A lot of great racing and drama played out on the oval track at Eagle River for the 2012 World Championship Snowmobile Derby. Although a full race report can be seen here, this highlight video also recaps the action from the race.
Check out the highlight video of the 2012 World Championship Snowmobile Derby.
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Minneapolis, February 2, 2012 –Polaris comes into the 2012 race season with teams competing in the Grand National Cross Country series (GNCC), World Off-Road Championship series (WORCS), Best in the Desert (BITD) and Mud racing. Polaris also will continue to offer their ATV racing contingency program and has added a Side-by-Side contingency for the BITD series.
“Polaris is excited for another year of ATV and Side-by-Side Racing,” said Donna Beadle, race team manager for Polaris’ Off-Road Division. “We had a great 2011 winning several championships and we expect 2012 to be another successful year.”
National Guard/Polaris/Coastal Racing Polaris will continue to support National Guard/Polaris/Coastal racing for 2012. William Yokley took the GNCC and WORCS championships in his National Guard RANGER RZR XP 900 and will look to four-peat in the GNCC series this year. Yokley’s teammate, Scott Kiger finished third in the GNCC “Open Modified” class in his RZR XP and is back for 2012.
Rath Racing
Rath Racing is back for a third year to race the RZR XP in GNCC. Daryl Rath continues to dial in his RZR XP and will race the “Open Modified” Side-by-Side class.
Team Hendershot
Polaris has added Team Hendershot to their GNCC race team for 2012. Team Hendershot finished second overall in their RZR XP in the GNCC “Open Modified” class behind William Yokley. They will race the RZR XP for 2012.
Jagged X
Jagged X is back for 2012 for a run at the Best in the Desert championship, racing the familiar No.1919, with a newly built RZR XP 4. Brandon Schueler, Chad Riccio, Blake Van de Loo and Mike West look to recapture the championship for 2012. Jagged X also has signed 2011 BITD Champion, Matt Parks to run with the team this year in a second RZR XP 4. Both new RZR’s will be revealed at the Mint 400, in March. Parks started the 2012 BITD series out on a high note winning the “Pro UTV class,” at the Parker 250, in January.
Walker Evans
RJ Anderson will switch gears this year and race the WORCS series with his new Walker Evans RZR XP. Anderson raced a few WORC races in 2011 and ended up winning the final race of the season in the “SxS 1” class. He looks to capture the championship for 2012.
High Lifter Team High Lifter-Polaris Racing will be muddin’ on Polaris’ once again for 2012. Racers include Brian Haughton, Josh Monroe and Adam Schumaker and will race the Sportsman XP 850, Sportsman 550, RANGER XPs and RANGER RZRs.
Polaris Contingency
Polaris also will continue to offer an ATV race contingency program, in three ATV racing series, GNCC, WORCS and the Heartland Challenge, and has added a side-by-side contingency in the Best in the Desert Series. The total purse is more than $85,000. Racers must race 2008 or newer Sportsman XP 850 or Sportsman 550 ATVs for the ATV contingency and must run the Pro 1 class in a RANGER RZR product in Best in the Desert. More information and complete rules about Polaris’ racing contingencies can be found at www.polarisfactoryracing.com.
Morgantown, W.Va. (February 2, 2012) – MX Sports announces today Kawasaki’s involvement in the 3rd Annual Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross Championship on Sunday, March 11 and Monday, March 12, 2012, at Daytona International Speedway. Kawasaki is offering over $5,000 in Kawasaki Rewards Contingency to amateur racers competing in the amateur supercross.
This year’s event has expanded to two full days of amateur racing, featuring longer races and practices, with more class options to give racers even more track-time over the course of the weekend. Following a night of watching the fastest pro racers in the country battle it out on the Daytona Supercross track, the amateur-racing schedule kicks off Sunday morning. Practice starts at 7:30 a.m., followed by heat races and last chance qualifiers. Monday’s schedule consists of the remaining LCQ’s and all thirty Main Event races.
“Kawasaki is pleased to once again be a part of the Ricky Carmichael Daytona Amateur Supercross,” said Team Green MX Supervisor, Ryan Holliday. “Kawasaki has been a part of the amateur racing scene for over thirty years now and we’re excited to continue supporting this event with our Kawasaki Rewards Contingency Program.”
MX Sports organizes the event by utilizing over 30 years of experience operating the Red Bull AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn Ranch. The class structure includes classes for youth riders on 50cc bikes all the way up to vet and senior classes. The race will follow a supercross format, using heat races and last chance qualifiers to seed the field of riders into a main event in each class, over the course of two days. Unlike the Loretta Lynn Ranch format, riders do not need to qualify at other races in order to participate in the Daytona event.
For more information on Kawasaki’s Amateur Contingency program and to find payout for 2012 RCSX, click HERE.
To register for the 2012 RCSX, click HERE. For more information on the event, visit www.mxsports.com.
ATLANTA, Michigan (ACP Racing) – Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and the Scion Rally xD team scored a well-earned second place in the two-wheel-drive classes of the 2012 SnoDrift Rally in Atlanta Michigan this past weekend.
The podium result was hard-won after the team lay in fifth place overall after the first night of competition: “Honestly, on Friday night, I was questioning whether we could turn the race around” said Comrie-Picard, “but between some smart setup changes on the team’s part and a bit of a reset in my driving style, we managed to turn the tables on our competition on Saturday and go from over a minute out of second place to a solid result and a kickoff to our championship. I’m as proud of this result as of any in more than ten years of rally driving.”
The Scion team is competing for the overall two-wheel-drive Rally America Championship in 2012, and is very happy with the finish this weekend. Said Gordon Ting, team principal: “This is a solid result and a terrific points haul. We know from last year that we have what it takes to win on gravel, and we’re looking forward to the 100 Acre Wood Rally in late February to prove it!”
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Capitalizing on a 10-year relationship with Lincoln Electric, Robby Gordon Motorsports has embraced the new addition to the Lincoln family and welcomed Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems onto Planet Robby. Gordon, who has acquired the Torchmate Racing built TTB car for the upcoming Griffin King of the Hammers event, will begin testing the rebadged Speed Energy #77 car this week and he has tasked rock crawling champion and former Pirate4x4.com owner, Lance Clifford, to navigate. “Although I have not yet met Lance, he has come highly recommended and is a welcome addition to our team. We put a lot of value in having the right people to help us succeed,” said Gordon. Clifford, who has worked during KOH the last 4 years providing live web based coverage, is looking forward to racing. “I was just planning on enjoying the event with my family, but when the best off-road driver in the world calls you up and asks you to navigate you don’t think twice about accepting.”
The new relationship will put Torchmate CNC cutting systems to work in both Robby Gordon Motorsports North Carolina and Southern California facilities, and will see Torchmate as an associate sponsor of Gordon’s new venture into Ultra4 racing as well as his current SCORE Trophy Truck and Dakar off-road programs. “We’re excited to work with Robby Gordon and it’s a perfect fit with Torchmate philosophy on racing and business,” said Bill Kunz, general manager of Torchmate. “The same Torchmate machines the general public can purchase will be put to good use at the hands of Robby Gordon Motorsports,” Kunz added.
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January 31, 2012, Center Line, Mich. – For its 75th anniversary, Mopar continues to work its magic. Today at its engineering lab in Center Line, Mich., Mopar revealed four custom vehicles, including the Mopar ’12 300, Fiat 500 “Stinger,” Mopar Jeep Compass “True North” and Dodge Dart “GTS 210 Tribute.” Mopar ’12 will be available this summer straight from the factory, while components of the Fiat 500, Jeep Compass and Dodge Dart custom configurations will be available in the fall as stage kits or á la carte from the Mopar catalog.
“Customization is king,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “These head-turning ‘Moparized’ vehicles show how we can go to the next level of personalization. With our best-in-class offerings of parts and accessories, we give our customers every opportunity to further enhance the appearance and performance of their vehicles.”
Earlier this month, at the 2012 North American International Auto Show, the brand kicked off its year-long 75th anniversary celebration with the introduction of the Chrysler 200 Super S by Mopar and the Dodge Charger Redline. Mopar, a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts, was trademarked in 1937.
The following “Moparized” vehicles were revealed today and will be on display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show from Feb. 10-19.
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) member Randy Odom of St. Louis will take his dual-sport passion to an entirely new level this summer. That’s because the 29-year-old Odom just got an unexpected bonus for riding in last year’s AMA KTM National Dual Sport Trail Riding Series: a 2012 KTM 350 EXC-F from 2011 series sponsor KTM North America.
The annual AMA drawing, conducted by independent auditing and accounting firm Plante & Moran of Columbus, Ohio, included participants in all of the AMA events on the national dual-sport calendar.
“Man, this is awesome,” said Odom, whose current bike is a 10-year old 125cc two-stroke. “My boss got me into dual sports, and I’ve been having the best time ever. Everybody on these rides is great. They’re friendly. They’re helpful. Everyone is a die-hard rider. The riding is super challenging, but without the full-on pressure of a flat-out race. It’s great. I can’t think of a better time on a motorcycle.”
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Twenty of the 33 Trick Trucks entered in the 2012 Blue Water Resort & Casino Parker “425”, February 3rd thru 5th, have signed up to take part in this year’s Trick Truck Challenge. This will be the second year for the Trick Truck Challenge that saw over $134,000 in bonus money paid out in 2011. To be eligible for the year-long Challenge, Trick Truck teams must be signed up by the Parker “425” race.
Casey Folks, Director of Best In The Desert, announced, “As of January 25th, 20 of the top Trick Truck teams in the world have signed up for the second year of the exciting Best in the Desert $120,000 Trick Truck Challenge. That’s right – one hundred and twenty thousand dollars paid back 100% to the racers. A special bonus purse will be paid out to the top three participating Trick Truck finishers at each of the six Best In The Desert races as well as the year-end bonus. The special Trick Truck Challenge Cup Trophy will also be awarded at the end of the year to the overall winning team.” Folks continued, “No other off-road racing organization has a program like the Best in the Desert Trick Truck Challenge. I’ve always said, either lead, follow or get out of our way and Best in the Desert is in the lead!”
$10,000 will be paid to 1st, $6,000 to 2nd and $3,000 to 3rd for each of six races for a total of $19,000 per race. An additional $10,000 will go to 1st place, $4,000 for 2nd and $2,000 for 3rd in the final year-end standings. Plus another $44,000 in year-end bonus has been posted from sponsors TSCO, Camburg Engineering, Jimco Racing, Geiser Bros., MasterCraft and Racer Engineering.
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Corona, CA – January 30, 2012 – Husqvarna’s Fred Andrews Racing (FAR) team kicked off the AMA/Rekluse National Enduro Series over the weekend, where Andrew Delong carded a top-ten finish at the Sumter, South Carolina event. The weather could not have been more ideal, with the sun shining and temperatures in the 60s. Sandy terrain and tight trees made for a technical course, which Delong took to with ease on his TXC310.
“I was ‘on rails’ through test one with that fourth-place finish,” Delong said. “I stalled it a few times in the other test but hit the electric start and off I would go again. But my last two tests cost me today.”
Delong went on to finish a respectable eighth place – a good jumping off point in such a competitive series. The day was a bit more challenging for Enduro first-timer Jason Thomas. The GNCC regular finished in 17th place after battling through the trees.
“I need to train more in the tight trees,” Thomas admitted. “Some spots you had to stop and turn your bars just to get through. I will be better next race.” The FAR Husqvarna team will head to Greensboro, Georgia in three weeks for round two of the AMA/Rekluse National Enduro Series on February 19.
Be sure to follow Team Husqvarna on Facebook or via Twitter @HusqvarnaNA.
Lewiston, MI — Ice-covered roads were the story at the 38th annual running of the Sno*Drift Rally, the kick-off event to the 2012 Rally America National Championship, but it was Subaru Rally Team USA’s David Higgins and Craig Drew who managed the extreme conditions to take the overall win. Higgins and Drew are the reigning 2011 national champions, and they took the first step towards defending their title in the six-round 2012 Rally America National Championship by winning 15 out of 24 stages.
“This is a good win,” said Higgins, “The conditions were the most treacherous I have ever seen.”
Higgins finished the event 1:49.9 ahead of Rockstar Energy Drink’s Antoine L’Estage and Nathalie Richard. The Rockstar team never held the lead but they made considerable time on Higgins on the first leg of day 2 and looked like they would get closer to challenging the Subaru driver.
“We chose to use snow tires at the start of the day,” said L’Estage, “versus Higgins’ ice tires. We just gambled right and were making up good time until after the first service.”
Last year, Sno*Drift winners Travis and Terry Hanson made rally history by becoming the first Super Production (SP) team to win an overall event. This year the son and father duo took third overall for a consecutive Sno*Drift podium and secured the SP Class win in dominant fashion. The finish was all but miraculous as the team didn’t expect to complete the event due to engine problems before the second day began. Due to the sound of their engine, itappeared it could break at anytime. The team fought through the mechanical issues, however, and managed a highly respectable podium spot while continuing to prove the competiveness of the Super Production Class as a viable contender to the more powerful Open Class cars.
