Yamaha Announces bLU cRU ATV and SxS Race Support for 2023 Season & RMAX 1000 Kicks off Racing with King of the Hammers’ Pro Stock N/A UTV Class Victory!

Yamaha is pledging more than $119,500 in bLU cRU bonuses for the 2023 SxS and ATV racing seasons. Yamaha’s bLU cRU program offers bonuses of up to $15,000 for qualified and eligible racers competing in select series and classes with a '21 or newer Wolverine RMAX 1000, YXZ1000R, YXZ1000R SS, or YFZ450R.

The '23 SxS racing season kicked off with an impressive showing at the King of the Hammers last month, where Kyle Anderson captured the Pro Stock N/A UTV championship in his Weller Racing Yamaha Wolverine RMAX2 1000 Sport Side-by-Side. The RMAX 1000’s Proven Off-Road prowess and reliability were put on full display and ended up being the only UTV to complete two laps and finish in its class. Anderson won the $5,000 bLU cRU bonus for driving the top-placing Yamaha SxS. KOH is known as the most grueling off-road race, infamous for its punishing desert course through some of the roughest and most challenging rock and boulder sections of any timed event.

In the Championship Off-Road Tour, Owen and Rodney Van Eperen return for both the Pro Stock and Pro Turbo UTV classes in their Powersports 1 / Yamaha YXZ1000Rs. In addition to the $15,000 bLU cRU bonuses offered to the overall Pro Stock and Pro Turbo UTV champions, Yamaha is offering racing contingencies in the Pro Am and Sportsman classes.

Yamaha continues its support of the Great American Short Course Series, offering bLU cRU payouts to eligible racers who finish the 9-round series on the podium in the Production 1000 class in a YXZ1000R or YXZ1000R SS. Series bonuses total include $7,500.

New for '23, the Yamaha bLU cRU race program will support the 11-round Texas Outlaw Series. Overall champions piloting a Yamaha SxS will receive $5,000 in the Pro N/A class, $3,000 in the Expert 1000 class, and $1,500 in the Amateur 1000 class.

On the ATV circuit, Yamaha will offer payout and prize opportunities to all eligible participants competing in select classes in the ATV MX and GNCC series.

Representing Yamaha in ATV MX’s AMA Pro class are defending champion, Joel Hetrick of Phoenix Racing, and eight-time Yamaha factory-supported champion, Chad Wienen of Wienen Motorsports, competing for the '23 title and $15,000 bLU cRU bonus on their Yamaha YFZ450Rs. The two will compete head-to-head at the season opener at the iconic Daytona Speedway as Hetrick hopes to earn his first back-to-back championship, while Wienen seeks to reclaim the title and his ninth all-time victory.

In the GNCC XC1 Pro ATV series, defending champion, Brycen Neal of Phoenix Racing, and eight-time Yamaha Factory-Supported champion, Walker Fowler, compete for the XC1 Pro ATV title and $15,000 bLU cRU racing bonus on their Yamaha YFZ450Rs. Neal already won the opening Big Buck round in Union, SC and hopes to continue the early lead in his pursuit of back-to-back championships, while Fowler will miss the start of the season to recover from injury.

Every Yamaha SxS and full-size ATV is proudly Assembled in the USA at Yamaha’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Newnan, Georgia, for worldwide distribution.

For more information on the bLU cRU program, including all guidelines and requirements for ATV and SxS racing, visit YamahabLUcRU.com. To view the entire Proven Off-Road ATV and SxS lineup and learn more, visit YamahaOutdoors.com. Connect with Yamaha on social media via @YamahaOutdoors and @bLUcRUofficial.