Press Release –
The 2009 ATV racing season is already underway and BRP is setting lofty goals for its Can-AmTM ATV racers and teams for this season.
At the top of the list is championships. Last season, Can-Am racers took home championships in the WORCS, CMRC Canadian Nationals and the GNCC series.
In all, racers claimed five championships across North America. It should be an exciting season as Can-Am continues to support ATV racing at both the local and national level.
“Our goal when racing any product line at BRP is to win races and championships,” says Del Bohlman, Racing Manager for Can-Am ATVs at BRP. “Our ATV racers and partner teams gave us our most successful ATV racing season last year and we are really looking forward to this season when we will continue where we left off. Our race teams are working hard right now to build upon the successes of this past season.”
Like last season, Can-Am will field several teams out of four full-out racing semis.
In all, there will be more than 30 Can-Am factory-sponsored racers in the WORCS, ITP Quadcross, CMRC, AMA ATV National Motocross Championship, Rock Maple Racing, Championship Mud Racing and GNCC series.
Here is a list of the teams and lineups:
Team Warnert Racing / Can-Am
Warnert Racing will field riders in both the ITP Tires/Moose Racing AMA ATV Motocross Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited and the Can-Am Grand National Cross Country series.
In the AMA series, both John Natalie (#13) and Cody Miller (#22) will race DS 450TM EFI ATVs against the top pros from around the world in the premier ATV Motocross championship on the planet.
Last season, Natalie finished fifth overall with two moto wins during the season. His teammate, Miller, tied for tenth place in points with consistent finishes in the top 10.
In the GNCC series, Warnert Racing welcomes back Chris Bithell (#13) and has a new rider in the stable with Brent Sturdivant (#105).
Both will race DS 450 ATVs in the XC1 Pro class against the top woods racers in the world. Bithell took the overall win at the Unadilla GNCC in 2008 and look forward to repeating the feat several times in 2009.
Sturdivant will look to build upon the experience he gained last year on the DS 450.
Warnert also will support riders in the 4×4 classes as Bryan Buckhannon (#203), Michael Swift (#205) and Cliff Beasley (#208) will all race Can-Am OutlanderTM ATVs in the three 4×4 classes.
Each of the three racers will be defending championships in their respective classes. They are: Buckhannon, 4×4 Open; Swift, 4×4 Limited and Beasley, 4×4 Lites.
In the U2 class, Rick Cecco (#221) will race a Can-Am Renegade 800 XTM in the class and looks to secure the first championship for the Renegade.
Team Motoworks / Can-Am
The Motoworks team moves east this year and takes on the AMA ATV Motocross Championship with Jeremy Lawson (#16) and Brandon Smith (#70) racing DS 450 ATVs out of the rig.
Lawson will look to improve upon his fifth-place overall finish in 2008, and his teammate, Smith, is excited to bring experience in the ITP Quadcross Pro class east to take on the best ATV motocross racers on Earth.
Out west, WORCS 2008 Pro-class defending champion, Josh Frederick (#1), will pilot his DS 450 in the WORCS championship and the ITP Quadcross series.
Frederick has had an exciting 2009 thus far as he finished second in the PIAA 8-Hour Endurance Race, missing first by a mere 20 seconds. However Frederick took the win for the opening round of the WORCS series.
His teammate in the WORCS Pro class will be Jeremie Warnia (#62) who will also contest the ITP Quadcross Pro class aboard a DS 450.
In the amateur ranks will be Dillion Zimmerman (#49) who had a phenomenal 2008 season finishing second in the WORCS Pro-Am class and first in the 91-450 4-Stroke Expert class at the Quadcross series.
Team Epic Racing / Can-Am
The Epic moves west to contest the Quadcross series with two DS 450 riders out of the racing semi.
Sage Baker (#49) will bring valuable experience he gained last year in the AMA ATV Motocross to the premier west-coast ATV motocross series. His teammate will be Hunter Miller (#90), brother of Can-Am rider Cody Miller.
Miller contested the AMA ATV Motocross series last season and looks forward to the challenge of the Quadcross series.
Can-Am X-Team
In addition to the partner teams, Can-Am offers factory race support to numerous riders.
The CMRC Canadian Nationals will see both Richard Pelchat (#46) and Michael Ouellette (#41) race in 2009.
Pelchat is the defending Canadian national champion and he will also race in the AMA ATV Motocross series.
In the GNCC series, Mike Penland will race in the 4×4 Limited class (#235) and Scott Kilby (#210) will compete in the 4×4 Open class, both will ride Outlander 800R ATVs, while Lexie Coulter (#217) will race a DS 450 in the Women’s class.
Can-Am veteran, Jeremie Dudding (#226), will switch to a Renegade 800R X and compete in the U2 class for 2009.
There will also be riders in the AMA ATV Motocross Championship amateur classes, in particular, Angel Adkins, in the Women class and Cole Henry, in the 450 classes, who recently gave the 2009 DS 450 X mx its first race win. The Rock Maple Racing QTC class will feature Jamie Bougher (#274) aboard a Can-Am Outlander; Bougher will also race in the GNCC series.
And in the ITP Championship Mud Racing series, the entire Gorilla Axle race team will compete on Can-Am Outlander ATVs along side the Performance East, Inc., race team, which will also contest the series on Outlander ATVs.
In addition, Can-Am is offering an extensive contingency program for Pro and amateur racers for 2009.
Contingency money will be paid in the following race series: GNCC series, AMA ATV Motocross Championship, CMRC Canadian National Championship, CMRC Quebec Provincial Championship, WORCS, ITP Quadcross, Score Baja/BITD series, Rock Maple Racing series, NE-ATVMX, PAMX and OMA series.
In all, Can-Am is pledging more than $1.1 million in contingency money toward ATV racing across North America.
Visit www.can-amxteam.com for more information on the contingency program and photos on the 2008 season and upcoming 2009 ATV racing season.
