch early in the sessions. Both riders satisfied, headed to their heat races with strong gate picks and confidence.
Both riders had a good jump on the light at the start, charging into the first corner. Dan Benham’s #221 sled got a little sideways in the braking zone, ending in a spectacular get-off, forcing him to start from the back of the pack again. Rookie Pro Pelletier stayed calm and concise, coming out of the first turn in 2nd, eventually settling for third. In the second round, the Warnert Racing team lined up in anticipation of the green light. Looking for retribution, Benham made some aggressive first lap moves into the lead to end up unchallenged for his first heat race win of the season. Pelletier brought his Ski-Doo 600RS home in third place.
Francis Pelletier loses the belt over the finish line ejecting from his podium position in the race.
The final was disappointing, as Dan struggled to mirror his earlier pace during the race translating in a dismal 9th place. Francis, though did not disappoint; he came out of the first turn with a podium position. With his head down, he checked off consistent laps in third place. As the race began to wind down, the reigning Snocross champ made his way through the pack pushing Pelletier back to fourth. Pelletier was quoted at the end of the race “I need to be perfect every lap, no more mistakes.”
Saturday started with the team in the top ten squeezed inside less than the same second in the day’s only practice. Both Warnert Racing riders lined up for Round 1 in heat 2. Pelletier, with a decent start, rode consistent laps to wind up 3rd. Meanwhile, his teammate found himself tangled up mid-pack, struggling to find paths to make any passes and having to settle for 6th place.
Round 2 of qualifiers #221 Benham lined up heat 1 to start the drama for the day. Dan succumbed to the gravitational forces on his body after cross-cutting and grabbing a fist full of throttle. While in specular fashion, his sled perfectly “lawn darted” itself into the trackside snow! Dan could gather himself to finish the heat, but his combined results were only good enough for a back-row start in the final. In the following heat, Pelletier lined up, ripping a perfect holeshot! Despite the two-time defending champ pressuring Pelletier the entire race, he did not put a ski wrong and lead the race to wire his first-ever Pro win! At the start of the final, the rookie Pro Pelletier did not disappoint. He rounded the first lap in second place, pressuring for the lead. Although riding like a seasoned pro, fate decided to deal a rough hand again to the rookie. At the ¾ mark of the final, Pelletier tangled with the number 40 sled in an attempted pass for 2nd. Francis found himself at the short end of the stick, getting knocked off his sled. Quickly remounting and joining the race in 5th, Pelletier had pushed his machine’s drive to its limit of abuse. He was losing the belt over the finish line ejecting from his podium position in the race. The incident caused a multi-rider pile up, creating a complete shuffling of the race order. Fortunately, no one was severely injured from the incident.
The series heads into a weekend off before heading to Deadwood, SD, January 29th & 30th for rounds
