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Hello All,
Well it's been another busy month for Team Maine Racing and we've got
all kinds of exciting news to report!!
First of all we would like to announce and welcome our new flagship sponsor
for the 2008-2009 Season, Coutts Bros. Construction. We are super
excited to have Coutts Bros. on board this year; they are great people and
diehard snowmobilers too.
We are looking forward to a great winter with Coutts Bros.; they too are
very excited to be a part of Team Maine. Dennis Coutts and his wife are
actually making the journey to Labrador this year for the race which will be
an adventure they will not forget. It will be great to have our flagship
sponsor at the race to see first hand how crazy this event is!!!
We would also like to announce a new relationship with SnoPro trailers.
Bill Cleaves and the crew in Winslow are building us one heck of a trailer
to use this winter and we can't wait to see it. Bill and his crew build
some of the best aluminum trailers on the road today and certainly the most
custom setups you will find. They have a state of the art manufacturing
facility and it seems that nothing is too big for bold for these guys. As
an example, check out the video on their homepage of a recent custom race
trailer for another snowmobile race team.
Another big sponsor back for this year is Freightliner of Maine; they
are a Gold Sponsor and a huge supporter of our efforts. We really
appreciate their return for the 2008-2009 Season and hope to get some riding
in with them this winter out in the backcountry!!!
A new Gold Sponsor this year is Broughman Builders, you may have heard
of them from Extreme Home Makeover. They were a Silver Sponsor last year
and have moved up a level for 2009 in supporting our efforts. Mike and his
crew went to Quebec last year for some riding on Thanksgiving weekend and we
had a great time with them. We appreciate their return and increased
support for 2009!!
A third confirmed return is that of Maine Traditions Hardwood Flooring,
they are a Gold Sponsor, and frequently ride with us in Maine and Quebec.
We are looking forward to our third year with Maine Traditions on board and
greatly appreciate and value their support. They are great people making a
great product. If you need flooring, give them a call and tell them we sent
you!
We have teamed up with a few different aftermarket companies this year that
manufacture and distribute various products that we feel will provide the
best possible chance of success this year.
Monster Performance in Central New York is providing us with Exit/Zbros
shocks for the race sled this year. Having handled a pair already the
quality looks superb and the reviews from other racers, including the
Zollinger brothers in Wyoming, sound VERY promising. Ian, owner or Monster
Performance, is part of our field support crew and will be making the trek
to Labrador with us this year. We are looking forward to having a
suspension expert on hand!!! We surely need it!
Next up is RPM Composites from Cape Cod Massachusetts. They build
carbon fiber body parts for snowmobiles including skid plates that we are
hoping will protect some of the vital drive components of the XP chassis
including some of the front suspension pieces. They too are diehard
snowmobilers and we look forward to working with them this winter. I will
send some pics along when their product installed on the sleds, they are
said to be nearly indestructible.
We have attended some events since the last email that I'll recap
quickly.
We attended the MSA show October 3,4,5 at the Augusta Civic Center
and shared booth space with Fort Kent Skidoo and BRP, (thanks guys for
helping us with the space). Attendance was around 3500 people for the
weekend and our booth garnered a lot of attention. We had new Team Maine
gear for sale, one of our brand new race sleds there, another XP mocked up
how we race them and had videos playing throughout the weekend. A lot of
new connections made and more awareness about our cause was made. With two
Cain’s Quest 2008 recap presentations as well Overall it was a good show.
Epping New Hampshire was our next stop for the weekend of October
11-12. We weren't able to get our vendor space we had hoped for, but were
able to sell some old gear and parts in the swap area and raise a little
money. We also made the rounds at the show throughout the weekend and
talked to people who had followed the race. A few times, random people
would come up after seeing our shirts and congratulate us on past finishes,
it was a great feeling! We were lucky enough to share some camping space
with the New Hampshire team, #21, Bill Boisvert and his son Bunk. They
treated us well and fed us like kings for the weekend, THANK YOU!!
Bob Sadler, or Bobler on dootalk.com, drove up from Connecticut to
spend the day with us at Epping. He is part of our "A-Team" support crew,
along with Local backcountry adventurer Mike Perino, they will work their
tails off trekking back and forth across the barren landscapes of Labrador,
day and night in who knows what temperature with parts and fuel should we
need extra help. He is an accomplished Enduro and Hare Scrambles racer in
New England and loves a challenge. He will get his wish come March. Thank
you Bob for coming to Team Maine Racing, we are fortunate to have you.
Next stop on our "New England Tour" was at the Casco Grass Drags.
Bill at Snopro Trailers hooked us up with a great media trailer complete
with a flip down side, big screen TV inside, full stereo system and DVD
player on which we played the feature length video from Snowmobiler TV on
Cain's Quest. Turnout for the show was a little light, but we drew a decent
crowd that enjoyed watching the video and checking out a mocked up sled that
we had with us. Sunday was a wash as it rained and the races were
cancelled. We'll hope for better weather next year! A big Thank You to
Bill for setting us up for the show with a sweet trailer!
With the weather getting colder and word of snow up in Quebec, the
Team Maine trailer will be headed out next week for some riding in northern
Quebec. There is some great early season riding to be had a couple hours
north of Quebec City in November if you are willing to drive. I'll post
some pics in our next newsletter. It will also give us a chance to test out
some new shocks and put a few miles on the 2009 Skidoo XP.
Last but certainly not least is about a raffle we are having.
The folks at Sledmaine.com and Northern Outdoors in the Forks have given
us some vouchers for a free stays at their lodge on Rt. 201 this winter. To
be entered into the drawing for all you need to do is sign up and become a
member of the "Team Maine Pit Crew". For your donation you will get a short
sleeve shirt and an official Team Maine Racing sticker to put wherever you'd
like! All "Pit Crew" members are eligible to win and we will draw 4 winners
January 1st. This is a great opportunity to support the team and have a
shot at spending some time in the Forks at Northern Outdoors for free. Good
luck to all and thank you for your support.
Thank you to all who have and will support us this year, we cannot thank you
enough for your help.
PLEASE visit our sponsor’s websites and patronize their businesses when you
can. Without their help, Team Maine Racing would not exist. You can click
on their links off of our homepage at
http://www.teammaineracing.net
Rich, Dana, and Rob |
