Thor Hosts Thanksgiving Tradition at Winter Olympics
The amateur motocross scene prepared for a new year of competition from November 23-28 with the 39th annual Thor Winter Olympics. The event was held the week of Thanksgiving at Gatorback MX in Alachua, Fla., just outside Gainesville. This amateur national is different from its counterparts because riders race both supercross and motocross. For the remainder of the amateur season, riders will only race motocross.
The week started off on the supercross track. Once those champions were crowned, the racing moved over to the motocross track. The slate was wiped clean and new champions were crowned. Results from both disciplines were combined for an overall score, determining overall Olympiad results.
A lot of excitement surrounds the Winter Olympics since it serves as the “season opener” for the upcoming year of racing. It was the first national since Loretta Lynn’s in August and brought “résumé season,” the lag time between the nationals, to a close. Many changes are made to a rider’s program during this time, so the Winter O’s is the first chance to compete in new classes, possibly race on new bike brands and even with a new gear company. The few months of downtime allows various companies to re-vamp their rosters and programs for the upcoming year.
At the start of each national, Thor holds a team meeting with all of the team riders. It gives the brand an opportunity to inform the team on activities that the company has going on throughout the week, updates on the business, general team camaraderie and best wishes for the week of racing that lies ahead.
Pre-race meeting with Thor Team Riders
(Courtesy of Vurb Moto)
This year at Winter Olympics, Thor launched the Thor Trackside Product Support program. This program is dedicated to proving Thor’s commitment to quality by servicing Thor products. Thor Trackside Product Support includes helmet cleaning, visor replacement, goggle servicing (lenses and tear-offs), buckle replacement (pant and boot) and servicing chest protectors. The new support service is available for current model year products and is available to any Thor consumer.
There were many riders and racers that took advantage of Thor Trackside Product Support during the week and several miscellaneous replacement pieces were provided to customers as well. Consumers were very surprised and appreciative of the services that were provided and many liked the fact that Thor stands behinds the variety of products it produces.
Chest protector being serviced at the Thor Trackside Product Support Station
(Courtesy of Thor MX)
Additionally, Thor hosted several nighttime activities during the week that were available to everyone at the track. The Thor-sponsored activities were Tech Tips with Kawasaki Team Green, Night at the Movies featuring Nitro Circus “Country Fried” and Thanksgiving Dinner.
Thanksgiving Dinner
(Courtesy of MotoPlayground)
This year, Thor introduced a new activity to Winter O’s. As a sponsor of Kawasaki Team Green, they invited the technicians of the team to give a presentation of general instructions and advice on maintaining dirt bikes. The information in the presentation included how to prepare a motorcycle for mud motos, spoke maintenance, bleeding brakes and changing a clutch. The presentation was followed by a Q & A with the audience.
Kawasaki tech presentation
(Courtesy of Vurb Moto)
The team riders of Thor’s amateur program had a very successful week of racing, capturing 29 podium positions, including seven championships. Below is a breakdown of the team’s results.
| 2009 Winter Olympics Results | ||||
| Motocross Results | Supercross Results | |||
| CHAMPIONS | CHAMPIONS | |||
| Class | Rider | Class | Rider | |
| 65cc (7-9) Modified | Justin Dunn | 65cc 7-9 Stock | Tanner Stack | |
| 85cc (12-13) Stock | Cooper Webb | 85cc 12-13 Stock | Cooper Webb | |
| Plus 50 | Matt Tedder Sr. | 85cc 12-13 Modified | Cooper Webb | |
| Plus 50 | Matt Tedder Sr. | |||
| SECOND PLACE | SECOND PLACE | |||
| Class | Rider | Class | Rider | |
| 51cc (7-8) Stock | Logan Leitzel | 51cc 7-8 Stock | Tristan Lewis | |
| 65cc (7-9) Stock | Tanner Stack | 85cc 9-11 Modified | Tristan Charboneau | |
| 85cc (12-13) Modified | Cooper Webb | 85cc 12-13 | Jordon Smith | |
| 250 B Modified | Jessy Nelson | Supermini 1 12-15 | Cooper Webb | |
| Schoolboy (14-16) | Jessy Nelson | 250 B Modified | Jessy Nelson | |
| Open A/Pro Am Stock | Tyler Sjoberg | |||
| Plus 45 | Matt Tedder Sr. | |||
| THIRD PLACE | THIRD PLACE | |||
| Class | Rider | Class | Rider | |
| 51cc (7-9) Stock | Tristan Lewis | 65cc 7-9 Stock | Challen Tennant | |
| 65cc (7-9) Stock | Justin Dunn | Open A/Pro Am Stock | Tyler Sjoberg | |
| 85cc (9-11) Stock | Tristan Charboneau | Plus 40 | Matt Tedder Sr. | |
| Youth (12-16) Stock | Cole Thompson | Plus 45 | Matt Tedder Sr. | |
| Youth (12-16) Modified | Cole Thompson | |||
| 250 B Modified | Justin Bogle | |||
| Open A/Pro Am Modified | Tyler Sjoberg | |||
| 250 A/Pro Am Modified | Tyler Sjoberg | |||
Following the on-track action is an awards ceremony acknowledging the champions of the week. In addition to the standard awards, special awards were given by sponsors of the event.
Thor team rider Tristan Charboneau won the CTI Ironman Award. This award is given to the rider who displays exceptional strength and determination on and off the track.
Here are a few images of the champions…
Cooper Webb
(Courtesy of Vurb Moto)
Matt Tedder Sr.
(Courtesy of Vurb Moto)
Tanner Stack
(Courtesy of Vurb Moto)
Justin Dunn
(Courtesy of Vurb Moto)
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