The Board of Directors of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) have voted to transfer all shares of Yamaha Motor Canada Ltd. (YMCA), to its American subsidiary, Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS).

The transfer, to be completed by December 31, 2011, will see YMUS assume additional responsibilities for financial reporting and audit.

The move will allow YMC to draw a centralized financial report from a single North American operation, similar to their Yamaha Europe, Yamaha South America and Yamaha Asia subsidiaries.

The investment arrangement will not impact YMCA’s organizational structure. YMCA will maintain all of its current, independent responsibilities to serve the Canadian dealers and customers.

The change is part of the on-going business reform process for YMC to simplify reporting for North American business.

YMCA joins nine other subsidiaries, including Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America, Skeeter Products Inc., and Tennessee Water Craft Inc., under the YMUS ownership portfolio.

Brian Wolf took advantage of a late race mistake by Adam McGill to take a thrilling win at the VP Racing Fuels Mountain Ridge GNCC in Somerset, Pennsylvania – round 11 of the 2011 Can-Am Grand National Cross Series.

For most of the two-hour race, no less than five riders were in contention for the overall victory. However, it was McGill who led the most laps, taking the early lead after making first-lap passes on Wolf and $250 Motosport.com Holeshot Award winner Taylor Kiser.

McGill’s Foremost Insurance/Warnert Racing Can-Am teammate Chris Bithell was among the front-runners, along with Kiser on the Ballance Racing Yamaha, Wolf on a GT Thunder-backed Honda and series points leader Chris Borich on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki, as McGill led the pack through one of the toughest courses of the year.

The battle for the lead heated up when Wolf passed McGill halfway into the final lap. However, the XC1 rookie got stuck behind a lapper with two miles to go, allowing McGill retake the lead. At that point, McGill looked to have his third win of the year all wrapped up; however, a half-mile later the West Virginia rider clipped a tree and watched helplessly as Wolf took the lead and eventually the win.

“That last lap was pretty crazy,” said Wolf. “I let McGill go by at the start of the race and he took off like a bat. That last lap, there were so many lines in the rocks that you just had to banzai it and hope you didn’t break. McGill was ahead of me at the end, but then he snagged a tree. It was anybody’s race but in the end I came out on top.”

McGill was disappointed at finishing second, but he still managed to gain a few points on Borich in the race for the 2011 title.

“About a mile before the finish I was on some slippery rocks and I caught a hand guard on a dead tree and it turned me sideways,” said McGill. “I was so furious I couldn’t even scream. But racing is racing and it was a good hard-fought battle.”

Bithell rounded out the podium and was within striking distance of the leaders when he crossed the finish.

Fourth went to Kiser, who was having a good day after struggling two weeks before at Unadilla. Meanwhile, Borich suffered a flat tire on the final lap, but managed to salvage 16 valuable points with a fifth place finish.

FRE KTM’s Bryan Cook finished sixth, with JET Suspension’s Donnie Ockerman seventh, and Yamaha-mounted Kevin Yoho in eighth.

Jarrod McClure and Johnny Gallagher (Yam) rounded out the top 10.

In the XC2 class, Walker Fowler remained perfect on the year, taking his 10th win in 10 races and by doing so wrapped up the XC2 class title with three races remaining on the books. The Ballance Racing Yamaha rider was impressive in the slippery rocks and finished the race nearly four minutes ahead of Greg’s ATV & Cycle Yamaha’s Gabe Phillips.

Honda rider Eric Hoyland rounded out the podium after winning the $100 Motosport.com Holeshot Award to start the race.

New York Honda rider Nathan Thomas finished fourth, while Aarol Bright (KTM), Matt Hanna (Yam), and Michael Lancaster (Hon) were fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 were Joshua Merritt (Yam), Ryan Ratliff (Hon) and Blake Kramer (Suz).

Once again Braden Henthorn was the top finishing “non-Pro” rider, winning the College A (16-21) class with a 17th overall finish on a Honda.

In the A.M. race, Michael Swift beat out fellow Can-Am riders (CAN) Bryan Buckhannon and Zach Zakowski to win the $100 GT Thunder Amateur Overall award. Swift, Buckhannon and Zakowsi were also the top three finishing riders in the 4×4 Open class as well.

Can-Am riders also swept the podium in the U2 division, with Clifton Beasley, Robert Smith and Scott Day finishing first, second and third.

Tracy Cecco won the Women’s division on a Yamaha, with Honda-mounted Angel Atwell finishing second and Can-Am rider Lexi Coulter finishing third.

Hunter Hart (COB) won the overall in the Youth race for the seventh time this year, and claimed the 90 Open (8-11) win as well. Meanwhile, Charlie Welch (DRR) was second overall and first in the 90 Mod (12-15) class. Meanwhile, Cody Collier (PIT) was third overall and first in the 90 Open (12-15) division.

The 2011 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series heads to St. Clairsville, Ohio for the ITP Powerline Park GNCC on October 8 & 9. ATV racing will take place on Saturday, followed by bike racing on Sunday.

For more information, please visit www.gnccracing.com.

Can-Am X-Team pro ATV racer Chase Snapp won both the 2011 Texhoma Quad Racing Association Pro and Pro-Am class championships aboard the Can-Am DS 450 ATV.

With two convincing wins at the TQRA finale held at Valley MotorSports in Tuskahoma, Okla., Snapp held off defending TQRA Pro champion and fellow Can-Am X-Team racer Hunter Miller for the Pro and Pro-Am titles.

“Chase has had a great season aboard the Can-Am DS 450, winning two TQRA titles and finishing sixth overall in the AMA ATV MX series,” said Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager, Can-Am. “In just his first full season as a professional, we’ve witnessed Chase grow into a fast, confident racer who has developed the skills to compete with anyone on the motocross track. I congratulate him and his family for their hard work, dedication and success.”

After starting the TQRA season with a DNF in the Pro class, Snapp went on a tear and won eight out of the next nine rounds and notched seven 1-1 moto sweeps aboard his Can-Am DS 450.

His 219 points outpaced Miller’s 192 points in the chase for the Pro class (Open Expert) overall. The same two racers battled it out for the Pro-Am class title as well, with Snapp again taking the championship. Snapp posted five 1-1 moto sweeps and won seven of 10 events to win the Pro-Am class by 16 points.

The TQRA post-season awards banquet is scheduled for October 16, 2011, at GattiTown Fun Center in Warr Acres, Okla.

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.

Motoworks / Can-Am DS 450 pro ATV racers remain in control of the Pro class points lead in the New England ATV Motocross series and World Off-Road Championship Series after this weekend’s races.

Josh Creamer went 1-2 in the Pro class motos to finish second and retain a 10-point lead in the NEATV-MX series. While Jeremie Warnia, after a fifth-place finish at Glen Helen in California, still leads the WORCS Pro class by one point over teammate Josh Frederick, who earned third place at round seven.

“We’re still in control of the Pro class points in both ATV racing series and feel very confident that Josh Creamer will give us his best effort yet at the NEATV-MX finale and provide the Motoworks / Can-Am team with another ATV Pro motocross title in 2011,” said Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager, Can-Am. “I can’t say enough about the effort put in by both Warnia and Frederick at Glen Helen as they now sit 1-2 in the WORCS Pro class points chase. The WORCS Pro ATV championship will go down to the wire and we’re thankful our guys are sitting in those top two spots.”

NEATV-MX

The MX 101 course in Epping, N.H., hosted round 11 of the NEATV-MX series. The short, narrow course made passing difficult, but Josh Creamer found his way around two riders in the first Pro class moto.

After starting third, Creamer rallied to pass fellow DS 450 racer Cody Miller (BCS Performance / Can-Am) and then chase down the leader. After a lengthy battle, Creamer made his move and earned the checkers.

In moto two, Creamer again started third. For several laps, Creamer battled with Miller for the second-place spot. Once he finally passed Miller, he set his sights on the leader. However, Creamer ran out of time and had to settle for a second-place finish in moto two. His 1-2 finishes were good for second place overall.

His 55-point total for both motos equalled that of the leader and enabled him to retain his 10-point Pro class cushion heading into the finale. The NEATV-MX finals are scheduled for October 9, at Hemonds MX in Minot, Maine.

“I won three out of four motos, but I didn’t win the one I really wanted to win so I am going to have to work a little harder at the final round if I want to take the championship,” said Josh Creamer. “I’m hoping all goes well at the final round and I will be able to give Can-Am a championship in return for everything they have done for me this season.”

Creamer was unstoppable in Pro-Am class action, as he not only won the holeshot of each moto, but also led from wire-to-wire to sweep the class. Miller followed up his third-place finish in the Pro class by finishing third in each Pro-Am moto and third overall.

WORCS

Warnia came off the line in second place and took over as the race leader by lap two. There, the current Pro class points leader stayed for the next three laps.

He dropped to second place at the midpoint of the race and was still in contention for the lead, but a pit stop to change a tire pushed him back to fifth. He ran out of time to challenge for a podium finish, but recorded another top-five ride and held on to his Pro class points lead.

Frederick, who had won the previous round to climb to within five points of Warnia, was looking to gain more ground at Glen Helen in Devore, Calif. The reigning 2010 WORCS ATV Pro Champion did just that as he finished third overall and notched his seventh straight Pro class podium.

After he recorded the fastest lap of the day on lap four, Frederick moved into the second spot and looked for more. However, another rider crashed and Frederick and the race leader stopped to help pull the ATV off of the rider.

After another stop for fuel a lap later, Frederick had lost too much ground to challenge for the lead. He used a last-lap pass to earn third overall and keep his quest for back-to-back Pro class titles alive.

“I was fourth off the start and worked up to second, but then there was a bottleneck because another rider crashed. His quad was on top of him and he wasn’t able to move so several of us stopped to help him and that let everyone catch up,” explained Frederick. “On the next lap I had to stop for gas and that let several people pass me, but I worked back up and was able to finish on the podium,”

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.