Kaufman ties for third place in Open Championship points standings
Despite a frustrating weekend that saw Garth Kaufman fail to qualify for the Pro Stock final at the Grand Prix de Valcourt, the Team Star Performance-Arctic Cat rider did excellent business in the Pro Open division.
After carding 4-5-2 results in his qualifiers, Kaufman’s 11th place finish in the Open final was good enough to boost his points standings to tie for third place in the National Championship. Although he left Valcourt without points in the Stock class, Kaufman currently holds down an encouraging sixth place standing in the title hunt.
“Even though my results weren’t the best this weekend, I’m happy to have moved into the Open class top three. It’s unfortunate that I wasn’t able to score any points in Stock, but I can’t dwell on that because what’s done can’t be undone,” said Kaufman. “There’s three races left on the schedule so a lot can still happen in either class.”
Kaufman’s teammate, Jeff Snow, who currently holds down sixth place in the Open points chase, claimed a noteworthy sixth place finish at the checkered in the Open final. In the qualifiers, Snow put on a tour de force performance that netted him 2-3-2 results.
Like Kaufman, Snow didn’t make the Stock final. He survived a harrowing experience in the first qualifying heat when, after a crash with another rider, a spindle from the rider’s sled struck him in the neck. Fortunately, Snow got off relatively unscathed in what could have been a serious injury.
“You can expect anything in racing and injuries are par for the course in our sport,” said a shaken Snow after the incident. “I got off lucky, but it definitely shook me up. It’s always hard to refocus after something like that. Taking all this into account, I was pretty happy with my Mod results.”
The Grand Prix de Valcourt, which is a combined WPSA and CSRA event, is one of the toughest on the snowcross circuit. The prestigious race, held at Circuit Yvon Duhamel in Valcourt, QC, attracts top riders from the Canadian Snowmobile Racing Association (CSRA) as well as up-and-coming regional Quebec riders.