Veteran off-road legend Guy Giroux has been signed to campaign the BMW G 450 X in the 2009 Canadian Enduro Championship.

BMW Motorrad Canada is pleased to announce that it will compete in the all-new 2009 Canadian Enduro Championship, with veteran off-road legend Guy Giroux being signed to campaign the BMW G 450 X in this season's series.

The Canadian Enduro Championship (CEC) is brand new to Canada and has been created under the auspices of World Enduro Canada - the umbrella organization for Canadian enduro off-road motorcycle competition.

The CEC was developed to provide Canadian off-road riders with an exciting, safe and enjoyable competition experience. Its primary objectives are to unite Canadian enduro racers in one National series and to help provide a platform to develop riders who can compete in the prestigious World Enduro Championship.

The signing of Guy Giroux is a real coup for BMW Motorrad Canada, as the Quebec-based rider has a seriously impressive resume in the world of off-road competition. In Quebec alone, Guy has dominated the enduro scene and has been the off-road champion no less than 16 times - from 1988 to 1994 and from 2000 through to 2008. Furthermore, in addition to capturing the 2004 Supermoto Championship in both the SM1 and SM2 classes, Guy also has raced in various other disciplines, such as Supercross, showing a rare ability to adapt to a variety of different race machinery.

"I'm delighted to have this opportunity with BMW Motorrad," said Guy. "I have been closely following the progress of the G 450 X since early 2008, so this is an incredible challenge for me and one I have been looking forward to!"

Nationally, Guy also has three Canadian Off Road Championships to his credit, along with four Canadian Vice-Champion finishes and a Vice-Champion finish in the 2003 Supermoto series. Internationally, Guy has earned bronze and gold medals at the 1988 French and 1989 German International Six-Day Enduro (ISDE) events, and successfully contested the world's toughest motorcycle race - the Paris Dakar Rally - in 2002, finishing in a respectable 16th place. He has also competed successfully in various World Enduro Championship events from 2005 through to 2007.

Chris Duff, Marketing and race team Manager for BMW Motorrad Canada, is delighted with this new addition to the Motorrad Canada racing team: "Guy was always the first choice rider that we wanted to race the new BMW G 450 X in Canada. He is an off-road racing icon in Canada and we're confident that he will put the G 450 X in a podium position every time he goes out on the bike."

The inaugural 2009 CEC series is comprised of a four event, eight-race schedule from July to September, taking place in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario. The series will integrate a consistent special test format modelled on the World Enduro Championship (WEC) series.