2006 world vintage champion eagle
river wisconsin
jacob goede
river wisconsin
jacob goede
COPYRIGHT 2006 Ehlert Publishing Group
The weekend of vintage snowmobile racing at Eagle River,
Wisconsin's World Championship Derby Track had more than
500 entries battling for various championship titles under
overcast skies and mild temperatures.
The big news of the weekend was young Jacob Goede, who
seemingly came out of nowhere to win the most coveted vintage
title of all--and did so in convincing fashion-as he raced to
become the new World Vintage Champion. He served notice
early on that he would be a force to be reckoned with and carried
through to the very top with his winning ways.
The heats, semifinals and last chance qualifications for the
Vintage World Championship Race were red-hot and gave
insight of what was to come. Jean Lesieur, the defending World
Champion, hinted at the possibility of a third title for himself as he
advanced to the final lineup with his fast Chaparral. However,
virtually all those who made the two starting rows for the final race
looked capable of denying Lesieur, especially Mark Anderson
and Goede, each on Polaris, and Fred Smith on his Ski-Doo.
Legends Return To The Final
Gaston Ferland, ex-factory racer alongside Yvon DuHamel in the
1970s, made his first trip to Eagle River since he last competed
there more than 30 years ago. Ferland showed why he was one
of the best, but failed to make the final lineup while experiencing
mechanical difficulties. You can imagine the excitement, had you
been a racer or fan back in those days, to watch a true legend
return to the legendary Eagle River track on his original 1972
Factory Blizzard race sled. The magic of the weekend was
suddenly heightened when he took his place on the starting line.
Many of the World championship finalists were winners in other
classes leading up to the feature race. Mark Anderson looked
unstoppable as he flew to victory in three classes: Mod Free-Air
440, Mod Liquid 340 and Mod Liquid Open. Goede won the Mod
Free-Air Open class, deemed to be the prelude to the
championship race. This is the class with the same type of sleds
that run the championship race, so everyone knew this kid was
for real going into the final of the championship. Fred Smith
smoked them in the 300 Pro-Med Free-Air. Sperry romped to
victory in the Mod Liquid 440 with Lesieur finishing second.
Delisle came out on top of Mod Free-Air 300.
Reminiscent of the main weekend of racing, the championship
final was run at 3 o'clock sharp. You could feel it in the air as
those high-powered, triple-cylinder rocket-ships of yesteryear
rolled to the starting line. With the wave of the flag, a collective
1500plus horsepower shook the ground and thundered into the
first corner.
Anderson, Goede and Lesieur shot to the front coming off turn 2
and the race was on. For two laps the front-runners stayed
bunched-up, but it looked like Lesieur didn't possess his usual
dominant cornering ability. Disaster struck when Lesieur came
around again, entered rum 1 and crashed hard into the wall. He
was unhurt, but his race was over. The race now was clearly
between Anderson and Goede.
These two flat-out flew around the track as they charged on in
what would be a great duel--almost to the finish. Goede never
missed a beat and was able to pull away at the end, looking just
as strong as he did the first lap. That was the difference--he
didn't fade or seem to run out of strength. Anderson finished
second, ahead of past Vintage World Champion Fred Smith, who
also ran a great race for third. Pettinelli and the ever-improving
Weir finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The exuberant Goode
accepted the checkered flag for his victory lap, and with that fide
will take his place in racing history.
Gaston Ferland, ex-factory racer alongside Yvon DuHamel in the
1970s, made his first trip to Eagle River since he last competed
there more than 30 years ago. Ferland showed why he was one
of the best, but failed to make the final lineup while experiencing
mechanical difficulties. You can imagine the excitement, had you
been a racer or fan back in those days, to watch a true legend
return to the legendary Eagle River track on his original 1972
Factory Blizzard race sled. The magic of the weekend was
suddenly heightened when he took his place on the starting line.
Many of the World championship finalists were winners in other
classes leading up to the feature race. Mark Anderson looked
unstoppable as he flew to victory in three classes: Mod Free-Air
440, Mod Liquid 340 and Mod Liquid Open. Goede won the Mod
Free-Air Open class, deemed to be the prelude to the
championship race. This is the class with the same type of sleds
that run the championship race, so everyone knew this kid was
for real going into the final of the championship. Fred Smith
smoked them in the 300 Pro-Med Free-Air. Sperry romped to
victory in the Mod Liquid 440 with Lesieur finishing second.
Delisle came out on top of Mod Free-Air 300.
Reminiscent of the main weekend of racing, the championship
final was run at 3 o'clock sharp. You could feel it in the air as
those high-powered, triple-cylinder rocket-ships of yesteryear
rolled to the starting line. With the wave of the flag, a collective
1500plus horsepower shook the ground and thundered into the
first corner.
Anderson, Goede and Lesieur shot to the front coming off turn 2
and the race was on. For two laps the front-runners stayed
bunched-up, but it looked like Lesieur didn't possess his usual
dominant cornering ability. Disaster struck when Lesieur came
around again, entered rum 1 and crashed hard into the wall. He
was unhurt, but his race was over. The race now was clearly
between Anderson and Goede.
These two flat-out flew around the track as they charged on in
what would be a great duel--almost to the finish. Goede never
missed a beat and was able to pull away at the end, looking just
as strong as he did the first lap. That was the difference--he
didn't fade or seem to run out of strength. Anderson finished
second, ahead of past Vintage World Champion Fred Smith, who
also ran a great race for third. Pettinelli and the ever-improving
Weir finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The exuberant Goode
accepted the checkered flag for his victory lap, and with that fide
will take his place in racing history.
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