Press Release –

Team Rockstar / Makita / Suzuki / Yoshimura’s Dustin Wimmer clinched the 2009 Championship in the first moto of the last round of the 2009 ITP/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship.

The defending champion’s fourth place overall secured his second crown in front of cheering fans at Loretta Lynn’s MX track in Hurricane Mills, TN.

Wimmer came into this final round 45 points ahead of the competition after a season that was full of drama. Wimmer had held a commanding early lead only to become sidelined with a shoulder injury a third of the way through the season.

Even with sitting out one race and painfully making his way around the track for the next two rounds, Wimmer was finally healthy enough to take six moto wins in a row and regain many of his lost points. He finished first in six of the eleven rounds for a total of 419 points.

Teammate Doug Gust ended the year just 17 points shy of third place. The veteran racer had a consistent year with four podium finishes.

Wimmer was thrilled with the win. “This was quite a year,” Wimmer reflected. “I had some bad luck getting hurt and it took everything to get back those points. Luckily, I’ve got a great team and a great quad. We really worked hard for this championship and I feel really great. Today, I had a lot of adrenalin going so I had to work at just riding smart and safe.”

Team Manager Kory Ellis was proud of Wimmer’s accomplishment. “Dustin coming back from a serious shoulder injury was a brave thing,” Ellis said. “For him to come back and dominate racing and win the title was just incredible. My hat is off to Dustin, the team and to Suzuki for making such a great quad — the QuadRacer R450.”

Yoshimura’s Brant Russell was equally pleased with the results. “That was an amazing performance on the part of Dustin and the whole team. It was a great series all year and at any race any one of six or seven riders could take the win. The AMA and Racer Productions did a great job with the series and we can’t wait to come back next year.”

Press Release –

Defending Series Champion Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Dustin Wimmer is in perfect position to take home his second championship in a row after this weekend’s Loretta Lynn MX, held at the Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch in Hurricane Mills. This is the final round of racing for the 2009 Series.

Wimmer has a 45 point lead over his biggest competition this season, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Chad Wienen. Wienen took over Wimmer’s lead when Wimmer sat out at the Sunset Ridge MX, after being injured in practice prior to the race.

While Wimmer suffered through two rounds, Wienen recovered from his rough start to the season. The two traded positions in the points, until Wimmer launched a comeback at the Muddy Creek National. Wimmer has gone 1-1 in each round since, blowing by Wienen and essentially taking the championship in hand.

A battle for second is brewing behind Wimmer, as Wienen is only six points ahead of Honda Legend Joe Byrd. Doug Gust, who is seven points behind Byrd is thrown into the mix as well, making it an exciting battle as Wimmer sails toward the championship.

Behind them, a dedicated pack of riders seeks to grab top 10 spots. Josh Upperman and Josh Creamer take fifth and sixth places respectively. Creamer took home a win in round six but has been unable to get on the podium until the RedBud MX, where he placed second.

John Natalie, Jeremy Lawson, Cody Miller and Thomas Brown round out the top 10 as the ranks head to the final round of the series.

The pro class will feature two 20-minute races on Sunday, taking place at noon and 3 p.m., with the combined scores of both races determining the overall winner.

The pro riders will run as part of a full schedule of amateur racing, including classes for Youth, Women and veteran riders. Amateurs will practice on Friday and race on Saturday and Sunday. Pros will practice on Saturday and race on Sunday.

Press Release –

It was another fantastic weekend for the Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki team, as defending champion Dustin Wimmer (#1) increased his points lead with two strong moto wins, while veteran rider Doug Gust (#55) finished a solid fourth overall at the historic Red Bud Track’n’Trail facility.

Wimmer and teammate Gust were fast from the beginning of the race weekend, with each rider logging fast times in practice and qualifying. When the gate dropped for the first moto, the two Rockstar/Makita/Suzuki riders found themselves in third and fourth.

In a matter of laps, however, Wimmer was in second with his sights set on the leader. Wimmer, mounted on his Yoshimura prepared QuadRacer R450, set off after first place at an extraordinary pace, and was challenging for the lead by the midway point in the race. Wimmer claimed the position laps later, and would hold on for another dominating race victory. Teammate Gust, meanwhile, had a race-long battle for third before taking the position for good.

“I had to work my way up,” said Wimmer after the first moto. “Halfway through, though, I got into the lead. I started getting pressured, but I continued riding safe and smart and I was able to get the win!”

Moto two was another challenge for Wimmer. He was second off the line and made the pass for the lead early on, but soon thereafter was part of a three-man battle for the lead, with teammate Gust just behind them. As the race wore on, however, it became apparent that Wimmer would not surrender first place! He crossed the line in first and with it, grabbed the overall victory with another clean 1-1 sweep. Gust would finish in sixth place after a tough moto, securing an excellent fourth place overall.

The day belonged to Wimmer however, as he clearly demonstrated why he has the big number one on his quad. “I got a good jump, got a little lead going, but those guys were right behind me the whole time,” commented Wimmer after the moto. “They kept pushing me along, but I just rode my own race and brought it home for the win. The bike ran great all weekend, and I’m pretty much back to 100%. Right now, we’re 45 points ahead. If I have a halfway decent first moto at Loretta’s, I’ll wrap the championship up, but I go to every race prepared to win, so I’ll be pushing out there just like every other moto!”

There was another Yoshimura-sponsored rider claiming victory at Red Bud: Chase Snapp in the Pro-Am Production class. Great job Chase!

The series now heads to the final stop on the tour, Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN, August 15-16.

Press Release –

Hot Seat Powersports/Yamaha Racer 4th Overall at ITP Quadcross

After a few short weeks off from WORCS (World Off Road Championship Series) to train and tune, 19-year old Justin Waters made the trip to Victorville CA, for Round 5 of the ITP Quadcross series.

He explained the importance of Quadcross to his personal race program, “In WORCS a lot of the podiums are going to guys that are technical riders. It’s not good enough to just be fastest in the off-road part anymore – you’ve got to be really aggressive on the MX sections. That’s where I’m trying to concentrate some extra ride time.”

“I’m not at the level with my motocross yet that some of them [the top Pros] are, but since I run against them in WORCS, I need to race with them as often as I can”, he says.

Despite a good practice at Racetown Saturday, Sunday morning got off to a rocky start. After catching a berm in Open Pro practice and flipping, Waters found himself in need of a vital part – pronto. Fellow Yamaha riders Dustin Nelson came to the rescue with the part and Keith Taylor lent a pair of hands. They got it swapped out, and Waters made it to the line for Moto 1 – just as the gate dropped. Leaving the line last, he battled his way through the field and was more than satisfied with an 6th place finish.

In Moto 2, this time Justin was ready for the gate drop and launched out with a stellar start – hitting the first turn in 3rd place. He pushed hard to run with the lead pack of three or four riders. His only misstep was late in the race when he lost his seat, going through the whoops. Riding motocross without a seat is a challenge, but he managed to hold on to 6th for the Moto. That gave him an overall 4th place Open Pro for the day, his best finish at a Quadcross event this season.

“My Yamaha YFZ 450R is working great right now – especially on the start. The Fox shocks are awesome, and I definitely have to give credit to my Teixeira Tech A-arms, RPM axle, and Rekluse clutch. It’s so much easier to stay focused and run hard if you know you have a bike that will take it. I can’t thank my sponsors enough for putting me on the equipment I’ve got right now.”

Press Release –

After two successful open track events for quads only at ERX, additional events have been added for the remainder of the summer.

Starting this Wednesday, August 5th, sport ATV riders can enjoy the ERX facility from 2:00pm to 7:00pm every other Wednesday now through the end of September.

Rates for open practice are just $30 per rider, or just $20 per rider after 4:00pm. Other quad-only open practice dates are August 19th, September 2nd, 16th and 30th. Mark your calendars; gather up your sport-quad riding buddies and we’ll see you at ERX!

Visit erxmotorpark.com for details or call 763-633-RIDE.

Press Release –

can-amTalk.com, the premier can-am enthusiast website, is proud to announce the sponsorship of Rick Cecco, Cliff Beasley, and Michael Swift and the formation of Team can-amTalk for the 2009 Heartland Challenge ATV Endurance Race in Carlisle, Iowa.

On August 22, 2009, Team can-amTalk will put their can-am Outlander 800’s to the test in this grueling 10 hour endurance event. The Team can-amTalk racing program is the only member sponsored racing program in the ATV industry. Funding for Team can-amTalk is provided completely by can-amTalk and its site members.

Rick, Cliff, and Michael are no strangers to success on their can-am race bikes and won the 2008 Heartland Challenge Utility class by an impressive 15 minute lead over the competition.

Racer bios and Team can-amTalk information can be found at www.can-amtalk.com/goracing.

can-amTalk.com, founded in 2006 as the first All Can-Am discussion site on the web, is owned and operated by DOOTalk, LLC of Churchville, NY. With nearly 7,000 site members, can-amTalk.com provides discussion forums, technical tips, ride articles, and photo galleries, and is the number one internet stop for Can-Am riders worldwide.

Press Release –

Upload the Widget and Support the Rhino and Off-Road Industry at www.TruthAboutRhino.com

Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., in support of the TruthAboutRhino.com Web site, has launched the Rally Around the Rhino widget – an icon available for downloading onto any online site or page with a direct link to www.TruthAboutRhino.com. The Rally Around the Rhino widget enables off-road enthusiasts and their online community friends show their support for the Rhino and the entire Side-by-Side (SxS) industry.

“Since launching the TruthAboutRhino.com we have seen a tremendous positive response from our customers, dealers and the entire off-road industry,” said Steve Nessl, Marketing Manager for Yamaha’s ATV & SxS Group. “Our customers are the people who support the Rhino the most, and the Web site gives them a home for their collective voice – one the general news media and other parties outside of the industry have yet to recognize. By downloading the new Rally Around the Rhino widget, our fans can help us educate the general public and combat some of the negative and inaccurate information that’s out there.”

The widget is currently available for download by visiting www.TruthAboutRhino.com. To download the widget simply click on the “share” button in the bottom right hand corner and copy and paste the html code into your personal Web site content. Or, by clicking the “Download this Widget” link on the Truth About Rhino Web site, you can simply follow the instructions provided for the individual online media outlets.

The www.TruthAboutRhino.com Web site was created to provide accurate information about Yamaha and its Rhino SxS vehicles, to combat the recent flurry of inaccurate information and negative advertisements targeting the vehicle, and to encourage Rhino customers and the off-road industry to show their support for the SxS segment as a whole.

By adding the Rally Around the Rhino widget to any online media site including personal blogs, Web sites or FaceBook and My Space pages, fans can show their support and link to up-to-date information regarding the Truth About Rhino. Yamaha also recently updated the Truth About Rhino Web site with RSS feed capabilities. Visit the site and sign up today to begin receiving updates directly into your reader or browser regarding the Yamaha Rhino.

About Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. – Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), a leader in the motorsports market, offers the toughest, most capable and versatile ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles. The company’s ever-expanding line of products also include motorcycles, outboard motors, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, boats, outdoor power equipment, race kart engines, accessories, apparel and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of more than 4,000 dealers in the United States. Headquartered in Cypress, Calif., since its incorporation in 1977, Yamaha also has facilities in Wisconsin and Georgia, as well as factory operations in Tennessee and Georgia.