DENAGO GOES BIG!
UTV Unveiled At AIMExpo
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
Under New Management
SHOWTIME
AIMExpo 2026
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A letter From The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation
AIMExpo co-founder and former Cycle World Publisher dropped by the Dealernews LIVE booth to give us an update on the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation latest outreach.
Mike Martinez, Yamaha Motor Corp., USA, SVP and President of Motorsports since 2022, announced his retirement after 32 years at YMUS.
Catch Jim Woodruff, CEO of National Powersport Auctions talking about the state of the industry with Robin Hartfiel, the editor and publisher of Dealernews Live from AIMExpo today.
DragonFire Racing has been creating cutting edge UTV performance products since 2005, but they shocked dealers at AIMExpo by springing new suspension components on them at AIMExpo.
Shifting Gears
Beta Motorcycles — Booth # 1975 at AIMExpo has been staffing up for the 2026 season.
Parts Unlimited Booth #1115 at AIMExpo has been making global moves. Going into EICMA they announced the addition of Rikard Coro who joined the team as Head of Sales & Marketing Europe on 08.12.2025.
Changing of the guard at BRP. “We are unveiling who will lead BRP into a new chapter: Denis Le Vot will become President and Chief Executive Officer, effective February 1st, 2026, at which time José Boisjoli will retire.
After a 6-year stint with BRP (most recently as Dealer Development Manager for the OEM), industry veteran Rob Oliva is back with LeMans Corp. becoming the new National Sales Manager, effective December 15, 2025.
Just in time for the impending AIMExpo trade show, Keeway America is staffing up.
Mason Klein sighting! Following Stage 6 he said, "Stage went as well as it could’ve. I knew coming in I’d be at a big power disadvantage on such a fast stage, so I just held it wide open all day and had an absolute blast... Still hoping for a little miracle to crack that top ten." Miracles do happen in the Dakar Rally as following Stage 7 where he chased Ricky Brabec to the finish, Klein cracks Top 10 on the day and overall!
The game of cat and mouse continues in the Dakar Rally as 2X winner Ricky Brabec dices with defending champ Daniel Sanders. Week two kicks off with Brabec having to break trail after winning Stage 6. With just 45 seconds separating him from the top spot overall, Stage 6 winner Brabec faced the unenviable task of opening the stage. It quickly became a tough assignment, as teammate Tosha Schareina and then Sanders caught him, both chipping away at the available bonus time. Brabec secured 5’36” in bonuses, but it wasn’t enough and he finished ninth, 9’15” down on Stage winner Luciano Benavides. The two-time Dakar champion remained unfazed, knowing that a deeper start position tomorrow could work in his favor as he looks to reduce the overall deficit of 4’25”. "It wasn't that tricky of a day but we did lose a little bit of time. No stress on my end... tomorrow we’re in a really good position to claw back some time. For now, we’re doing all we can, we’re riding, having fun, we’re navigating, but hopefully tomorrow we can do a good job and make a good push and then we have the Marathon camp, which takes its toll on tires and things like that. Tomorrow’s looking good for us, we’re in a good position to have a solid day on what I think is one of the biggest stages of the rally, so for me it’s better to start at the back."
Skyler Howes 10 endured an eventful opening week of the Dakar Rally — particularly during Stage 6 where tire management and feeling under the weather tested his resilience. After recovering on the rest day, the American returned to full fitness and delivered another consistent performance to finish fifth on Stage 7. That result moves him up to 5th overall, 33’34” from the lead. "It was a full gas day, we were on the throttle stopper pretty much the majority of the Stage," says Howes. "I had a couple of bits of tricky navigation, one of which I did a super strange thing, turned around to get a waypoint I’d already got. I had to get the juices going after rest day, as I definitely needed it."
Just stay within striking distance of the leaders during week two of the Dakar Rally... easier said than done, but Top American rookie Preston Campbell says he is up for the challenge: "The day was super fast, a lot of big valleys and fast pistes across the desert, so it was super fun," claims Campbell. "We got a little bit of dunes and overall it was a fast pace. Martim caught me and we got to ride together a little on the sand dunes, which was super fun."
While the U.S. powersports industry converged on Anaheim for A1 Supercross and AIMExpo, Dakar Rally Rookie Preston Campbell was wrapping up the Marathon Stage and taking top spot in Rally2! After an impressive opening week, Monster Energy HRC - Honda Racing Corporation Rally2 riders Martim Ventura and Preston Campbell used the rest day to recharge before returning to action aboard their Honda CRF450RX RALLY machines for Stage 7. Campbell headed into the weekend as the overall Rally2 leader, an outstanding achievement for a Dakar rookie. His objective for the second week is clear: defend the top spot all the way to the Rally’s return to Yanbu on 17th January. Starting from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Stage 7 was fast and demanding, sending riders across striking dunes, rocky tracks and off-piste sections. The 459 km special stage eventually led the field to Wadi ad-Dawasir, a city nestled in the Dawasir Valley. Drawing on his experience in the California desert, Campbell once again adapted well to the varied terrain and clearly enjoyed the stage. He briefly rode through the dunes alongside teammate Ventura after the Portuguese rider caught him on the course and he went on to finish fifth, 10’25” behind stage winner Michael Docherty. Although his overall lead has been reduced to 11 minutes, Campbell remains firmly in control and just needs to stay within striking distance each day to protect his position.
Mike Martinez, Yamaha Motor USA, SVP and President of Motorsports since 2022, announced his retirement after 32 years at YMUS. Martinez will stay on for the first quarter of 2026 to work closely with Dean Burnett and ensure a smooth transition of the Motorsports business and operations. He will officially retire on April 3, 2026. Subscribe To #Dealernews To See The Full Story: https://dealernews.com/Home/post/mike-martinez-retires/
In Case You Missed It
Did you catch the launch of Western Power Sports “FlyFam” initiative?
As Faber College founder Emil Faber so astutely noted, “Knowledge is good.” However the powersports industry education being presented at AIMExpo 2026 is even “gooder” um, more goodly.
Dennis and the kids at Martin Moto have been very good this year! And they are celebrating this weekend with a great marketing idea courtesy of the dealership’s marketing maven Arielle Boyer.
Fair dinkum! Australian-made Barkbusters have earned a reputation for being tough enough for the outback.
Although it sounds like a sequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Return of Rabaconda is more relevant to your dealership.
