Podium finishes for Crapo and Roy at CSRA season opener

Team Rockstar Energy Polaris Racing Piller’s presented by Huber Motorsports and OTSFF got off to a promising start at the opening round of the Rockstar Energy Drink CSRA Snowcross Championships in Rouyn-Noranda, QC on the weekend of January 14- 15. Both Colby Crapo and RJ Roy stepped up to the plate to take wins in the Pro Open and Pro Lite class respectively.

Plenty of snow and frigid weather, with daytime temperatures of -11° C, made for excellent racing conditions to kick off the 2017 season, with the Rouyn-Noranda International Snowcross Grand Prix, some 632 km north of Montreal.

In Saturday’s Pro Open heat races, Crapo put his Polaris 600R through the paces to claim a second-place finish in his first heat and a win in his second heat. Roy also unleashed the power of his 600R to dominate his Pro Lite heat races, grabbing first place at the checkered flag both times out.

In the finals, Crapo battled tooth-and-nail with Dave Joanis and Quebec native Mathieu Morin—looking for a home-province win—for podium finishes. Joanis proved to have the upper hand at the finish line, however, to take the win ahead of Crapo and Morin.

Much to Crapo’s and the team’s disbelief, Crapo ended up being sanctioned with a DQ, for allegedly running with an illegal ski back radius. The same fate would be handed out to an equally stunned Roy, who finished his Pro Lite final in third place, behind Ryan Hunt and Taylor McCoy.

“We were all quite taken aback by the DQs, because the sleds passed tech inspection on the morning before the day’s races and needless to say, nothing was altered to the sleds by us,” said team owner Gerhart Huber,

who promptly appealed his riders’ disqualification. The outcome of the appeal is pending.

On Sunday both Crapo and Roy were back in the saddle to take care of business, putting the previous day’s DQs behind them.

In the Pro Open heat races, Crapo grabbed 2-6 finishes. A starting incident in heat 2, which saw Crapo’ sled hit from behind and flipped over, put him at an immediate disadvantage. He soldiered on, however, rejoining the fray at the back-of-the pack and slicing his way into a sixth-place finish.

In the final, intent on claiming his first win of the season, Crapo nailed the holeshot to then battle for the podium with Joanis and Corey Watkinson. Joanis managed to squeeze by Crapo on the first lap while Watkinson passed him on lap 3. A few laps later Crapo reclaimed second place to then stick a pass on Joanis and take control of the race to checkered flag.

“Other than the DQs, the opening round was a good way to start for us. The sleds were working really well and the team did a great job. I’m looking forward to continuing on from here and put the Rockstar Polaris in the winner’s circle as often as I can,” Crapo said.

a very competitive sled,” Roy said.

Roy again dominated his heat races with definitive wins. In the final, the defending Pro Lite champ snared the holeshot and never looked back, leading the race wire-to-wire, putting a lot of real estate between himself and McCoy and Hunt, who finished a distant second and third respectively.

“Rouyn-Noranda was definitely a great way to start the season for the team. The 600R left no doubt behind that it’s

The 2017 Rockstar Energy Drink CSRA Snowcross Championships continue, after a two-week break, on January 28-29 at Georgian Downs Raceway in Barrie, Ontario.

In dedication to Gerhart Huber’s youngest son, Kurtis—who has autism—Team Rockstar Energy/Polaris Racing/Piller’s presented by Huber Motorsports and OTSFF will be racing the entire 2017 season in support of Autism Awareness.