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Michael Maledon, President Elway Powersports
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Team Dealernews has the holeshot when the powersports industry races into Bike Week in 2027, already securing our spot on the AIMExpo grid.
“We are puppets of that device…” One of the most honest moments from our recent conversation with Robin Hartfiel from Dealernews and the Motorcycle Industry Council during American International Motorcycle Expo (AIMExpo) 2026, notes Dirtbag Brands founder Josh Salazar.
Enduro racing is hard… Hard Enduro racing is even harder! Looking to make tire changes easy, Rabaconda has been named an Official Partner of the US Hard Enduro series.
After cutting his teeth at the dealership level, industry pro Brenden Gill joins Turn 14 Distribution as a new Outside Territory Sales Manager.
RideNow believes they are the largest powersports retail group in the United States… and with nearly 50 multiline dealerships and 12-15 Harley stores (hard to keep track of the consolidated number) in the RideNow family, who are we to argue?
Shifting Gears
After cutting his teeth at the dealership level, industry pro Brenden Gill joins Turn 14 Distribution as a new Outside Territory Sales Manager.
After a year of planning and development, Central Powersports Distribution (CPD) and YCF have officially launched their strategic partnership, and brought in industry pro Robert Arnold to ride herd on the Texas-based team.
Can you hear me now? Former Cardo exec Jamie Cheek continues to climb the ladder at HISUN Motors USA.
Continuing its proven policy of promoting from within, National Powersport Auctions (NPA) elevates Tristen Poston to General Operations Manager of its Sacramento facility.
Head hunter hired: Specializing in talent searches for Powersports, Marine and RV companies, V20 Recruiting + Consulting has helped themselves to recruiting pro Louis Dodaro
BRABEC HAS HIS HEAD SCREWED BACK ON, SET TO DEFEND DESAFIO TITLE Defending DESAFIO RUTA 40 winner Ricky Brabec delivered a strong opening performance, finishing just one second behind fastest rider Luciano Benavides in Sunday’s Prologue. The Top American then started Stage 1 just behind his teammate Tosha Schareina but struggled early in the cold morning conditions while trying to regain feeling in his hands and feet. Running sixth after 35 km, the Dakar Rally runner-up steadily increased his pace over the remainder of the Stage to claim the final podium position. Finishing 7’29” from the stage-winning time, the reigning champ remains firmly in the hunt alongside Schareina. “The prologue was good, it’s nice to shake the monkey off the back and start the Rally,” says Brabec. “Stage 1 was a slow start for me. It was pretty cold this morning, so I couldn’t move my fingers or feet too well this morning. "The first 100 km I lost a little bit of time just trying to get warmed up. It was so cold I couldn’t feel the handlebars or levers, so had a bit of a struggle this morning. As the stage went on it was better and better. I struggled a little bit for like 50 km, on and off the gas, then the brakes, trying the best I could to get around them. In the circumstances it was a fast road with a lot of dangers and cuts so I couldn’t do too much, couldn’t make a pass, but fortunately I was able to get around them and then I just did the best I could.”
HRC - Honda Racing Corporation/Monster Energy trio chasing "Chucky" — Daniel Sanders — after Stage 1 of the DESAFIO RUTA 40: Rally GP Result - Stage 1 Pos. Rider Nation Team Time/Gap 1 Daniel Sanders AUS Red Bull KTM Rally 03:35:12 2 Tosha Schareina SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 06:02 3 Ricky Brabec USA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 07:29 4 Skyler Howes 10 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 09:57 5 Benavides Luciano ARG Red Bull KTM Rally + 10:20 6 Ross BranchBWA Hero Motorsports Team + 11:25 7 Edgar Canet SPA Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team + 11:54 8 Adrien Van Beveren FRA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 13:40 9 Nacho Cornejo CHI Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 20:01 10 Bradley Cox RSA Sherco Rally Factory Sherco + 25:05 11 Dumontier Romain FRA Team Dumontier Racing KTM + 26:53 12 Santolino Lorenzo SPA Sherco TVS Rally Factory +28:35
SKYLER STAYS IN STRIKING DISTANCE After finishing a close 5th in the DESAFIO RUTA 40 Rally Prologue, Skyler Howes delivered a solid performance aboard his HRC - Honda Racing Corporation/Monster Energy CRF450 RALLY. Despite losing his road book for 30 km due to a tablet issue, the American recovered well and maintained a consistent rhythm throughout the day. He finished two and a half minutes behind wingman Ricky Brabec and currently sits 4th overall, just under ten minutes from the lead heading into Stage 2. “It was a great stage in Argentina, it’s like we’re riding in Arizona, Southern Nevada, kind of Utah style, so I feel right at home,” says Howes. “The team has been working really really hard on this kind of stuff so it’s been nice to see the progression. Today, I had a bit of a malfunction with my tablet, so I had to ride 30 km with no road book which was a bit tricky, just following the tracks. Luckily, I had a good starting position so I caught some guys, but had to battle the dust a little bit…. “All in all, a successful day but not without its challenges. Tomorrow, gets shortened, so a 120 km special and a long 420 km liaison. It will still be a long day, with a lot of racing still to go.”
How Preston Campbell sees the standings after Stage 1 DESAFIO RUTA 40 Rally 2 Result - Stage 1 Pos. Rider Nation Team Time/Gap 1 Crivilin Bruno BRA Honda HRC Honda 03:52:59 2 Ventura Martim POR Honda HRC Honda + 00:22 3 Campbell Preston USA Honda HRC Honda + 00:40 4 Pellicer Alfredo SPA Xraids Experience KTM + 05:33 5 Mulec Toni SLO BAS World Racing Team KTM + 07:35 6 Herrera Ried Benjamín CHI Xraids Experience + 14:58 7 Escofet Marti SPA Joyride Race Service KTM + 21:03 8 Pascual Jeremías ARG Kove Argentina Kove + 22:08 9 Pascual Benjamín ARG Kove Argentina Kove + 25:27 10 De Gavardo Tomás CHI De Gavardo Team KTM + 37:14
HRC RIDERS SWEEP RALLY 2 STAGE IN ARGENTINA Preston Campbell Continues To Impress After a brilliant performance in the Dakar Rally HRC - Honda Racing Corporation/Monster Energy top American prospect Preston Campbell chased his teammates to podiums in the Prologue and Stage 1 of DESAFIO RUTA 40 Rally. Meanwhile HRC’s new Rally 2 recruit Bruno Crivilin, led the HRC Sweep of Stage 1, claiming his maiden World Rally-Raid Championship Stage victory as the team swept the entire Rally 2 podium. Campbell was feeling confident with his bike setup, the American attacked the demanding riverbeds and finished just 40 seconds behind Crivilin. Only 30 seconds now separate Campbell from Prologue winner Martim Ventura in the overall standings. After a 91 km liaison from San Juan, riders faced a demanding 311 km timed special packed with technical navigation challenges through Argentina’s vast dry riverbeds.Twisting canyon tracks and dusty river crossings created a maze-like route where precision and concentration were critical throughout the day. "Stage 1 was a good day overall.” said an on pace Preston. “We started early on a pretty cold morning, but from the first kilometers I felt comfortable with the terrain and the conditions. The Honda CRF450RX RALLY was working really well all day, which gave me the confidence to keep pushing and maintain a solid rhythm throughout the Stage. I’m happy with how the day went and with the feeling on the bike. There’s still a long way to go in this rally, but it’s a positive start and I’m looking forward to Stage 2.”
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“We are excited to announce a new addition to the Segway Powersports team,” says Marketing Director Gabriel Cruz.
