Press Release –

The first race of the AMA Pro ATV Series in Pell City, Alabama turned out to be a shakedown event for Team MSR/Pro Taper/Suzuki/Yoshimura as well as for a number of other teams and riders on the circuit. The team had a lot of new factors that had to come together into one cohesive unit – new name, new sponsors, new rider, new mechanics, new crew chief. It was time to get it all pulled together and race.

The first moto saw Doug and Dustin (the “Double D’s) charging forward and by the last lap, they were in good finishing position. Unfortunately, both quads stopped running within 100 feet of one another! At this writing the cause is unknown but an experimental electrical part is suspected.

The team went to work in between motos putting the quads back to the stock spec motor that had produced the WPSA title for Gust last year. After a lot of work that was as impressive as a NASCAR team, the two riders were back on the starting line for the second moto.

Doug spun his tires and came off the blocks in 6th. A typically stellar “Digger” Doug ride put him all the way up into second by motos end. He and Chad Wienen battled it out for a bit, but Doug held on to the spot and walked away with the #2 spot and a 7th overall.

For Dustin Wimmer’s first GNC event on a yellow bike, the DNF was a disappointment. He had gotten a good start and was in third place when he stopped dead in the water.

“I was really impressed with the crew,” Wimmer commented. “It was amazing to have two incidents and be back at the starting gate within a couple of hours. This team really works together incredibly well.”

In the second moto, Wimmer came out in 8th and had a good race finishing 5th in the moto and 11th overall.

“These early rounds are a time to get the bugs worked out,” Suzuki’s Rod Lopusnak said. “The team really gelled and came together. We didn’t get the points we wanted, but we’re still fine-tuning everything.”

Part of the “fine tuning” was a state of the art hospitality center complete with palm trees and floral arrangements. What has quad racing come too?

Of the eight (count ’em…8) Suzukis entered in the Pro Class, one was young Suzuki Pro support rider Russell Shumaker. Suzuki supports the sport and Russell is living proof. In addition to the Pro team, Suzuki picked up young Shumaker 3 years ago in an effort to bring along a young amateur.

In Russell, the pay-off occurred here in Pell City. Pell City was Russell’s first ever Pro race and he got great starts and ended the day 5th overall.

“I was really nervous on the starting line,” Russell said. “It was really exciting to be riding Pro with all these guys. It felt really good to get a fifth.” Of note here – Suzuki is now looking at several Pro-Am riders to be the next Russell Shumaker. The commitment continues.

Speaking of support – Suzuki, Yoshimura, KBC Helmets and MSR have all weighed in with support for the new Lost Creek/Yoshimura/Suzuki team. They showed up in force and came away with a great showing.

Team Riders Jason Dunkelberger (8th overall) and new signee Joe Haavisto (6th overall) had a great day with both finishing inside the top ten. Kevin Mummah’s Suzuki support squad really impressed and looks to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

Yoshimura’s Brant Russell was happy with the results. “I was really gratified to see Kevin’s guys do well and for sure Shumaker do as good as he did. These are all neat people with good programs.

Gust brought Shumaker to Suzuki and Yoshimura years ago and Rod Lopusnak had the vision to slowly bring him along. Russell and his family are great people and it’s really good to see them do well. I’d like to thank Shumaker and Gust’s Riding School for making us look like we know what we are doing!”

Brant went on, “Kevin and the Lost Creek group are awesome. It is so good to see them start the season like this… Again, great people who put their heart and soul into the sport. Yoshimura is proud to be associated with them. I’d also like to point out that Suzuki, Yoshimura, MSR, Pro Taper and all of the program partners involved with Suzuki are putting their money where their mouths are.

I’m pumped to see eight Pro’s running Suzuki LT-R450 QuadRacers out there. All these other guys are more or less, just along for the ride… Suzuki is the real deal, they are dedicated to this stuff and it shows in the commitment and the passion.”

So, now the team heads back to California and has two weeks to make some additional improvements and corrections on the settings and get some more practice time in before the Glen Helen event.

But everyone walked away feeling good about the direction that the team is going in. The teamwork and “chemistry” was great, 2007 is looking to be a great season.

Press Release –

As the 2007 season began, Maxxis again proved its dominance of the GNCC ATV series, taking six of the top seven spots at the opening round.

Seven-time champ Bill Ballance won in 02:12:14, with Chris Borich in second place and Taylor Kiser rounding out the top three. Ryan Morphew, Brandon Ballance, and Brandon Summers took fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. The GNCC Triton was held March 3-6 in Vero Beach, Florida.

“It’s probably the first time in four of five years that I started the season out right. I’ve been working really hard. I realize I have a chance to do something that no one else has ever done before, and that’s win eight of these championships. I want to thank my wife. She came down here to Florida with me, and she’s been living out of a hotel room for the last nine days and watching the girls, so when I came back from riding at night I could be with the family,” Ballance told gnccracing.com.

A rookie in his class, Taylor Kiser was pleased but a little surprised at his results, telling gnccracing.com that “I may not have expected it, but all of my fans were expecting me to get up here. This track lends more and more to my style, so we’ll have to see what the rest of the year brings.”

Maxxis congratulates Bill Ballance on his victory and Chris Borich, Taylor Kiser, Ryan Morphew, Brandon Ballance, and Brandon Summers on their fine performances.

Supertrax International’s 2008 Sled Preview will be landing in mailboxes very soon! If you aren’t a subscriber, you should be able to pick up your copy on newsstands shortly.

This issue features your first look at all the new iron for 2008 like the REV XP, Yamaha Nytro, Polaris Shift and the latest Cats. Also get your schooling on ACT Reverse and get a first hand look at Can-Am’s ground-breaking Spyder.

Supertrax also brings you the most current news from the snowmobile industry and all the hottest gadgets and gear you’ll want.

Yamaha is also inserting its DVD that includes information on the new 2008 Yamaha models plus the adventures of “Johnny Skeptic”.

Be sure to you get your hands on Volume 18, #4 of Supertrax especially if you’re not a subscriber.

To subscribe visit supertraxmag.com

V8 engine with the biggest power output in production outboard history

Press Release –

In the summer of 2007, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) will release on the U.S. market the new four-stroke model “F350” as the first production outboard motor mounting a V8 engine and delivering the world’s highest power output at 350 horsepower.

The new F350 is the first outboard motor to mount a V8 engine. With a displacement of 5,330 cm3, this model pumps out a maximum power output of 257.4 kW (350 ps), which is the highest horsepower rating for an outboard motor in the world today.

The massive power and torque of this model ensures a big boost in speed and acceleration performance, and it is also a model that provides outstanding durability and reliability along with extremely comfortable and pleasurable running performance.

This new model also features a streamlined new external design with a completely new look from Yamaha’s four stroke outboards of the past.

In the area of environmental friendliness, this model clears with a 3-star rating the 2008 emissions standards of the California Air Resource Board (CARB), which are said to be the world’s most stringent.

This new model F350 is being displayed at the Miami International Boat Show held from Feb. 15 to 19 in Florida, U.S.A. It will also be displayed at the Japan International Boat Show 2007 in Yokohama held in Kanagawa Pref. from March 15 to 18.