Oshkosh Technologies Tackle 1,000-Mile Off-Road Desert Race
Oshkosh Extreme Racing Completes the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
OSHKOSH, Wis., Nov 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) announced today its Extreme Racing team has completed the 43rd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race course in Mexico. The Oshkosh Extreme Racing team ran its Light Concept Vehicles (LCV) through the rugged 1,061-mile desert course and one crossed the finish line in La Paz today.
"Off-road racing teams compete in the Baja 1000 to push the limits, and we're absolutely thrilled to see our vehicle overcome the difficult desert terrain," said Chris Yakes, Oshkosh Corporation vice president of Advanced Products Engineering and Oshkosh Extreme Racing team leader. "Our team's performance on this world-renowned course speaks to both the quality of our technologies and the expertise of our drivers and technical crew. I couldn't be more proud of our team."
The two Oshkosh Extreme Racing vehicles, numbered M1 and M2 for the race, were driven by members of California Gold Racing (CGR), led by legendary race driver Glenn Harris. M2 reached speeds of nearly 80 miles per hour and completed the course at 4:20 p.m. PST.
According to Harris, "There are so many unknowns going into the SCORE Baja 1000 race because of the extreme nature of this event. By finishing one of the toughest off-road races, Oshkosh is demonstrating that this new powertrain and suspension technologies are ready for almost anything."
"Approximately 58 percent of all vehicles that start the race, are able to finish the race," said Sal Fish, SCORE International's President and CEO, which has sanctioned and produced the event since 1975. "I know I speak for the entire SCORE staff and race officials when I say we are impressed with how well the Oshkosh Extreme Racing team performed during their inaugural run."
Oshkosh Extreme Racing ran two vehicles in the 1,061-mile off-road race. The Oshkosh LCV M1 was unable to meet a checkpoint time requirement, causing the vehicle to receive a "did not finish" result.
The LCV includes the next-generation of TAK-4® independent suspension systems. The new system expands on Oshkosh's patented TAK-4 suspension by increasing off-road mobility, improving vehicle maneuverability and providing a smoother ride. The Oshkosh ProPulse® diesel-electric powertrain design delivers improved fuel economy and can export significant levels of electrical power.
"I've been off-road racing for 30 years now, and this was hands down my favorite race," said Harris. "SCORE put on another great point-to-point run from Ensenada to La Paz. It was extremely challenging and the vehicles out-performed my expectations. This vehicle thrived where most vehicles have the toughest time in the adverse terrain. We didn't get stuck once - and the LCV cruised over the silt beds and powered through flooded washes that got deeper and deeper with each passing vehicle."
"Participating in a competitive event like the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 was an amazing experience for our team. The race allowed us to assess the performance of our technologies under extreme conditions and we learned a lot," Yakes said. "This development milestone was a huge success and our engineers and maintenance experts are eager to apply what we learned to ultimately improve military vehicle fleets for decades to come."
About the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
The 43rd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the granddaddy of all desert races, which is the season-finale of the five-race 2010 SCORE Desert Series, will be held on Mexico's magnificently mysterious Baja California peninsula next Tuesday through Saturday. Massive crowds reaching nearly 250,000 are anticipated to again be spread out along the rugged 1061.69-mile course that travels on both sides of the peninsula as the world's most famous desert race will start in Ensenada, Baja California and finish all the way down the peninsula in La Paz in Baja California Sur. With over 300 expected entries for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs competing in 33 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs in the internationally televised race, entries have come from 37 U.S. states and 19 countries. SCORE International, the world's foremost desert-racing sanctioning body, is headquartered in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1973 and has been led since soon after that date by Sal Fish, SCORE CEO and President. The organization produces the five-race SCORE Desert Series, with three events held annually in Mexico and two in Southern Nevada.
About Oshkosh Corporation
Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corporation manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh®, JLG®, Pierce®,McNeilus®, Medtec®, Jerr-Dan®, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline(TM), SMIT(TM), CON-E-CO®, London® and IMT®. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, visit
www.oshkoshcorporation.com.
®, (TM) All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that the Company believes to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "should," "project" or "plan" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include the impact on revenues and margins of the projected decrease in M-ATV production rates; the cyclical nature of the Company's access equipment, commercial and fire & emergency markets, especially during periods of global economic weakness and tight credit markets; the Company's ability to produce vehicles under the FMTV contract at targeted margins; the duration of the ongoing global economic weakness, which could lead to additional impairment charges related to many of the Company's intangible assets and/or a slower recovery in the Company's cyclical businesses than equity market expectations; the expected level and timing of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) procurement of products and services and funding thereof; risks related to reductions in government expenditures in light of U.S. defense budget pressures and an uncertain DoD tactical wheeled vehicle strategy; the potential for the U.S. government to competitively bid the Company's Army and Marine Corps contracts; the consequences of financial leverage associated with the JLG acquisition, which could limit the Company's ability to pursue various opportunities; the potential for commodity and other raw material costs to rise sharply, particularly in a future economic recovery; risks related to the collectability of receivables, particularly for those businesses with exposure to construction markets; the cost of any warranty campaigns related to the Company's products; risks related to costs and charges as a result of facilities consolidation and alignment; risks related to production delays arising from supplier quality or production issues; risks associated with international operations and sales, including foreign currency fluctuations and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; risks related to work stoppages and other labor matters; the potential for disruptions or cost overruns in the Company's global enterprise system implementation; the potential for increased costs relating to compliance with changes in laws and regulations; and risks related to disruptions in the Company's distribution networks. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update information contained in this press release. Investors should be aware that the Company may not update such information until the Company's next quarterly earnings conference call, if at all.
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www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6520491&lang=enSOURCE: Oshkosh Corporation
Oshkosh Corporation
Jennifer Christiansen, 920-420-7581 (cell)
jchristiansen@defense.oshkoshcorp.com
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