Twenty-one-year-old Jennifer Martel will tell you that it’s all about having fun, keeping a positive attitude and being dedicated to the sport. That’s if you ask her what she thinks it takes to be a successful snocrosser.
Hailing from St. Pierre-Jolys, the young Manitoban worked her way up through the standings this season in the Amsoil Championship Snocross national series in the U.S. Her goal for the season was to make it into the top five. About halfway through the season, she accomplished her goal by moving up from sixth place to fifth.
Ahead of her are Megan Campbell, Tabitha Bode, Samantha Tarnowski and fellow Canadian Jennifer Pare.
Martel has been racing for five years and this was only her first full season on the national circuit—the same circuit that bred six-time Winter X Games snocross gold medallist Tucker Hibbert.
Sledding roots
Martel comes from a family of snowmobilers, and her foray into the snocross world began when a crash on her mountain sled landed her in a local snocross race.
“I have always been riding snowmobiles,” she said. “I got a Kitty Kat when I was younger and then I moved on to a fan-cooled sled and eventually moved up to a mountain sled. Then one day I crashed my mountain sled out here (in Manitoba). We saw a sign that there was snocross races in Winnipeg and my dad said, ‘Well, this one is already wrecked, so you might as well race it.’ ”
Despite the funny looks she got from the other racers, Martel entered her mountain sled in the Ultimate Canadian Motorsports Association (UCMA) Championship Sno-Cross Series in Manitoba. After discovering a passion for racing, Martel sold the mountain sled and bought a Polaris IQ Race Replica sled. She competed on the UCMA circuit with it until a lack of snow in the province forced her to join the International Series of Champions (ISOC) racing circuit in the U.S.
At the end of the 2011-2012 season, Martel was fourth in the standings for the Pro Am Women’s class on the ISOC regional tour. She made her debut on the Amsoil national tour at the 2012 Canterbury Snocross in Shakopee, Minnesota. The race, however, didn’t go as well as she had planned.
“I crashed in my first national,” said Martel. “I had worked my way up from last place to about fifth place, and then I ended up crashing before the end of the race and there was about 15,000 people there, watching—so that was a little nerve-wracking.”
Martel was OK and she got up and finished the race. She continued to pursue snocross and decided that for the 2012-2013 season, she would focus her efforts entirely on the national circuit. She also traded in her Polaris IQ RR for a full-on 2013 Polaris IQ 600R race sled. Martel is sponsored by FXR Racing and Chell’s Sled Shed in Snow Lake, Manitoba, and she is seeking more sponsors.
A team effort
Martel's parents and younger sisters, Melissa and Jessica, are big supporters of her racing as well. Jessica, 15, has also competed in the Pro Am Women’s class on the national circuit; her main focus this season, however, is on the regional circuit, so she doesn’t pose a threat to her big sister—just yet.
Keeping her family close and having them with her at the races is important for Martel. The national circuit travels throughout the U.S.—from Minnesota and South Dakota to Michigan and New York, which is a long way from St. Pierre-Jolys. And it’s not like racers can show up five minutes before their final event either.
“A day at the racetrack is very busy because you have qualifying rounds,” said Martel, adding, “You have a practise session at the beginning of the day (and) a riders' meeting. There are rules you have to follow, (so) you have a tech procedure that you have to pass before you can get on the track . . . It’s pretty hectic.”
When she’s not racing snowmobiles in the U.S., Martel goes to school at the University of Manitoba. She holds a job as well.
“We do lots of rushing back and forth,” she said.
Powering ahead
Martel has her sights set on snocross right now—but she has never given up her love of recreational riding. Although it is harder to find the time for it, Martel still loves to rip up the snow in Manitoba on her turboed 2009 Arctic Cat M 800 HCR. She and her family have always loved to go sledding in B.C. as well. Revelstoke, Valemount, McBride and Nakusp are some of their favourite B.C. destinations.
“I love Trout Lake,” said Martel. “That is the best place around Nakusp.”
Martel is a motocross gal too. In 2012, she competed in the quad class on the DMC Motorsports Circuit in the U.S.
“Last summer was my first full summer on the race quad and it was great,” she said. “I love it.”
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