healthy blair morgan claims double pro sweep at shawano
Amsnow
Warm conditions and a lack of snow meant the track at the fourth round of the World Snowmobile Association's (WSA) Snocross Worldwide Championship (SWC) international tour held at Shawano County Fairgrounds Speedway had to be somewhat shorter than normal.
Blair Morgan Racing teammates of Morgan and Carl Kuster were tied after qualifying for top spot in the Ford Trucks Pro Stock final. The war that unfolded was the best of the season so far.
Morgan and Dennis Eckstrom (Polaris) got the best starts, with Morgan slipping into the lead and Eckstrom nipping at his heals. Kent Ipsen (Woody's Cat) was third off the line, with Eckstrom's teammate Justin Tate in fourth, and Semi-Pro Open/Pro Stock entrant Robbie Malinoski (Cat) fifth. Meanwhile, Kuster was working his way forward after a poor start.
Kuster, seemingly in a zone, quickly reduced the margin to Morgan. The two teammates got into a huge brawl, passing and repassing for the lead. Morgan responded to Kuster's pressure and opened up a little margin, while Ipsen was fighting back, running Tate down and slipping by into third. But Kuster wasn't done, and he started to attack again, and on the last lap he made a big attempt going into the first turn, but bobbled slightly on the exit, lost a bit of momentum, and that was enough for Morgan as Kuster just held on to second.
In the Bud Light Pro Open class, it was Morgan revisited.
Afterwards in the victory circle, Morgan was quoted as saying: "After the Holiday break, I feel really good. In fact, I'm surprised how good I feel after my injuries and the fact I'm 28. I don't think I've ever ridden better!"
With those words, and of course his Pro class sweep, Morgan has shown he will indeed be a factor in the title chase for the SWC Pro class championships.
The next round of the WSA's SWC tour comes up this weekend, January 9-11, 2004, in Shakopee, Minnesota at Canterbury Park.