The Grand Prix Ski-Doo de Valcourt has been an institution for 37 years now. In figures, it is 30,000 visitors, 273 drivers, 171 starts, 26 categories, 300 volunteers, 23 hours of racing.
But it’s more than that, it’s an event where everyone wears a snowmobile suit. It’s the cult of the Ski-Doo in Joseph-Armand Bombardier’s crib. And speaking of cradle, families were well represented with bundled up children who enjoyed games like a huge slide and fires or a covered tent to warm up.
Our neighbors recognize the importance of the Grand Prix. American Snowmobiler Magazine named the GPSV one of the top ten motorsports races to see in a lifetime on the planet!
The event is also part of the USSA ProStar Cup, which adds to the field of drivers with these very special snowmobiles. Indeed, these cars cannot be found at the dealership. The chassis is specially built, with the particularity of being designed to turn only on the left, in the direction of the oval.
Let’s face it, my Uncle Jacques (Villeneuve) brought a lot to the event. We realize that now, and we must give him this honor. The new generation of riders is present in Quebec with Sabrina Blanchet #79 and Steven Marquis #37. Both of them race in the premier class, the Pro Champ Oval. Sabrina Blanchet is the granddaughter of Gaston Ferland, a teammate of Yvon Duhamel, with whom he raced in Canada and USA. Gaston is a member of the Snowmobile Hall of Fame and set a world record in 1979 with a speed of 139 miles per hour!
Sabrina won in the Semi-Pro Field on Friday, then finished in 7th place on Saturday and Sunday in the Pro Field. She admits that it was a weekend of ups and downs: “I started off very strong to get the win on Friday in the Semi-Pro Field! On Saturday and Sunday in the Pro Champ class I had some mechanical problems that made me lose the settings a little bit, but I still managed to qualify in 8th place both days to finish in 7th place on Saturday and Sunday. I’m still happy with my results even though I would have liked more.”
In oval, the other Quebec representative was Steven Marquis. He had a lot of mechanical problems this weekend. His Ski-Doo was barely back together after an accident in Boonville. When it wasn’t the chassis, it was the engine that was failing. He had to settle for 8th place on Sunday in Pro-Champ, but he saved his honor in Semi-Pro Champ with a second place finish, also on Sunday.”
At the front, Gunnar Sterne #220, a driver from Illinois is the big winner in Pro Champ. He won everything from Friday to Sunday and took the top step of the podium. For the grand finale on Sunday, Blaine Stephenson #102 from Minnesota and Colt Dellandrea #53 from Ontario took the other two spots on the podium respectively.
In Semi-Pro Champ, Danick Lambert #3 won the Saturday final, winning his third title in this class in Valcourt.
This year, Sunday was a perfect day, cold just right and sunny, while Saturday was windy, which kept the ice ring that was starting to melt a bit on Friday.
On the Snocross side, the track is more and more spectacular. With the help of Dany Poirier, the jumps in front of the stands were impressive. The best pilots would fly in the air and seem to hover for long seconds before landing hard, followed by a short acceleration that would propel them into a banked turn. In this game, Tim Tremblay #11 showed his superiority and took his 13th title in Valcourt. He equalled the number of victories of Blair Morgan, a famous driver who lost the use of his legs at the Montreal Supercross in 2008, and who is also his advisor. It was the entire Warnert Ski-Doo Makita team that monopolized the podium with Francis Pelletier #220 and Adam Reinheim #311.
Tim Tremblay said that the new ISOC rules require that the original engine and suspension of the snowmobiles in the catalog be retained. An additional challenge for the tuners and riders.
In the Ladies category, Megan Brodeur #31 dominated the class outrageously, taking a big lead and jumping on jumps a notch higher than her competitors. Megan has won several US Isoc races and is the youngest driver to win a North American championship. She has the support of her father Patrick Brodeur, a former pilot. In the Brodeur family, we also salute Océane, who raced a Snowbike, a motocross bike equipped with a track in the back and a ski in the front.
Snowbike is exploding in Quebec and we have to admit that it is very spectacular. The jumps on the snocross track were completely surreal, and the tuners are going to have to reinforce the suspensions to support the racing conditions. With Camso (Camoplast) and Polaris distributing kits, the discipline should grow quickly.
The Ski-Doo Grand Prix of Valcourt also includes motorcycle and ATV races on ice. Dominic Beaulac won the moto-open race once again. But the veteran rider had to contend with a young 16-year-old rider, Alex Dumas, who gave him a hard time and even won the Pro Am 450 on Sunday. In the Quad class on Sunday, Dany Fiset once again took the win ahead of another regular, Richard Pelchat and Nicolas Mathard in third place.
This 37th edition was a great success, more than 30 000 visitors came to the circuit Yvon Duhamel. The communication team innovated, and it was possible to follow the races live on internet. More than 30 000 internet users followed the races live on the net! It is a great progress which gives even more visibility to the Grand-Prix.
Make a note of the dates of the next edition, February 7-9, 2020, and come see or discover this family and sporting event.
