MOTORCYCLE, QUAD & UTV CLASSES

Photo by Dirt Nation

By Mike Ingalsbee

The second to last race of the season in the Best In The Desert series for the Motorcycles, Quads and UTVs was held in Laughlin, Nevada. The course has a dual personality. The desert section has changed a lot over the years, but still follows the same basic trails and washes. The infi eld section however is always diff erent. The large fl at area of the infi eld gives Best In The Desert a blank canvas to construct the short course section any way they choose. The desert section is rough, but fast. The infi eld is twisty with jumps and sand that gets deeper and looser with every lap. No matter how many times a racer has been to Laughlin, they are guaranteed to fi nd something diff erent each time. Unlike a point to point desert race, you must run the same 17 mile course on two consecutive days. That gives you a second chance which is either good or bad. A win on day one is great, but you have to follow it up on day two when the course is even rougher. Those who are vying for championships have to deal with racers who are hungry for a win and willing to gamble. Nobody can play it safe. It’s always a fast-paced race with no room for error.

CARPE TERRA

TREAD VICTORIOUSLY

THE NEW RAZR XT

Chris Leaming fl ew to the UTV Laughlin Leap win. Photo by RnR Photos

The fi rst to hit the dirt were the 4 wheeled competitors in the famous Laughlin Leap held Thursday night. The leap was instituted during the very fi rst Laughlin race back in the 1990’s. Back then the leap was part of the race course. Drivers could go off the huge jump, or take a bypass. It was a big fan favorite and most of the top racers took the leap. Best In The Desert brought it back as a special event in 2018 at the UTV worlds. This year’s UTV winner was Chris Leaming who sailed 115 feet for the top spot. On Friday morning, the UTV youth classes hit the track. Best in the Desert does a great job of getting the next generation of racers out learning their craft, and having fun while they’re doing it. The kids race in the infi eld section of the course so they can keep track of everyone. The kids love to race so you have to keep an eye on them at all times. If they took a wrong turn out in the desert, they could end up in a diff erent state. If you ever get a chance to watch them race; don’t miss it. These kids are amazing and some have become top champions like Seth Quintero, Mitch Guthrie, RJ and Ronny Anderson, and many others. One day you will be able to say you saw them race before they were famous. Youth winners included Jacob Williamson, Declan Shields (who won two diff erent classes), George Llamosas who is always fast, Paxton Schendel and Dexter Warren.

Tanner Thompson - 170 Pure Stock 5-8 Ryder Barnaby - 170 Pure Stock 9-13

Paxton Schendel - 570 Production Stock

Photos by Dirt Nation

Dexter Warren - 570 Mod

Declan Shields - 170 Super Stock

Declan Shields - Trophy Unlimited Mini Jacob Williamsons - 250 Production Mod

George Llamosas - 1000/RS1

The team of Hayden Hintz and Trevor Hunter took the Open Pro victory. Photo by Dirt Nation

David Broderick and Luke Reynolds grabbed second Open Pro. Photo by Dirt Nation The bikes get the fi rst chance to race on both days. Staging was at 6:30am with racing at 7:00. Some motorcycle racers are specialized. They race in the desert or maybe motocross is their specialty. Many have raced several disciplines including Grand Prix and Hare and Hound. Trevor Hunter, who won the Open Pro class onboard a KTM with his teammate Hayden Hintz likes Laughlin because, it reminds him of Grand Prix racing. “Fast paced Grand Prix suits my style,” says Trevor. “It is kind of scary running on day two after the trucks make

deep ruts in the turns. You have to pick your lines well and be heads up because of the big holes and square edges. We did that and won both days.” Second in Open Pro went to the Husqvarna team of David Broderick and Luke Reynolds. Jeremy Newton fi nished in third place on his KTM. In the Open Expert class, Honda swept the podium. Defcon Motorsports took the win with riders Gage Mathews, Carson Kay and Corbin Eatherton. Finishing in second place was the Honda team of Travis Dillon, Robert Glines and

Third Open Pro went to Jeremy Newton. Photo by Dirt Nation

Gage Mathews, Carson Kay and Corbin Eatherton nailed down the Open Expert win. Photo by Dirt Nation

Zach Myers took the Ironman Pro win and his two-day total combined time was fi fth best overall for the motorcycle classes. Photo by Dirt Nation

Jeff rey Row. Third place belonged to Brock Collins and Corbin Gonzalez. The podium fi nishers in both classes all fi nished on the lead lap. You would think that the Ironman Pro riders would be at a disadvantage as they are used to going for the long haul however that wasn’t the case. Winner Zach Myers ran 10 laps on his KTM in 03:09:57.767. That was fast enough to take 4th place overall. Second place Jarrett Curley would have been right behind in 5th overall on his Honda. Third place in the Ironman Pro class was Colton Scudder on a KTM.

Jarrett Curley, second Ironman Pro. Photo by Daniel Curiel Photographic

Off Road

Everyone will agree that winning is the greatest feeling ever, but for Quad Expert winner Zachary Hayward it was painful. He found out after Vegas to Reno that his wrist was not only sore; it was broken. He was unable to train and would only run one lap before handing his ISH General Contractors Honda over to his more than capable teammates Ismael Hernandez and Christopher Avalos. They ran 9 laps in 03:14:30.269 to take the win. “Yeah, so it was just one lap, right?” said Hayward. You really can’t do a ceremonial start here. I broke my wrist at Vegas to Reno. I didn’t know I broke my wrist; not until a few weeks later. It was just a small tip over. I didn’t feel injured. We still decided to show up. I did one lap just to get the points and those guys took over; they killed it.”

No. 423 Zachary Hayward took the start in Quad Expert but had to hand it off to his teammates to continue for the class win. Photo by Dirt Nation

Ismael Hernandez and Christopher Avalos took the 423 to victory. Photo by Dirt Nation

Bruce Binnquist took the top spot in UTV Pro Turbo on Saturday. Photo by Dirt Nation

Brayden Baker swept Saturday and Sunday for the undisputed Trophy Unlimited victory. Photo by Dirt Nation

“Mad” Max Gordon grabbed the Pro N/A win on Saturday. Photo by RnR Photos The UTVs were split into two groups for racing on Saturday and Sunday. Group C contained UTV Pro NA, and UTV Trophy Unlimited classes. Group D included UTV Pro Turbo, UTV Super Stock, and UTV Sportsman classes. Starting order was based on points standings after Vegas to Reno. That gave preference to those in the championship hunt, but after the fi rst lap everyone is in the dust of someone else. Only the lead car on lap one gets any relief. Even when they water the course, it dries out quickly due to the wind, the sun, and the cars doing multiple laps. It was quite windy on Saturday which is great for clearing the dust, but it depends on the wind direction. If it’s blowing directly down the course, there is no relief. If it gets very windy, it will make its own dust, no race traffi c required. You get both dusted out, and sand blasted for no extra charge. Some drivers are really good in the dust. They somehow muster the courage to push hard; often due to a great co-driver they trust to call out the turns accurately. Drivers get most of the credit, but off -road racing is a team sport. Drivers have to trust their navigators, and also their cars. Those who realized victory on Saturday included Brayden Baker in UTV Trophy Unlimited, Max Gordon in UTV Pro N/A, Bruce Binnquist in UTV Pro Turbo, Mitchell Alsup in UTV Super Stock, and Eric Murphy in UTV Sportsman.

Top Pro Turbo contenders Vito Ranuio and Dustin Jones battling for position. Photo by Justin Brown Photo

In the Pro Turbo class, Vito Ranuio was up 27 points on Dustin Jones who had only a two point lead over Jason Murray. Ranuio fi nished fourth on Saturday, Murray sixth and Jones was ninth. The number crunchers are going to have their work cut out for them. Second place on Saturday in the UTV Pro Turbo class behind Bruce Binnquist was fast guy Joe Terrana; Kolton Hustead was third. On Sunday the fi nishing positions changed, and the times for most were

Josh Row notched the overall Pro N/A victory for the weekend. Photo by Dirt Nation

The overall win in the Super Stock class went to Mitchell Alsup. Photo by Dirt Nation

Joe Terrana rallied to the Pro Turbo overall victory. Photo by Dirt Nation

Kaden Isabella claimed the overall win in Sportsman Rally. Photo by Dirt Nation

predictably slower. One position that didn’t change was the number one spot in Trophy Unlimited class. Brayden Baker won both days to take the undisputed overall win in class and Group C. Ryan Piplic fi nished behind Baker for second, and Cody Bradbury was third. Kaden Wells would not be denied. He won the Pro N/A class with Josh Row second and Max Eddy third. In Group D, Joe Terrana won the Pro Turbo class with Kolton Hustead second and Bruce Binnquist third. Mitchell Alsup was another perfect driver in UTV Super Stock with back to back wins giving him the overall in his class. Other overall winners were Josh Row, Joe Terrana, and Kaden Isabella in Sportsman.