News Blog

Leech Lake 200 race recap

Posted: 2/25/2025

Leech Lake 200

Walker, Minnesota

Cor PowerSports was welcomed back to Walker, Minnesota with blue skies and sunshine! Not necessarily what you want for snowmobile racing but with 25+ inches of ice on Leech Lake, the crew and racers were happy to see some nice weather! The Leech Lake 200 race course was a 10 mile plowed course that was very fast and wide which made for great racing all weekend long!

We started out Saturday with the Sport Improved two-lap qualifier. Elliott Clark was fast time on his Arctic Cat (16 minutes 26.089 seconds). Joining him for the front row of the final was Sullivan LaVoie (-10.91 seconds), Braden Sillerud (-32.328 seconds), Hayden Hoffarth (-35.024 seconds), Anakin Bosek (-37.851 seconds), and Unity Gausen (-40.592 seconds).

The third race of the day was the Pro Open and Semi Pro Improved two-lap qualifier. Jesse Hallstrom laid down the fastest time on his Ski-Doo (15 minutes 07.844 seconds). Also qualifying for the front row was Ross Erdman (-3.939 seconds), Boe Bunke (-7.285 seconds), Evan Peppel (-9.513 seconds), Paul Brown (-13.441 seconds), Taylor Bunke (-19.464 seconds). In the Semi Pro Improved class, Luke Van Lyssel was top qualifier with a time of 15 minutes 57.676 seconds. Also qualifying front row was Derek Kloety (-2.402 seconds), Oliver Olson (-6.655 seconds), O’Ryan Bosek (-11.923 seconds), Tyler Brown (-14.818 seconds), and Brandon Wolter (-15.161 seconds). In both classes times were very close with only seconds separating front and back row qualifying positions!

Races two, four, five, and six were all two-day overall timed races. Some highlights after day one include a close battle in the Masters 50+ class! Shane Boyer had the lead over Tommie Quam by only 0.351 seconds and sitting in third was Don Mckay only 7.642 seconds back! Bryden Diesen lead the Junior 10-13 class by only 12.291 seconds over Cash Novacek. In the Pro Factory Women’s class, Unity Gausen dominated day one with a 37.256 seconds lead over a close battle between second through fourth. Gabby Hallstrom sat second with Reese Novacek in third only 9.612 seconds out of second. Kenna Cloose ran fourth, only 2.84 seconds off the podium.

Races were shortened by one lap due to a prolonged medical delay that happened during and after race one. Safety is our number one priority and we had to tend to injured racers which put delay on racing. We pray all racers involved are doing okay and wish them a speedy recovery.

Race seven was the Sport Improved heads up final which was cut to three laps. It was a short but fierce race up front! After three laps, Sullivan LaVoie took the win on his Polaris with a winning time of 24 minutes 16.2 seconds. In second was Elliott Clark on Arctic Cat (-5.260 seconds), Unity Gausen took third on Polaris (-31.684 seconds), Braden Sillerud in fourth on Arctic Cat (-36.594 seconds), and Josh Mapes in fifth on Polaris (-1:04.425).

Next up was the Semi Pro Improved heads-up final. This race was shortened to five laps but was a very close race between the top four sleds. For most of the race you could throw a blanket over Olson, Van Lyssel, Kloety, and Wolter! After five laps of lead changes, Oliver Olson was victorious with a time of 31 minutes 49.789 seconds on his Polaris. Finishing second only 1.220 seconds back was Luke Van Lyssel also on Polaris. Finishing third was Derek Kloety only 2.132 seconds out of the lead on his Arctic Cat. Brandon Wolter finished fourth only 4.774 seconds back on Polaris. Top four sleds all finished within five second of each other after 50 miles! In fifth place was O’Ryan Bosek on Polaris (-22.035 seconds).

The last race of the day was the five lap Pro Open final. This race was shortened as well due to the long medical early in the day. It was still ran as heads up which made for some close tight racing. Off the line Hallstrom and Erdman got the holeshot and led the pack. A few miles in Hallstrom had an off which took him out of the race. After lap one, Erdman was out front with Paul Brown running second, Boe Bunke in third, Evan Peppel in fourth, and Taylor Bunke in fifth all within three seconds. After two laps, Erdman still lead but Boe Bunke (-1.522 seconds behind leader) was able to move into second place with Peppel sitting third, Brown fourth and Taylor Bunke fifth. After three laps Boe Bunke was able to tighten the gap between him and Erdman to only 0.679 seconds. Peppel still sat in third 7.538 seconds back, Brown still in fourth 10.058 seconds back and Taylor Bunke sat fifth 11.090 seconds back. After four laps and getting the white flag, the running order remained the same with Erdman’s lead at 0.858 seconds. After five laps, Ross Erdman hung on for the race win with a total time of 38 minutes 12.842 seconds. In second place was Boe Bunke only 1.338 seconds back. Rounding out the all Polaris podium was Evan Peppel 16.684 second back. Finishing fourth was Taylor Bunke on his Polaris 18.152 seconds back and rounding out the top five was Matt Feil on his Arctic Cat 44.303 seconds back.

Sunday brought even warmer weather and sunshine in the morning! The race day started off with the Pro Factory Stock and Semi Pro Factory Stock two-lap qualifier. After two quick laps, Dan Revering was top qualifier of Pro with a total time of 15 minutes 37.632 seconds. Also qualifying front row was Boe Bunke (-2.959 seconds), Taylor Bunke (-6.202 seconds), Evan Peppel (-10.456 seconds), Zach Herfindahl (-11.913 seconds), and Paul Brown (-12.061 seconds). As for Semi Pro Factory Stock, Luke Van Lyssel was top qualifier with a time of 16 minutes 6.588 seconds. Joining him on the front were Oliver Olson (-1.748 seconds), Brandon Wolter (-2.340 seconds), Derick Krug (-7.423 seconds), O’Ryan Bosek (-10.758 seconds), and Keith Gainforth (-11.121 seconds).

Race two on the day was the Sport Factory Stock two-lap qualifier. Elliott Clark was top qualifier on his Arctic Cat with a time of 16 minutes 13.435 seconds. Also qualifying front row were Sullivan LaVoie (-10.8 seconds), Braden Sillerud (-29.8 seconds), Unity Gausen (-38.4 seconds), Kyle Quesenberry (-39.8 seconds) and Josh Mapes (-42.7 seconds).

Race three was the start of the classes who ran a two-day merged time format race. In the Classic class, Matt Olund took the win on his Polaris (54:09.9) with Paul Votava in second and Michael Sakry in third. In the Junior 14-17 class, Rielly Clark won on his Arctic Cat with a time of 50 minutes 57.9 seconds with Brady Wimpfheimer (Arctic Cat) in second and Luke Fredman (Polaris) in third. In the Junior 14-17 Girls class, Taylor Cloose took the overall win on her Polaris (53:55.9) with Rachel Wimpfheimer (Arctic Cat) in second and Charlie Kangas (Ski-Doo) in third. In Masters 50+ it was a close battle both days! Tommie Quam took the win after a better day two with an overall time of 51 minutes 49.9 seconds. In second was Shane Boyer and in third was Don Mckay all on Polaris. In the Vet 30+ class, Adam Longtin won the overall on his Arctic Cat with a time of 51 minutes 4.5 seconds. Finishing second was John Parker and in third was Jared Christensen both on Polaris machines.

Race four consisted of our younger junior classes. In the Junior 10-13 class, Bryden Diesen took the overall win on his Arctic Cat with a time of 36 minutes 38.3 seconds. In second was Cash Novacek on his Polaris and rounding out the podium and winning the Junior 10-13 Girls class was Kynsie Diesen on her Arctic Cat. In the Junior 8-12 Transition class, Aidan Jurina won the overall on his Arctic Cat with a time of 47 minutes 53.7 seconds. In second was Bretley Iverson on his Arctic Cat and in third was Mia Landin on her Polaris.

Race five of the day was Pro Women, Trail, and Vintage classes. In the Pro Factory Women class, Unity Gausen extended her lead and took the overall win on her Polaris with a total time of 50 minutes 4.3 seconds. Taking second on her Ski-Doo was Gabby Hallstrom and rounding out the podium was Reese Novacek on her Polaris. In the Trail class, Glen Arlaud took the win on his Arctic Cat with a time of 52 minutes 28.3 seconds over Matt Olund in second and Paul Votava in third. In the Vintage class, Nick Gustafson was the lone entry and took the overall win.

The last heat of timed racing was the Expert 600 Limited, Masters 40+, and Pro Vet 35+ classes. Rielly Clark took the Expert 600 Limited win with a time of 50 minutes 36.1 seconds. In second was Trig Anderson and in third was Brady Wimpfheimer making it an Arctic Cat sweep. In Masters 40+, Shane Boyer took the win on Polaris (52:10.7) and Jacob Feierabend took second. In the Pro Vet 35+ class, Justin Tate took the overall win on his Polaris with a time of 47 minutes 58.6 seconds. In second was Jon Arneson (Arctic Cat) and in third was Jeff Mckay (Polaris).

The first of three heads-up finals on Sunday was the Sport Stock four-lap final. Elliott Clark got a great start on his Arctic Cat and quickly stretched out his lead. After four quick laps, Elliott Clark took a dominant Sport Stock win with a total time of 32 minutes 42.4 seconds. The battle behind Clark for positions second through fourth was very tight down to the final corner! Unity Gausen was able to hang on to second 43.214 seconds behind the winner. Only 1.285 seconds behind Gausen was Reese Novacek who held on to third by only 0.415 seconds over Kyle Quesenberry in fourth. Finishing fifth was Braden Sillerud another 13.179 seconds back. That was a thrilling race to watch!

Next race up was the heads-up Semi Pro Stock five-lap final. Right off the bat Oliver Olson, Brandon Wolter, and Luke Van Lyssel were duking it out for the top three positions. It was another action packed race up front! The battle for the lead continued all five laps but in the end Luke Van Lyssel was able to pull off the win on his Polaris with a time of 40 minutes 20.2 seconds. Finishing second place was Oliver Olson only 0.523 seconds back and rounding out the all Polaris podium was Keith Gainforth 16.714 seconds back. Finishing fourth place was Derick Krug (-22.700 seconds) and in fifth was Brandon Wolter (-35.324 seconds) both on Polaris sleds.

The final race of the weekend was the Pro Factory Stock heads-up 10-lap final. This race has a mandatory fuel stop that all racers must take before seeing the white flag. Off the start, Boe Bunke was able to get the hole shot with Peppel close behind. After one lap Boe Bunke held a 1.873 lead over Evan Peppel in second. Dan Revering was running third 3.113 second out of the lead. Taylor Bunke ran fourth 3.7.20 second back and Zach Herfindahl sat fifth 5.465 seconds out of first. After two laps, Boe was able to stretch his lead to 4.556 seconds over Dan Revering who now ran second. Peppel was back in third 5.112 seconds back, Taylor Bunke in fourth 6.455 seconds back and Zach Herfindahl in fifth 8.015 seconds back. On lap three, Boe Bunke ran his fastest lap time thus far at 7 minutes 50.848 seconds which stretched his lead to 7.144 seconds over Peppel who was back into the number two position. Dan Revering sat third, Taylor Bunke in fourth and Jesse Hallstrom up to fifth. After four laps, racers started taking their fuel stops. Fourth place running Taylor Bunke fuel shuffling the running order. After five laps, Boe Bunke was still leading with Peppel in second 12.429 seconds back. Dan Revering still ran third with Tate moving up to fourth and Paul Brown ran fifth. Taylor Bunke ran his fastest lap time after fueling and sat sixth. After six laps, Boe held his 12 second lead over Peppel who ran his fastest lap of the race at 7 minutes 51.573 seconds. Tate now ran second after Dan Revering fueled and ran fourth with Taylor Bunke now into fifth. Lap seven the Boe and Evan both fueled together. They beat third place running Dan Revering out of the fuel lane keep them in the top two spots. Revering did run his fastest lap of the race on lap seven keeping him in third over Taylor Bunke in fourth and Justin Tate in fifth. On lap eight, the race leader, Boe Bunke, ran his fastest lap of the race with a 7:50.061 lap time. After 10 laps, Boe Bunke was able to secure the race win with a total race time of 1 hour 19 minutes 21.7 seconds. Finishing second was the current point leader, Evan Peppel, 11.714 seconds back. Rounding out the podium was Dan Revering (-13.494 seconds). Finishing fourth was Justin Tate (-34.646 seconds) and making in a Polaris top five was Taylor Bunke (-45.933 seconds).

Cor PowerSports will be back in action next weekend March 1st and 2nd in Naytahwaush, Minnesota for the Snodeo 200!

Pro Factory Stock:

1-Evan Peppel: 139 Points

2- Boe Bunke: -9 Points

3- Dan Revering: -10 Points

4- Justin Tate: -33 Points

5- Taylor Bunke -37 Points

Pro Open:

1- Boe Bunke: 123 Points

2- Evan Peppel: -9 Points

3- Dan Revering: -13 Points

4- Alex Hetteen: -23 Points