Monster Energy Snowmobilers Rule Winter X!
January 29, 2007, 11:56am
Monster Energy-backed Tucker Hibbert (Snocross) and Chris Burandt (Snowmobile Freestyle) both take gold at Winter X Games 11
CARLSBAD, Calif., (Jan. 29, 2007) – Things couldn’t have gone better for Monster Energy-backed snowmobilers Tucker Hibbert and Chris Burandt this past weekend at the 11th annual ESPN Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.
Hibbert, the on again/off again snowmobile racer trapped in a professional motocross racer’s body, won his second gold medal in the world’s premier snocross event, this past Saturday winning Winter X in convincing fashion aboard his equally mean green and black Artic Cat sled emblazoned with the iconic Monster Energy M-claw logo.
“All week we've been real confident in our machines, but I can't say enough about my team,” said Hibbert, who also won the Snocross gold in 2000 at 15 years of age. “They put together an awesome sled for me. I just went out there and held the gas wide open on the start and it came out good."
Hibbert made the main event by dominating his qualifier. But the real excitement would come at the end of the 18-lap main event – the longest in X Games history. There the Monster Energy-backed Hibbert would nearly run out of gas, coasting through the checkers on vapors and stalling his sled near the podium.
"Looking forward to a long 18-lap race, we took a lot of measurements throughout practice to figure out how many laps we could go and how much fuel we'd burn,” explained Hibbert. “Ultimately, we want to have the least amount of fuel left in the sled at the end of the race so we can save weight and get to the first corner faster. So hat's off to my mechanics because they did the perfect calculation. Another half lap and we would've been done.”
Monster Energy’s Hibbert burst onto the Winter X snocross scene in 2000, winning the gold medal as a first-time teenage Winter X competitor. Since then Hibbert has followed up with four more X Games medals in snocross (2002, ’03, ’04 and ’05) – bringing his haul to a total of five Winter X medals. Noteworthy: When not racing WSA snocross events, Hibbert lives in Mississippi and trains for supercross with moto-great Kevin Windham.
Monster Energy’s Chris Burandt, a Colorado local, was also the talk of the snowmobile community when the world’s most renown backwoods and mountain free rider took it to the competition in the inaugural Snowmobile Freestyle event, winning the gold with a combination of freestyle motocross-inspired tricks – including a couple unbelievable 100-foot back flips – on his 400-plus pound snowmobile.
“"This is our time, right here. This is our time to shine and show people what we're made of and why we belong here,” said Burandt, who will star in 2007 on the Monster Energy Slednecks Invasion Tour with world snowmobile distance jumping record holder Paul Thacker. “And that's why you're seeing people pushing the limit.” Note: Burandt was a three-time competitor in Winter X’s old “Hillcross” event (cancelled in ’04 in favor of Snocross).
Next up for Hibbert will be some more WSA Snocross races, followed by the Eastern Region AMA Supercross Lites opener in Atlanta (Feb. 24th). Burandt will be doing some Slednecks No. 10 video shooting, along with getting prepared for the ’07 Monster Energy/Slednecks Invasion Tour.
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it freestyle snowmobiles, motocross, snow, skate, ski, surf, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the flavors – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault and the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “Khaos.” Winter X 11 Gold Medalists Tucker Hibbert & Chris Burandt dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.
CARLSBAD, Calif., (Jan. 29, 2007) – Things couldn’t have gone better for Monster Energy-backed snowmobilers Tucker Hibbert and Chris Burandt this past weekend at the 11th annual ESPN Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.
Hibbert, the on again/off again snowmobile racer trapped in a professional motocross racer’s body, won his second gold medal in the world’s premier snocross event, this past Saturday winning Winter X in convincing fashion aboard his equally mean green and black Artic Cat sled emblazoned with the iconic Monster Energy M-claw logo.
“All week we've been real confident in our machines, but I can't say enough about my team,” said Hibbert, who also won the Snocross gold in 2000 at 15 years of age. “They put together an awesome sled for me. I just went out there and held the gas wide open on the start and it came out good."
Hibbert made the main event by dominating his qualifier. But the real excitement would come at the end of the 18-lap main event – the longest in X Games history. There the Monster Energy-backed Hibbert would nearly run out of gas, coasting through the checkers on vapors and stalling his sled near the podium.
"Looking forward to a long 18-lap race, we took a lot of measurements throughout practice to figure out how many laps we could go and how much fuel we'd burn,” explained Hibbert. “Ultimately, we want to have the least amount of fuel left in the sled at the end of the race so we can save weight and get to the first corner faster. So hat's off to my mechanics because they did the perfect calculation. Another half lap and we would've been done.”
Monster Energy’s Hibbert burst onto the Winter X snocross scene in 2000, winning the gold medal as a first-time teenage Winter X competitor. Since then Hibbert has followed up with four more X Games medals in snocross (2002, ’03, ’04 and ’05) – bringing his haul to a total of five Winter X medals. Noteworthy: When not racing WSA snocross events, Hibbert lives in Mississippi and trains for supercross with moto-great Kevin Windham.
Monster Energy’s Chris Burandt, a Colorado local, was also the talk of the snowmobile community when the world’s most renown backwoods and mountain free rider took it to the competition in the inaugural Snowmobile Freestyle event, winning the gold with a combination of freestyle motocross-inspired tricks – including a couple unbelievable 100-foot back flips – on his 400-plus pound snowmobile.
“"This is our time, right here. This is our time to shine and show people what we're made of and why we belong here,” said Burandt, who will star in 2007 on the Monster Energy Slednecks Invasion Tour with world snowmobile distance jumping record holder Paul Thacker. “And that's why you're seeing people pushing the limit.” Note: Burandt was a three-time competitor in Winter X’s old “Hillcross” event (cancelled in ’04 in favor of Snocross).
Next up for Hibbert will be some more WSA Snocross races, followed by the Eastern Region AMA Supercross Lites opener in Atlanta (Feb. 24th). Burandt will be doing some Slednecks No. 10 video shooting, along with getting prepared for the ’07 Monster Energy/Slednecks Invasion Tour.
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it freestyle snowmobiles, motocross, snow, skate, ski, surf, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the flavors – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault and the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “Khaos.” Winter X 11 Gold Medalists Tucker Hibbert & Chris Burandt dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.
