Can-Am Renegade 800R X
xc racer Michael Swift earned the third spot on the Grand National Cross
Country (GNCC) series overall morning podium and won the U2 class at round
eight in West Virginia.
Swift led the way as
Can-Am racers won all five GNCC morning 4x4 classes and took all 15 podium
positions at the Mountaineer Run. The Masontown, WV, facility also hosted round
four of the GNCC SxS series, and Can-Am side-by-side pilots earned a total of
four podiums in three different classes. Can-Am racers also competed in both
the Canadian Quad Cross series and Texas Off-Road Nationals with good results.
"Our Can-Am ATV racers convincingly
took wins in all five of the GNCC 4x4 classes," said Can-Am race manager Jimmie
O'Dell. "I was thrilled to see Michael Swift put his Team UXC Racing/Can-Am
Renegade on the overall morning podium and to have Bryan Buckhannon extend his
perfect season in the 4x4 Open class. Can-Am racers earned a total of 20 podium
finishes at the Mountaineer, which is definitely a good trend heading into
round nine, right before the GNCC summer break."
The Mountaineer Run
course greeted ATV and side-by-side racers with rocks, steep hills and muddy
sections. Can-Am Outlander and Renegade ATV racers dominated the morning
racing, winning the five 4x4 classes and taking all 15 podium positions. Swift,
winner of five of the last six rounds, was the top finishing Can-Am racer. The
Team UXC Racing/Can-Am Renegade rider won the U2 class and also earned third on
the overall morning podium. Swift edged current class points leader and fellow
Can-Am Renegade pilot Rob Smith. Jordan Phillips joined them on the class
podium. Swift also drove his Team UXC Racing/Can-Am Maverick 1000R X rs side-by-side
to a third-place podium finish in the UTV XC2 Limited class.
"The U2 class was a
battle till the end. My Renegade worked awesome and I out motored everyone in
my class," said Swift. "The Maverick was great. The UTV track was crazy. The
rocks were huge and you really had to watch your machine."
Bryan Buckhannon (ATV
Parts Plus/Can-Am) continued his perfect season by winning the 4x4 Open class.
The Reigning 4x4 Open class champion is now 8-for-8 on the year with his Can-Am
Outlander 800R. Can-Am racers Sam Williams and Tanner Bowles also made the 4x4
Open class podium. Buckhannon also placed a very respectable fourth place overall
in the XC1 Modified class with his Can-Am Maverick side-by-side.
Defending 4x4 Lites
class champion Kevin Trantham extended his class points lead by winning his
seventh straight race. The Can-Am Outlander 500 DPS racer took fifth overall on
the morning podium and also earned third on the overall 4x4 podium at round
eight. Can-Am racers Andrew Langston and Scott Day rounded out the 4x4 Lites
class podium.
Forrest Whorton finished
ahead of fellow Can-Am Outlander racers Jerry Roberts and David Jessee to win
the 4x4 Senior (40+) class at The Mountaineer Run GNCC. The 4x4 Novice Class
podium was also swept by Can-Am racers, as Ryan Smith edged Brent Tindall and
Brian Lengvarsky to regain the class points lead. Can-Am racer Dustin Pigott
also took third in the Sportsman A/B class in West Virginia. JB Off-Road/Can-AM DS 450 Pro
Jarrod McClure notched his best finish of the year, earning fourth overall in
the XC1 ATV Pro class.
In round four of the
GNCC SxS series, Can-Am pilots earned four total class podium finishes. Along
with Swift in the XC2 Limited class, Team Travalena finished second in the XC3
Lites class with a Commander side-by-side. Two Can-Am race teams reached the
UTV Novice Limited class podium as Team Burkey edged the Extremetec Team for
second place.
Other Can-Am Racing News
Competing in other race
series in North America, Can-Am racers earned
several victories and podiums. At the rain-soaked Quad Cross MX in Franklin, QC,
Can-Am X-Team driver Charles Antoine Villeneuve earned the first SxS victory
ever in the QC series, winning the SxS 900-1000 class with his Maverick 1000R X
rs. Can-Am X-Team DS 450 racers Keven Vachon and Matheiu Deroy finished 1-2 in the Pro ATV class.
In the TORN off-road
series races in Bulcher, TX, Hunter Miller (Louis Powersports/Can-Am)
won the Open Expert ATV class on his DS 450 and took second in the SxS Expert
class with his Maverick 1000R X rs. Can-Am X-Team racer Cody Miller finished
third in the Open Expert ATV class. Chris Robinson won the Utility class on his
Renegade ATV at the Red River Trails course. Can-Am ATV racers Scott Dunn (30+
A), Lott Blackman (30+ C), Keith James (Utility) and Cain Shaw (Pee Wee C) all
finished second in their respective classes.