Recognized as a snocross legend, Blair Morgan won 8 times the grand final in Pro class at Valcourt. Recall that the Snocross track hosting Pro competitions was inaugurated in 1999. During the first six years of the Pro class, from 1999 to 2004, Blair Morgan won the championship title. Let’s take a look back at this athlete from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
His debut in motocross
Beginning in 1993, Morgan got his start in motocross. In the same year, he won seven national titles. It didn’t take long for him to become Canadian 250cc Motocross Champion in 1997. He also won the same title in 1998 and 1999, but this time in 450cc. Around the same time, he made his snocross debut with Arctic Cat. He became the first snocross winner at Valcourt before winning that title for the next five years.
In 2001, a new competitor gave Blair Morgan a hard time. Young Tucker Hibbert was entering the pros. From the first race of the season held in Duluth, Minnesota, the duel offered an electrifying spectacle. In the Pro Stock class, Morgan won it, followed closely by Hibbert. For his part, Hibbert snagged his first victory among the pros in the final of the Pro Open class. The competitions follow one another and Hibbert accumulates the victories. However, Blair Morgan has a surprise in store for us during the round which takes place on the side of Valcourt by winning the victory.
He goes to Ski-Doo’s yellow camp
In 2002, Blair Morgan is back for such an interesting duel, but this time, we will see him on a Ski-Doo snowmobile, he who had always distinguished himself with Arctic Cat. Now that he’s moved into Ski-Doo’s yellow camp, all eyes are on him as he continues to prove himself. Taken from an extract from the 2002 La Tribune newspaper, Morgan admitted that the decision to join Ski-Doo was not taken easily and that he hesitated a little before accepting this proposal. With Arctic Cat for the past four years, he knew the environment and the team well. He knew from having done it several times that he could be the best on their racing model. But the promising future of the Ski-Doo Rev model, the power of its engine, and the skill of the team convinced him to sign a two-year contract under new colours.
He won his last victory during the 2007 Valcourt races, for the eighth time in his career. Unfortunately, in 2008, Blair Morgan was the victim of a motocross accident in Montreal and became paralyzed in the T2 and T8 vertebrae, rendering the middle of his back immobile.
Tons of tributes
In 2010, he was inducted into the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame. He also carried the Olympic torch for the Vancouver Winter Games that same year during his visit to Prince Albert. In 2013, he was also inducted into the American Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St-Germain, Wisconsin. Finally, in 2015, Blair Morgan confirmed his presence at the Grand Prix Ski-Doo de Valcourt to see his name added to the honour roll along with Jacque Villeneuve and Marcel Fontaine.
To review races, visit the @GPSValcourt Youtube channel.
