Erdman Wins Rugged USCC Red Lake I-500 Snowmobile Race

Thief River Falls, Minn. (Feb. 19, 2007) - Ski-Doo driver Ross Erdman won the United States Cross-Country (USCC) circuit's Red Lake I-500 Sunday. He finished the three-day race 8 minutes, 16 seconds ahead of second place Gabe Bunke on a Polaris. Brian Dick was third on an Arctic Cat F6.

Erdman, 25, turned Sunday's 170-mile lap 12 seconds faster than he did on Saturday. Ski-Doo Race Coordinator Tom Lawrence said his racer rode perfectly Sunday. "I told him not to ride over his head and to just ride his race," Lawrence said. "I told him to bring the iron horse home."

Erdman's sled ran rough through Sunday's first let. "It might have been the tether," Erdman said. "I didn't get the 'beep-beep' when I plugged it in at the start." After he re-fueled about 60 miles into Sunday's race, the sled ran well.

After more than 10 years of cross-country racing, Bunke needs more luck to win the I-500, he said. "I drove as hard as I could and the sled worked well. What more can I do?"

Bunke said his sled was perfect for 75 percent of the course. It pulled hard out of corners in fast sections where he could carry more speed. But in tight, twisty sections the clutch setup didn't work as well.

Racers departed each day from the Seven Clans Casino near Thief River Falls, Minn. Drivers said the course was "brutal" because snow was scarce. More than 70 sleds started the race on Friday. By Saturday, the field was down to 46. The Pro 600 field lost 14 of 31 sleds that day due to broken equipment.

Logs, stumps, frozen dirt, dykes and several-mile stretches of bare ground were to blame for the battered equipment. "I've never see this much carnage," said Arctic Cat Sport 85 racer Chad Colby. "It's so rugged that utility ATVs would be a riot to drive on the course."

USCC Pro 600 points leader and defending Red Lake I-500 champ Bryan Dyrdahl lasted until about mile 150 on Day 1 where his MX Z's engine blew up. Dyrdahl said the sled's hood broke and fell off earlier, which caused the exhaust pipe to get cold and essentially cold seize the engine

Yamaha driver Troy Hanson started Day 3 in second place; about 7 minutes back from Erdman. His race ended early when the track derailed. Other sleds dropped out due to broken spindles, spring blocks, chassis and bent suspension rails.

Not all parts of the roughly 170-mile course caused as much damage. Sections of river - including Red Lake River and Clearwater River-had a smooth, fast snowpack. Bunke was clocked at 106.7 mph; Erdman's sled hit 109.

USCC's next race is scheduled for March 3-4 in Garrison, Minn. View usccracing.com for more information.

- Story by Andy Swanson SnowWeek

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