Frequent, bloody battles with the FIA have soured Paddy O'Moto on politics and its ensuing scrutiny. But in an election year, no one is safe from the media microscope; not even the world's most feared motorsportsman
Such was the case when O'Moto challenged Todd Palin, husband of Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, to a charity snowmobile race.
"I'd never endorse a candidate unless she promised to eliminate all speed limits," said the current land-speed record holder. "But this guy Todd calls himself the "The First Dude of Alaska". I mean how do you not want to race a guy like that."
With all donations going to MAST (Mothers Against Speed Traps), the nearly 2000 mile competition traced the route of the Itiderod, the grueling, cross-state race that O'Moto and his team of genetically manipulated sled dogs have won a record eight times. (A 9th victory is under appeal.)
"Building a dog for the Itiderod is pretty simple," said Two Micks Racing Design Chief, Jonathan Mills. "We just make their paws bigger."
"But building a snowmobile to run with the likes of "Wolf" Palin took a couple of days,", he continued. "We even worked through lunch once."
The resulting machine was impressive to even the most seasoned of snow carvers. Using a heavily modified Polaris platform, Two Micks Racing engineers installed a 990cc V-4 power plant capable of spinning up to 17,000 rpm and producing over 250 horsepower. Pirelli provided the tracks and calendars. A coal-fired afterburner made straight line speed a non-issue.
Winning was also non-issue. Two days into the race, O'Moto was three days ahead.
"We added another thousand miles, hoping he'd catch up," said Extreme Sports' newest superstar. "I figured it'd give me a chance to take some nice panoramic shots and finish teaching that igloo building class."
Having been re-Christened "The Second Dude of Alaska", Todd Palin, in defeat, was gracious: "To be beaten by someone who's never lost is an honor. But I'm sending him back to Europe with some of my venison jerky. And since you can't make jerky fast, I know I've got that on him."
At press time, development of Paddy O'Moto's 9000-horsepower dehydrator, "The Big Jerk", was months ahead of schedule.
