Smithy and Bullet to Can-Am

Can-Am BRP Australia are getting very serious about investing in the Australian off road ATV scene. Can-Am have signed top Australian quad racer Paul Smith and TeamBullet riders Darrell Knight and Lisa Hoyle to facilitate the widest industry presence with their new impressive ATV range.

While the new Off Road ATV Race Teams will be working together they will maintain very separate identities with different focuses.

29 year old Pro rider Paul Smith has been one of the most dominant riders on the east coast in the last few years. ‘Smithy’ will contest the remaining rounds of the QRCV Tri State Series, most of the QRCV Super Series 8 and the Australian ATV Nationals in MX racing. His new team focus will be on the Off Road and Enduro events such as the Thumb Pump 300, Finke Desert Race and the Australian Safari.

Smith will be competing on the all new DS450X a revolutionary new ATV that has the industry talking, and for the Australian Safari he will be competing on the Renegade 800X.

Smith said “This is all very exiting. Can-Am have really stepped up to the plate this year. I am looking forward to building a relationship with a company that wants to grow our sport. We’re looking good from the start because the DS450X is a fantastic platform to start from. My main focus is on Finke at the moment and Can-Am riders are in a good position to do well up there. Between my good mate Rick Beer (a multiple Finke winner) and I, we hope to put Can-Am on top of the podium. We have about 4 or 5 other riders who are going to be right up the pointy end also.

I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank Suzuki Australia for the last couple of years and also Doug Francis (Barry Francis Motorcycles) who have been supporting me for the last Ten years both on two and four wheels without his help I would of never of accomplished the things that I have. Other than that all my associate sponsors have been more than happy to make the switch with me”.

South Australia’s TeamBullet have signed with Can-Am with a slightly different focus. Bullet, (Darrell Knight) has had some very significant experience in quad speedway racing and mini ATV’s including setting the record for the smallest capacity machine to complete the Finke Desert Race. MrsBullet (Lisa Hoyle) completes their team that will be promoting the broader Can-Am ATV range in a vast array of major ATV events. Team Bullet will be squarely aimed at lifting brand awareness by competing on everything from the awesome Renegade 800 right through to the mini DS90X.

Bullet said “I’ve experienced a lot with Honda including 4WD ATV expedition work in Antarctica. Lisa and I would like to extend a huge thank you to Martin Guppy of Honda World who has supported TeamBullet for years in what ever we have chosen to tackle. Our decision to switch manufacturers has not been made lightly at all. Can-Am needed to be a very impressive product to get us on board. That they are, and now we are very keen to get stuck into growing Australian ATV sport and recreation with Can-Am.”

Can-Am Marketing Manager Duncan Knight said “We are very excited about our two new race teams. They are quite a bunch of characters that get on well and have a lot to offer each other when working together to advance ATV sport in Australia. We are more than confident that Can-Am is supporting them with the most advanced ATV products that offer the strongest performance in every class”.