BRP’s Can-Am Commander SxS, driven by Francisco Lopez and co-pilot Claudio Troncoso, won the Morocco Rally in the UTV category after covering 2,000 kilometres of challenging African terrains. The duo made international headlines last week due to their impressive finish in the Morocco Rally, becoming the only SxS competitor to complete the six gruelling stages of the 2011 edition, in addition to placing 21st within the car category.

Lopez and his Can-Am Nextel Team attributed their victory to the pilots’ experience, the Can-Am Commander SxS’s outstanding performance, and the unwavering support of Jaton Racing, a Spanish company that prepared the side-by-side vehicle for the race, and provided mechanical assistance through its duration.

“Our starting objective for the race was clear: test the Can-Am Commander SxS’s capacity in difficult terrains to ensure a solid performance in the 2012 Dakar. We weren’t aspiring to win,” Lopez commented after the race. “By the last day, we had a new objective: become the first SxS vehicle in the history of the UTV class to finish the Morocco Rally.”

The Can-Am Nextel Team, who drew substantial media attention during its first appearance in the 2011 Dakar, set their sights on the Moroccan desert in early 2011. The purpose was to learn from BRP’s Can-Am Commander SxS’s performance in a rally that would allow them to adapt the unit and ensure a victorious 2012 Dakar appearance in the UTV category.

“BRP’s Can-Am Commander SxS reflects our DNA in its purest tradition,” said Chris Dawson, vice-president and general manager, International division. “This very unique side-by-side has been designed to bring a new level of power, cutting-edge design and meaningful innovations. To finish first in its category in its first test – the only SxS to complete the race – certainly delivers on our promise.”

The Can-Am Nextel Team will take the wheel of a 2011 Can-Am Commander SxS in a quest to secure its second international rally victory in the UTV segment at the 34th edition of the Dakar Rally.

Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. (BRP), a privately held company, is a world leader in the design, development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorised recreational vehicles. Its portfolio of brands and products includes: Ski-Doo and Lynx snowmobiles, Sea Doo watercraft and boats, Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines, Can-Am all terrain and side-by-side vehicles and roadsters, as well as Rotax engines. BRP products are distributed in more than 100 countries.

www.brp.com

Discuss this race and all things Can-Am Commander over at CommanderForums.org!

Well a lot of time, effort and resources were spent over the last couple of months, all of which culminated on June 26th, 2011.

I headed for Colorado Springs with a set of Hoosier tires, my race gear and some tool boxes. The newly finished RZR-X drove through the night from Lake Havasu City and met me just in time for tech inspection on Tuesday June 21st. This was the first time I had seen the RZR-X completed with it’s new cage, doors and top and boy did it look good!

MCX-USA, Makin’ Trax Suspension and myself spent the next three test days on the mountain doing our best to dial everything in. Each day we seemed to make big improvements in the tire set up, tuning and suspension. We even spent the afternoons out at PPIR testing different CVT belt sizes and addressing the cooling system. Even though we never had an overheat issue on any of the practice days or even when hot-lapping the RZR-X for 15 minutes straight, we still wanted to try and cover all of our bases. We cut out all the excess plastic in front of the radiator, hard wired the fan, added an electric fan to the oil cooler and hard wired it as well. Bases covered, ready for race day or at least we thought.

After reviewing our practice times and being just seconds off some of the fastest Super Stock cars, we couldn’t wait for race day and we were excited about our chances!

Race day rolls around and while there was no moisture in sight, it was super windy and hot. It wasn’t just warm it was down right hot! It was creeping up to triple digits at the bottom of the mountain and just about as warm at the start line. I was hoping to run somewhere before noon, but with all the wrecks and stoppages I didn’t get to go off until mid-afternoon.

Between the heat and the adrenaline I was ready to go! I finally got the green flag and I was off to the races. I smoked the bottom section and managed to shave off 14 seconds off my best practice time. While there was some good blue-groove in sections the dirt was still super loose! It was a handful to keep the RZR-X on the road and moving fast in a straight line. There was even one hairpin that I pushed straight through! Luckily there was room for error and I managed to salvage the turn without loosing too much time. I made it through the dirt section successfully and proceeded to run a solid line through the W’s.

Everything seemed to be going really well and there were no signs of slowing down. Well, that was just before the last turn approaching Devil’s Playground. Just as I come out of the turn the engine flutters and falls on it’s face. I pumped the gas, as if that was going to help and suddenly it picked back up for a few hundred yards. I thought maybe it was just a glitch until it finally stalled down to a complete stop. I couldn’t believe it. I just sat there in shock for several minutes trying to start it with no avail. I was just sick! Things were going so well and I was so close to the finish line. I had my fastest section ahead of me and I could taste the 11′s!

I couldn’t stand the thought of being towed down the mountain so after about an hour I decided to try and start it up. And wallah! It fired right back up like nothing had happened. I was dumbfounded.

I got back down to the bottom and after talking it over with everyone we found some melted split loom on top of the motor. This is when we realized that the motor got hot enough to vaporize the fuel lines and lock the motor up. Since it was uncommonly hot on the mountain and we never were able to make a full run up the mountain until race day, we didn’t show any signs of this beforehand. So unfortunately I had to learn this lesson the hard way.

Even with everything that happened we still made a huge impression on the mountain! Everyday the RZR-X was getting complements and drawing crowds. Most of the people on the practice days were astonished with my practice times and the race officials even moved me from the motorcycles/quad group up to the cars! Fan Fest was also a huge hit and if the RZR-X had one picture taken, it probably had a thousand.

Since I did make it so far up the mountain it gave me a good idea what my time would have been. So from the start line to basically where the RZR vapor locked was 8:45! My practice time from that very section to the finish line was a 3:05 and that was from a standing stop. I honestly believe with those two numbers that I would have run an 11:50 or better!

All and all I knew that we did everything we could and we honestly didn’t leave anything on the table. I guess that’s why they call it racing, otherwise it would probably just be known as winning. I’m also lucky that I didn’t have a diver error or wreck. After seeing all the busted up vehicles and the flight-for-life helicopter carry people out, I realized I had a lot to be grateful for!

Well that’s enough talk for now! Watch the embedded video below or I recommend visiting YouTube through the link so you can watch the run in a larger window and in 1080p!

Click here to view the embedded video.

As if last years PPIHC wasn’t enough, Doug Siddens a.k.a 4Nines is back to make yet another big splash!

This year, with a lot of help from MCX-USA Doug’s 2009 Polaris RZR-S has been chopped, stretched, slammed and stuffed with a 998cc Yamaha Apex motor. All of that AND it’s being force-fed by an MCX intercooled turbo system.

More info on this build can be found here: http://www.rzrforums.net/pits/51297-2011-ppihc-build.html

The video you’re about to see is what 260 all-wheel drive horsepower looks like when shoehorned into a lightweight side by side. The feeling? Well, nothing short of insane. When the boost hits it’s almost like you’re ripping a hole through reality! And the best part, that was just the break-in. Race day plans are to run closer to, if not more than 300 horsepower and crank up the top end speed to 100 mph!

Last years build resulted in 100 all-wheel drive horsepower and laid down a time of 14:03. Very respectable since the top speed last year was at best 75 mph. Needless to say, this year with about 3x the horsepower and more than 20 mph faster top speed, the RZR-X should lay down and impressive time. One that will hopefully put this UTV with fast company!

June 26th, 2011 is race day, so save the date and check back here for more news and info.

Without further adieu, I bring to you the Pikes Peak RZR-X!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Congrats to Keenan Rogerson of Madhouse Motorsports on winning the Valley Off Road Racing Association (VORRA) “UTV 1000 Class” and the overall this past weekend, at Prairie City OHV Park, in Folsom, Calif. The team won all three motos in their RANGER RZR XP 900!

Photo Source: Photo by Jon Crowley, www.UTVGuide.net

The Polaris RANGER RZR models hit the bogs at Highlifter’s Mud Nationals and came away victorious in both the Mud Bog and Mudda Cross RUV classes.

Team SuperATV.com took the Mud Bog RUV class with their RANGER RZR 800 with Team Highlifter Polaris Racing’s Brian Haughton taking third in a RANGER RZR XP 900. The Mud Bog RUV class is a race of durability that takes the racers through 150 ft of very thick mud.

The Mudda Cross RUV race consisted of two laps around a 150-feet oval filled of mud and water which tested durability, power and handling. Team Highlifter Polaris Racing’s Haughton put his RANGER RZR XP 900 through its paces taking top honors.

PHOTO CREDIT: Credit Jon Crowley, www.UTVGuide.net

I was chatting with an old wheeling buddy recently about racing UTVs out west, and he mentioned that ECORS: http://www.ecors.com was starting a UTV class and it was close to home, so I decided I’d go check it out. Today was the first race of the season located at “The Flats” in Marion, NC, and we were excited to see how many UTVs would show up and race the same courses that the Class A & B trucks run. Needless to say, we didn’t know what to expect of the turnout, let alone the course. We arrived a little before 8am, got through the check-in gate, grabbed our sexy yellow media vests, and parked the truck. We cruised over to the driver’s meeting to see some old friends and catch up with Brit from Octane Media in his new RZR XP. Having only spent about 5 minutes of time in the new RZR XP, I wanted to see how it would fair against two highly modified RZR S’s that were there too. But, before the race even began, I learned from Brit that while out pre-running the course the day before, he smacked a tree and broke his passenger side front a-arm. So, in to town yesterday afternoon him and his friends went to see if they could do some quick fab work to make it drivable. And, they did, but unfortunately after only a lap and a half, the only material they could put their hands on in town wasn’t strong enough to hold up to the task. Here’s a short video of all the action between the brand new RZR XP 900 and the two modified RZRs:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a video of Brit’s short-lived race out front the entire time, I might add:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Once Brit was out, we continued filming Tim Wyatt and Jim in their RZR’s. Unfortunately for Tim, he lost 4wd and popped a tire about 9-10 laps through the race, leaving only Jim left to race the 2 hour time limit. Jim successfully finished with no damage, but the same can’t be said for Brit and Tim. After getting back down the hill, I went over to Tim’s trailer and asked him if he had a bent tie rod or something broke in his front end, and he didn’t think so. But, after looking at it further, he bent the front rear portion of the lower a-arm mount on the frame up and in, which is why you’ll notice in a couple of the pictures his tires are pointing in way too much. Needless to say, he’ll have a little bit of work cut out for him before the next Rally Raid race in Durhamtown, but we expect to see him there.

It’s also important to note that thanks to Brit Mansell from Octane Media, Dragon Fire Racing is sponsoring this year’s ECORS series with the following contingency program:

1st Place – $100 Gift Certificate
2nd Place – $50 Gift Certificate
3rd Place – $50 Gift Certificate for Hard Luck Award ($200 minimum purchase)

These awards will continue all season, so let’s get some folks out and race!

Overall, the racing was a blast to watch, and I hope the turnout continues to increase over time. Jim ending up taking the win about 5 minutes under the 2-hour cutoff time completing 15 laps in the same amount of time some of the trucks only completed 10 laps. Please help spread the word, and we’ll see you on April 30th in Auburn, AL at The Great American Park.

Written by Chris from UTVReport.com

The first GNCC Side-by-Side race of the year saw reigning Side-by-Side champ, William Yokley, take the checkered flag in the “Open Modified” class with his new Polaris National Guard RANGER RZR XP 900. Polaris Racing’s Daryl Rath finished third also aboard a RANGER RZR XP 900.

“What a great way to start the 2011 GNCC Side-by-Side season,” said Donna Beadle, Polaris Racing Team Manager. “The teams have worked very hard prepping the new car for its inaugural GNCC race and their work has definitely paid off.”

Yokley currently holds the points lead in both the GNCC and WORCS series with his RANGER RZR XP 900 and will be back in action this weekend, at the WORCS race, in Arizona. Rath will race his Sportsman XP 850, at the Steele Creek GNCC race, March 26. He currently sits in third place in the 4×4 Open Class.

In other racing news, a RANGER RZR 4 800 piloted by Bill Morris of Bakersfield, California won the SCORE “San Felipe 250” and was the only car to finish out of the four starters. Morris had the lone RANGER RZR in the brutal race.

The 2010 Whiplash Racing Pro-Mod champions Brian Bush of Rotax Your Rhino, and co-driver Greg Frantz of Lonestar Racing, take home a third place finish in their first running of the King Of The Hammers!

In 2010, Brian decided that he, and Lonestar Racing had molded his 2006 Yamaha Rhino into a machine that could not only finish what has been described as the toughest off-road race in the world, but he believed he could race with the leaders (the who’s who of UTV racing), and finish in the front of the pack. Unfortunately, he runs a Rotax V-twin engine, and was ineligible due to the fact that this particular engine was never offered in a UTV from the factory.

July 1, 2010, Can-Am released the all new Can-Am Commander which comes stock with the same popular engine that Brian, and many others currently run in their outdated Yamaha Rhino’s. Brian’s first reaction to this news was that he would be in contention to enter the 2011 running of the King of the Hammers!
The team ran the Whiplash Offroad Racing Series in 2010, and did surprisingly well for their first entry into an entire race series. The Pro-Mod championship was theirs for the taking. The car that Brian built only had 1 part failure during the whole series, causing their only DNF for the season. (Wheel studs)

When it came time to prepare for KOH, there wasn’t too much to do to the car. Brian installed a set of 3/8” UHMW skid plates from Factory UTV, a Quickshot spare tire and jack mount from Pro-Armor, a set of Pitbull Rocker 26.5” tires, a second battery and bracket from Rhino Parts and Performance, and a hand-me-down winch from his friends at Freedom RV in Tucson.

The two didn’t have time to get to Hammer Town early enough to pre-run the race course. Because of this they were quite nervous and spent most of the night before the race worrying, and reading race course maps and strategizing the run. “I must say that the course markers were clear and well laid out. Thanks to Reid Nordin for the time he invested in this”

The morning of the race was a frigid one. Some were reporting temperatures under 30 degrees. Brian and Greg made their way to the starting line and were placed in 16th position out of 18. Once they were rolling, and nerves were settling, Brian began to get a feel for his taller ride height, larger tires, and no sway bar. By the first technical section they had passed two or three cars and were making their way over the first obstacle when they encountered stopped race traffic and a race car blocking the course. At this point Greg exited the vehicle to assist the stuck racer. During this time, Brian shifted the car into reverse and immediately felt the shifter linkage break. With some quick thinking, he was able to remove a portion of the engine cover and discovered he could shift the transmission by reaching into the engine compartment. By the time Greg was back to the car, at least five minutes had passed and the stuck race car was still blocking the course. Greg scouted an alternate route down and around the stopped traffic. Once the team made it down the mountain and into the valley, Brian put his foot in it and didn’t look back.

Save for the broken shifter, the LSR XTR-F suspended Rhino was working flawlessly and they were able to take on some of the biggest whoops and ruts they had ever seen. Not much was slowing them down. When they made their way into the first named rock section called “Elvis”, there were a number of stuck, and/or slow moving vehicles blocking the course. Again, Greg got out to assist those drivers through this section. What took probably only five minutes felt like an eternity to Brian who was as patient as could be. Once these vehicles were moved, Brian quickly made his way down through the rock section with Greg spotting him.

Once back at race speed, Brian was driving as if he was going to win this race. They had no idea where they stood, but assumed it was towards the front of the pack as they had already passed a handful of cars, and some that were broken on the side of the course.

When they reached the second named rock section, “Aftershock” they immediately knew that this section was going to be the “make or break” part of the course. After rounding the first corner they were greeted with an excited audience that was cheering them on. While running this section, Greg was out of the car spotting for lines. Sometime during this section a number of spectators told Greg that our team was running in first place. Once through the section Greg reentered the race car and told Brian what he had just heard. Neither of them could believe that they were in first place as they knew that they hadn’t passed 15 cars. At any rate, this news was enough to excite the two into believing that they would not only finish this race, but finish on the podium. Nervously, Brian once again put his foot in it as to not allow any other racers to catch up. This was met with some resistance from Greg as he wasn’t going to allow Brian to throw it away due to his excitement. There were a few “boulders” that Brian hit so hard the car became partially airborne. “We can’t say enough good things about Factory UTV’s UHMW skid plates.”

Once the team made it over the last pass and had a view into Hammer Town, they slowed down for a moment to look for traffic up front, and behind. There was no sign of any traffic in either direction, and the team still didn’t know for sure whether they were in the lead or not. What they did know, was that there was nobody behind them for miles.

The last three or so miles was a heavily whooped out downhill sand section with the opportunity to open the car up, and put Lonestar Racing’s XTR-F suspension to the test. Brian set the cruise control around 55 mph through this section as it was obvious that we could have gone much faster, but doing so was risking throwing the race away and they were running low on fuel. When the two made it to the “Green”? flag, they were told it was the finish line and that they had placed third!

“This race was by far the best racing experience of my life! There is nothing cooler than high speed desert racing mixed with some of the most demanding and technical rock crawling that a UTV has ever encountered. I have done my share of rock crawling in UTV’s, but never under race conditions. This alone makes for an adrenaline rush like no other! Also, the fact that we’re able to race our UTV’s at what is likely the biggest off-road race in the country, makes it all that much cooler.

I would like to thank my co-driver Greg Frantz for being flat out awesome! He’s a level headed guy with the skills and patience to put up with me, and help guide me along the way. I wish you guys could hear our PCI intercom chatter. We’re quite hilarious. We’re either scared silent, arguing about something, or joking and laughing our ass’ off while we race! I wouldn’t have had the successes that I’ve had in off-road racing if it wasn’t for him. You rock G.”

“I would also like to thank Ultra4Racing, Dave and Jeff Knoll, Reid Nordin, Joey DiGiovanni, Rusty Baptist, and Michael Green of Pitbull Tires for sponsoring this event!
Congratulations to Jagged Extreme for taking home the win, and Mitch Guthrie for his second place finish!”

Special thanks to our friends and sponsors:
Rotax Your Rhino – Lonestar Racing – UTVForums.net – UTVRacing.com
TCP Performance – Seizmik – PCI Race Radios – PRP Seats – Pitbull Tires – Muzzys – Banners Plus – Unisteer – Dalton Industries – UTV Offroad Magazine – AZ Amsoil – HJC Helmets

After three years of racing “King of the Hammers”, the Jagged X team won the side-by-side class with the new and nearly-stock RANGER RZR XP 900!

Since its original debut in 2008, the “King of the Hammers” race has been deemed the toughest off-road race in the world. The course is a 42-mile combination of open desert racing, narrow goat trails and huge rock trails. For the last two years, the Jagged X team raced their desert race car and while they were in the hunt, the heavier full-blown race car came up just short of the win. This year, the team took a little different approach and raced the new and nearly-stock RANGER RZR XP 900. The unit was modified only to comply with the safety requirements and equipped with a set of Elka Elite series shocks.

With the temperature hovering in the low 20s, the Jagged X team lined up in the tenth starting position with seventeen other side-by-sides. When the flag dropped, Brandon Schueler and co-driver Mike West charged off into the California desert with a group of very-well equipped competitors. The RANGER RZR XP 900 did an amazing job of reeling in the rest of the field and by the first rock trail, the team was running in third position. Shortly after, the only car between the No. 1919 and the finish line was the two-time winner Mitch Guthrie, also driving an almost-stock, very nimble and quick RANGER RZR 800. The two were separated by only a few feet for the next 15 miles but then in the last major rock section, known as Aftershock, Schueler was able to squeeze by and capture the lead. The two swapped the lead again in the bottom of the canyon but when the dust cleared, Jagged X came out ahead by nearly five minutes ahead of Guthrie, and the rest of the field was nearly an hour back.

“The new RANGER RZR XP 900 proved once again that Polaris is the only manufacturer to build a car that offers the power, suspension and agility to win one of the toughest races in the world,” said Brandon Schueler. “Jagged X would like to thank everyone who helped us to take the crown and become the KING of the HAMMERS!”

Special thanks go out to Polaris Industries, Elka Suspension, Pro Armor, Simpson safety equipment, CR Designs, OMF Performance and Renegade Seats.

Lynden, WA (January 26, 2011) Holz Racing topped the field in Side by Side Class 1 at the 2011 World Off-Road Championship Series in Taft, California, January 22, 2011, marking the first win for Can-Am’s Commander. Driver Mark Holz crossed the finish line more than two minutes ahead of the second place finisher in his first race piloting a Commander.

Holz-built UTVs are proven winners and now Mark Holz has turned his attention to the Can-Am Commander with sudden results! “We built the car on a short schedule and had little time for testing,” Mark said after the race. “Luckily the stock Commander is a sound design. Add our chassis and suspension parts make our Moto- works CanAm Commander a stable racer.”

Mark Holz finished 2 minutes overall in front of second place, an- other Holz equipped racer, Thomas Ward driving his Polaris RZR.