Press Release –

Yoshimura racing activities are gearing up to a fever pitch. March is always a hectic time as all disciplines of racing activities collide at once.

In AMA Pro Road Racing, Daytona is set to kick the year off with a bang. Last year’s Champion Ben Spies is ready to defend his crown against multi-time champion and teammate Mat Mladin, as well as new team member Tommy Hayden.

All three of the GSX-R1000 Suzuki riders set fast times at the recent Fontana tests, setting the mark for others to shoot at.

In Supercross, Team Rockstar/WBR/Suzuki is keeping Yoshimura plenty busy. Michael Byrne is currently running 5th in the Supercross title chase. The Satoshi Momma tuned RM-Z450 is plenty fast and Byrne is twisting the grip.

In the Supercross Lites class, the East Coast leg of the series has started up with Kelly Smith and Teammate Andrew McFarland looking for podium finishes. In Supercross Lites West, Troy Adams continues to make consistent top ten finishes. The RM-Z250 Suzuki Lites bikes have proven to be lightening fast and very competitive.

The MSR/Pro-Taper/Suzuki/Yoshimura ATV racing team is in race mode heading into the ATVA opening round in Pell City, Alabama. Perennial champion Doug Gust is ready to rip alongside new teammate Dustin Wimmer for the WPSA title chase. The new sponsorship package has created a new look for the 4 wheeled racers, hopefully the same results will be revisited.

In house, Yoshimura ATV Brand Manager Kory Ellis is attacking the ITP Quad Cross series. Kory is coming off a big win at the Arizona round and has a good points lead heading into the third race of the series.

In off road racing, the new Gary Jones/Yoshimura team is forming up. Team rider Casey Johnson has turned in some impressive rides this season and now stands 4th overall in the prestigious WORCS series. The RM-Z450 has turned out to be quite a capable mount for off-road as well as MX.

Look for the Yoshimura marque at a race near you.

Press Release –

American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC) today announced a new partnership with Driving 101, parent company of the Mario Andretti Racing School and Jeff Gordon Racing School, making Suzuki the Official ATV of the Mario Andretti Racing School.

This school will use the Suzuki KingQuad 450 at all school facilities in the United States. Mario Andretti Racing School has headquarters at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the Jeff Gordon Racing School has headquarters at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

“Suzuki has always been associated with racing champions,” said Mel Harris, vice president of ASMC’s motorcycle and ATV division. “Our motorcycles and ATVs have carried some of the industry’s greatest riders to championships, and we’re thrilled to extend that connection to a champion like Mario Andretti, one of the best-known names in motorsports.”

Suzuki’s feature-packed KingQuad 450 ATV will be used at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and eight other locations nationwide to help start and move the school’s race vehicles and serve in the pits at these famous circuits.

The three-year agreement, coordinated with the help of NASCAR Scene magazine’s Carol Stacy and Driving 101’s Scott Gordon, will continue the growth of the Suzuki KingQuad ATV brand beyond its utility roots.

“Suzuki’s KingQuad ATVs have long been known for their strong utility capabilities,” said Rod Lopusnak, ATV operations manager for American Suzuki. “And now we’ll grow that reputation as the premier sport-utility vehicle through this association with the Mario Andretti organization.”

Founded in 2003, the Mario Andretti Racing School is operated with the goal of providing the most professional, technically advanced racing school in the world, and to bridge the gap between fantasy and reality in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Press Release –

The Board of ATVOntario Tourism Initiatives Inc. (ATVOntario) announced today that it will offer a common trail pass that will permit ATV Riders an opportunity to ride thousands of kilometres of its trail systems for one price.

“ATVers have consistently asked us to develop a One Pass system that consolidated the passes of the best trails in Ontario.” said Andrew Ryeland, President of ATVOntario. “We listened to our patrons and I’m pleased to announce that we will indeed be offering a One Pass solution this spring. We expect this initiative will create a tremendous surge of interest in our sport and attract ‘ATV tourists’ from across the province and beyond.”

ATVOntario leads the ATV trails initiative by offering a pass system that will go a long way to consolidating trail riding opportunities and associated community products.

ATVOntario is also in serious discussions with other ATV organizations and Trail interests to broaden the scope of the trail offerings in the spirit of its Shared Use principles.

ATVOntario is intent on reaching agreements with other organizations that will allow for incremental investment in trail systems throughout Ontario.

The new pass is planned to be on sale in April 2007 through the atvontario.com website. Pricing has not yet been finalized but it is expected to be very attractive to ATVers and substantially less than similar passes offering multi-trail system access in Ontario.

ATVOntario Regional pass systems will remain available to users that only wish to ride local trail systems.

Where Can I Ride?

ATVOntario offers an answer to the over 250,000 ATVers in Ontario and ten times that number in the bordering US states. Increasingly outdoor enthusiasts are turning to the thrill of discovery aboard an All Terrain Vehicle.

More and more tourism destinations are being developed to accommodate their unique and varied interests. ATVOntario offers adventurers a consolidated, destination based source of information on where to ride, where to eat, where to stay, where to be entertained, where to mingle and many more ‘where’s. To tour our ‘wherehouse’ visit atvontario.com.

ATVOntario is a not-for-profit alliance established as a public/private initiative with the communities of Elliot Lake, Mattawa, Eastern Ontario Trail Alliance (Tweed), Georgian Bay (Parry Sound) , Cochrane and the Haliburton ATV Association. The alliance is enacting a community-based model for Shared-Use Trail tourism throughout the province of Ontario.

Memo to: The Hon. David Ramsay, Minister of Natural Resources
From: Ken W. Cartmill
Subject: Plan by the MNR to restrict access to Crown land future logging roads.

Dear Hon. David Ramsay;

It is reassuring to know, that as an average individual, I have the freedom to communicate with you and your office with regards to planned attempts by the MNR to restrict the access by motor vehicles (which is a broad and general term) to crown land via future logging roads.

As an outdoorsman I would surely not like to see this happen. I respect the outdoors and as an avid ATVer, hunter, and fisherman, logging roads offer a great way to access and explore the outdoors. Restricting access is not an option for me.

I have decided to write this e-mail only after reading an article in the Sudbury Northern Life, Friday, February 23rd edition that stated that the MNR had scheduled a open forum and public meeting in Sudbury for Wednesday February 28th at the Howard Johnson Hotel with regards to the above subject.

Unfortunately I will be away on business that day and unable to attend this open meeting. As such I wanted you to know my concerns with this proposed restriction. If the MNR wishes to restrict access to crown land by motor vehicles including ATVs, then this would be unacceptable to me.

In the next 5 to 10 years, I would guess that the use of ATV’s on crown land will surpass snowmobiles and so these proposed changes would surely affect thousands of individuals like myself who love the outdoors.

To put this as a public safety issue is ridiculous and without foundation, I have insurance. If the MNR want to restrict access to crown land via future logging roads by motor vehicles such as cars and trucks, then just take out the culverts and bridges as is done regularly right now by loggers under the MNR’s direction and instructions and put up signage indicating that liability is assumed by all users.

Should you pass legislation to restrict access to future logging roads then the MNR will simply make criminals of a great deal of cottagers and individuals who love to ATV the outdoors via the logging roads. Realistically, the MNR will have a great deal of difficulty, administering or preventing the use of these future logging roads by ATVers anyway.

Please arrive at some common sense solution that will benefit all those who wish to use the great Ontario outdoors without restricting the use of and access to Crown land by ATVs.

I truly hope that my e-mail reaches you and that it may have some measure of influence in your decision. Do what you must in the name of public safety but please keep free access to all logging roads, old and new for those, like myself, who appreciate and enjoy ATVing the outdoors and in particular Ontario’s Crown Lands.

Yours truly,

Ken W. Cartmill, Pres., CET.,
N.S.A.

Send your comments to The Hon. David Ramsay at dramsay.mpp@liberal.ola.org