Springville, Ind. – It wasn’t long ago that Chris Borich was chasing the likes of GNCC icons Bill Ballance and Barry Hawk through the XC1 Pro ranks, in hopes to one day become a multi-time champion too. But with three titles under his belt already, Borich is well on his way to a fourth as he’s swept five of the six rounds in the 2012 Can-Am Grand National Cross Country Series. Much speculation buzzed around this weekend’s new Dunlop Limestone 100 venue, which heightened the already tight-knit race action and created an even more level playing field in the ATV competition. But it was once again Chris Borich who showed true champion composure while mapping out a strategic lead in the final stretch of the two-hour race in southern Indiana.

Bowers/Coastal National Guard/Yokley Racing’s Jarrod McClure grabbed his second $250 Motosport.com Holeshot Award of the season through the windy turns of the Lawrence County Recreational Park, but some early carnage with AMA ATV Motocross Pro Derek Swartfager caused McClure to drop back a few positions. Swartfager got sideways heading into the woods and tagged a tree, stopping up a majority of the XC1 field behind. That’s when GBC/Cernics/HMF/Yamaha’s Johnny Gallagher, JG Offroad/FRE/American Honda’s Brian Wolf and BNR’s Kevin Yoho made their escape from the pack and began pulling a gap early on.

Clement Desalle took his factory Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 RM-Z450 to second position at Guadalajara for the first ever Grand Prix of Mexico on Sunday.

The fourth round of 16 in the FIM Motocross World Championship was played out in 30 degree temperatures and across a track that was tricky through the mixture of loose terrain and hard-pack. Some 25,000 spectators turned out at the Nico España circuit and were able to see Desalle engage in two fantastic MX1 motos where he fought repeatedly for the lead and was denied the top step of the podium by just one point.

Desalle and team-mate Tanel Leok were both initially sceptical of the racing surface on Saturday and the dusty conditions and both decided to abstain from competing in the Qualification heat, which meant they entered the gate 14th and 18th respectively. The track was extensively watered throughout Saturday night and also Sunday morning and was a rough and gnarly prospect for the two 35 minute and two lap motos.

Springville, IN – Factory FMF/KTM rider Kailub Russell collected his fourth win of the season at the sixth round of the GNCC Series at the series newest Indiana venue.

Russell earned a mid-pack start behind his teammate, Charlie Mullins, who rounded the first lap in 2nd place. Russell quickly moved through the pack and soon found himself battling with Mullins for the lead. The two riders quickly pulled from the rest of the pack while swapping for the lead through the first half of the race.

On the fourth lap while battling for the lead, Mullins encountered a mechanical issue at the farthest point of the 10.5 mile course. His team rushed to him in order to provide assistance. He eventually received the help he needed but found himself one lap down and in 13th place when he reentered the course. With two laps left to make up positions, he set to work. He eventually made up two more positions and finished 11th overall for the day.

Meanwhile, Russell began to pull a larger lead over the XC1 class as each lap progressed. At the end of the 7 lap race he finished over a minute ahead of the 2nd place ride of Paul Whibley. Russell’s win moved him up in the overall point standings. Now six rounds into the series, he is tied for the championship points lead with Whibley.

KTM XC2 rider Steward Baylor suffered his first loss of the series. After working his KTM to the front of the pack from a bad start he suffered a mechanical issue while leading that cost him a lap. He eventually returned to the racing action and was able to salvage a 10th place result. Baylor still maintains a comfortable lead in the series point standings.

Factory FMF/KTM rider Maria Forsberg dominated the Women’s GNCC class once again. She walked away with her sixth win of the series to remain undefeated in the Women’s class. “It feels great to get another win,” remarked Forsberg. “The goal is to go undefeated in the women’s class and also capture the overall win the in the morning class. The team is behind me 100% and I believe both goals are within reach.”

Team Competitive finished in 5th place out of 17 cars in class-10 this weekend at the Best in the Desert Silver State 300 in Nevada.  Starting just north of Alamo, Nevada The grueling 300 mile timed race travels from the desert floor up to mountain peaks through some of the toughest off road terrain in all of Nevada.Class 10 Car Photo

It was the first ever race in class 10 for driver/owner Greg Parker and the first in nearly 3-years for car builder John Cooley.  Navigating the newly built Alumi Craft car for both drivers was veteran co-driver Greg Atherton.  Cooley piloted the car for the first 148 miles.  Starting 7th he drove methodically through the desert terrain turning the car over to Parker near the halfway mark.

CRYSTAL SPRINGS, NEVADA – Team Toyo Off-Road’s “Ballistic” BJ Baldwin won overall in the Canidae Tap It Silver State 300 held this past weekend near Crystal Springs, Nevada with a time of 5:25:56.  Winning Class 1500 (buggy) and finishing in third overall with a time of 5:26:22 was Team Toyo’s Robby Gordon.  Both drivers relied on Toyo® Open Country M/T-R tires for their overall podium finishes.

The Silver State 300 had 131 entrants and is the third stop of the six race Best In The Desert race series in 2012.  Situated more than 80-miles north of Las Vegas, the race course had a challenging mix of high speed desert, and mountain terrain.  After leaving the starting line area near Crystal Springs and the entrance to Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway, the course crossed the Delamar Valley and then traversed the mountains near the Delamar Ghost Town.  The north end of the course passed the historic mining towns of Panaca and Pioche while reaching more than 7,000 feet in elevation at its highest points.  The finish for the race was located at the remote Caliente Air Strip off of Highway 93.

Minneapolis – The field for the Best in the Desert Silver State was impressive, with more than 20 side-by-sides staging to challenge this 300-mile, single loop race.  Matt Parks drew a very good fifth starting position with Brandon Schueler starting just behind in the eighth spot.  Bill Schueler and Craig Scanlon lined their nearly-stock, 1991 RZR XP 4 sportsman entry at the very back of the field.

This year’s course was very fast with lots of smooth sections where top speed was a true advantage. There were plenty of rocky sections to keep every driver on their toes. Schueler, in the 1919, was able to get off to a good start and make his way to the front of the pack early where he would lead for a good part of the race. Parks also was in the hunt and running near the front but had a mechanical issue which cost some valuable time. In the end, Mark Holz in the Coastal/HRP RZR XP 900 would take checkered flag and Schueler would take a much-needed second place. Parks and the 1932 finished in mid-pack in ninth position.

Different race courses have different challenges. San Felipe is known for miles and miles of brutal whoops. The old Mint 400 course is rough and rocky. The Best in the Desert, Silver State 300 course is mostly flat but that does not mean it’s easy. The long straight stretches of flat terrain have their own set of challenges. Most of the course is wide-open, high speed running with tight technical sections and deep silt beds mixed in. You need plenty of damping control but precise handling is also critical. The course is narrow and when the corners come up, you can’t afford to lose time slowing way down to get around them.

During the Silver State race, BJ Baldwin was racing at the front with Robby Gordon and Rob Mac. After over five hours of flat-out racing he was able to take the overall victory by a mere 14 seconds. When the racing is that tight, you need to be confident in the handling of your vehicle. “We spent time fine-tuning our King shocks in San Felipe to the point where the truck isn’t just super fast, it’s comfortable to drive” said BJ, ” The truck is now better than it has ever been. I can run wide open with total confidence.”

Kennesaw, GA –Yamaha Parts and Accessories Division announces the launch of Yamalube.com, the very first website dedicated to its growing line of Yamalube oils, maintenance and care products.

A resource for consumers looking to protect and maintain a range of vehicles and engines—from motorcycles to boats —Yamalube.com will feature Yamaha’s full line of Yamalube products. With consumers owning multiple Yamaha vehicles or engines, this site is a user-friendly guide to find the right Yamalube products for their needs in one place.

“Our full line of oils and maintenance products has always been available through Yamaha dealerships,” said John Tomsche, Yamaha’s Parts & Accessories division manager. “Now, consumers can review our entire product offering, choose which products they need, learn how to use them and find a dealer who carries them, all online.”

Elements on the new website include:
- Informational Videos: Product experts show visitors how to select the right products for their vehicles and engines, and provide tips on using those products to ensure the best performance.

Fort Mill, SC - General Tire’s off-road contingency of drivers descended on the Nevada desert to tackle the Canidae Tap It Silver State 300. This year’s course was fast and dusty and the competition was fierce. Just eight minutes separated the top 10 entries for the overall win with Team GT occupying three of those 10 spots. Cupertino, California-resident Jason Voss led the way for Team GT finishing fifth overall and third in class 1400. A huge victory for the stand-out driver who’s hit a patch of bad luck as of late.

“We had a good strong day of racing for the No. 35 Voss Motorsports, General Tire Trophy Truck,” said Voss following the weekend’s race. “However, so did our competition. The wind was blowing the dust off course, which created a very competitive race. We gave it all we had and came up a few minutes short for the win. The course was much faster than we anticipated and we didn’t have enough gearing to reach the top speeds that we needed.”

As for the next off-road race, Voss is confident he can continue his momentum stating, “We learned what we need to improve and took home a lot of valuable information from this race. We will be better prepared to put the No. 35 truck on top of the podium at the next race because of it. Overall it was great day of racing.”

Best In The Desert Racing Association’s Silver State 300 was held Saturday May 5, 2012 near the small towns of Alamo and Caliente NV.  The 3rd race of the series was looking to be a show down in the desert for most classes and Class 7200 or the V6 Unlimited class was no exception.

Saturday morning’s start was about 10 miles outside of Alamo NV and the weather was clear and breezy. As the racer’s lined up, the team of Mongo Racing did their final checks on the KC HiLiTes General Tire TNC Ford truck numbered 7281. The first vehicle off the start line was at 9:30 am.

Randy Merritt, driving the KC HiLiTes General Tire TNC Ford truck, started the BITD Silver State 300 at 10:20 am and headed out into the harsh Nevada desert. This was Merritt’s second race in the new state of the art chassis designed by Tracy Rubio at TNC Machine and starting 4th out of 16 in class meant he would be in the heat of the battle at the start of the race.