Press Release –

Bowling Green, KY – The skies were threatening and stormy both Friday and Saturday with the remains of Hurricane Ernesto thrashing the northeast. Even more ominous was the impending clash between the two contenders for the GNC Championship Pro title.

For 13 rounds, Doug Gust and Joe Byrd had traded off enough wins that it came down to Sunday’s outcome. It was Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s last chance to grab the GNC Championship Pro title for 2006.

Going into the weekend, Doug Gust was only 15 points down from leader Joe Byrd. He was coming on strong having just cinched the WPSA SuperQuad Pro 450 title two weeks earlier.

With some luck, Doug Gust could walk away from 2006 with two titles. It was doable. For Doug to have a chance at the GNC Championship, he would have to take the overall and Joe come in no better than 7th.

The track was well designed, wide, and very fast. Not too technical, but with a lot of whoops, jumps, lines and ample room to pass. Riders felt the track was a bit of a “freeway,” but overall liked the venue.

The event was very well run and most agreed, was one of the best tracks of the year. By early afternoon, the skies had cleared and the sun shown down on the verdant Kentucky hills. It was time to race.

The first moto started with Doug grabbing the holeshot and Joe Byrd rounding the first turn around 10th place. Doug was blazing fast and only had Dustin Wimmer as any kind of threat during most of the race.

As the laps went down, Gust moved to a comfortable lead, however Byrd started to move through the pack and finished two places behind Doug as the checkers flew.

The second moto found Doug trailing Harold Goodman at the first turn with Byrd in 6th place. Gust dropped back to third as Natalie passed him and then drifted to fourth behind Lawson. Byrd was now on Doug’s tail.

At the halfway point Goodman and Natalie had dropped off and Doug was trailing Lawson. Lawson continued his lead till the end, with Doug and Byrd sparring for second place. Doug held on to the slot pulling a 1-2 that gave him the overall win for the day, but the championship fell to Joe Byrd.

“Joe has worked hard for this title,” Doug graciously conceded. “It’s been a fun and exciting year but certainly had a lot of problems surrounding it. It was especially nice to have Jeremiah here today, back at the races where he belongs. The Suzuki LT-R450 was just fantastic all year. It’s an awesome machine but I couldn’t have done any of this without the support and help of the whole team and the sponsors.”

Press Release –

In this year’s Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno race, teams on Razr’s trounced the Quad Pro competition and swept the podium.

Wayne Matlock and Chad Prull took the top spot, increasing their series points lead after nearly 11 hours on the course. Jeff Hancock and Joshua Edwards nabbed second place and 122 points, a finish which catapulted them into third place in series’ standings. Danny Prather and Michael Cafro rounded out the top three with 119 points, maintaining a comfortable second place overall.

Held August 24-26, the contest covered more than 600 miles and is billed as the longest off-road race in the US.

These teams’ top three finishes were no coincidence: Offering outstanding traction and durability, Razr’s are the tire of choice for riders who are serious about seeking the podium.

Maxxis is proud to sponsor these winning teams and thanks them for proving again that champions choose Maxxis.

Press Release –

For the Arctic Cat team of ATV racers, it all came down to the last round of WPSA’s Quad Terrain Challenge to see if Daryl Rath (#67) could bring home a championship for the Thief River Falls, Minnesota based manufacturer. When the last checkered flag of the weekend dropped at Raceway Park in New Jersey, Daryl Rath was victorious.

Rath reflected on the series, “This is a great accomplishment for the Arctic Cat Factory as well as anyone who owns an Arctic Cat. The whole idea of racing this QTC series literally started three days before the first round in London, Kentucky. I approached Arctic Cat engineers, told them I thought their machines were tough enough to handle the abuse, we broke one out of the crate on Thursday, headed to the race and won the first two rounds!”

WPSA doesn’t call this the Quad Terrain Challenge for nothing. It’s not a motocross race on utility quads, but a challenge race with large brutal mud, log and rock obstacles. Rath goes on to say, “We came from behind quite a bit this season, but I just kept charging and never gave up. I’ve been training really hard, but I owe thanks to Arctic Cat and my 650 H1. Without the ground clearance and durability of this machine, I’d probably still be stuck somewhere.”

Rath wasn’t alone, Arctic Cat placed four racers in the top 8 spots, Joe “The Outlaw Duncan (#220), Jesse West (#888), and Kevin Johnston (#225) all had a solid year at the front of the pack. “We are proud of all our racers and especially our Arctic Cat-built 650 H1 machines”, said Kale Wainer of Arctic Cat. “We proved our 4×4’s are extremely durable in stock trim while racing in an accelerated test atmosphere like the Quad Terrain Challenge. Without any reinforcements to our frame, we brought home several wins and podiums this year and had a ton of fun participating. It’s a good bet we will be back next year stronger than ever!”