JPR Press Release, Winona, ON – March 7, 2011

For John Parker, the winter break from dirt track racing has never meant letting the dust settle until the next season arrives. You can take John out of the racing, but you can’t take the racing out of John.

In addition to riding his 2011 Kawasaki KX 450F dirt bike as often as he could on the trails and practice tracks (for a little physical conditioning), he has been ice racing (for a little fun and friendly competition) on frozen surfaces at a number of Southern Ontario locations including Jordan Harbour outside of St. Catharines and the old Welland Canal in Welland.

With cooperation of Canadian Kawasaki Motors, John’s KX450F, seen in the picture above (prepped for ice racing), was tested by Dan Paris of www.offroadmotorcycles.ca during one of the ice racing sessions. Before climbing aboard the explosive KX450, Dan had this to say: “Stoked? Can you imagine? John’s bikes are meticulously prepared. What if I spazzed out and crashed the thing? Worse, what if I blew it up or went embarrassingly slow?” Well, Dan, an experienced rider in his own right, ended up having the test of his life. For details please visit: /journal/2011/2/22/we-ride-john-parkers-2011-kx450f-race-bike.html

On the business side, John attended the International Motorcycle Supershow—billed as North America’s largest motorcycle show—to promote his sponsors and do a meet-and-greet and autograph session. John was also pleasantly surprised to receive a plaque for winning the 2010 CMA Provincial 450 Pro Dirt Track Championship.

John at work in his shop getting ready for the 2011 dirt track season.

John interviewed by Inside Motorcycle’s Frank Wood at the International Motorcycle Supershow in January.

The pre-season has also meant dealing with more than a dozen sponsors and prepping the 2011 dirt track racing bikes. On the sponsorship end, John is pleased to announce that all his 2010 sponsors (see below) are aboard again for this season, which kicks off in Welland, ON, on June 4th.

One major change is his contract with Scorpion Helmets, which for the past four seasons was channelled through the American company’s Canadian distributor. This year the California-based manufacturer is dealing directly with John, opening up more of their product lines to him. Hot Cams, another US-based sponsor, has stepped up their program with John Parker Racing as well, which will further facilitate and enhance product availability.

“I’m grateful to all of my sponsors for backing me for another season. This is certainly a vote of confidence on their part for both my work on the track and behind the scenes. I’m especially excited about my new relationship with Scorpion in California, and closer collaboration with Hot Cams. Everything is basically the same for this year but a little bit more of everything.” Parker said. “I’d like to take this opportunity to extend a huge thank you to my old friend Jim Garrett of Garrett 64, for his continued support, and to Dan Paris of www.offroadmotorcycles.ca for the wonderful media coverage he has given me and my sponsors, as well as supplying the images in this press release.”

Sponsors for 2011 include: Canadian Kawasaki, Inglis Cycle Centre, Scorpion Helmets, 26 Suspension, Hot Cams, Pivot Works, Vertex Pistons, IM Leathers, Bickle Racing, Extreme Measures Kustom Paint, Saddlemen, Ron Wood Racing, A&A Racing, Garrett 64, Bull’s Eye Media Relations. Photos by: Dan Paris – www.offroadmotorcycles.ca

Please visit www.offroadmotorcycles.ca regularly for the latest news and information on the off road racing and riding scene!