Levi Lavallee Enjoys the Sport of Snowmobiling
By Scott A. Sumner
This is the 25th Anniversary of the Duluth race Levi?
“ It is always a exciting time come Thanksgiving. I been up here at Duluth since 1997 my first year racing and even coming the years before that with my dad. The races just keep getting better and better and this 25th Anniversary of the Duluth National, it is pretty awesome. We we worried about would they be able to make enough snow but they bring us the biggest track we have ever seen here so that was pretty incredible.”
“ I remember the early days with the hay bails and the jumps of 3 or 4 feet tall to what it is today. It is cool to look back with riders likeToni Haikonen, Blair Morgan, Kirk Hibbert and so on and has been fun to see in person.”
Kyle Pallin is back again this season?
“ We are excited to have Kyle on the team. He has done an exceptional job on and off the track. It is really fun to have a guy as positive as he is just to keep everyone upbeat. The snocross is a business for us. It costs money to run these semis down the road, but it is like a family. You are on the road together and pretty much do everything together. It is a tight knit family.”
Do you have time to do some trail riding anymore Levi?
“I took a little spin snowmobiling a few weeks ago at home when the snow came. Last year I went to the UP of Michigan and took the trail sleds. We had a ball there for weekend. I really enjoy just riding like this. Since I was 15 until a few years ago I wasn’t able to just trail ride. It reignites the passion for snowmobiling. I like racing but it is stressful at times.”
How long do think a rider can race snocross?
" Kirk Hibbert raced until he was in his 40’s and I am not sure how long Tucker will continues racing but if he does for another 5 or 6 years it would be great for our sport. It helps having him on the track.”
This past Haydays you did a special jump?
“ The jump at Haydays, the 50th Anniversary was great. My first time there I was 6 years old with my dad. It is an amazing event. I said I could do a distance jump for the 50th so they laid out kinda where we could do it and where I could get the speed necessary to do the distance. I wanted all of 70 MPH and just got there. There was a head wind so we had to postpone, a little delay and then went for it. I could feel the wind up there. Typically you hit the brake once to bring her down but I had to hit the brake twice because the front end didn’t come down enough. It was exciting to make it work. At the beginning we had only 66 or 67 MPH so we built a little ramp. I be back at X Games
with Freestyle and possibly Best Trick. I will try.”
