In what was originally scheduled as the season finale, the Amsoil Ironman round of the 2011 GNCC is special for a different reason.

This weekend, riders from across the country as well as spectators will honor breast cancer victims, survivors, and their loved ones.

The color pink will be the theme of the weekend, as the GNCC community comes together to support such an important cause.

The special weekend events begin Friday, as GBC Motorsports’ Johnny Gallagher and Jeff Pickens join a few other pro racers as they help 5th and 6th graders with a craft project to help raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer.

The racers will visit New Market Elementary School in New Market, Indiana and will help the students craft pink ribbon pins, and in turn the students will receive free entry to the race all weekend.

All around the world of sports we see professional athletes displaying their support for breast cancer awareness by wearing pink items.

Baseball players swap their mitts for pink versions, football players wear pink towels and cleats, and now GBC Motorsports is joining the fight for a cure.

GBC Motorsports will be giving away limited edition pink GBC Motorsports stickers to help raise breast cancer awareness.

The first 500 people to stop by the GBC Motorsports area in the pro pits will receive one of these stickers.

As a long and successful GNCC season begins to wind down, GBC Motorsports reminds fans to take a step back and reflect on more important issues.

Almost everyone has been affected by cancer, whether it’s been a friend, family member, co-worker or themselves. GBC Motorsports is proud to do what it can to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer.

The final round of the 2011 Yamaha Quad-X Championships Presented by STI is coming to Glen Helen Raceway on Saturday, October 29th.

The Quad-X finals will run on an all-new track layout that Glen Helen Raceway has prepared specifically for the event that will both challenge racers and thrill fans.

Yamaha’s Dustin Nelson wrapped up the 2011 title at the 7th round at Arizona Cycle Park in Surprise, AZ with his seventh consecutive Quad-X victory this season.

MCR/Maxxis Tire’s Beau Baron sits in second, with 18 points separating him from Nelson’s Yamaha teammate Josh Row. The final round of the season is shaping up to be an exciting one!

The racing is only part of the weekend’s action! Yamaha will be providing demos of the latest iteration of their  race proven YZF450 after the race and STI will be putting on a special bbq dinner to celebrate the end of another great season of racing.

There will also be raffles and giveaways from series sponsors, so don’t miss out!

Gates will open at 6:30AM on Saturday morning, with practice starting at 8:30AM. Class info, entry fees and requirements can be found at www.quadxseries.com/seriesinfo.html.

Gate fees for fans are $10 for adults, and just $5 for kids 6-12. As always, kids under 5 are free! Free camping space is also available, so bring the whole family and enjoy a great weekend of racing at Glen Helen Raceway!

Minden, Ontario Canada used to be a popular snowmobiling destination but over the past few years, deteriorating trail conditions along with difficulties navigating through Minden caused many sledders to give Minden a miss.

ATV riders have discovered the impressive variety of trails in the Minden area making ATVing one of the fastest-growing recreational tourism activities in the area.

In March 2011, representatives from the Haliburton County Snowmobile Association, the Haliburton ATV Association and the Township of Minden Hills gathered to develop a plan to get snowmobilers back to the Minden area and attract even more ATV riders.

Funding from the HCSA, HATVA, Township of Minden Hills and the Haliburton County Development Corporation made it possible to address many of the problems. As a result, significant improvements are underway and will be ready for the 2012 season.

– Improvements to the old Club 2 trail will allow better and more consistent grooming. As a result, the OFSC has upgraded this trail – it’s now known as the B112 trail on the 2012 map.
– The Gelert Trail from the Rail Trail to Minden has been improved and the removal of some problematic rocks and trees will allow better access for the groomer.
– Two groomers will be located in Minden instead of one which will significantly improve trail conditions.
– The village of Minden will have clear destination signage throughout the village showing riders how to get in and out of the village.
– The village of Minden has a dedicated snowmobile bridge over the Gull River – no more road-riding or trying to navigate narrow sidewalks on the bridge.
– Destination signage showing Minden restaurants and other services will be located at major trail intersections making it easier for sledders to find their way to Minden.

If you haven’t been to Minden in a while, it’s time to come back and enjoy our trails and our small-town hospitality.

For more information contact Rick Cox, Director of Community Services, at 705-286-1936 ext. 221.

BRP has signed an agreement with Tohatsu Corporation to supply a range of Evinrude outboard engines from 3.5 to 15 HP.

The new engines will be available at BRP dealerships in early 2012, adding to BRP’s existing line-up of Evinrude E-TEC outboard engines of 15 H.O. to 300 HP (Available for international from 25 to 300 hp).

“We believe Tohatsu Corporation, who builds quality and market-proven engines, to be the right supplier to complete the Evinrude line-up,” said José Boisjoli, president and CEO. “BRP’s focus remains on the development and manufacturing of high-value and higher horsepower engines, using the E-TEC technology that we will continue to enhance with industry-leading features and benefits over the years to come.”

BRP invested considerably in the Evinrude brand and E-TEC technology, including a $15-million investment in its state-of-the-art facility in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, U.S. This agreement further supports its commitment to the Evinrude brand.

Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately-held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorised recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines. BRP products are distributed in more than 100 countries. www.brp.com

GBC Motorsports presented a set of their Bomb Squad MX tires to the first raffle winner of the season at the FNL Fall MX Series at Milestone MX Park in Riverside, CA.

The opening round of the FNL Fall ATV MX Series took place on Saturday, October 8th at Milestone MX Park.

GBC Motorsports will be raffling off one set of Bomb Squad MX tires at each round of the series.

Each first moto class winner will automatically be entered into the raffle. The summer series giveaway was a great success as several tire winners went on to post impressive results with their newly acquired Bomb Squad tires.

GBC Motorsports’ Sales Representative and former pro ATV racer Kory Ellis was on hand for the nighttime action this past weekend.

The raffle winner for Round 1 was racer Javier Palacios. Palacios finished first in both motos, making him the overall winner of the Quad Open class.

He was also the raffle winner and fortunate recipient of a set of Bomb Squad MX tires.

GBC Motorsports’ Bomb Squad MX tires, designed in conjunction with Wes Miller, feature unique lug designs utilizing Miller’s H-Bomb Media and Bomb Squad Racing logos.

The high number of lugs allows racers better forward tracking and improved braking ability, as well as the potential to groove the tires for specific track conditions.

Go to www.gbcmotorsports.com for a complete lineup of ATV tires.

Warnert Racing / Can-Am DS 450 racer Adam McGill finished third in the XC1 Pro class at the Powerline Park Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) race held over the weekend in St. Clairsville, Ohio.

In the morning session, Can-Am X-team racers Zac Zakowski, Forrest Whorton and Kevin Trantham each won their respective classes aboard Can-Am Outlander ATVs.

“McGill rode well and was actually in contention for the win a couple of times before eventually finishing third overall. I’m happy to see him on the XC1 podium again and earn a top three overall finish,” said Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager, Can-Am. “Our Can-Am X-Team racers continue to excel on their Outlander ATVs. It was great to see Zac ride so well today and earn his first win this season in the 4×4 Open class. It was also nice to see Zac’s teammate Kevin Trantham get back to his winning ways in the 4×4 Lites. I’m also really happy for Forrest Whorton as today he clinched the 4×4 Super Senior 45+ championship aboard his Can-Am.”

McGill held the early lead in the XC1 class. Just before lap two, he dropped one spot after having difficulty in one of the track’s muddy sections.

However, on lap three, McGill put in the fastest lap of the day in the Pro class and was less than a second behind the leader.

He then lost time on the next lap and fell to third. That’s where he stayed until the finish line. It was the third straight XC1 podium finish for McGill.

“I was leading for a while and I felt really good out there,” said McGill. “It was rough out there and I didn’t finish how I wanted to, but I still made it on the podium.”

Warnert Racing / Can-Am DS 450 teammate Chris Bithell rode in the top five in the XC1 Pro class for most of the day prior to the final lap.

In fact, he was in third place on lap three. After falling to fourth, he picked up the pace in pursuit of the leaders. However, a large stick impaled his ATV’s radiator on the final lap and slowed his charge. He ended up ninth on the day.

Zakowski, who rides a Zakowski Motorsports / Can-Am X-Team Outlander, matched his season’s best finish with second overall on the morning podium.

The 4×4 Open class win was the first for him in 2011 and the first since winning a 4×4 Open event at round four of last year. He is currently in fourth place in the class point standings.

“We have been working hard all season and it finally paid off for us. I have to thank Can-Am and all of our sponsors who have helped us make this happen,” said Zakowski.

Current 4×4 Open class points leader and X-Team racer Michael Swift (UXC Racing) finished second on his Can-Am Outlander 800R X xc.

Can-Am X-Team member and tough 4×4 Open class competitor Bryan Buckhannon got stuck in a mud hole on the opening lap while avoiding spectators and had to play catch up all day.

He ended up in fourth place despite battling the mud hole for more than five minutes on lap one and still holds second place in the chase for the class championship with only two rounds remaining.

Trantham rebounded from a disappointing finish at the last round and put in a dominating effort aboard his Can-Am X-Team Outlander 500 XT to convincingly win the 4×4 Lites class. He led from start to finish and won the class by more than eight minutes. He has nine victories this year.

Super Senior (45+) class Can-Am X-Team racer Whorton claimed his 10th win of the season beating MPR / Can-Am X-Team racer Mike Penland to the finish. Whorton, who led from start to finish at the Powerline GNCC, wrapped up the class championship for 2011.

Unfortunately, 2011 U2 class champion Clifton Beasley saw his unprecedented 29-race win streak end in Ohio. A mechanical issue on the final lap forced Beasley to ride slower than his normal race pace.

Amazingly, he still held the lead on his Renegade 800R X xc until the final quarter-mile of the race, where he was passed by two other Can-Am riders.

He finished third to keep his class podium streak alive at 24. Can-Am racer Robert Smith of Beaver, Pa., took advantage of Beasley’s troubles to post his first class win of the season.

For more information on Can-Am racing, the entire 2011 schedule, the 2011 contingency program and Can-Am DS 450 ATV amateur racer support program, please visit www.can-amxteam.com.