Press Release –

Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP) is marking a new phase of its international development by reinforcing its presence in European markets.

Starting in the fall, BRP will establish direct commercial operations in Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Ireland, where Jets Marivent has served as its distributor.

The shareholders of Jets Marivent have agreed to sell the company to an affiliate of BRP and as of October 1, 2006, BRP will distribute its products directly through its own dealer network in the aforementioned countries. Until that date, BRP products will continue to be supported in these markets by Jets Marivent.

Following BRP’s decision to establish its own dealer network in France in 2005, this move constitutes the second phase of its European growth strategy.

BRP has already established dealer networks in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Japan, France and Scandinavia and has been present in Europe for over 30 years, with manufacturing facilities in Austria (BRP-Rotax) and in Finland (BRP-Finland).

Jets Marivent has been importing and marketing BRP products in Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Ireland since 1993. Over the years, they have greatly contributed to building strong brand equity for the BRP product brands in all their markets.

“Along with our dealers and business partners, we built this business from the ground up, starting out with only two models of Sea-Doo personal watercraft (PWC) in Spain over 10 years ago,” said Oliver Fröls, founder and president of Jets Marivent. “Today, Jets Marivent distributes the entire line-up of Sea-Doo PWC and sport boats, Can-Am ATVs, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines and a wide variety of accessories. This would not have been possible without the experience and business support of our dealers, and BRP’s excellent product innovation and continuous support,'” added Mr. Fröls.

This decision affects all Sea-Doo personal watercraft and sport boats, Can-Am all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, as well as related parts, accessories and clothing businesses. All BRP products will continue to be available in Spain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Ireland, thus reaffirming BRP’s objective to offer its customers the ultimate motorized recreational experience.

“Over time, we firmly believe that this decision will provide significant benefits to dealers and consumers in these markets, including increased efficiency in customer service and logistics support as well as branding, product positioning and market responsiveness,” concluded Michel Hade, vice-president and general manager, BRP International Sales and Marketing.

Both Jets Marivent and BRP are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to maximize continuity of business as usual for everyone involved.

Press Release –

The third and fourth rounds of the new WPSA Super Quad Pro 450 racing series took place this Saturday and Sunday near Macon, Georgia. Donny Bank’s beautifully maintained Echeconnee track is a tough enough  on a good day. Lot’s of sand, deep whoops, and challenging terrain make this track well respected by the ATV Pro’s. This year it had all that plus triple digit temperatures to really test the riders.
 
The end result of both days racing was predictable; Team Yoshimura/Suzuki continues to win.
 
Saturday’s race was a scorcher with the best-conditioned athletes coming out on top. “Digger” Doug Gust came off the line about 4th with teammate Jeremiah “The Gunslinger” Jones a few places back. Doug put in some nice moves and soon was challenging John Natalie Jr. for the lead. On lap nine, Gust passed John on the outside and set sail. Gust dominated the rest of the race while teammate Jones moved up to second place.
 
Gust was pretty happy after the main event win, “I came out about 4th.  I passed a couple of guys and then passed John Natalie for the lead. I was a little stronger than him today… and just won it! Jeremiah got passed him too and got second. Man, it was really hot out there!”
 
The Suzuki one-two punch has been a common occurrence lately and one that team manager Wayne Hinson likes. “The team is hitting on all cylinders right now. Things are coming together pretty well. Doug and Jeremiah are really riding fast and these new Suzuki’s are just flat awesome. The LT-R’s respond to every change we’ve done in set-up. They just keep getting better every race”.
 
On Sunday, John Natalie pulled out an early lead only to be run down and passed by Jeremiah Jones on lap three.  Jones seemed to be poised to pull away but a bobble in a turn let Natalie back into the lead. Jones re-fired his LT-R450 Suzuki and took off after the hard charging Natalie. With two laps left to go, Jeremiah re-passed Natalie and headed on to the checkers and the win. Yesterday’s winner, “Digger” Doug Gust rode a steady but uneventful race to third.
 
Jones was tired but thrilled by his, and the teams results, “My heat races didn’t go to good.  I got 4th in both.  As for the main, I had to fight hard in the end to win.  I got a bad start, probably 4th, and had to pass Wimmer and Natalie.  They had got out front and had set a pretty fast pace.  It took me a while before I got up to Wimmer.  I got around Wimmer and then two to three laps later John started fading out cuz it was around 100 degrees out there.  I ended up catching up to Natalie and then pressured him and then got around him.”
When asked why the heat didn’t seem to impact him so bad he answered: “I’ve been training down at my father-in-law’s place in South Carolina.  So I’m used to the heat… and I’m in pretty good shape – probably the best shape that I’ve ever been in.  We’re racing every weekend, so it that also helps keep me fit.”

After the heat of Macon, everyone is ready for a weekend off.  Back to back races every weekend with both the GNC and WPSA series makes for a grueling schedule for riders and crew alike.  Time for a little R&R and then on to Steel City and hopefully another Team Yoshimura/Suzuki podium domination.