News

The 2011 High Lifter ATV Mud Nationals was bigger than ever and our 2012 promises to be even bigger! Get your ATVs and UTVs prepped for five days of mud-slinging fun at Mud Creek Offroad Park from Wednesday, March 28, 2012 to Sunday, April 1, 2012.

The event starts on Thursday April 12th through Sunday April 15th, but you can arrive at anytime, you do not have to stay the entire event, of coarse we want you to, but it is not a requirement. The event coincides with Autism Awareness month, and we ask that you try to wear something light blue during the event to honor this.

In 1989, ITP started a revolution with the introduction of the original Black Water. It was the ATV industry’s first dedicated mud tire, specifically built for the demands of the emerging utility/4WD quad market. Its performance and durability would set the class standard and help it become one of the most popular and recognizable aftermarket tire choices of all time.

Minneapolis, February 21, 2012 –This past Saturday, Polaris, in conjunction with the Wounded Warrior Project™ (WWP), gave away three, special, blacked-out RANGER RZRXP 4 900s to WWP Alumni. The “Phantom 4s” were presented to the three winners by representatives from the Wounded Warrior Project and Polaris. Polaris Defense surprised each winner by providing $5,000 worth of gear and accessories to outfit their new vehicles. Polaris also presented Wounded Warrior Project, $33,050 to honor the 1,322 people that entered the contest ($25 for each entrant).

Valcourt, Québec, February 15, 2012 – Motoworks / Can-Am DS 450 Pro racer Josh Frederick won round two of the 2012 World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) held in the desert at Buffalo Bill’s Casino and Resort in Primm, Nevada. Can-Am X-Team racer Hunter Miller won the Pro 450 ATV class and also won the UTV Unlimited class in the Texas Off-Road Nationals (TORN) series at Beaumont Ranch in Grandview, Texas.

Congrats to Mitch Guthrie and his RANGER RZR XP 900 for winning the Overall, at the King of the Hammers race, in Johnson Valley, Calif! Guthrie ran  a strategic race in his stock RZR XP through the dust, whoops and rocks and bested 38 other side-by-sides. The win is Guthrie’s third KOH win in a Polaris!

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a corrected Notice of Intent to address sage grouse in 10 additional National Forest System Lands and Resource Management Plans, and formally extended the comment period through March 23, 2012.  The notice was published in the February 10, 2012, Federal Register.

We have an important addition to our previous update on the RTP program.

We have good news to report! Minnesota Senator Klobuchar is planning to offer an amendment to the senate transportation spending bill that would fully restore RTP funding.

We received an update from Tod Petersen, Political Action Committee Chairman for the Washington Off-Highway Vehicle Alliance (WOHVA), regarding the Washington Off Highway Vehicle Alliance versus State of Washington - NOVA Funds lawsuit.

The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) faces a critical hurdle in Washington DC.  As you know, a portion of the tax you pay when you fill up your snowmobile, ATV, Dirt Bike, 4X4 or PWC is made available to develop and maintain thousands of miles of motorized (and non-motorized) trails across the nation.

The new Polaris Defense trailer made its way to Polaris’ headquarters near Minneapolis, Minn. to show off its new design. The truck goes to different military bases across the country promoting Polaris vehicles and training military customers.

San Diego, CA- 2/1/12 - UTVUnderground.com is proud to announce the release of our latest video project done in conjunction with sponsor Pro Armor. The short film now dubbed "The Movie" was produced during the 2012 Soboba GP weekend which was held the first weekend in January 2012 at the Soboba Indian Reservation. Together Pro Armor and UTVUnderground.com set out to create a video piece that did justice to the awesome event and race that the Soboba GP is and was.  From the now famed "Soboba Leap" jump contest to the exciting land rush start to the big race, UTVUnderground and Pro Armor were there to cover it all.

 Valcourt, Québec, February 1, 2012 – Dirt Trax Magazine, a North American ATV and off-road publication, has named three Can-Am off-road vehicles as 2012 Best In Class winners. The models, named in its latest issue currently on newsstands, are: 2012 Can-Am Outlander 1000 XT, Can-Am Renegade 1000 and the Can-Am Commander 800R.

Minneapolis, February 2, 2012 –Polaris comes into the 2012 race season with teams competing in the Grand National Cross Country series (GNCC), World Off-Road Championship series (WORCS), Best in the Desert (BITD) and Mud racing. Polaris also will continue to offer their ATV racing contingency program and has added a Side-by-Side contingency for the BITD series.

The U.S. Forest Service has released the Record of Decision and the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that addresses issues stemming from a lawsuit in federal court over gun hunting and snowmobiling in the Huron-Manistee National Forests.

Minneapolis, February 1, 2012 –RJ Anderson and his Walker Evans, Holz Racing Products built RZR XP started 2012 with a bang winning the Soboba GP UTV race and also broke the record for the longest jump in a factory-powered side-by-side at 151 feet!

I am sure many of you have followed the twists and turns of Winter Use Planning processes for the last twelve plus years.  There have been many.  In addition, the continuing legal battles in the Washington D.C. and Wyoming courts have yet to come to a conclusion that both sides will accept.

Lima, Peru,January 24, 2012 — BRP's Can-Am ATV and side-by-side teams reached their respective class podiums in the 34th edition of the most famous rally in the world, the Dakar Rally.  

This year's edition, noted by some as "the most challenging Dakar thus far," kicked off in Mar del Plata-Argentina, leading 30 hopeful ATV racers through approximately 9,000 kilometers (5,592 miles) of unparalleled terrains across Argentina, Chile, and finally, Peru.

This update just in from Douglas County, Nevada, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to hear a presentation on the components and framework of the Douglas County Conservation Bill on February 2, 2012.  Public comment will be heard on the item, but no action will be taken.  Public comment will also be taken at the Douglas County Board of Commissioners' February 16, 2012, meeting, at which time the Board may consider taking action.

Official Team Polaris/Xtreme Plus participated for the first time ever at the Dakar 2012, the world’s toughest off-road race. After having developed a special new FIA class (T3) for the RZR, the Polaris/Xtreme Plus Team had run some tests in several events, and won the Dakar Series, in Russia, in July 2011.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Yuma Field Office will hold an open house on Tuesday, February 7, 2012, to update the public on the La Posa Travel Management Plan (TMP).  The open house will be held at the Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) building located at 235 East Ironwood Street; Quartzsite, Arizona, from 2:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Spartanburg, SC – In cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, KYMCO USA is advising the general public of a potential safety defect found on the KYMCO UXV 500/500i, UXV 500/500i LE and UXV 500/500i SE models. All vehicles produced for model year 2009 – 2011 and a limited number of 2012 models are affected. (See below for more details.) This potential hazard can cause serious injury or death if not repaired by an authorized KYMCO dealer.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced the release of the final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for a new Forest Planning Rule. The Planning Rule is a set of regulations which governs how the U.S. Forest Service develops individual Forest Plans.  Forest Plans provide a broad management framework which often guides subsequent OHV-related project level planning. The agency's press release is HERE. The Rule is HERE

Valcourt, Québec, January 20, 2012 – Looking to build upon its unprecedented racing success in 2011 – a season that saw two Pro-class championships, two manufacturer’s cup titles, several amateur-class titles and a successful debut with the Commander side-by-side racing efforts — BRP will again field a team of Can-Am racers on both ATVs and side-by-sides in off-road racing series in the U.S. and Canada in 2012.

On January 9, 2012, BRC blasted a national land use update on the sage grouse issue and promised you an action alert. We are working hard assessing impacts to recreation and comment suggestions. We will have an update out soon.

Our partners over at the New Mexico Off Highway Vehicle Alliance (NMOHVA), just sent us a their latest Access Alert on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carlsbad Field Office's upcoming workshops.

The Coronado National Forest, located in southeastern Arizona, is considering changes to the designated road system. Now that travel analysis plans and proposed actions have been developed, the Forest Service is inviting public input and collaboration on the next phase of the travel management process.

San Diego, CA- 1/20/12 - UTVUnderground.com along with the industries top media outlets were invited to Parker, AZ in early January by Polaris Industries for a special event surrounding Polaris' newest sport model UTV. Polaris staff unveiled the new 2012 Polaris RZR-4 XP900 in spectacular fashion and during one of the area's busiest weekends. 

Morgantown, W.Va. (January 18, 2012) - The ATV Promoters Group (ATVPG) announces today a change in the location of the opening round of the AMA ATV Motocross National Championship Series. Round one, originally scheduled for March 24-25 at Millcreek in Pell City, Ala., will now take place the same weekend at Aonia Pass Motocross in Washington, Ga.

BRC just received an email from Mike Swenson, Executive Director of the Utah Shared Access Alliance (USA-ALL), with a quick note about an upcoming conference call with Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey that is open to the public.