ESAB-sponsored Polaris Racing has been dominating snowmobile racing this winter. In November, Polaris racers swept all major categories in the season-opening WPSA PowerSports Snowmobile Tour AMSOIL Duluth (MN) National, winning the Pro Open, Pro Stock, Semi-Pro Stock, Semi Pro Open, Pro Women and Sport Open classes and finishing first and second in the Pro Open, Pro Stock, Semi-Pro Stock and Sport Open categories.

Then, in January, 11 Polaris racers were among the 32 Snocross racers that qualified for the ESPN-hosted Winter X Games 11, held at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado. Four made the 12-racer final, and T.J Gulla came home with the bronze metal. And in the first-ever X Games Snowmobile Freestyle competition, Polaris rider Aleksander Nordgaard earned a silver metal with a world-record distance setting backflip, finishing just two points behind the gold metal winner.

Polaris Industries has manufactured snowmobiles for more than 50 years, introducing their first snowmobiles in 1954. The company later branched out into ATVs, personal watercraft, off-road utility vehicles and motorcycles. As the company notes on its website, Polaris makes machines that “not only take you out there, they offer you a way out. A break from the routine. An escape from the ordinary. A moment of freedom.” Perhaps nothing better represents the escape from the ordinary than snowmobile racing. Since its introduction in the 1960s, snowmobile racing has become one of the hottest winter sports competitions, attracting riders from around the world in all types of competitions, including Snocross, Oval, Hill Climb, Cross Country, Enduro, and the relative newcomer, Freestyle Jumping. Polaris Racing alone sponsors approximately 75 factory-supported racers at the professional level and almost 200 independent racers in the various venues.

When a snowmobile must meet the challenges of a rough Snocross track or racing at high speeds, the racer needs to feel confident that the welds will hold up. When Polaris’s winning riders need welding done at the races, they get only the best equipment and filler metal. The Polaris Racing Support Truck is stocked exclusively with ESAB equipment and consumables.

The Polaris Racing Support Truck travels to every WPSA national Snocross event, as well as other various races, to provide parts, technical support and services for its supported racers. Since Polaris Industries uses ESAB equipment and filler metals in their manufacturing facilities, it seemed only natural for ESAB to join the team in 2000 as their exclusive welding supplier. Bill Rader, Polaris Racing Coordinator, says the Race Shop and Support Truck are supplied with various models of ESAB Mig and Tig welders, plasma cutters and “a whole lot of filler metal.”

When racers need repairs or modifications, they need them done quickly and correctly the first time. The ease of use and reliability of the ESAB equipment comes in handy when a racer needs to weld a chassis or repair some suspension components. A large percentage of the welding is Tig welding but there is plenty of need for Mig welding as well. The most common material welded is aluminum but some components are also made from chrome-moly and HSLA.

“We’ve had excellent results with ESAB equipment and filler metals,” Rader says. “As part of the sponsorship program, we’ve also handed equipment over to some of our factory-supported teams.”

ESAB is proud to sponsor Polaris and play some part in the company’s success in this highly competitive field. For more information on Polaris snowmobile racing, log on to www.polarisindustries.com.