William Yokley fought off 47 other UTVs to take the checkers in the XC1 class at the Mountaineer GNCC this past weekend. Team driver Scott Kiger joined Yokley on the podium with a third place finish. Yokley’s guest passenger was his wife Tina, and Kiger’s passenger was Tyler King.

Summary

The Mountaineer GNCC course features rocks, rocks and more rocks! To do well here, you must be cautious and choose your lines carefully. The area received rain on Thursday and Friday, and by race day, the track was almost perfect. There was no mud, no dust, low humidity and temperature in the 70s.

The Polaris Coastal National Guard team of William Yokley and Scott Kiger got decent starts and entered the woods in third and fourth places. At the end of lap 1, they were 10th and 13th respectively, mainly due to the later rows making up corrected time as the machines got bunched up trying to navigate the new course.

Yamaha Racing’s GNCC University will return this year at the Snowshoe Campus. Yamaha’s top off-road ATV and motorcycle racers will be on hand as instructors of this two-day riding school, beginning on Wednesday, June 26 just three days before the AMSOIL Snowshoe GNCC, Round 9 of the 2013 AMSOIL Grand National Cross Country Series.

Led by Dean of motorcycles, seven-time AMA National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins, this year’s Yamaha Racing bike instructors include five-time AMA National Hare Scramble Champion Jason Raines, reigning XC1 Champion Paul Whibley, XC1 rider Jordan Ashburn, XC2 riders Brad Bakken and Jedediah Haines, and Women’s class rider Becca Sheets.

Professor of ATVs, XC1 Pro Class rider Johnny Gallagher, will lead this year’s Yamaha Racing ATV instructors, including XC1 riders Walker Fowler, Jeff Pickens, Gabe Phillips and nine-time GNCC Women’s Class Champion Traci Cecco.

Kawasaki has announced a unique tie-in with “The Lone Ranger,” a Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer Films production set for national release on July 3 that will see numerous vehicles given away to lucky fans. Kawasaki will use this new reimagining of the popular story to help carry product messages for its off-road motorcycles, four-wheel vehicles and street motorcycles.

Concentrating on a “Live the Legend” campaign line, Kawasaki’s effort is heavily oriented to video creations depicting a transition from the Gore Verbinski-directed film to scenes of modern day adventurers with the company’s Teryx4 Side x Side, KX motocross, and Ninja sportbike products. The action-oriented “Live the Legend” video appears on KawasakiTV’s YouTube channel.

Similar materials featuring the film’s stars, Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, are also slated to appear in more than 1,000 Kawasaki dealerships around the country. Dealers will also be a core component of Kawasaki’s “Live the Legend Adventure” sweepstakes, which will invite consumers to text entries for a chance to win various products inspired by “The Lone Ranger.” The sweepstakes will also include film promotional partner, the Utah Office of Tourism.

From this point on every Yamaha ATV Side-by-Side will be produced in its Newnan, Ga. facility. Yamaha announced that its vehicle production transfer from overseas to the United States was complete at a dealer event on June 11 in Las Vegas. The move adds hundreds of jobs to the Newnan facility.

Yamaha also announced that it has opened a second dedicated assembly plant in Newnan for the production of future SxS products, including the new Viking, an all-new vehicle that sets a new standard in the three-person multi-purpose SxS segment.

Since the ATV production transfer strategy was first announced in 2010, Yamaha has moved production of all of its models like the Grizzly 700 FI and most recently the YFZ450R. All of these ATVs, along with all of Yamaha’s SxS vehicles, are now produced exclusively at YMMC for worldwide distribution.

Already the largest employer in Newnan, Yamaha is poised to continue growing in Georgia and will add another 100 jobs to support Viking production in Plant 2 this year. Another 300 jobs could be added over the next three to five years based on forecasts. The advanced manufacturing facility covers more than 850,000 square feet and includes the latest technology, equipment and procedures in motorsports manufacturing.

Can-Am DS 450 ATV racers fought through muddy conditions and a tight course to earn three class podium finishes at round six of the 2013 AMA Mtn. Dew ATV Motocross National Championship series in Virginia.

In the ATV Pro class, BCS Performance / Can-Am racer Josh Creamer and Jeff Rastrelli finished sixth and seventh overall, respectively.

“Round six of the AMA ATV motocross series in Virginia, was another rain-soaked event with a very tight track. The key was grabbing the holeshot and, unfortunately our racers didn’t get the best of starts at this round. Can-Am DS 450 Pro Josh Creamer and his team unfortunately missed the set-up in moto one, but overcame two mid-pack starts to capture sixth place overall,” says Jimmie O’Dell, race manager, Can-Am. “Fellow Can-Am Pro racer Jeffrey Rastrelli had his best Pro career finish, posting 7-8 moto finishes for seventh overall.”