Press Release –

ITP has wasted no time in putting together some important upgrades for Honda’s new TRX700XX. ITP now has two aluminum wheel options as well as several attractive and convenient tire/wheel kits available for immediate ordering and installation.

Take your choice between ITP’s proven T-9 Pro Series .190 or C-Series Type 6 wheels. The T-9 Pro Series spun aluminum wheel is available for the 700XX in 10×5 front and 10×7 rear sizing, while the one-piece C-Series Type 6 has been specially fitted to the 700XX in 12×7 sizing front and rear.

Providing the best of both worlds, these wheels are being offered pre-mounted with select ITP tires. Get the T-9 Pro Series with the Holeshot XCT, a high-performance knobby with a taller profile and extra heavy-duty sidewall construction, making it perfect for rocky desert or forest trails.

Or — just in time for sand dune season — both the T-9 Pro Series and C-Series Type 6 wheels are available with ITP Sand Star tires. A longtime favorite with duners everywhere, Sand Stars deliver a perfect blend of flotation, handling, traction, ride and durability.

No matter what choice you make, you’ll enjoy a new level of performance and satisfaction from your new Honda TRX700XX.

Since 1982, ITP has grown into the world’s #1 ATV aftermarket tire and wheel source, and continues to provide a complete line of innovative tires and wheel for virtually all ATVs and UTVs. To order, contact your favorite distributor.

For a copy of ITP’s full-color product catalog, call toll-free: 1-800-859-4740. For other inquiries or technical advice, contact ITP at 930-A S. Rockefeller Ave., Ontario, CA 91761; (909) 390-1905. Or visit ITP’s website at www.itptires.com.

Press Release –

The Jagged X/Polaris Racing number 1919 team was able to pull off another win at the Bilek Silver State 300, in Mesquite Nevada.

Jagged X started in second place with a smaller-than-usual field of only five vehicles.

The Mesquite venue was billed as a new race course but the drivers soon discovered that Casey from “Best in the Desert” still had plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

Co driver, Blake Van de Loo noted that the course had, “The most silt ever but also was loaded with a huge variety of terrain from 7000 ft pine forest to a trip through the old mining town of Caliente, Nevada, and even some pretty deep water crossings.”

The Jagged X RANGER RZR moved into the lead shortly after the start when the lead car encountered engine trouble.

A little more than nine hours later, Brandon and Blake crossed the finish unchallenged to score their third season victory and to further secure the lead spot in the 2008 BITD points chase.

The next BITD race is the Golden West 150 (formerly the AVI 150), in Jean, Nevada, on Oct 25.

This is a Quad, Side-by-Side and trophy lite only race and promises to be an exciting event.

Press Release –

GNCC Pro Chris Bithell Gives the DS 450 ATV its First GNCC Win; WORCS Championship for Josh Frederick

This past weekend was a remarkably successful weekend of racing for all Can-Am X-Team racers. At the Unadilla GNCC, BRP Can-Am swept the overall wins for both the morning and afternoon sessions, in the process giving the DS 450 EFI ATV its first XC1 Pro-class win.

And out west, the DS 450 also was crowned the overall champion in the WORCS racing series. In the northeast, the Can-Am Outlander 800R EFI ATV was awarded the Rock Maple Racing Quad Terrain Open West championship and to the south, the DS 450 X model took home the Virginia A-Class state championship.

“This has easily been the most successful weekend of racing our Can-Am X-Team has ever had,” said Del Bohlman, Product, Media Relations and Racing Manager for Can-Am ATVs at BRP. “To date we have at least six championships on Can-Am ATVs and aiming for? more. The wins at the Unadilla GNCC and at the Honey Lake WORCS race were a special part of this weekend of success on the track.”

Team Warnert Racing / Can-Am racer Chris Bithell pulled off a hard-fought victory on his DS 450 in the XC1 Pro class. Starting from dead last after the start, Bithell rode a strong race and worked himself into the lead after three laps.

For the next two laps he remained at the front despite hard challenges from the fastest woods racers in the world. Bithell’s win gives the Can-Am DS 450 its first GNCC win and overall. That win, combined with X-team racer Bryan Buckhannon’s overall aboard his Outlander 800R ATV in the morning race session, marked a clean sweep of the Unadilla GNCC overalls.

Team Motoworks / Can-Am rider Josh Frederick won his second WORCS Pro-class championship by winning the Honey Lake WORCS race. Frederick piloted his DS 450 to the holeshot and never looked back. His teammate, Brandon Smith finished behind him and in the Pro-Am class, teammate Dillion Zimmerman took the win. It was a great weekend of racing for the Motoworks team.

Amateur racer Cole Henry has been tearing up the track at both the local and national level all season aboard his DS 450 X.

This weekend he took the Virginia A-class State Championship at Birchcreek Raceway near Danville, VA. Henry recently moved to the A class and has been undefeated ever since.

And finally, in the Rock Maple Racing series, Jamie Bougher was recently crowned the RMR Quad Terrain Open West champion for his wins on the Outlander 800R ATV. What an amazing weekend of racing for the Can-Am racers.

Chris Bithell

“It feels great to win. I knew we could do it! Everyone was cheering. It was great to have that kind of support.”

The next GNCC race is the Powerline Park GNCC near St. Clairsville, Ohio on October 11. While the next and final WORCS race is October 24 to 26 near Taft, CA. Visit www.canamxteam.com for more details and race results.

Press Release –

FRE/KTMs Taylor Kiser finished 2nd overall at the eleventh round of the ATV GNCC Series at the Unadilla Valley Raceway over the weekend.

The rain in the days leading up to the race and the steady rainfall on race day made for quite a few muddy sections on the race course. However, Kiser explained the course in a different manner, “The course was strange. It was muddy in sections because of the rain, but because that was the first rainfall in quite some time, there were other sections of the track that were dry and dusty. The variation in the track conditions made the track very rough and challenging – just how I like it!”

Kiser’s teammate, Adam McGill, was out front early with a great start, while Kiser described his start in one word, “Horrible!” Kiser had been pushed back toward the end of the pack and then spun out and crashed together with competitor Chris Borich in the third turn. Fortunately, the two quickly recovered and began their charge forward.

Meanwhile, out front, McGill and the rest of the top five took a wrong turn a couple miles into the course which caused them to back track about one mile, allowing many riders to get by. “The front pack taking a wrong turn and my advantage of walking the first mile and a half of the course earlier in the day helped me to pass quite a few riders on the first lap,” commented Kiser who came around in 3rd place after lap one. McGill would check in at 19th on lap one after struggling to make up time from his earlier detour.

Kiser continued to ride a strong and smooth race through to the finish. He was holding on to 3rd on the last lap when Bill Ballance wrecked in front of him while trying to pass for the lead. Kiser capitalized on his mistake and finished in second position just 25 seconds back from the winner Chris Bithell. McGill, who rode a great race, despite his first lap bad luck, would catch back up to 11th before the checkered flag flew.

On the podium, Kiser mentioned, “I am so happy with my performance today. My bike ran great and I had a mistake free race. I hope to finish in the same way the last two rounds.”

Next Event: Round 12 – St. Clairsville, OH – October 11-12, 2008

Overall Results:

1) Chris Bithell
2) Taylor Kiser – KTM
3) Bryan Cook
4) Chris Borich
5) Bill Ballance
6) Brandon Sommers
7) Matthew Smiley
8) Jeffrey Pickens
9) Jarrod McClure
10) Ryan Lane
11) Adam McGill – KTM

Overall Class Points:

1) Bill Ballance – 232
2) Adam McGill – 200
3) Bryan Cook – 195
4) Chris Borich – 191
5) Brandon Sommers – 190
6) Taylor Kiser – 164
7) Matthew Smiley – 152
8) William Yokley – 151
9) Jarrod McClure – 146
10) Ryan Lane – 136

Overall Points:

1) Bill Ballance – 232
2) Chris Borich – 190
3) Brandon Sommers – 188
4) Adam McGill – 186
5) Bryan Cook – 182
6) Taylor Kiser – 150
7) Matthew Smiley – 147
8) William Yokley – 140
9) Jarrod McClure – 129
10) Ryan Lane – 122

Press Release –

In dramatic fashion, Chris Bithell ended a string of disappointing results by taking the win at the Can-Am Unadilla GNCC.

The Pennsylvanian’s first win of the 2008 Grand National Cross Country Season marks the first XC1 Overall win ever for the Warnert Racing Can-Am team and the Can-Am DS450.

FRE KTM’s Taylor Kiser took second ahead of Team Excell Motorsports Bryan Cook, with Rockstar Yoshimura Suzuki’s Chris Bithell and Yamaha’s Bill Ballance rounding out the top five.

“I started running low on gas,” said Bithell. “It started sputtering, and Bill was right behind me. He bumped me from behind and that actually got me going again, and then I heard he had problems.”

Indeed Ballance’s chain came off in the last turn, cracking his engine case. With his wheels locked, Ballance and his crew pushed his machine to the finish line, and then Ballance had to push through the finish by himself. He could barely get the machine to move as he lifted it uphill, and Kiser, Cook and Borich managed to pass him while he pushed.

“The chain came off and the cases broke, so the wheels were locked up,” said Ballance. “I pushed it with everything I had. I don’t feel too bad now, and with (Adam) McGill so far back, I think we still gained some points.”

McGill, second in the points coming into the race, took the wrong route on the first lap. He was able to fight his way back to a 11th place finish in the XC1 Class.

GT Thunder Yamaha’s Brandon Sommers took the ITP Holeshot Award in the XC1 Class and finished seventh.

In the XC2 Pro-Am Class, GT Thunder Yamaha’s Don Ockerman took the race victory, the Rekluse Holeshot Award, and, most importantly, the 2008 XC2 Class Championship.

“It feels good to do it,” said Ockerman. “I don’t know what I’m going to do next, though. I had a chance to run with some of the pros today, but those guys, they’re crazy.”

XCBob.com Yamaha’s Tyler Lenig finished second and The National Guard’s Mark Nottman was third.

In the XC1 Class, Kiser was proud of his second-place overall finish. “I knew my speed was good, but I was pretty down on myself after a few bad races,” said the Florida rider. “I want to get up here at the last two races and get one of those glass cups (first place trophy).”

Cook also suffered through two tough races before this return to the podium. “The last two, I made a few bad decisions and didn’t look before I leaped,” said Cook. “I knew we could be back here if we just rode smart.”

Thanks to McGill’s misfortune, Ballance still enjoys a solid points lead and is in position to wrap up his record ninth-straight GNCC Title at the next race, the ITP Power Line Park GNCC in St. Clairsville, Ohio, on October 11.

In the two-hour ATV Morning Race, LTERacing.com Can-Am Rider Bryan Buckhannon took the ATVRiders.com Morning Race Overall Victory, and also won the Open 4×4 Class. Yamaha’s Traci Cecco finished second overall and won the Women’s class over Stefanie Verkade. Cecco made the move on the last lap by picking a line around Tom Clark Motorsports’ Angel Atwell, who got stuck in a bottleneck.

Josh Merritt won the Youth ATV Race over JD Welch and Ryan Ratliff.

Racing continues tomorrow with the motorcycle portion of the event. Full ATV results are posted at www.gnccracing.com.