2010 Soo I-500

[leepster]

The only yamaha 4stroke in the race finished 2nd. He ran 1st and 2nd the whole race but faded somewhat in the last 50 laps. A guy on a Arctic Cat won, no Cat has ever won that race in 42 years, it was always called arctic cat curse. People also said since the 4 cylinder yamaha was banded 2 years ago that the 3 cylinder would not be competetive, well that sled ran the most consistent lap times all day long.

 

[copo427ss]

:rules do you know what the cat was? perhaps the new ac 500 sno pro?

 

[leepster]

it was a sno pro, the engine was a 600 chassis, i do not know.

 

[BigShow29]

 

[excon_rev]

The only yamaha 4stroke in the race finished 2nd. He ran 1st and 2nd the whole race but faded somewhat in the last 50 laps. A guy on a Arctic Cat won, no Cat has ever won that race in 42 years, it was always called arctic cat curse. People also said since the 4 cylinder yamaha was banded 2 years ago that the 3 cylinder would not be competetive, well that sled ran the most consistent lap times all day long.

The Team Gentz Yamaha was ridden by Kris Eichenburg, Ross Erdman, and Chad Dyrdahl. From what I heard Eichenburg was losing time when he was riding, Erdman gained a bunch, and Dyrdahl rode it in. Sounds like they were pretty dang close to winning, really good considering it was Eichenburg and Erdmans first time at the Soo.

 

[PureBlue]

Kris & Ross did real good, seeing that Chad was sleeping in the motorhome during the race. He came out for the last driver change, ran about 70 laps, then the carbides wore out, Gentz wanted Chad to come in for a driver change & carbides, but chad stayed out to the end of the race. That sled could have won the race, it was faster then the #21, but worn out carbids & worn out driver, nothen like giving the win to cat. The #14 stayed on the lead lap all day, Kris lead the race too http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=1401418

 

[RoyalBlue]

Cat

Was that CAT a tripple , maybe a hooper , CAT had some huge contingency cash on that maybe like 50k they been after that trophy since day one.

 

[snoway]

The yammie was a DBII chassis, right?

 

[PureBlue]

Re: Cat

Was that CAT a tripple , maybe a hooper , CAT had some huge contingency cash on that maybe like 50k they been after that trophy since day one.

No it was a twin 600 mod, i think cat had 10k to win, all together #21 won around 20k

 

[PureBlue]

The yammie was a DBII chassis, right?

Yes, that was Gentz's Apex chassi that he ran when he ran the Apex's. They put a new tunnel & bulk head, the old one was worn out. The FX Nytro motor bolted right up. The motor was built, K & N filters, geter-done header & pipe, fuel mapping sistem with pipe temp gage. 115 - 116 mph on radar gun on the track.

 

[excon_rev]

Got an email from Ross Erdman. His work computer won't allow him to log in here and post, so I'm posting this for him.

Hey everyone, Ross Erdman here. I'm new to these Yamahas and 4 strokes. I got hooked up with Jesse Strege to run some USCC X-country races this year on board an Open class Nytro. I'm really enjoying it and loving the Nytro!

That led to the opportunity to ride at the SOO. The SOO I-500 is quite the amazing race. I'm grateful for having the opportunity to ride in it. Want to thank Mike Gentz, and the rest of the crew for everything. Being my first time racing it, I didn't know what to expect....I had a hell of a great time though. A race that goes 9 straight hours, start to finish, its absolutely amazing. Mike's Yamaha was a Pierce-built Vector/Apex chassis w/ a 3-cyl Nitro 4 stroke by Hauck performance in Rice Lake, WI. The sled made awesome power and ran flawlessly the entire day, was positively the sled to beat, unfortunately it didn't work out that way!

The Gentz team had experienced its share (too much) of heartbreak at this race. Finishing 2nd 6 times. I don't know the history exactly, but you get the point, really wanted to get the job done for this amazing crew. They busted their butts prepping the sled.. working until 3-4am a few nights. Hats off to these guys! I think everyone in the crew has the woulda coulda shoulda attitude about the pit strategies, carbide issues, etc. I believe some of the issues had to do w/ radio communication. I know when I was out the second time, it was difficult hearing w/ the machine running and all.

Yeah, in hindsight, we had an opportunity to come in w/ about 80 to go while we were still leading... another with about 50 to go, and another with about 15-20 to go. I had no doubt whatsoever when I got off to hand it over to Chad with about 110 to go we would win. I listened on the radio, it was tough. I don't think Chad could hear though. We held the lead until about 30 to go, and by then it was just too late.

In hindsight again, we should have come in and gotten the fresh carbides and rider. This would have been our only shot at winning, and second was all but wrapped up barring some tragedy. All this didn't really make much sense to me at the time as it was my first shot at this race. But after running it, I now have a better idea to bring the Iron Horse home next time.

Second sucks! But I still had an absolute blast! Can't wait to get a shot at it again next year and hopefully get a win for Yamaha!

 

[low slung]

There are alot of great racetracks in the world for cars,motorcycles,and anything with wheels but i would love to ride my 04 warrior around that track.It would be a better rush than any other race track.Best of luck next time guys.Its not easy .