arctic cat hillclimb team aims high

Arctic Cat drivers won 12 of 19 non-Masters class points titles and 46% of all RMSHA races last year.

What's in store for this year? The Cat squad will not feature the largest group of racers, but instead, they will focus on being simply the best. Al Shimpa, a longtime Arctic Cat employee, will live out West and oversee the hillclimb effort.

The M-serise line of snowmobiles has been improved for 2008, featuring a redesigned rear suspension that Arctic Cat claims is both lighter and stronger than past models.

Cat climber and past RMSHA class champ Ty Free had this to say about the new rear skid: "It's 8 lbs. lighter and has new geometry that will help us build track speed faster for better acceleration. It'll definitely get the power to the snow."

Those returning to the Arctic Cat climbing crew this year include Les Keller, Chance Buckallew, Travis Zollinger and Russell Frisby. Also in Cat green will be Nate, Tony and Amy Zollinger, as well as Kyle, Russ and Nels Tapio, Ben Adams, David Brown, Alan Huntzinger, Casey Jump, Rob Kincaid, Lonnie Keller and the Cheeney, Ottobre and Stone familes.