-
 December
31, 2009
-
Toyo Tires® and Robby Gordon’s
Team Dakar USA Prepare for Dakar® 2009 - Veteran French Driver, Eric
Vigouroux Joins Team to Drive Second Hummer H3
CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA – Toyo Tires, Robby Gordon and Team Dakar USA will
once again take on the Dakar rally. The 2009 event will cross the
continent of South America from January 3 – 18. Beginning in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, the race will cross over through Chile, then back to
Buenos Aires for the finish. Once again, the sophisticated Hummer H3
racers will be equipped with 37X13.50R17 Toyo® Open Country M/T®-R tires
while Andy Grider will serve as navigator for Gordon.
The team of Gordon and Grider has been a force in endurance off-road
racing. In addition to winning the 2006 Baja 1000 while driving a
Chevrolet trophy truck outfitted with Toyo Open Country M/T-R tires; the
duo piloted their Monster Energy/Toyo Tires Hummer H3 to a Stage 6 win
during Dakar 2007. The team also won the Open Class of Dakar 2007 and
finished eighth overall. During 2008, they competed in the Central
Europe Rally through Hungary and Romania. . -
more
-
 December
30, 2008-
Dakar 2009: Thierry Viardot -
"The new Lancer is a big step forward"
Pont-de-Vaux, France -
The Frenchman is based at the MMSP SAS headquarters at Pont-de-Vaux in
France and has worked in close liaison with Japanese engineers at
MMC’s Okazaki R&D Center in Japan throughout the development of the
brand new Mitsubishi Racing Lancer. Viardot and his team, have worked
hard to make the new Racing Lancer a potential Dakar winner. He talks
here about the newcomer's main strengths and about the technical
challenge of Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team faces in Argentina and
Chile during the first two weeks of January 2009. -
more
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December
30, 2008
-
X-Raid set to field six
BMW X3 CC in Dakar Rally 2009
HAMBURG, Germany - X-raid’s Power Racing Team will field six BMW
X3 CCs in the Dakar Rally 2009, which takes place in South
America for the first time. Newly-crowned FIA World Cup and FIA
International Baja Cup champion Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah will be
joined in the Trebur-based team’s line-up by Frenchman Guerlain
Chicherit and Dutchman Peter van Merksteijn, with X-raid
Russia’s Leonid Novitskiy, Argentina’s Orlando Terranova and
Dutchman René Kuipers completing the driver line-up. -
more
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December
29, 2008
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ITW "Top 10" : Robby Gordon (USA - 309 - HUMMER)
(A.S.O.)
Paris, France - “Our Hummer has never been so well prepared”
.......Will Robby Gordon clinch the overall victory on his fourth
attempt? The Californian driver wants to believe it. One week from the
start of the race, the American NASCAR idol dreams of arriving as the
winner in Buenos Aires on January 18. He would become the first
American to win the Dakar in his car… -
more
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December
29, 2009
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SA built Nissans heading for 2009 Dakar Rally.
Johannesburg, South Africa - A total of four South African built
Nissan Navara off road racing pickups will contest the 2009
Dakar Rally. All the Navaras have been built in the Midrand
workshops of Nissan Motorsport under the direction of general
manager Glyn Hall for privateer customers. Hall, who oversaw his
Sasol backed team win their eighth successive driver and
co-driver championships in the Absa SA Off Road Championship
last month, will be acting as team manager for the privateer
Team Overdrive of former Dakar star Gregoire de Mevius of
Belgium. -
more
-
 December
24, 2008-
INDUSTRY NEWS 2009
General Tire TROPHYLITE Series Schedule Announcement
Heber, California – TROPHYLITE is pleased to announce the 2009
General Tire TROPHYLITE Series Schedule. A unique mix of desert
and short course races will comprise the 2009 General Tire
TROPHYLITE Series season and will widely be considered the most
diverse off-road championship for 2009.
The season begins January 16-17 in Plaster City, California at
the DRIVE Racing TROPHYLITE 200. This will be the first the race
for the DRIVE Racing Organization and much like TROPHYLITE
itself, a new era in Off-Road Racing will begin at the
TROPHYLITE 200 in the popular Plaster City Off-Road Recreation
Area.
Following the TROPHYLITE 200, Competitors will face quite
possibly the toughest challenge of the season as they battle for
glory at the historic General Tire Mint 400 Off-Road Race in Las
Vegas, Nevada on March 26-29. The course is scheduled to
incorporate much of the original area that has not been raced on
since the 1980’s. -
more
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 December
24, 2008-
INDUSTRY NEWS Toyo
Tires® Presents Six Scholar-Athlete Awards at John R. Wooden Classic
ANAHEIM, CA - This past weekend, six outstanding Southern California
high school students were acknowledged as recipients of the John
Wooden Scholar-Athlete Award presented by Toyo Tires. Toyo Tires has
provided a scholarship of $500.00 to each individual student, and
$500.00 to each of their high school athletic departments.
The students were acknowledged during halftime of the UCLA vs. DePaul
basketball game at the 15th Annual John R. Wooden Classic presented by
Toyo Tires at Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The John Wooden
Scholar-Athlete Award is given annually to six CIF Southern Section
member high school seniors who have a 3.50 or greater grade point
average and participate in a sport at their high school. This year's
recipients were: -
more
-
 December
23, 2008-
INDUSTRY NEWS
CORR LOOKS TO
2009
Newport Beach, CA - Our 2008 season saw many amazing
moments. Our exposure reached further than ever as we saw CORR
receive national media attention through the Associated Press,
USA Today, ESPN online and others. CORR’s NBC ratings increased
throughout the season and our show on SPEED continues to be one
of the best off road racing programs on national cable
television. We will continue to capitalize on this momentum and
move forward with a revised business plan that will allow us to
operate CORR as a budget conscious, autonomous entity.
With our national exposure, CORR has established itself as the
most known name in short course off road racing while building a
strong presence at the next level of motorized action sports.
With drivers such as Jeremy McGrath, Brian Deegan, Ricky Johnson
and Carey Hart joining stars like Johnny Greaves, Rob MacCachren,
Scott Douglas and Carl Renezeder, we are well on our way to
building a true national presence for the sport. -
more
-
 December
22, 2008
INDUSTRY NEWS
Toyota in the Red
Tokyo, Japan - Toyota has predicted that it will make a
loss for the first time since 1941, when the company first
reported on its financial performance.
Toyota is widely considered to be one of the best-managed car
companies in the world. News that it’s struggling will send
shockwaves through the motor industry.
The operating loss, announced this morning by company boss
Katsuaki Watanabe, totalled 150bn yen (£1.1bn) up to the end of
Toyota’s financial year in March.
“The change that has hit the world economy is of a critical
scale that comes once in a hundred years,” said Watanabe.
Toyota is still expected to make a net profit of 50bn yen
(£375m), although that figure is a huge drop from the projected
550bn yen (£4bn) at the start of the year. It now expects to
sell 8.96 million vehicles globally this year, down 4 per cent
from last year.
In a statement, the company said falling car sales had been “far
faster, wider and deeper than expected”.
Much of the problem stems from America, where the car market has
almost completely collapsed, eating into Toyota’s export
margins. - Will Powell (www.autocar.co.uk)
-
 December
18, 2008
-
INDUSTRY NEWS WSORR - A Christmas
Message & Year-End Report
Crandon, WI - Since the 2009 WSORR “Night of Champions” banquet
the first weekend in October, the World Series has spent a busy
“off-season” in the topsy-turvy world of off-road racing.
The annual banquet, of course, was headlined by supportive
remarks by Forest County Potawatomi Chairman Phil Shopodock and
others endorsing the Series, its accomplishments and the future.
The banquet capped a great season of racing by off-road
champions and teams. Series teams put on an explosive show with
dramatic results. For many, it was the finest season of off-road
racing in history. Our racers delivered an exciting show that
attracted and entertained a national television audience on
SPEED. All good stuff.
The Series is beginning preparations for the 2009 campaign. This
coming season will be the 40th anniversary of organized short
course off-road racing in the U.S. That nationwide celebration
is set in stone and will be recognized at Crandon International
Off-Road Raceway, Labor Day weekend, September 4-6, 2009. -
more
-
 December
17, 2008-
Messer Wins Baja Cup Challenge/Chamberland Wins Title in
TROPHYLITE Finale
-
Heber, California – Heading into the Baja Cup Challenge; the
final round of the 2008 KMC Wheels TROPHYLITE Series Presented
by KC HiLiTES, five competitors had a mathematical shot at the
Championship. Employing a cautious and consistent strategy,
Louis Chamberland was able to capitalize as others faltered to
finish third in a race that saw Gary Messer take his maiden
TROPHYLITE win. With his finish, Chamberland was able secure the
2008 KMC Wheels TROPHYLITE Series Presented by KC HiLiTES
Championship and the $14,625 TROPHYLITE Champion Payout. -
more
-
 December
16, 2008-
2008 Year End
Douglas Motorsports Recap - Scott Douglas Race Ready
El
Cajon, CA – It has
been two and half months since the horrific practice
crash in Chula Vista, that broke the left leg, knee
and ankle of Scott Douglas. The doctor’s prognosis
made it sound as if his
2008 season would be over. Then the suddenly the
financial problems of CORR ended the season
prematurely with the cancellation of the final two
weekends of the season. Undaunted, Scott stayed
focused and worked endlessly at his rehab schedule.
-
By early November,
Scott made a public appearance at the SEMA Show representing Kumho
Tire at their trackside display. His rehab was showing progress as
 his
leg and knee had healed well enough for Scott to drive a street car
and walk for limited amounts of time
-
Thanksgiving
weekend was another test for his healing leg. Scott and Jackie went to
the dunes with their sand car. The strength was coming back in his
left leg enough to put his V8 powered buggy through the paces.
-
This past weekend
Scott was on hand at the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in
Orlando, Florida making the rounds through the massive convention
center. Scott’s ability get back to business as usual has amazed his
family and friends. -
more
-
 December
16, 2008-
RACING WITH A HEART.
Baja Charity Run 2 Update
Newport Beach, CA - In its purest form, motorsports is a very
greedy, very self-serving undertaking. The very nature of the
sports demands taking, not giving. It demands time, devotion and
money, lots of money. Auto racing has always been that way, and
always will be. But if you scratch the surface, sometimes, just
sometimes, you can find instances when the kindness of the human
spirit can be added into the traditional, and often greedy,
motorsports recipe.
Such was the case at the recent Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert
race, when a team of big-hearted southern California businessmen
and off-road racers came together to form “Team Wahoo’s Baja
Charity Run 2.” Eschewing traditional conventional motorsports
greed, this diverse group from various industries united to race
the most famous desert marathon in the world while also donating
much needed food and firefighting supplies to the people of San
Felipe, a beachside village on the Sea of Cortez that stood at
mile 357 of the 2008 Baja “Mil.” -
more
-
 December
15, 2008-
41st SCORE Baja 1000
Title Escapes Reigning Trophy Truck Champions
Orange CA - Desert racing champions, Mark Post and Rob
MacCachren, arrived at the start line of this year’s SCORE Baja
1000 along the historical Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center
on Ensenada’s Malecon. They donned nearly identical Riviera
Racing Alpinestar Nomex race suits and mingled with fans and
racers awaiting the start of this year’s 631.35 mile race.
Nearby, the whispers from others were apparent as many looked
on, speculating which driver would enter and start the #1
Rockstar/Makita/Monarch Grand Vacations SCORE Trophy Truck.Among
the hustle and bustle of the start line activities, SCORE CEO –
Sal Fish signaled the start of the 41st edition of the longest
point-to-point race in the world, as fans and crews moved away
from the roar of the 800 horsepower Trophy Trucks. -
more
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December
15, 2008
-
 INDUSTRY
NEWS
ADVANSTAR COMMUNICATIONS AND RYAN COMMUNICATIONS
GROUP ANNOUNCE OWNERSHIP TRANSFER OF DIRT SPORTS
Santa Ana, CA
-
Advanstar Communications and Ryan Communications
Group today announced an alliance of the two
companies that will transfer ownership of
Dirt
Sports Magazine and the dirtsportsmag.com web
site to Ryan Communications Group (RCG), led by
Jim Ryan, former Group Publisher of
Dirt
Sports and Advanstar’s Off-Road Group.
-
The alliance will allow for the two companies to
continue providing a leading portfolio of multimedia
products and services to the light truck market and to
the off-road motorsports industry. The Off-Road Expo
events and Off-Road.com will remain part of Advanstar
and join the company’s Automotive Group, alongside
Search-Autoparts.com,
Motor Age, Aftermarket Business, Automotive Body
Repair News and Motor Age Training. As part of the
agreement, both Advanstar and RCG will continue to
provide cross-marketing and promotional opportunities
to advertisers, readers and visitors across their
respective off-road portfolios. -
more
-
 December
12, 2008-
Heidi Steele Makes
Desert Racing History
Heidi
Steele capped off an impressive 2008 racing year with two historic
firsts. As the driver of record for her team’s Desert Assassins Ford
Ranger in Class 7SX, she became the first woman to earn a SCORE
truck season title when her team wrapped up the points championship
at the final race of the year at the Baja 1000. During the five-race
SCORE series, the team took class victories in two races during the
season and finished every mile of every race.
Being that her team didn’t miss a single race mile during the 2008
SCORE season, Steele made another historic first this year as the
first female driver ever to win the SCORE Toyota Milestone award,
which is given to teams who complete every mile of every SCORE race
in a given season. To cap off the season, Steele and team finished
in third at the Best in the Desert race this past weekend in
Henderson, Nevada, which was enough for the team to earn the overall
class 7100 points championship in the series as well. -
more
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December
12, 2008
-
Curt LeDuc and Toyo Tires®
Capture Class 8000 in 2008 Best In The Desert Championship
HENDERSON, NV – Curt LeDuc and his Rockstar/Makita/Kal Gard
Lubricants/Toyo Tires® Ford F-150 truck team have proven to be a
dominant force in off-road racing in 2008. The team won Class 8000
this past weekend at the Henderson’s Fabtech Desert Classic in
Henderson, Nevada. By doing so, they have won the 2008 Best In The
Desert off-road series Class 8000 championship for the second year in
a row on 37X13.50R17 Toyo® Open Country M/T®-R tires. To make the year
even more remarkable, the team won 100-percent of the desert races
they entered in 2008 (both BITD and SNORE series) for a perfect season
and for a second consecutive BITD championship on Toyo. -
more
-
 December
11, 2008
Five
Drivers Head to Glen Helen Baja Cup with a Shot at a
Championship
Heber,
California - After a season of close quarters
racing, the 2008 KMC Wheels TROPHYLITE Series
Presented by KC HiLiTES is set to conclude this
weekend at the Baja Cup Challenge taking place at
the storied Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino,
California. TROPHYLITE points are scored by adding
the best four out of five races of the season. This
equation has added some great excitement to the end
of the year championship battle. Following a hard
fought point's battle Louis Chamberland leads Gary
Messer, Mike Jenkins, Glen Rolfe and Vance Smith in
drivers who have a mathematical shot at winning the
inaugural TROPHYLITE Championship. -
more
-
 December
10, 2009
-
Ricky
Johnson Off-Road Grand Prix Official Announcement & Race Schedule
- Ricky Johnson Off-Road GP is pleased to be working with the
following industry leaders to present an amazing series to our fans.
LUCAS OIL, SPEED CHANNEL, TERRIBLE HERBST HOTEL and TERRIBLE HERBST
GAS STATIONS, and USAC RACING. -
more
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-
 December
8, 2008
-
SCORE Announces Five-Race
Schedule for 2009 SCORE Desert Series
-
Los Angeles, CA Celebrating its 36th year as the world’s foremost
desert racing sanctioning body, SCORE international officially
announced today its five-race schedule for the 2009 SCORE Desert
Series.
Making the announcement before an enthusiastic crowd at the annual
SCORE Awards Night Saturday in Primm, Nev., SCORE CEO/President Sal
Fish announced the schedule as well as revealing that there will be no
increase in SCORE race fees and that in another effort to help contain
the cost of racing that the season-ending SCORE Baja 1000 will be a
‘loop’ race again, starting and finishing in Ensenada, Baja
California, Mexico. -
more
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December
5, 2008
-
Jim
Baldwin Relinquishes Operations of Championship Off Road Racing
Newport Beach, CA —Today, CORR owner Jim Baldwin has announced
that he is stepping down as CEO of Championship Off Road Racing.
While retaining ownership, Mr. Baldwin will relinquish control
of the day to day operations and management of the off road
racing series and elevate Cissy Baldwin to CEO. PMF Event
Services Executive Producer, Jason Markham, will be also joining
Cissy Baldwin on the management team.
In just under four years since purchasing CORR, Mr. Baldwin
brought short course off road racing to national level. Despite
difficulties brought on by the current economic recession, CORR
has experienced triple digit growth in all aspects including
spectator attendance, race participants, national awareness, and
television viewers. -
more
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December
2, 2008
-
INDUSTRY NEWS
The Future of
CORR Hangs in the Balance It
seems that as quickly as Championship Off Road Racing grew in
popularity in 2008, the series just as rapidly deteriorated amid the
economic downturn and financial woes facing the nation.
Unfortunately, this left race teams, sponsors and off-road companies
with any connection to the series left wondering what the future
holds for CORR – or more importantly, whether they will be involved
with it.
CORR’s 2008 race schedule initially called for a 16-race schedule
over eight weekends in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Diego. The
series featured live coverage on both SPEED and NBC, which helped to
provide off-road short-course racing exposure to a broad audience,
which seemed to be working as the series was gaining a steady
following of fans.
But halfway through the year, speculation began to grow that the
series was in trouble. -
more
-
 December
2, 2008
-
Raffo Racing Ends Day
at the Lake – Laguna Salada
Arlington Heights, IL - The 2008 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 saw
Chris Raffo and his #304 Fig Partners DiMare Fresh Phil’s Inc.
BFGoodrich Tire Class 3 Chevy Blazer looking to conquer the
forty first edition of this epic off-road race. The course was a
six hundred thirty two mile (approximately 1000 kilometers) trek
that would begin and end in Ensenada. Some of the trails used
for this years event, had not been raced on in over ten years,
and many considered this year’s course to be among one of the
toughest courses ever created by SCORE officials. -
more
-
 December
2, 2008
-
INDUSTRY NEWS
Cecil
Wright, founder of The Wright Place Remembered
El Cajon, CA - We are sorry to report the passing of Cecil
Wright, former off road racer and owner of The Wright Place from
the 1960's through the 1990's.
The family desires to get the word out to friends, former
employees and customers who may be interested in attending his
service.
Services will be held in Bonita, California at Glen Abbey in the
Little Chapel of the Roses on Friday, December 5 at 10 am.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lewy Body
Dementia Association, P.O. Box 451429, Atlanta, GA 31145 or
online at
www.lbda.org
, or to Chula Vista Presbyterian Church, 940 Hilltop Dr., Chula
Vista, CA 91911.
Please share this news with off road enthusiasts who may have
known Cecil or bought off road products from The Wright Place.
-
source
-
 December
1, 2008
-
ATK Engine
Powers a Jeep Wrangler to Baja 1000 Win
Santa Ana, CA - A Jeep Wrangler entered
by Clive Skilton and ATK North America driven by four time Baja
Champion Darren Skilton and Co-Driver Jon Krellwitz took the win
for 4x4 SUV’s at the 2008 SCORE-International Baja 1000 in
Ensenada, Mexico. The race truck, branded
with Team ATK decals, finished the race in 18 hours and 46
minutes. In addition to a class victory, the
team was able to finish in 31st place out of 395
registered entries, beating all Class 7, 7S, Class 8, Baja
Challenge and all but one Pro Truck to the finish line. -
more
-
 December
1, 2008
-
SCORE Baja 1000: Volkswagen masters Baja only on 13th position
Ensenada, BC, MX -
At the
maiden race of the Baja Race Touareg TDI Volkswagen mastered the
extreme rigours of the famous Baja 1000 straight away. After more than
1,000 kilometres through the rough terrain of the Mexican peninsula
California the drivers, Mark Miller and Ryan Arciero (both USA),
safely brought the newly developed prototype home to the finish in
Ensenada. For the first time in the 41-year history of American
off-road racing a vehicle with innovative Clean Diesel technology thus
successfully contested the demanding Baja 1000 in the fiercely
competitive top class of the high-performance Trophy Trucks. -
more
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December
1, 2008
-
Dakar Rally Updates
-
The Road to Buenos Aires Goes
through Le Havre
Issy-les-Moulineaux, France - A first series of technical and
administrative scrutineering started today at the docks of Le Havre.
In two days, close to 720 vehicles will be fully checked, that’s 80%
of the total of cars, bikes, quads, trucks and assistance vehicles
that will take part in the 2009 edition of the Dakar. -
more
-
The Dakar boards for South America
Issy-les-Moulineaux, France -
Next stop,
Buenos Aires ! The
administrative and technical scrutineering for the Europeans finishes
Thursday evening at
Le Havre where the last of
the 710 vehicles will go through a mandatory series of checks.
- more
-
December
1, 2008
-
2008 Toyota Milestone
Winners
Los Angeles, CA - After 1,692.50 dusty and rugged desert racing miles,
14 of the world’s best desert racers have survived the challenges of
the 2008 SCORE Desert Series to earn coveted 2008 SCORE Toyota
Milestone Awards. The 14 drivers earned their prestigious honors by
finishing every required mile in the World’s Foremost Desert Racing
Series. The 2008 SCORE Toyota Milestone Award winners will all be
honored Saturday night (Dec. 6) along with the 2008 SCORE Desert
Series point champions and 2008 SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year winners
at Terrible’s Primm Valley Resort in Primm, Nev. -
more
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