Bunke wins I-500 with help from friends

Gabe Bunke stormed through the field and used some help from his friends in the Pro-5 Stihl Race Team to cruise to the checkered flag at the 37th Annual International-500 Snowmobile Race in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

Bunke called on the services of four-time I-500 champion Corey Davidson to help pilot the machine from the 28th position on the starting grid to victory lane.

Davidson, a Pro-5 teammate, struggled with mechanical problems throughout the race on his own machine and went to the aid of Bunke after falling out of contention.

Bunke's partner Josh Davis had to pull out of the saddle after suffering cramping and The Soo Evening News is reporting that Davidson hopped about Bunke's sled and piloted it across the finish line.

With Davidson's four previous titles, the victory marked the fifth I-500 victory for the Pro-5 team.

Former champion Mike Gentz, who started in 30th position, finished in second place less than 30 seconds off the pace while Todd Krikke, who led the most laps, placed third.

Defending champion Todd Hoos, who teamed up with Sault Ontario products Corey and Chris Furkey, finished fifth.

Locals Kraig Karalash, Terry Wright and Shawn Ritchie teamed up to finish ninth.

The race was completed in eight hours and 44 minutes including a 40 minute delay after problems with the electronic lap counting devise, the only problem occurred in this year's race.

To read a complete story on the race from The Soo Evening News, click here.

For further coverage from The Soo Evening News on how this year's event escaped without major incident after back-to-back years with a fatality, click here.