David McClure is the ultimate poster child for Arctic Cat. A world champion on the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Hillclimb Association (RMSHA) circuit, McClure is also a well-rounded backcountry rider who spends his shred sessions ripping it up through the trees and testing the laws of gravity every chance he gets.
McClure started racing on the RMSHA circuit in 2006, and a year later, he was asked to represent the Arctic Cat race team. His name was already out there but it was pushing the limits of freeriding that got him a backcountry sponsorship from Arctic Cat in 2012.
These days, McClure busts his butt as a landscape contractor in the summer so he can take the winters off to do what he loves most—freeriding and racing. SnoRiders caught up with the Idahoan a few days after the Schweitzer Mountain Sledfest in Sandpoint, Idaho, to see how his season went and what he will be up to once the snow is gone.
What RMSHA classes do you race? This last (season), I competed in 600 Improved Stock, 700 Improved Stock, 800 Improved Stock and 1000 Improved Stock. At Jackson, I competed in 800 Stock as well.
How did it go for you? It was a good season. I had four wins and one of those was a world championship at Jackson Hole (Wyoming) . . . At Jackson, I got a 1st place in 600 Improved Stock, a 2nd place in 700 Improved and a 3rd place in 800 Stock so I had a really good time at Jackson this year.
Any moments that stand out? Definitely winning my third world championship at Jackson Hole was pretty cool.
Is it easier for racers to get sponsorships from the OEMs than it is for freeriders? Yes, because racing is cut and dry. You know, based off a guy’s results, if they are a good racer or a bad racer, but it’s kind of hard to (tell) if the guy is a good backcountry rider or not.
How do you get noticed by the OEMs as a freerider? It starts with just being known locally as a good rider. I started getting invited to go riding with different magazines and getting my photos in the magazines. Then it turns into different film companies contacting you to ride in their videos. Now (for me) it’s to the point where Arctic Cat has taken a notice that I’ve been on the cover of quite a few magazines so they’ve seen my riding and me representing Arctic Cat so they’re on board and fully supporting me.
What’s your style of riding in the backcountry? I like all of it—jumps, tree riding, powder—pretty much every aspect of backcountry riding.
What about climbing chutes? I will do them but to me, they’re boring. You just have to have a big powder sled to do chutes. I like the tree riding and the technical aspect of riding. The technical tree lines—even the technical jumps where you have to be a good rider to even get to the jumps. And drops, I like drops.
This season, you were on a 2013 Arctic Cat M8 SnoPro Limited 153. What will you be riding next season? Next year, I will be riding a 2014 M8000 SnoPro 153 with a Speedwerx pump gas supercharger. And then it will have Patrick Custom Carbon fibre parts on it, SLP Powder Pro Skis and a lot more on it.
Have you tried out the 2014 M8000 yet? Yes, I probably have 600 miles on it.
What are your first impressions on Arctic Cat’s 2014 M8000s? They’re 17 pounds lighter for 2014, the seat is lower and the fuel tank is bigger—those are the major differences.
What will you be up to this summer? I’m a landscape contractor in the summer so I’m busy keeping crews running but then I ride single-track enduro dirt biking. I do some small local races. I race the single-A class, which is considered pro but not double-A pro. It’s nice—I go every Wednesday after work and on the weekends.
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