Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., donated a Grizzly 700 ATV to the Wish I Could of Northeast Louisiana, Inc. (WIC) foundation helping raise $9,230 for the charity at the annual Marengo Swamp Run in Hebert, La., on June 4.

The annual event, which raises money mainly through entry fees and private donations, helps fund the WIC mission of granting wishes of terminally ill children in Northeast Louisiana.

Yamaha has donated an ATV each of the past eight years helping to raise more than $50,000 – money that pays for the WIC annual kids’ Christmas party. The WIC Foundation has in total raised more than $400,000 in the same time to help make kids’ wishes come true.

“Yamaha is proud to support Wish I Could and its cause of helping terminally ill children,” said Mike Martinez, general manager of Yamaha’s ATV & SxS vehicle group. “Yamaha also congratulates Ricky Rollins for winning the Grizzly 700 ATV and thanks everyone who purchased a $5 raffle ticket. That money goes directly to WIC and the kids.”

“The ATV raffle is the sole fundraiser for the Wish I Could annual Christmas Party,” said Wayne Moore, WIC president. “Each year the surviving children are given a gift of their choice from Santa because of the support we receive from Yamaha. We are proud to partner with and receive support from this wonderful corporation.”

More information about the WIC organization and the Marengo Swamp run is available here: www.wishicould.org/donate.html

Can-Am X-Team racer Chase Snapp finished with a career-best second overall aboard his privateer Can-Am DS 450 at round eight of the 2011 AMA ATV Motocross Championship series held at Sunday Creek in Millfield, Ohio.

Motoworks/ Can-Am racer John Natalie, recovering from a broken arm, finished 10th overall to move into the points lead in the race for the AMA ATV MX National Championship title.

“We sure missed having Chad Wienen out there, but rookie Chase Snapp really stepped up his game this weekend, winning his first career moto and earning second overall,” said Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager, Can-Am. “John Natalie is just an animal and definitely lived up to his ‘Ironman’ nickname this weekend. For him to be able to finish in the top 10 with a broken arm is amazing. He now has the points lead and will thankfully have another couple weeks of healing before our next race in New York.”

Snapp won the first Pro class moto, the first of his career, in wet, muddy conditions. He came off the line in second place and took over the lead on the opening lap when the race leader made a mistake.

From there, Snapp stayed out front and rode his DS 450 across the finish line for his first professional moto victory. He finished fourth in the second moto to earn his second Pro class podium in the last three rounds.

“I got a good start and knew I had to with the rain coming down. I just put my head down and kept going and when he [race leader] went off the track and I got out front,” said Snapp. “I can’t thank my mechanic Darrin enough. He has been working hard to get me more power and it really paid off today.”

Natalie, who had a broken radius bone in his forearm surgically repaired last week, made the decision to race in an effort to score points. He started strong in the first moto and even worked his way up to the fourth-place position, before he eventually slowed his pace when his quad was suspected of ingesting water.

The second moto went much better for the former champion. Despite a slow start, Natalie charged ahead and passed several riders on his way to a sixth-place finish. His 16-6 moto finishes were good for 10th overall and also moved him into the Pro class points lead. He leads the second-place rider by seven points heading into round nine.

Natalie was pleased that he salvaged points and captured the points lead considering his condition. “My arm was pretty sore out there, but I really want to take that championship this year and I’m not going to let an injury stop me,” he added. “I’ve got two weeks to heal up before New York and I am going there to take the win!”

Motoworks / Can-Am DS 450 racer and current World Off-Road Championship Series Pro class points leader Jeremie Warnia also entered the Ohio race.

After earning the fastest qualifier award early in the day and jumping out to a top-five start in moto one, a mechanical issue resulting from suspected water ingestion forced Warnia to pull off the track on the eighth lap and settle for 17th. He rebounded in the second moto, finishing seventh. His 17-7 combined score was good for 14th overall.

Wienen, who is recovering from surgery to his broken back, suffered while practicing on his home track, will unfortunately be forced to miss the remainder of the season. He has been released from the hospital and is walking around, is in good spirits and is feeling better every day on his road to recovery and is determined to come back stronger than ever next season.

“I had a good points lead and I am disappointed that I can’t race, but I am thankful that I will be able to make a return,” said Wienen. “I’m feeling better every day. I know it isn’t going to be easy, but I’ll be back out there as soon as I can.”

Can-Am X-Team racer Cole Henry finished fifth overall in the Pro-Am Unlimited class and fourth overall in the Pro-Am Production ranks aboard his DS 450 ATV.

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 racer Josh Creamer won the second Pro-class moto and took the overall win in the Pro-Am class at round five of the New England ATV Motocross Series held at MX 207 in Lyman, Maine. BCS Performance / Can-Am racer Cody Miller earned a Pro-Am class podium as well.

“Josh proved he had the speed to win both classes at MX 207, but unfortunately, he was nursing a sore knee and came up a little short in the Pro class,” said Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manger, Can-Am. “Josh’s will to persevere and race despite his injury was impressive and he really took care of business by winning the second moto in both classes and earning himself the Pro-Am class overall win.”

In the first Pro moto, Creamer came out of the gate in fourth. He was unable to make up any ground on the leaders and finished fourth due to the narrow 207 MX track’s tight passing conditions. Creamer grabbed the holeshot in the second moto and held it all the way to the finish line. His 4-1 score was good for second place.

“I was going to just go out there to salvage points, but I got tired of eating dirt and just rode like I normally would in the final two motos and ended up taking a couple of moto wins,” said Creamer. “I really want to take the championship this season and I couldn’t just let the leader run away with the points lead, so I chose to race even with a sore knee.”

Miller, who went 3-4 in the Pro class, showed some determination coming from behind in both motos and finding a way to pass five racers on his way to fourth place in the second pro moto.

The Pro-Am class was better for Miller as he finished third in each moto, which earned him third place and the third position 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.

BRP will host the largest commercial event of its history from July 10 to 17, 2011 in Montreal. The Palais des congres de Montreal (convention centre) will showcase all BRP products and R & D capabilities, host a career fair for the general public and offer test-rides in the Parc Rene-Levesque. BRP is even including free concerts on Crescent Street.

Starting July 10, 4,000 dealers, distributors, suppliers, members of the media and BRP employees from more than 100 countries will visit Montréal and the Eastern Townships. For this event, the city will be decorated BRP-style, as will Pierre-Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

Starting July 12, the BRP Crescent Street Summer Festival invites the general public to enjoy free concerts on Crescent St., Montreal’s premiere night scene. The street, closed to vehicular traffic for the event, will rock with such names as Sass Jordan, the Boogie Wonder Band, and will feature Michel Pagliaro and David Usher on Saturday night. BRP products will be on display with knowledgeable people on hand to show them off.

The convention centre will become a large showroom where all the latest models of BRP product brands (Ski-Doo, Lynx, Sea-Doo, Evinrude, Rotax, and Can-Am), the work of our three research and development sites and information on our company will be presented.

On the weekend of July 16 and 17, the BRP showroom expands to the general public and will include a career fair. BRP is seeking to fill positions for bilingual professionals from varied fields, such as finance, engineering, industrial design and marketing to join its ranks in its many locations around the world.

“BRP is showcasing its products, its business, its expertise for the world to see,” said Giulia Cirillo, corporate vice-president, Human Resources. “This is a great time for professionals to discover all that we do, and all that we can offer in terms of exciting career paths.”

During the weekend members of the general public will have the opportunity to test-ride or take a closer look at BRP products in an “Ultimate Playground” setting. Registration times can be reserved online on a first-come, first-served basis, but local radio stations broadcasting from Crescent Street will also have premium times to give away.

With the aim of getting an expert opinion on the Can-Am Spyder roadster and its market impact, columnist Bertrand Gahel has graciously accepted to remain available during the event to answer media questions. Author of the Guide de la Moto and motorcycle columnist with La Presse, Bertrand Gahel has covered the motorcycle industry for nearly 20 years.

Also for the first time in BRP history, Club BRP will integrate the best practices of environmentally responsible events. The event will be certified by the largest sustainable development consulting firm in Québec, Takt-etik, according to the Bureau de normalisation du Québec norm 9700-253.

For more information on this premiere event; the schedule for the BRP Crescent Street Summer Festival, how to sign up for demo rides and what will be in the BRP showroom at the convention centre, visit www.clubbrp.com. There are no entry fees for any general-public activities.

Team Warnert Racing / Can-Am DS 450 racer Adam McGill won round eight of the 2011 Can-Am GNCC Racing series this past weekend at Snowshoe Ski Resort in West Virginia.

The victory moved McGill to within seven points of the XC1 (Pro class) points lead. McGill’s teammate Chris Bithell finished second aboard his DS 450 sport ATV to move into third place in the points standings.

“I was very pleased to see Adam win the Snowshoe GNCC, the most prestigious race of the season and see Bithell earn a well-deserved second-place finish,” said Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager, Can-Am. “We love seeing our racers on the podium. Can-Am riders earned first and second in the XC1 class, in the morning race we had three X-Team racers win their class and we swept the morning overall podium — another successful weekend of racing.”

Based on the legendary Blackwater 100, the Snowshoe round of the GNCC series is one of the toughest courses on the circuit and it did not disappoint. The terrain was rocky and very muddy. Racers were greeted by a lengthy 16-mile starting course that was cut in half after the first lap.

The racers began the more than two-hour race with a live-engine start in the streets of the resort with five riders leaving the line at a time at five-second intervals.

This was McGill’s second Can-Am GNCC win of the season and he has now reached the XC1 podium in five of the seven rounds. At Snowshoe, he was in fifth place after the first lap, but moved up one spot by the end of the second lap.

On the next lap, he moved into third place and then saw a chance to take the lead. McGill trailed two other riders, including Bithell, the race leader at the time, but passed for the lead by charging through a large mud hole.

From there, McGill pressed hard and ended up with a 14-second victory margin at the end of the day and the added bonus of $5,000, the prize for the winner of the afternoon race.

“We came up on this mud hole and the second-place rider went one way, Bithell went the other and I just plowed through the middle of it,” said McGill. “I was really hoping I wouldn’t get stuck, but it all worked out and I came out ahead of those guys and rode it all the way to the finish. This season has been going really good and I am happy to be closing the gap in the points race.”

Bithell was contending for the victory and led the first two plus laps of the race, but an issue with his chain slowed his chase for his first win of 2011. It was the third second-place finish for the Pennsylvania pro this season and fourth XC1 podium.

Can-Am X-Team racers dominated the top five overall positions in the 4×4 Open class as competitor Michael Swift earned the top spot on the morning podium aboard his Outlander 800R X xc.

Swift started off a little slowly, but overcame a wrong turn, several bottlenecks and lapped traffic to post his fourth win of the season. He leads Can-Am X-Team teammate Bryan Buckhannon, who finished third in the class and fifth overall in the morning, for the class points lead. Can-Am X-Team and 4×4 Open class racer Zac Zakowski put in his best race of the year with second overall aboard his Can-Am.

Reigning U2 class champion and Can-Am X-Team racer Clifton Beasley kept his winning streak alive with another victory aboard his Can-Am Renegade 800R X xc. He also reached the morning podium with third overall. Beasley has now won 26 consecutive races.

Riding a Can-Am Outlander 500, X-Team racer Kevin Trantham won the 4×4 Lites class and earned fourth overall in West Virginia. He led from start to finish and won his class by more than 39 minutes.

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.