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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1012061
VOL. 55 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 7, 2018 P27 that the production shift will not reduce jobs at its U.S. facilities. Wine added that the plan to boost production in the Opole, Poland plant had been in motion "for quite some time," but avoid- ing tariffs was an added benefit. The Polaris plant in Opole, Poland is among the company's multiple international production facilities, the primary being the massive 700,000 square-foot plant in Monterrey, Mexico. Polaris Poland is the company's first non-North-American pro- duction facility, and has been in operation since 2014, producing side x sides and ATVs to supply the European, Middle Eastern and African markets. "The com- pany is constantly expanding," reads a statement on the Polaris Poland website. "Most recent is the project of building [a] dis- tribution center for all logistics operations in Europe." Polaris reported a strong second quarter during the telephone news conference, but declined to reveal specific numbers, offering instead that Indian Motorcycle sales grew by "mid-single digits" over Q2 2017. Overall growth for Polaris Motor- cycles is "low single digits" de- spite the 900cc+ sales segment being slightly down, indicating that the smaller displacement motorcycles such as the Scout, Scout Sixty and Scout Bobber are pulling the weight. Despite the positive trend in sales, Polaris stands to lose profits on account of the motorcycle tariffs enacted by the EU in retali- ation to the Trump Administrations steel and aluminum tariffs (both of which will amount to added cost for Indian). Polaris says the dispute is expected to cost the company $40 million in 2018, and expected to rise significantly in 2019 if the issue continues. The company states its sup- port for the intended goal of fair and freer trade, but Wine maintains, "we cannot ignore their very real, negative con- sequences for our employees, suppliers, customers and, po- tentially, shareholders," adding that a better solution would be to eliminate all tariffs globally. While Harley-Davidson stated in a June 25 SEC filing that they would not pass along increased costs to the consumer, Polaris is already raising its prices. Wine warned, "as we and others raise prices, it creates a real risk of inflation to our customers and the economy, which could be more harmful than the tariffs themselves." Jean Turner THOMPSON TOPS CANADA MX C ole Thompson (KTM) was the overall 450 Pro-class winner at the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown motocross round in Deschambault, Quebec, Canada, August 4-5. Thompson didn't win either motos but his consistent 2-2 outings were far better than the 6-1/1-6 put up by his nearest competitors Colton Facciotti (Honda) and Kaven Benoit (KTM). Benoit won the first moto and Facciotti the second, but it was Thompson's 2-2 that out-scored them both. Benoit hunted down Thomp- son in the first moto, passing him for the lead on the 11th lap and then holding him off for the re- maining four laps to take the win. In the second moto, Facciotti took the lead from Jacob Hayes (Kawasaki) on the second lap and then ran off with the win. Thompson started off in fourth and finished second. First-moto winner Benoit started the moto off fifth, dropped back a few positions, and then claimed back up to sixth before it was all over. Fourth overall went to Tyler Medaglia (Kawasaki) with a 5-3 and fifth went to Matt Goerke (Yamaha) with a 4-4. Fifty-three-year-old John Dowd (KTM) finished 13th in the second moto, his 22-13 combination giving him 16th overall. His son, Ryan Dowd, (KTM) went 12-7 for ninth overall. Dillan Epstein (Yamaha) of Thousand Oaks, California, was third in the first moto but DNF the second. CN