Sydney, Australia, April 28, 2008 – With a strong presence of over 20 Can-Am ATVs on show, BRP's Team Can-Am posted impressive results at the inaugural Can-Am™ Thumb Pump 300 held on a 43km sandy track, 30km south of Mildura in Western Victoria.
With everything from flat out top gear straights and sweeping salt pan corners to a 7km whoop section, this track has it all. Twenty-nine competitors started the race with only 21 finishing the gruelling track. Can-Am X Team member Mick Roycroft on his DS 450™ X™ quad gained 3rd spot in the highly competitive Iron Man category.
With strong 3rd placing after day one, Mick was able to improve his lap times to maintain the great podium finish of 3rd spot. "The Can-Am DS 450 X ran perfectly all weekend, I could not have wished for a better result in this the inaugural Can-Am Thumb Pump event. With such high quality riders, it was pleasing to get on the podium", he noted after the race. "My thanks go out to BRP Can-Am for manufacturing such a great bike and to all my others sponsors for supporting me."
The Team Iron Man race saw Rob Van Vliet and the Multiple Finke-winning Rick Beer team with on their Can-Am DS 450 X ATVs take out a close 2nd.
In the hotly contested 4 x 4 class Can-Am Team X rider Darrell "Team Bullett" on a Can-Am Renegade 800x secured 1st place in the 4X4 race and also set the fastest lap time of 38 minutes 42 seconds. Darrell commented after the race, "I struggle to pin point the Renegade ATV's greatest positive: is it the huge amount of grunt and ridiculous top speed, or is it the suspension and trailing link rear end that allows the rider to effortlessly fly across rough terrain at speeds in excess of 70 mph? For a big machine it is amazing how well balanced the quad is". Coming in 2nd was Pete Wilhelms on a Can-Am Outlander 650 MAX XT quad.
The Can-Am DS 450 X is a racer's dream come true; advanced engineering gives it the lightest weight in the ultra-competitive 450 class. In addition to its light weight, the ATV's sophisticated front-end geometry and potent Rotax® engine give the DS 450 an advantage with which the competition will have a hard time keeping up.
It is responsive and easy to manoeuvre thanks to the centralized masses and an unmatched power-to-weight ratio. At 345 pounds (156 kg) dry, it is the lightest 450 sport ATV. Lightweight ALTEC aluminium frame with twin pyramidal structure - 13% lighter than the best-in-class competitor - plus innovative R-Type front and rear suspensions delivering handling, control, and feel, all make the new Can-Am DS 450 X the ATV of choice for this sort of competition.
“Although only their first meet as a team, Team Can-Am has posted impressive results and we are excited that further podium wins will become a regular feature to the Team” said BRP Marketing Manager for BRP Australia, Duncan Knight.
Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately-held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorized recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo® and Lynx® snowmobiles, Sea-Doo® watercraft and sport boats, Evinrude® and Johnson® outboard engines, direct injection technologies such as E-TEC®, Can-Am™ all-terrain vehicles and roadsters, and Rotax® engines and karts.
www.brp.com
®™ and the BRP logo are trademarks of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. or its affiliates.
For Information:
For Australia, New Zealand & Pacific Islands:
Helen Bromage
Events Co-ordinator, BRP Australia Pty Ltd
+ 61 (02) 9794 6632
helen.bromage@brp.com