CFMOTO is finally dipping its feet into the short course world. It will be the fifth different UTV manufacturer to race in Championship Off-Road, having partnered with VanEperen Racing to field the ZFORCE Z10 in the Pro SxS class for Owen VanEperen and his father Rodney.

The younger VanEperen is the reigning champion in both Pro SxS and Pro Stock SxS. Despite the double titles, he opted not to defend either after ending his relationship with Yamaha in February and spending much of the summer prepping the new deal with CFMOTO.

CFMOTO USA unveiled the new program on Sunday at its annual dealer show in Minneapolis. Besides VanEperen Racing, the UTV side announced new partnerships with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Vikings.

The Chinese manufacturer had become a series partner of Championship Off-Road before the 2026 season, which includes being the title sponsor for the season-ending CFMOTO Off-Road National at Glen Helen.

While short course is a new foray, CFMOTO has already enjoyed success in other motorsports on and off road. The latter includes winning a successful World Rally-Raid Championship factory quad effort in CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team, and sweeping the Adventure bike classes with the 450MT at Red Bull Romaniacs earlier this month.

Four other marques have competed in Champ’s UTV categories. Pro SxS includes the usual suspects in Can-Am, Polaris, and Yamaha, while the current Pro Stock SxS points leader Cross Kirchmeier races a Honda Talon. SPEED UTV also appeared at Glen Helen last year with Max Gordon.

Featured image credit: Mark Sheffield