After taking third last round at Loretta Lynn’s, Team UXC Racing’s Michael Swift took his second podium of the year with a second place finish at GNCC’s Mountaineer Run.

Swift had a great start and by the second lap, had the No. 209 Polaris Scrambler XP 850 had moved into second position. He climbed his way into first and led most of the last two laps but a low fuel level made him lose power a few times costing him the lead by six seconds. Swift’s second-place finish also was the fourth fastest overall time for the race.

“I am very pleased with my Polaris Scrambler 850XP and how it handled on the rough track. I feel we are making great progress with the Polaris and are proving that it is a contender for the top spot in the Pro 4×4 class here at GNCC,” said Swift. “My Maxxis tires performed with perfection in the rocks and the Custom Axis shocks were amazing.”

Polaris Factory Racer, Rick Cecco had a great start as well. Unfortunately, into the first lap, a stick wedged itself under Cecco’s Polaris Scrambler XP 850 and unplugged a spark plug wire resulting in a loss of power.

Cecco had to pit and lost time repairing the issue. Once back on the track, Cecco did his best to make up time to salvage as many points as possible and ended the race in fifth.

The next GNCC race is the John Penton, in Millfield, Ohio on June 7.

Polaris is a recognized leader in the powersports industry with annual 2013 sales of $3.8 billion. Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets innovative, high quality off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER® and RZR® side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, motorcycles and on-road electric/hybrid powered vehicles. Polaris is among the global sales leaders for both snowmobiles and off-road vehicles and has established a presence in the heavyweight cruiser and touring motorcycle market with the Victory and Indian Motorcycle brands. Additionally, Polaris continues to invest in the global on-road small electric/hybrid powered vehicle industry with Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Goupil Industrie SA, Aixam Mega S.A.S., and internally developed vehicles. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Polaris Engineered parts, accessories and apparel, Klim branded apparel and ORV accessories under the Kolpin and Cycle Country brands. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PII,” and the Company is included in the S&P Mid-Cap 400 stock price index.

Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime at www.polaris.com.

Can-Am racers earned a podium sweep with the Maverick 1000R in the XC1 Modified SxS class and won all four ATV 4×4 classes at round seven of the AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country series in Masontown, W.Va.

Can-Am DS 450 racers also won both the Pro and Pro-Am classes at the third round of the New England ATV Motocross series in Pennsylvania.

“We had an outstanding weekend at the Mountaineer Run GNCC in West Virginia and in the New England series. Earning a historic sweep in the XC1 Modified SxS class, winning the 4×4 Pro class and also both Pro-level NEATV-MX classes was perfect,” said Jeff Leclerc, Racing Project Leader, Can-Am. “During their push toward winning a GNCC championship, our Maverick pilots continue to showcase their merits and those of their Can-Am vehicles.”

GNCC – Round 7

The Rocky Mountain ATV / MC Mountaineer Run GNCC was held at a rocky, dusty Marvin’s Mountain Top in Masontown, W.Va. This stop, considered the halfway point for the season, hosted round seven of the 13-round GNCC ATV series and round three of the six-leg GNCC SxS National Championship. Can-Am competed in the 10 a.m. ATV racing session Saturday, May 24, as well as the side-by-side portion of the series later in the afternoon.

Maverick 1000R side-by-side racers made Can-Am GNCC history, as they earned the first sweep in the XC1 Modified class podium. Chaney Racing / Turnkey / Can-Am pilot and Ohio native Kyle Chaney won the round and was joined on the podium by fellow Can-Am Maverick pilots and Ohio-based racers Tim Farr and Larry Hendershot Jr., both of JB Racing / Can-Am.

Chaney, who started in row two, soon caught the first row and, with the time adjustment in his favor, was battling for the win. Once he took over the physical lead, Chaney drove smart and took his first victory of 2014. He now owns the class points lead after three rounds of racing. Farr is currently third in the standings. Hendershot earned a third-place finish and his first podium of 2014. Maverick pilot Zac Zakowski finished ninth.

“The fields were super dusty. The rocks were pretty treacherous, you really had to drive smart to keep everything intact,” said Chaney. “Three Can-Am Maverick vehicles on the podium speaks for itself; it’s a great day for my team and for Can-Am.”

Can-Am Maverick 1000R side-by-side pilot Marcus Pratt (Jack’s Excavating II / Can-Am) scored a strong second-place finish in the XC2 Limited ranks and ninth overall in the side-by-side session at the Mountaineer Run. He’s currently third in the class in points, just three points out of first. Travalena Racing took fourth in its Can-Am. Novice Limited class racer Blake McDaniel (Crash Addict / Can-Am) earned second place.

Can-Am 4×4 racers secured four class wins and eight total podiums at the Mountaineer Run. Kevin Trantham led the way on his Can-Am X-Team Renegade 800R X xc, winning the 4×4 Pro class for the third time this year. Trantham, who also earned third on the 10 a.m. overall podium, ran in the top three the entire race before finally taking the lead on the final lap. ATV Parts Plus / Can-Am racer Bryan Buckhannon, who took third in the class, joined Trantham on the podium.

Trantham leads Buckhannon by 12 points heading into round eight. Rob Smith (BNR / Can-Am), who grabbed the holeshot and led lap one, took fourth and is third in the standings. Can-Am 4×4 pilots Tanner Bowles (4×4 A/B), Nick Eichelberger (4×4 C) and Nick Mase (4×4 Novice) also won their classes.

NEATV-MX – Round 3

Can-Am DS 450 racer Joel Hetrick (JB Racing / Can-Am) won three of four Pro-level motos at round three of the NEATV-MX series at Hurricane Hills MX in Clifford, Pa. He won the Pro class with a 1-1 sweep and was third in the Pro-Am ranks with a 6-1 scorecard. BCS Performance / Can-Am Pro Josh Creamer took second in the Pro class and won the Pro-Am class. Defending NEATV-MX Pro class champion Travis Moore was third in Pro-Am.

“My Can-Am DS 450 ran great today, handled well and pulled up the big hills; it propelled me to the win,” said Hetrick. “The win last week at High Point gave me a lot more confidence heading into this (local) race, but also for the rest of the ATV MX season.”

For more information on 2014 Can-Am racing, the contingency program and all amateur racer support programs, please visit www.can-amxteam.com.

Can-Am DS 450 ATV Pro Joel Hetrick notched his first Pro class win of the year Saturday at round three of the 2014 Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross National Championship series held in Mount Morris, Pa. Can-Am DS 450 racers Jeffrey Rastrelli and Ronnie Higgerson also went 1-2 in the Pro-Am class Sunday at the renowned High Point Raceway.

“Can-Am DS 450 racers had a solid weekend for us, winning both the Pro and Pro-Am classes at the High Point National,” said Jeff Leclerc, Racing Project Leader, Can-Am. “I’m thrilled to see Joel Hetrick earn the Pro class win. He’s been battling out front all year and is very deserving of this impressive victory. Jeffrey Rastrelli has been showing great speed all year and his 1-1 sweep in the Pro-Am ranks proves it. Both he and Can-Am racer Ronnie Higgerson will battle all season long for that top spot.”

After a long, six-week break after round two, Pro and amateur ATV racers converged upon the picturesque High Point Raceway for round three, the Maxxis ATV Stampede, of the ATV MX National series. Can-Am DS 450 Pros had respectable finishes at the first two rounds, having earned four top-five finishes and one overall podium. However, they had yet to find the top stair on the podium. JB Racing / DWT / Mtn. Dew Live Wire / Can-Am Pro Joel Hetrick had been the closest, earning third at the opening round. However, Hetrick more than fixed that issue as he first took the ATVriders.com Fastest Qualifier award and followed that up with his first Pro Moto overall victory aboard a Can-Am since winning at Budds Creek in 2012.

“My weekend started out really good when I got the fastest qualifier. I had a good start in the first moto and was able to take second and then I was able to follow that up with a win. It was a great feeling to get that win and put my Can-Am on top of the podium,” said Hetrick. “We worked really hard for this. It makes it really special because this is my home state.”

Hetrick came out of the gate in fourth in Moto 1, but after two laps passed fellow DS 450 Pro Josh Creamer for third place. From there, Hetrick put the hammer down and aimed for the second-place racer. He moved into second by lap six and pushed hard all the way to the finish. Hetrick paired his Moto 1 finish with an impressive victory in Moto 2. He was in third place after two laps, but just two laps later took over the lead. Despite a clutching issue later on in the moto that kept his ATV in fourth gear, Hetrick managed to stay out front and take the overall victory.

Creamer (BCS Performance / Can-Am) finished with a solid 4-4 scorecard at High Point to stay in the fourth-place position in the Pro class point standings. His teammate, Ronnie Higgerson tallied 10-6 moto finishes to earn a career-best sixth overall and give Can-Am three racers in the top 10. Can-Am currently has four riders in the top 10 spots within the Pro class point standings after three rounds of racing. Hetrick is in third place just 18 points out of first. Creamer (4th), Jeffrey Rastrelli (7th) and Higgerson (8th) are also in the top 10.

Rastrelli had another solid run in the Pro-Am class. After taking second overall to Higgerson at round two, Rastrelli (JB Racing / Can-Am) took the High Point overall with a 1-1 sweep. Despite missing round one, he’s still in third place and only 13 points behind Higgerson, the class point’s leader. Higgerson, who took second, earned his second straight podium finish and currently holds a nine-point lead heading into round four. William “Duck” Lloyd was 10th aboard his JB Racing / Can-Am.

“I had decent starts and I was able to take both Pro-Am moto wins. My Can-Am was running really fast and I just had a really good day,” said Rastrelli.

For more information on 2014 Can-Am racing, the contingency program and all amateur racer support programs, please visit www.can-amxteam.com.

Professional football star quarterback Drew Brees recently found the ultimate contract loophole to experience the ultimate ride as he “retired” for one day for the exhilaration, stability, and control of the Can-Am Spyder.

Brees goes the extra mile to ride the Can-Am Spyder with an innovative and highly entertaining work-around to his professional contract restrictions, all captured in a video online at CanAmSpyder.com and featured in a national ad campaign launching in May.

“The Can-Am Spyder is awesome because you can get the rush of open air riding while the Y- frame design and seven automotive technologies give a ton of stability and control,” said Brees.

In addition to Brees’ video, BRP and the quarterback are teaming up to give one lucky winner an all-expenses paid trip to a pro football game in New Orleans where Brees will personally meet and greet the winner. The contest is run on the official Can-Am Spyder Facebook page until August 31. Fans can also visit a local dealer to enter the contest.

“Thousands of our fans have experienced the exhilarating open-air ride of the Can-Am Spyder while enjoying its stability and control, and we are very pleased to count Drew Brees as another who has experienced the excitement of the Can-Am Spyder,” said Tom Riley, director, Global Marketing for Can-Am Spyder.

This highly entertaining video and ad campaign starring Drew Brees is the latest release in a new, innovative high profile campaign showing the exhilaration, stability and control of the Can- am Spyder. Drew Brees joins Mark Messier, NHL Hall of Famer and six-time Stanley Cup Ski-Doo Champion, and Danica Patrick, stock car racer, whose own Can-Am Spyder rides have been Lynx featured in videos available to view now.

Combining a Y-frame design with seven state-of-the-art automobile technologies and Rotax engine, the Can-Am Spyder delivers riders the incredible exhilaration of open-air, open-road riding with a greater sense of stability, control and confidence. Released in 2007, the Can-Am Spyder includes three distinct platforms.

The Spyder RS sport line represents the machine for the rider who has a passion for a vehicle as stunning through the curves as it is to the eye.

The sport-touring line represents the optimum combination of comfort and sportiness with the Spyder ST, and the touring new Spyder RT line that comes in 2014 with a completely new Rotax 1330 ACE in-line triple engine mated to a new six-speed transmission (available in manual and semi-automatic versions) to deliver the ultimate in touring performance and comfort.

BRP (TSX: DOO) is a global leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of powersports vehicles and propulsion systems. Its portfolio includes Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft, Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles, Can-am roadsters, Evinrude outboard engines and Rotax engines for karts, motorcycles and recreational aircraft as well as inboard jet propulsion systems for boats. BRP supports its line of products with a dedicated parts, accessories and clothing business. With annual sales of over CA$3 billion from 105 countries, the Company employs approximately 7,100 people worldwide.

www.brp.com

Can-Am Maverick 1000R drivers finished first and second in the Open side-by-side class and overall at the 12 Hours of La Tuque endurance race in Quebec, Canada.

Maverick pilots also swept the UTV Open class podium this past weekend at round three of the American Woods Racing Championship Series (AWRCS) in Pennsylvania.

“It was a great racing weekend for Can-Am and the Maverick 1000R. We posted a 1-2 finish in the extremely difficult 12 Hours of La Tuque with Can-Am X-Team drivers Martin Horik and Yani Desjardins and swept the AWRCS side-by-side class podium. We also had two great performances from our DS 450 racers at La Tuque,” said Jeff Leclerc, Racing Project Leader, Can-Am. “The Can-Am Maverick continues to prove it’s a great choice for challenging racing conditions that demand the very best from both man and machine.”

12 Hours of La Tuque

The 12 Hours of La Tuque is four-day event featuring vendors, concerts and endurance races for ATVs, motorcycles and side-by-side vehicles hosted in the Haute-Mauricie region near La Tuque, Quebec, Canada.

The side-by-side competitors ran two separate one-hour sessions to determine the overall winner. Can-Am Maverick 1000R side-by-side racers had a very memorable 2014 12 Hours of La Tuque, taking first and second overall and in the Open 851-1000cc (SxS) class.

Martin Horik (OCTANE / Can-Am) completed a total of 69 laps over the two sessions in a time of 02:03:05.797 to put his Can-Am X-Team Maverick 1000R vehicle on top of the Open 851-1000cc class podium and the SxS overall. Horik completed 35 laps during the first session to take a very close second.

However, in session two, he completed one more lap (34) than the competition to win the event. Can-Am X-Team Maverick pilot, Yani Desjardins, took second overall and in the class. Desjardins, last year’s overall winner, won the first portion of the race, but took second in session two to earn second behind Horik.

“It was a tough race and tough track. It was a pristine track to start, but it got really rutted and whooped out,” said Horik. “The Maverick did great out there. It is the most competitive side-by-side out there right now. I have a lot of friends who have made the switch to the Can-Am, so to me, that says it all.”

Can-Am also earned a hard-fought podium finish in the ATV race. The Can-Am Elka PLX Sport team of Mathieu Deroy, Keven Vachon and Bobby Desjardins took second overall in the three-session ATV General race with a Can-Am DS 450. The team, which completed a total of 232 circuits over the three, four-hour sessions (including one at night), won the first session and was in the running for the overall until a mechanical issue slowed their pursuit during the final session.

They finished in the top three in each session, but ended up eight laps behind the eventual winner and took second. Can-Am DS 450 racer Martin Lafontaine also won the Iron Man class (solo participant) and took ninth overall. He completed 196 laps during the 12 hours of racing to ensure him a top-10 finish.

AWRCS – Round 3

Can-Am Maverick 1000R X xc side-by-side pilot Dave Plavi (Crash Addict / PARCS / Can-Am) lead every lap but one at round three of AWRCS in Red Bank, Pa. It was the first AWRCS UTV Open class and UTV overall win for Plavi, who started racing with a Maverick last year and was runner-up in the standings. The victory pushed Plavi to sixth in the current UTV Open class standings.

JB Racing / Can-Am racer Larry Hendershot, the defending AWRCS UTV Open class champion, and co-pilot Pat McGuire put in a good race to finish second in the class and overall. They took the lead on lap four, but Plavi regained the lead on the fifth-and-final-lap. The second-place finish was good to keep them out front of the class points lead heading into the next round. Jack’s Excavating / Can-Am Maverick driver Marcus Pratt finished third to make it an all Can-Am podium.

For more information on 2014 Can-Am racing, the contingency program and all amateur racer support programs, please visit www.can-amxteam.com.