Race & Rally Magazine

06/28/2023

Building championship motorcycles taught Yamaha how to make the two cycle engine dependable. Two additional ports at the back of the cylinder push out all the burnt gasses, eliminating carbon build up. The engine breathes easy even in thin mountain air. Run away from civilization, but make sure you can get back to tell your story. 1971 Yamaha - It's a Better Machine

11/25/2022

Man & Machine - 1975 World Champion Jim Bernat and his Polaris PDC 650 Starfire Factory Race Sled. This is the only known example remaining of the '75 Starfire race sleds, on display at the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, Wisconsin. Story by Greg Marier.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=671356224476514&id=100048064279110&mibextid=Nif5oz

The Man – Jim Bernat: One of snowmobile racing’s most durable and versatile performers, Jim Bernat enjoyed a long and successful professional racing career, beginning just as factory pro racing…

08/19/2021

Here is an excellent article by SnowTech contributing editor Kevin Cameron at Cycle World on the snowmobile and motorcycle racing legend Yvon Duhamel who passed this week at the age of 81. He was FAST on anything and everything he rode and a very talented racer, indeed. Rest in peace, Yvon.

Kevin Cameron recalls times had with Yvon Duhamel, who passed away this week at age 81.

08/11/2021

--- Clap your hands ---
--- Stomp your feet ---
Scorpion Squadron can’t be beat!
Dayco Holiday Spectacular 1978

07/19/2021

--- National Vintage Snowmobile Show ---

The 16th Annual Vintage Snowmobile National Championship Show and Swap is set to take place August 6-8 at Marshfield, Wisconsin. The event typically draws visitors in the thousands and is the first time in the show’s 16-year history that it will be hosted in Wisconsin – a state rich in snowmobile history.

“We’re proud to be hosting the show’s inaugural visit to Wisconsin, says Roger Hansen, show chairman. “The event typically sees around 3,000 visitors and nearly 450 vintage sleds so we’re excited to bring this opportunity to Central Wisconsin and its avid snowmobiling community.”

The show will include vintage snowmobiles from more than 40 classes and categories for spectators to take in. Classes range from antique, muscle and race, to cross country, custom, and even a best survivor category.

The event also includes a swap where snowmobile enthusiasts can buy and sell parts and sleds and a banquet featuring keynote speaker Mike Trapp, 1971 World Champion and Yamaha and Ski-Doo factory racer. Trapp will also sign autographs on Saturday from 1-3 p.m.

Host city Marshfield also has deep roots in snowmobiling. The city was home to a Jac-Trac snowmobile factory and to the (ski-doo) Decker Racing team. Chuck Decker is a former world champion racer and former owner of the famed Eagle River Derby Track that hosts the annual World’s Championship event each year. Marshfield was also home to the Old Yeller race team. Both the Decker and Old Yeller teams competed throughout the Midwest in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Pre-registrations to enter a sled or participate in the swap need to be received by July 27; registrations forms can be found at www.vintageshow2021.com. Participants can also register at the door on Aug. 6.

06/07/2021

Seems appropriate right about now.....

02/03/2021

Redline had voluptuous curves and sexy lines, looking fast even when standing still. Redline owner and historian Valdi Stefanson tells us what happened to the Redline project, with images from the SnowTech Magazine archives. Feast upon photos of prototype units and actual production sleds, and read all about the rise and fall of perhaps the sexiest-looking snowmobile to ever be produced.

Here we had an upstart snowmobile manufacturer with such promise, such innovative design and such a following after showing off many prototypes, handing out glossy sales brochures and t-shirts, along with all of the media hype. This is the sad legacy of the Redline Snowmobile.

12/23/2020

Fifty years ago the snowmobile industry was full of new sled manufacturers trying to entice the consumer into purchasing their machines. Here is a sampling of the advertising that was featured in late 1970 for the brand-new 1971 models! These are all original scans from our magazine archives, maybe you've never seen some of these before? 😀

12/16/2020

Today we salute the life of a true champion, Bob Eastman. The company we all know as Polaris would not be building the sleds they are today without the influence and leadership of this man. Hired by founder David Johnson in 1960 at the age of 18, Eastman devoted his life to Polaris.

Bob’s racing career ran from 1965 until 1974. He won the Eagle River World Championship in 1973, back to back Hodag wins at Rhinelander and many more. He continued as the Polaris race manager for many years and completed his career at Polaris. He is also responsible for the assembly of the Midnight Blue Express Polaris factory race team, the most dominating and feared race team in the history of snowmobile racing.

Here are some images of Bob from the Jim Beilke photo archives at Race & Rally/SnowTech Magazine. Each of these photos was taken by Jim and many have appeared in our magazines and/or vintage racing books.

RIP “Gentleman” Bob. You will not be forgotten. We thank you for your contribution to our sport.

11/21/2020

From the November issue of SnowTech Magazine - Man and Machine - Tim Bender and his Yamaha Vmax 4!

INSIDE THE HALL OF FAME: MAN AND MACHINE – By Greg Marier Photos: Wayne Davis, Rick Bates, Christer Dahl, Greg Marier The Man – Tim Bender: One of snowmobile racing’s most successful modified class drivers, Tim Bender raced Yamaha and Polaris snowmobiles at the start of the IFS development per...

11/02/2020

Here are some newly scanned images from the Jim Beilke photo archives at Race & Rally/SnowTech Magazine that we shared with our friends at Starfire Kids!

Hall of Famer Jim Beilke shot thousands of classic snowmobile racing photos from the 1960s through the 1980s. You're familiar with his work from our Race & Rally Magazine (1968-1996) and the amazing vintage racing picture books (many of which are still available on www.snowtechmagazine.com).

We start today with "Gentlemen" Bob Eastman. Bob's racing career ran from 1965 until 1974. He continued on as the race manager for many years and completed his career at Polaris. He won the Eagle River World Championship in 1973, back to back Hodag wins at Rhinelander and many more. He is also the key person who assembled the Midnight Blue Express version of the Polaris factory race team.

You can read his whole amazing story in "Starfire Kids - Midnight Blue Express" - available on amazon.com and at https://www.starfirekids.com.

You can find all the Race & Rally vintage racing books and many back issues now available at https://www.snowtechmagazine.com!

06/17/2020

Dayco Holiday Spectacular – December 1977 – Alexandria, Minnesota

Round 1 of the 1977-78 Sno Pro Series had been held at Kinross, Michigan and the writing was already on the wall – Polaris was going to have their hands full defending their title of near-complete dominance from the winter before with the integration of IFS onto their RXL race sleds.

At Kinross Round 1, it was anticipated there would be 50-60 racers and 120-130 entries, but instead 125 drivers showed up to sign in for over 300 entries! The attempt to bring out more independent racers had succeeded.

Ski-Doo made clear their intention to take center stage with their Rotax-powered sleds, making great power on the big end. Racer Doug Hayes had a good 5-10 mph on the competition which was good for wins in both the 440 Super Mod and 440 feature event with its $1,000 purse.

Round 2 of the 1977-78 Sno Pro Series was at the high-banked big half-mile track at Alexandria. The weather was warm with light rain. It rained all morning on and off, but the track drained well and the racing began at noon.

Racer Kjell Engstrom of Sweden walked into the Polaris factory just days before on a Wednesday and plunked down a fist-full of Kronor and demanded a brand new RXL race sled. Bob Eastman fixed him right up, loaded Kjell and his new sled into a pickup truck and drove down to Alexandria early Friday morning to get some time on both the Swede and his new machine.

Ski-Doo independent Danny Lee #45 checked over the competition. Danny was one of many independent racers tackling the Sno Pro circuit that year, and he seemed to be very satisfied with his new Ski-Doo race sled.

Winner of the 340 Super Stock was T.J. Patrick of South Beloit, Illinois (father of Indy car racer Danica Patrick). The young guy standing to the right of Patrick is none other than Polaris historian & RXL collector Larry Preston.

Todd Elmer of Evansville, Minnesota was only a Junior in High School at the time, but he sure knew how to race snowmobiles. Racing for Jerry Simoson’s Team Frustration, Elmer took second in the 440-X event and 2nd in 340 Super Stock, good for a $1,200+ payout. (It’s a small world – Elmer’s wife Kathy is the sister-in-law of the guy that built my house and several of our metal storage garages. We still see Todd on occasion in the Alexandria area as he owns and operates the local go-kart race track, always smiling and still having fun.)

The Yamaha team of Frans Rosenquist and Ed Schubitzke had the most work to do after Round 1 at Kinross. They were down some on power and seemed to have more handling issues than the others, but at Alexandria they had the handling woes sorted out. Now all they needed was a few more H.P. out of the four-year old piston-ported racing engine. Could it even be done?

Despite Steve Thorsen winning the 440-X International Championship, it was Ski-Doo racer Doug Hayes that obviously had the hottest sleds for the second week in a row. His two wins in the 250 and 340 classes, along with his second place finish in the 440 made him the event’s overall winner and the recipient of the coveted Hetteen Cup. The prize was an $8,000 Silverline boat, motor and trailer.

The 1977 Dayco Holiday Spectacular is also remembered for another event – the death of Kalamazoo Koyote racer Sam Sessions. Sessions was killed in a single machine accident during 440 Sno Pro eliminations on Saturday December 17, 1977. He was leading his heat by half a lap. His sled gradually left the back straight-away and went into a grove of trees off turn 3. Sessions was 42 years old with 19 years of racing experience. A frequent participant at the Indianapolis 500, he finished fourth there in 1974. Sessions was a quiet, kind courteous gentleman who was a friend to most everyone he met, one with a competitive spirit, always racing at the highest level of competition.

Read all about the 1977-78 Sno Pro Series, Round 1 at Kinross and Round 2 at Alexandria (and MORE) in the Winter 1977-78 issue of Race & Rally Magazine - still available in limited quantities!