Santiago,
Chile - BRP's
Can-Am ATVs swept the 4x4 podium Jan. 25 at the 2013
Dakar rally, the annual
off-road endurance race that covers 8,500 kilometers (5,282 miles) in South America.
Poised with their Can-Am Renegade X xc vehicles, the
triumphant Latin American pilots became figures of national pride as they
shared the first, second and third places on the 4x4 podium during the awards
ceremony in front of the La Moneda Palace in Santiago, Chile.
Team rider Sebastián Palma won the title of the 4x4 class, placing fifth in the
overall quad category.
Palma
took the race by storm, securing first place in the race's seventh stage, known
as one of the most challenging stages due to torrential rains.
"It is great pride, as a Chilean, to arrive in Santiago celebrating our performance in the Dakar," Palma
said. "Even more so after winning the title in my class and having won a stage among
all the quads."
In total, BRP-sponsored pilots participated aboard 13 vehicles:
nine Can-Am Renegade
800 X xc quads and four Can-Am Commander 1000 side-by-side
vehicles. The so-called
"yellow-blooded" racers, a nickname honoring BRP's legendary
color, came from all over South America (Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile
and Colombia)
to take on one of the most challenging races known to mankind and to make
history in the process.
The UTV category proved to be among the most challenging
categories. BRP's Can-Am side-by-side fleet was the only one to boast one
hundred percent completion of the Dakar.
This extraordinary achievement was a nod to BRP's dedication to innovation,
performance and handling.
Of special note is Colombian competitor Martha Mariño, who
was the first woman to ever race in the UTV segment of the Dakar. She and partner Carlos Bustamante,
also Colombian, placed sixth in the UTV category.
