Yamaha will host a championship celebration at the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Racing Series Finale in Crawfordsville, Indiana, October 26 – 28.  In addition to the celebrations and racing, Yamaha will introduce all new 2008 Special Edition ATVs to the public on Saturday, October 27.

The Yamaha themed events will start Friday evening at 5 p.m. at Yamaha’s display near the GNCC Ironman track.  During the Friday night event, Yamaha staff and fans will honor team riders Traci Cecco, who recently secured her unprecedented sixth GNCC Women’s ATV Championship, and Brandon Sommers, who became the first ever  GNCCC XC2 Pro Am Champion in this new class on his YFZ450.  Both Cecco and Sommers secured their 2007 season titles on their Yamaha YFZ450s at the GNCC race in Yadkinville, N.C., on Saturday, September 29.

“It was a long season, but I can finally breathe now,” Cecco said.  “I love the YFZ450.  My Yamaha is always the first off the starting line and always pulls the hole shots.”

“I was super excited about how well everything went this season,” Sommers commented.  “The Yamaha YFZ450 worked really well and everything just came together.”

“We’re extremely proud of all of our Yamaha team riders, and what Traci has accomplished – winning six titles – is really something special,” said Steve Nessl, Yamaha ATV/SxS marketing manager.  “We congratulate Traci and Brandon on their championships, and we’ll be cheering for Bill to go all the way again on Saturday!”

The Friday night event will also be the stage for a Yamaha pep rally for Bill Ballance, who will be racing on Saturday to break the ATV racing record with an eight consecutive championship.  Ballance, who has been riding a 2008 YFZ450 during the last few rounds, is a favorite for the series going into this last race with a 22 point lead.

On Saturday morning Yamaha will unveil for the first time publicly new Special Editions of its 2008 YFZ450, Raptor and Grizzly ATVs, which will hit dealerships early next year.

Throughout the weekend, Yamaha will also be holding a raffle of a new 2008 Raptor 250 and will donate the proceeds to the Rider Down Foundation.  Attendees can register for the raffle at the Yamaha display and the winner will be announced at the GNCC ATV Awards banquet in November.  More details about the Rider Down Foundation are available at www.riderdown.org.