“When you come to the Winter X Games, you know you’re in for some of the toughest racing anywhere. I was striving for a podium finish but that didn’t seem to be in the works for me today,” Hayden said. “Finishing top-10 on my Rockstar Energy Polaris Racing IQ was still a satisfying accomplishment, however, and I’d like to thank everyone involved with the team for making it possible.”
Hayden and his teammate Lee Butler both pre-qualified for the Games at an ISOC National in Duluth, MN back in late November 2010. They garnered 2-3 results, respectively, making them part of an elite group of 22 riders that made it to Aspen for the Snowmobile SnoCross showdown on Sunday, January 30th.
In the first of two qualifying heats, staged to trim the drivers down from 22 to 15 for the final, Hayden took his Polaris IQ to a solid fourth place finish, basically running his own race. This result at once secured him a front row starting position for the final.
Butler, who gated for the second qualifier, was unable to find his groove and found himself relegated to the LCQ. Unfortunately, he faired no better in the LCQ and did not qualify for the final.
“Sitting out the final wasn’t quite what I came to Aspen for. Today was just one of those days that no matter what I did, it just didn’t turn out right,” Butler said.
In the final, Hayden was unable to make it out of the gate to run with the top-five going into turn one. He battled hard for position on the technically demanding and hard to pass on track, to eventually settle for eighth place at the finish line. The 2011 WXG SnoCross course was, at eight-tenths of a mile, twice as long as last year’s and the longest since 2007, when it was three-quarters of a mile.
It was Hayden’s fifth consecutive appearance at the ESPN made-for-TV Winter X Games, which are televised worldwide, making it one of the most popular winter sports events of the year.
Also on hand in the Rockstar Energy Polaris Racing paddock this weekend was special guest rider Dave Turner. The below-the-knee, left leg amputee, finished fifth for the team in the Snowmobile Adaptive SnoCross final. It was a memorable moment for Turner, who improved six positions on his WXG debut performance in 2010, when he finished 11th.
“We worked hard to get the Rockstar Energy Polaris sleds up to par for the high altitude racing in Colorado. We did a lot of testing during the week and we are happy with Iain’s eighth place and Dave’s fifth,” said team owner Andre Laurin, “It is unfortunate that Lee wasn’t able to qualify, but it was definitely not for lack of trying. When you arrive in Aspen, you know that seven drivers are not going to make it to the main and Lee happened to be one of them this time out.”
Team Rockstar Energy Polaris Racing would like to congratulate Iain Hayden and Dave Turner on their excellent performances this weekend at Winter X Games 15. We’d like to thank Lee Butler for his super efforts to qualify as well as the entire team staff for their hard work behind the scenes. A special shout goes to all our sponsors for their support, especially HMK for making us look oh so good both on and off the track, with their fabulous line of snowmobile clothing.
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