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Bakersfield, Ca: 10/27/09: Davi Haagsma had a stellar year, both in WORCS and finishing up with the ITP series next month.  I had the pleasure to work with him this year in 2009, doing his press and PR.  I am pleased to announce I have secured a deal with H&M Motorsports and the Haagsma family for 2010 and hopefully beyond.  They have a very detailed and organized race team over here in Bakersfield with a very structured program to help assist Davi with his 2010 Pro debut.  With a full support of sponsors, Davi will turn Pro come January as he will begin his career at just 16 years of age.  I want to personally take this time and congratulate Davi on a successful 2009 season.  Haagsma secured the WORCS Production A class Championship, while finishing 2nd O/A in Pro-Am with the #2 plate.  He rode hard, consistent and stayed focus to the end while gaining a ton of respect and fans along the way.  Below you will find his October Newsletter along with (2) videos capturing his year and final round at Mesquite.

H&M Motorsports would like to thank their following sponsors for supporting them in the 2009 season and into 2010 and beyond: Kawasaki, Roll Design, Elka Suspension, Curtis Sparks Racing, Maxxis, Personal Edge Fitness, Oneal, JR Publications, Hinson Racing, Maxima Racing, Monster Energy, Decal Works, OGIO & ODI Grips

I would like to give a big thanks to Elka Suspension and especially Ethan. This was my first full season of racing in the New Mexico Desert Racing Championship series and took first place in the novice class. My Elites were flawless and allowed me to push harder and ride faster. The shocks soaked up whatever the terrain dished out including my occasional‚ mistakes. Ethan used his extensive knowledge and worked with me to find an awesome setup. Taking his time, he answered every question I had making sure everything was taken care of. Again thank you for all the support, I will be staying with Elka for a long time.

Robert Ochsner

October 20, 2009   Chandler, Arizona  – The last World Off Road Championship – ATV Series, was held in Mesquite, Nevada last weekend.  The last of 8 races on the West Coast proved to be exciting!  In the end, out of the possible 8 titles in the CVT classes for the youth, Apex riders took 7!

Pictured above from left to right is: Tanner Beckman, riding the Apex 250cc  (Shifter Open Sport, Shifter Open and 12-15 Shifter Champion)  YOUTH CHAMPIONS:  Alex Ortiz (Stock 90, Stock 70 Champion and 3rd Overall in the Sport Class on a stock Apex 90); Devin Borges (2nd Overall in the 90 Modified Class); Travis Beckman (70 Modified Champion and 2nd Overall in the 70 Open Class); Hunter Schumacher (50 Champion) and Tyler Beckman (90 Modified and Sport Champion)  Not pictured: Aidan Cash (3rd Overall 50 Class); Blake Sortor (3rd Overall in the 90 Modified); Riley Snow (3rd Overall 90 Stock); Trevor Sortor (2nd Overall 90 Stock); and Tyler Bunker (91 Open Champion).

We are very proud of all the kids.  They tried real hard this year and it shows!  CONGRATULATIONS!  We look forward to a great 2010!

Teri Beckman
Apex Atv

I installed Elka Suspension front and rear shocks on my 2005 BMW R1200RT in September. On Oct. 2nd I took the bike to the “Last Chance Campout” BMW rally in Oroville, WA all the way from Vancouver, BC via Washington highway 20 which is rated #1 by Destination Highways publishers.

The ride was fantanstic – I now know what “glued to the road” means. Except for increasing the preload, I left the factory settings. I will experiment later, but I am most pleased. Thanks.

Jeff J.

Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, CA was the host of round 7 of the WORCS series and many racers will never forget this race because of all the action that went on. – This race will mostly remembered because of the crash involving Natalie and Eichner on Fridays practice session. – Both riders were injured, but Eichner was the one that sustained the most serious injuries. – We can only hope for a speedy recovery for this respected racer.

Beau Baron was in the top five off the line and was on a hard charge trying to work his way up in the rough Glen Helen sand and heat. Despite a rough and rutted track, Baron began to pick off the competition one by one until reaching the number two spot at the midway point of the race.

Mike Cafro racing’s top racer managed to step on the podium for the 6th time this season and he is currently on the way to winning the championship.

As for Davi Haagsma, he continued to impress everyone who witnessed his win. He battled hard and strong and it paid off as he stepped on the podium with his No. 1 plate in hand. Davi Haagsma is a force to reckon with and we expect him to win the last race of this spectacular season.

Both Baron and Haagsma both race on Elka Suspension.

The Planetmoto.com Fines Double Racing Thundercat rocked the longest off road race in the USA. The Final Time for Riders Reid Rutherford, Benn Vernadakis and Tony Valerio in this 1000-mile race was 35hours and 12minutes.

The Fines Double Racing Team competed in the expert sport quad class on the Arctic Cat utility machine. The Thundercat beat out 10 sport quads in this race and was the only utility quad finisher.

“This Race was grueling and a great way for us to prepare for our championship run at the SCORE Baja 1000 in November,” said team captain Reid Rutherford. The Thundercat has won Every SCORE Baja race this year and is 52 points ahead of the closest competitor.  “The Can-Am teams have been no match for the reliability of the Thundercats 1000 cc power plant,” Rutherford added.

Once again, the Fines Double Racing Team is accepting donations to take down to the Door of Faith orphanage near Ensenada Mexico. If you are interested in donating please contact us at www.planetmoto.com . This is a great place that needs your help. Please look them up at www.dofo.org .

Planet Motorsports and Fines Double Racing thank all their sponsors and support crew.

Arctic Cat, ROX Risers, DWT, Motion Pro, Vision X lights, Green Ball Tires, Speedwerx, Planet Motorsports, Klim, Elka. Bradley’s Race works, Spider Grips, Montrose Signs—— Steve Rudd, Danny Rudd,  Alex Waters, Phil Heck, Ryan Best, Chris Evans, Jason Cook, Amy Rutherford, Blake Rutherford, Jessica Rutherford, Kaitlyn Rutherford,  Ron Craft, Tommy Craft, Brent Falin, Brad Falin,  Merlin Ladd, Baja Pits,  Dee Vernadakis, Ron Rutherford, Richard Schwarten,  Ed Krey and Doug Heyduk.

Click Link for more VTR Photos: http://s974.photobucket.com/albums/ae223/bajathundercat/2009%20Vegas%20to%20Reno/

Baja 500 photos: http://s974.photobucket.com/albums/ae223/bajathundercat/

www.finesdoubleracing.com

www.planetmoto.com

Mesquite Nevada was home to the BITD Bilek Racing Silver State 300 off road race during the week-end of September 26. This race marked the fifth race for the UTV’s 2009 seven race championship series. Just a few short weeks after the monumental Vegas to Reno 1000 mile race the Jagged X / Polaris Racing Team had to do battle once again and take on another 321 miles of Nevada desert. The weather was a very pleasant 65 degrees at the starting line Saturday where there was a surprising field of 10 utvs representing 4 manufacturers in attendance.

The 1919 RZR S pulled the number 4 starting position right behind the Bi-Polar Racing Arctic Cat 1000. – The Jagged X RZR was driven by Brandon Schueler and his navigator was Mike West. This race was an incredibly flawless race for the Polaris Racing team, running the entire race with the only stops being scheduled fuel pits. By the first pit they were running in the 2nd position with the 1947 leader in sight. Coming into the 4th pit area Brandon was able to get by the Cat to take the lead and hold it for the remaining 160 miles. In the end the1919 Polaris RZR S was able to cross the finish line a couple minutes ahead of the second place finisher.

The next BITD race is only three weeks away on October 17th in Primm, NV. Stay tuned to see how this exciting season turns out.

We team would like to thank Elka Suspension – Your dedication to giving us the best suspension for every racing condition.

First of all I would like to personally thank Elka Suspension for assembling the greatest field technician team I have ever had the pleasure to deal with. I am new to the racing series, but have dealt in the customer service related field for years and was truly astounded by the professionalism and attention to detail these two gentlemen displayed at the GNCC Yadkinville Stomp this past weekend.

Jeff Horton and Jay Gobel’s unrelenting dedication was shown by their continuous efforts into the early hours of Saturday morning to perfect the suspension on my YFZ450. They could have easily asked me to come back in the morning to finish the job, but continued to work on my quad so that it would be perfectly race ready without regards to how much “midnight oil” they burned to ensure it happened. I would have completely understood coming back in the morning since every other vendor was shut down and had been asleep for a long while. Jeff’s personal drive for perfection when setting up my suspension far exceeded my expectations; he continued to improve the setup when I thought it couldn’t get any better, his hands-on expertise and Jay’s vast technical knowledge truly made this weekends experience an exceptional one. These two gentlemen should be greatly commended for their dedication to customer service and the Elka brand.

I would have never expected the degree of commitment to excellence in the overall customer experience when helping a first year racer with servicing used equipment, and based solely on this experience I wouldn’t dream of riding on anything but Elka Suspension for as long as I race. These two gentlemen have ensured that Elka service has and will continue to exceed racers expectations presently and for the many years to come.

Respectfully submitted,

Allen S. Carpenter

Just turned 15 years old, Tanner Beckman #154 is currently vying for 3 National Championships in the World Off Road Championship Series (WORCS).  Tanner on his Apex 250F quad with a LONESTAR designed chassis has taken the lead in the 12-15 Open Sport, Shifter Open Sport and Shifter Open Liquid Cooled classes.  The last class was created from the Shifter Open class after numerous complaints that liquid cooled engines were too fast to compete against air cooled motors. (It was an open class right?)  Tanner on his Apex competes in the Open Classes since his Apex 250cc is not in production yet.  Near the beginning of the series Tanner saw some mechanical failures.

Tanner had been preparing his own quad for the races, (his dad was busy with the 3 other brothers).  Finally Tanners dad sought out help from KENZ CYCLE TECH in Mesa, Arizona. Since Ken has been prepping the 250 and doing the motor work, mechanical failures are all but gone and the championship is up to Tanner.  The mechanic at Kenz Cycle Tech is meticulous and very detail oriented!  What a blessing for Tanner (and his dad)!  It also helped when Elka showed up and dialed in his ELKA shocks!

Tanner continues to face adversity. At the last race, Glen Helen in Southern California,  Tanner finished the last 2 laps with 2 flat rear tires.  Somehow Tanner managed to keep his lead and take 1st.  In the Sunday race, Tanner and a few other racers took a wrong turn on a poorly marked track.  After a correction and then getting stuck, Tanner was in dead last place.  He came back to win the 50 minute race!   Many spectators and parents have commented on Tanners ability to come from behind and take the 1st position.   Tanner is fun to watch and he has that “never give up” attitude.  The race in Mesquite, Nevada in October will finalize the Series.  Next year Tanner hopes to race a 450cc.  Good Luck Tanner!  Thanks to Ken and Randy @ Kenz Cycle Tech and Tony @ ELKA!

Teri Beckman
Apex Factory Racing Team Manager