AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
We are not 100% sure if there is a cause and effect here, but we have noticed that numerous traditionally big name western riders for Arctic Cat have recently hit the ejection button from Cat’s squadron. Famous western freestyler, snocrosser, and free-rider Chris Burandt was one of the first to jump ship to Polaris, now one of his former Cat comrades, RMSHA racer and famous free-rider Bret Rasmussen, has bailed on Cat and moved to Ski-Doo. Even more recently, RMSHA racers Shad and Ty Free dropped Cat for Yamaha.
Have the other OEMs finally caught up with Cat in the key mountain segment as far as product goes? After talking with some of our people “in the know,” we believe most of the changes in personnel were indeed product driven. Cat has owned much of the mountain market for a long time and now all the OEMs are building competitive mountain sleds and attracting the top mountain talent that Cat had for so long.
In addition, the Cat higher-ups told
AmSnow earlier this year that the company is making a concerted marketing effort to target markets overseas, including Russia. With an explosion in Russian sled sales the last few years, few can blame Cat for trying to carve out a chunk of the burgeoning market, it’s smart business to do so. It is like the original “glory days” of snowmobiling in Russia right now ... or so we hear.
However, we also know that in the U.S., the mountain market is growing and it looks like other OEMs are jockeying to gain influence in any way they can ... including giving new safe haven to mountain riding and racing ambassadors that have defected from other manufacturers.