MARIETTA, Ga., Jan. 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, announces their returning factory-supported Side-by-Side (SxS) and ATV racers for the 2019 season, including reigning YXZ1000R and YFZ450R champions, along with over $100,000 in SxS and ATV bLU cRU racing championship bonuses for 2019. Registered racers competing in select series with their pure sport YXZ1000R SxS or podium-topping YFZ450R sport ATV models will be eligible for payout.
Yamaha’s latest bLU cRU program offers racing bonuses ranging from $15,000 to winning a YXZ1000R for eligible racers competing in select classes with Yamaha’s 2018 or newer YXZ1000R, YXZ1000R SS (Sport Shift) or YFZ450R models. Racers can register online at www.YamahabLUcRU.com to sign up and apply for bLU cRU benefits. Once approved, racers will receive a reloadable Yamaha bLU cRU debit card and $45 credit on their www.bLUcRUswag.com account for bLU cRU apparel. These racers will be eligible to receive championship bonuses paid directly to their bLU cRU debit card.
Starting the 2019 race season, Yamaha is offering $10,000 in potential bonuses at the grueling King of the Hammers (KOH) race on February 3. The top-finishing YXZ1000R in the UTV class will earn $5,000, plus an additional $5,000 with an overall win. The ULTRA4 Racing Series’ KOH is infamous for its punishing desert course through some of the roughest and most challenging rock and boulder sections of any timed event.
Yamaha will also join the world-debut Chasing the Triple by SXS Sports, a new series featuring ice, short course, and cross-country SxS racing, as the presenting sponsor of the Pro Stock class, with the YXZ1000R as the official pace vehicle for the year. In addition, if a bLU cRU racer competes in an eligible YXZ1000R at all four rounds and clinches the Pro Stock class, they will win a YXZ1000R. And even fans will have the opportunity to win by entering a drawing to ride copilot in a YXZ on the track with the Greaves.
“Yamaha is excited to welcome the 2019 race season alongside our new and returning ATV and Side-by-Side bLU cRU racers,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha’s motorsports marketing manager. “Whether you’re an amateur or multi-time defending champion, we all share a passion for racing, and we’re excited to see the bLU cRU program expand, in addition to our podium-proven vehicles competing across the multiple series and an even wider variety of environments this year.”
Representing Yamaha in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORRS) Production 1000 UTV class is the undefeated, two-time titleholder Brock Heger. Winning both LOORRS Production 1000 UTV championships since the class was introduced in 2017, Heger is looking to secure his third-straight as he continues to defend his title in his BH Motorsports / Yamaha / Weller Racing / Maxxis YXZ1000R. And for his first time ever, Heger will attempt to conquer this year’s KOH and select Best in the Desert rounds, vying for their bLU cRU bonuses in his YXZ1000R.
Returning for the second year of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Midwest Championship’s Pro Stock SxS class is decorated veteran and third-year Yamaha factory-supported racer, CJ Greaves in his Monster Energy / Maxxis / Yamalube / GYTR / Greaves Motorsports YXZ1000R. At only 23-years-old, Greaves is already an off-road racing legend, with an impressive resume including numerous short course SxS, Pro 2, and Pro 4 truck championships.
Heading up the ATV MX effort for Yamaha is the second all-time winning, six-time American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Pro ATV MX champion, Chad Wienen, on his Wienen Motorsports / SSI / Walsh / GYTR YFZ450R. In 2016, Wienen became the second racer in ATV MX history, and the only racer in 25 years to win five-straight AMA Pro ATV MX titles. Following a nail-biting victory in 2018, Wienen continues to make history as he chases his seventh ATV MX Championship. Wienen will also be representing Yamaha in the AMA’s all-new Production Stock Premier class.
Leading the GNCC circuit is long-time Yamaha factory-supported racing veteran, Walker Fowler, defending his fourth-straight GNCC XC1 Pro ATV championship on his WFR / GBC / Fly Racing YFZ450R. Fowler brings more than a decade of success to the team, placing first or second in every ATV series he’s contended in, starting with his GNCC debut in 2006.
Full bLU cRU championship bonuses for 2019 include:
| SxS Racing Series / YXZ1000R | |
| Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Midwest Championship Pro Stock SxS class: | $15,000 |
| Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Midwest Championship Pro Mod SxS class: | $15,000 |
| Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing, Pro Production 1000 class: | $15,000 |
| Best in the Desert (BITD), Production 1000 class: | $5,000 |
| King of the Hammers, UTV class (top-finishing YXZ1000R): | $5,000 |
| King of the Hammers, UTV class (overall win in a YXZ1000R): | $5,000 |
| Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Racing – SoCal, Production 1000 UTV class: | $5,000 |
| Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Racing – Arizona, Production 1000 UTV class: | $5,000 |
| SXS Sports Chasing the Triple, Pro Stock class: | YXZ1000R |
| World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS), SxS Pro Stock class: | $5,000 |
| ATV Racing Series / YFZ450R | |
| GNCC, XC1 Pro ATV class: | $10,000 |
| American Motorcycle Association ATV MX, Pro class: | $10,000 |
For more information on the bLU cRU program, including all guidelines and requirements for ATV and SxS racing, visit www.YamahabLUcRU.com. Follow Yamaha Outdoors on social at www.Facebook.com/YamahaOutdoors, www.Instagram.com/YamahaOutdoors, www.Twitter.com/YamahaOutdoors, or by searching the following hashtags: #YXZ1000R #YFZ450R #YamahaRacing #bLUcRU #ProvenOffRoad #REALizeYourPodium #REALizeYourAdventure #AssembledInUSA
About Yamaha Motor Corp., USA
Yamaha Motor Corp., USA (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the powersports industry. The company's ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, Outboard Motors, WaveRunner Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars, Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology (SMT) Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States. YMUS has a corporate office in Cypress, California, two corporate offices in Georgia, facilities in Wisconsin and Alabama, as well as factory operations in Tennessee and Georgia. Further U.S.-based Yamaha companies include Skeeter Boats (Texas), G3 Boats (Missouri), Bennet Marine (Florida), Yamaha Precision Propeller (Indiana), and Kracor, Inc. (Wisconsin).
ATVs over 90cc are recommended for use only by riders 16 years and older.
SxS Vehicles are recommended for use only by licensed drivers 16 years and older.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Scott Newby
Yamaha Motor Corp., USA
770-420-6078
Scott_Newby@Yamaha-Motor.com
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