polaris racing team signs tj gulla

Polaris is adding T.J. Gulla to its snowmobile racing team for the 2003-2004 season. Gulla, 22, is an experienced Pro racer who has won on the competitive professional snocross circuit and at the ESPN Winter X Games.

Gulla will focus on winning the three Pro snocross year-end championships on the Rock Maple Racing circuit. He also intends to qualify for the ESPN X Games, the annual extreme sports competition.

Gulla started racing motocross when he was six and began riding snowmobiles when he was 15. He has already had a significant amount of racing success in his short career. At the 2003 Winter X Games he won the gold medal in hillcross and in 2000 he placed third in snocross. In 2000, his first season as a Pro racer, he won the Pro 440 class final at Syracuse, N.Y.

When he was younger, Gulla raced for Polaris Race Manager Tom Rager, Sr. "I know T.J.'s racing style and I think our product will suit his style perfectly," Rager said.

Gulla added: "I am looking forward to working with race manager Tom Rager, Sr., again. I really liked working with him and race coordinator Bill Rader in the past, and I think Polaris has a lot to offer this season."

This is the first time Gulla will be riding Polaris sleds. Like the other Polaris racers, he will compete on a 2004 Pro XR 440 race sled. On the Rock Maple Circuit, Gulla will race a Pro XR race sled in the Pro 440, Pro 600 and Pro Open classes.

Last year Gulla broke his right knee in a race at Canterbury in Shakopee, Minn. After his leg healed, he broke his left kneecap this spring while riding his motocross bike. Both legs have now recovered, and Gulla feels strong heading into this winter thanks to a rigorous training program.