Minneapolis, January 4, 2011 -Polaris comes into the 2011 race season with teams competing in the Grand National Cross Country series (GNCC), World Off-Road Championship series (WORCS), Best in the Desert (BITD), TORC, LUCAS and Mud racing. Polaris also will continue to offer their ATV racing contingency program.
"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 hope to continue our momentum with the Sportsman XP 850 and are excited to introduce our new RANGER RZR XP 900 to Side-by-Side racing."
Rath Racing is back for a third year to race the Sportsman XP 850 with Power Steering and the new RANGER RZR XP 900 in GNCC. Daryl Rath continues to dial in the Sportsman XP 850 and has his sites set on No. 1 in the "4x4 Open" class. Rath also will race the new RANGER RZR XP 900 in the "Open Modified" Side-by-Side class.
Polaris will continue to support the Yokley Racing/National Guard race team for 2011. William Yokley took his National Guard RANGER RZR 800 to the top of the "Open Modified" class for 2010 and will look to repeat his title with the new RANGER RZR XP 900 in 2011. Yokley's new teammate, Scott Kiger, will race the RANGER RZR XP 900 in all WORCS events this season and looks to take the top spot in that series.
Jagged X looks to keep their championship streak alive in Best in the Desert Championship with the new RANGER RZR XP 900. Brandon Schueler, Chad Riccio and Mike West will be back for another exciting season in the new 88-horsepower, extreme Side-by-Side.
RJ Anderson will be back to race the TORC and LUCAS Oil series with his new Walker Evans RANGER RZR XP 900. When he's not tearing up those series, Anderson also will try select WORCS and GNCC races.
Highlifter
Team Highlifter-Polaris Racing will be muddin' on Polaris' once again for 2011. The team will be racing Sportsman 850 XP, Sportsman 550, RANGER XPs and RANGER RZRs.
Polaris also will continue to offer an ATV race contingency program, in eight ATV racing series, with a total purse of almost $400,000. Polaris is offering contingencies in GNCC, WORCS, ATVA-AMA Motocross Nationals, AMA National Harescramble, Iowa ATV Hare Scramble Series (IATVHSS), New England ATV Motocross Series (NEATV), the Heartland Challenge and Canadian Motorsport Racing Club Series (CMRC). Racers must race 2008 or newer quads, and utility classes must be raced on a Sportsman XP 850 or Sportsman 550. More information and complete rules about Polaris' ATV racing contingencies can be found at www.polarisfactoryracing.com.
With annual 2009 sales of $1.6 billion, Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER(r), snowmobiles and Victory Motorcycles(r) for recreational and utility use. Polaris is a recognized leader in the snowmobile industry, and one of the largest manufacturers of ORVs in the world. Victory Motorcycles, established in 1998 and representing the first all-new American-made motorcycle from a major company in nearly 60 years, are rapidly making impressive in-roads into the cruiser and touring motorcycle marketplace. Polaris also enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Pure Polaris(r) apparel, accessories and parts, available at Polaris dealerships.
Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "PII," and the Company is included in the S&P Small-Cap 600 stock price index.
Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories, is available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime from the Polaris homepage at www.polarisindustries.com.