EZ-Adjusters: Allow for easy adjustment on your shoulders to quickly alllow improved reach
ComfortPads: Padded shoulder straps for increased comfort and reduced neck rashes
Elevated Engagement: Improved driving experience with increased comfort and security
Elevated Comfort: Enjoy your adventures longer with less body fatigue
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Add Safety & Comfort To Your Vehicle
Features & Benefits
EZ-Adjusters: Allow for easy adjustment on your shoulders to quickly alllow improved reach
ComfortPads: Padded shoulder straps for increased comfort and reduced neck rashes
Elevated EngagementImproved driving experience with increased comfort and security
Elevated Comfort: Enjoy your adventures longer with less body fatigue
5-Point Harnesses
SFI Certified & Ready For Fun
Features & Benefits
EZ-Adjusters: Allow for easy adjustment on your shoulders to quickly alllow improved reach
ComfortPads: Padded shoulder straps for increased comfort and reduced neck rashes
Elevated EngagementImproved driving experience with increased comfort and security
Elevated Comfort: Enjoy your adventures longer with less body fatigue
Racing Harnesses
SFI Certified & Ready For First Place
Features & Benefits
EZ-Adjusters: Dust resistant seals prevent dirt and grime from entering the cam-lock mechanism
Removable ComfortPads: Padded shoulder straps for pre-running but can be removed for when it’s race day to support a HANS device or similar neck restraint
Elevated Engagement: Improved driving experience with increased comfort and security
Drive Harder, Faster, Safer: Drive with confidence knowing that you’ll be ready for whatever the race throws at you
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Drive Harder, Faster, Safer: Drive with confidence knowing that you’ll be ready for whatever the race throws at you
King of the Hammers 2021 is well underway and we’re just getting started! Team PRP drivers and crew started their day qualifying for the 4WP Every Man Challenge!
Our very own Scott Hartman qualified First for the EMC race that takes place Friday and not far behind him is Shaun Rajski in 7th! We’re looking forward to an awesome race out at Johnson Valley and hopeful a Team PRP driver will end up on top!
We’re so incredibly proud of Team PRP Drivers Wes Miller & matt Burroughs for finishing the Baja 1000 in the PRO UTV EFI Class! Wes took 1st place with a time of 26:01:43 and Matt was right behind with a time of 26:41:31! Both Matt and Wes run our PRP Alpha Composite Seat! It is the ultimate race seat for that are seeking comfort while out racing. Both of these guys sat in an Alpha Race seat for over 26 HOURS! We strive to create custom, comfortable, and proven off-road race seats.
Wes Miller Taking 1st Place! Matt Burroughs #2 Place
October 18, 2020- Blythe, CA- My team and I headed out to Shorty’s Sports Park in Blythe, CA on Friday morning to race round 7 of the 2020 WORCS season. We arrived that afternoon in time to get checked in at registration and run the unclassified full course practice. I took my production car out and ran a few laps. The course was rough with tight turns, but my car handled the track great! I was looking forward to racing on Saturday and Sunday!
I headed to the track early on Saturday morning to coach one of the RZR170 racers that I have been working with. After his race, I headed to tech with my Production 1000 car. I watched a few of the other races and when it was time, I headed to the line. I lined up on row 1 of the SXS Production 1000 class and there were 21 cars in my class. When the green flag flew, we took off! I was P3 off of the line and charged hard right away to make a pass moving me into P2. I pushed in lap 1 chasing down the leader. During lap 2, I hit a rut in an area of the course that had rock walls on either side of me.
The rut pitched me into the air. I landed on my roof and then my car bounced over finally landing on my wheels. I was facing backward on the track and was in an extremely tight and blind area, so I knew I needed to get back on the course quickly. P3 passed me right as I was pulling forward to back up and turn around. As I was backing up, another racer hit me from behind. I wasn’t sure if there was any damage to my car from the roll or the hit, but I got back on the course as quickly as possible. I figured I would know pretty fast if something was wrong with my car. My car felt good as I got going again so I focused on chasing down P2.
I had lost some time and a physical position. I raced as hard as I could to catch P2, but after 7 laps I couldn’t get it done. I crossed the finish line physically in 3rd place but finished the race in 4th place on corrected time. We headed back to the track on Sunday morning to get ready for the SXS 1000 Stock class race in the afternoon. When we arrived, I ran my car through tech, checked the tire pressure, and fueled. I was ready to go! When it was time, I went to staging and lined up on row one of my class. There were 26 cars in total and we were lined up 5 in a row. The flagger waived the one-minute warning and I got ready to go. The flag flew 60 seconds later and we took off! I was P2 off of the line and focused on chasing down the leader.
I knew the track well from running the day before, but it was really torn up after a day and a half of racing. The ruts were way bigger and I didn’t want to get stuck and flip like I did the day before. I raced as fast as I could over the jumps, through the turns, and on the straights. After 7 laps, I was able to maintain position and crossed the finish line in 2nd place. I was happy to have put one of my Polaris RZR RS1’s on the box that weekend! We’ve got the cars torn down and are gearing up for the final WORCS rounds of the season. We will beat Buffalo Bills in Primm, NV in November to race rounds 8 & 9. I can’t wait to be back in the seat!
For a third consecutive year, Team OTSFF/MOTUL entered and finished the mammoth Vegas to Reno off-road race in the 6100 Spec Trophy Class this past weekend. The race got underway in Vegas on Friday, August 14th, and finished some 550 miles later the next day in Reno. Due to team owner/driver Andre Laurin being stuck in Canada because of the Covid-19 pandemic, driving duties were taken over by Adam Fitza and navigator Danny Novoa, who replaced regular Kerry King.
Fitza and Novoa had no problems qualifying for the event, although they had to do in the dark under very hot and dusty conditions. The new Rigid Industries “Adapt Light Bar” performed flawlessly during qualifying as it would during Friday/Saturday’s night time racing conditions. Not long after Fitza and Novoa blasted off the starting line, in the explosive OTSFF/MOTUL truck around 11:10 am on Friday morning, they were chasing down a car in very thick dust when another vehicle rear-ended them at speed. The hit “rattled our brains, but we shook it off and continued on,” Fitza noted. He and Novoa were only 20 miles into the race when the collision occurred and they were holding their breath, hoping no serious damage was done to the truck’s rear end.
Losing Vision
The first 80 miles of the course were new for this year and was very silty, dusty, and rocky. But Fitza and Novoa made it into Pit 3 without further incident. Visibility was horrible due to the thick dust, exceeding not much past the truck’s front bumper. Fitza’s driving challenges were made just a bit easier by Novoa doing an amazing navigating job through the dust. Approximately 160 miles into the race the truck suffered a right rear flat, bouncing through the rocky terrain. Unfortunately, the jack-handle was wedged into the rear bumper due to the impact from the earlier collision.
It was difficult to free the handle, causing some unexpected delay in changing the tire. Once Fitza and Novoa were underway they poured on the gas as if there was no tomorrow. In no time they rolled into Pit 5, where the team’s crew fueled the truck and did a quick visual inspection. All seemed good and off they went in record time.
Crisis Averted
Approximately 220 miles into the event Fitza and Novoa starting hearing an abnormal clanking sound. This was not good. The race was not even halfway over and the “clanking sounds” were threatening to possibly cut it short for Team OTSFF/MOTUL. Fitza managed to limp the truck into Pit 6, where it was discovered that the pinion carrier bolts had broken off of the third member. The pinion gear was literally falling out of the differential! The good news was that the crew found some spare bolts that were the right size and they managed to repair the damage.
It was smooth sailing until Race Mile 310, when another flat had to be dealt with. “It was 100% my fault, as I took a line in a 90 degree right, which was the wrong choice,” Fitza explained. This time he and Novoa were able to execute a fast tire change and were back in action, heading for Pit 10. Here they stopped for fuel and to replace both rear tires before heading into the mountain sections of the course. Finally, some fresh air and no more dust to contend with. Fitza got into a great groove and started making up more time. “I love the technical tight parts of the course. I felt really comfortable here and we started reeling in race cars, hitting the siren and passing. What a blast! The truck was working amazingly well and everything was falling into place,” Fitza noted.
At Pits 11 and 12, with quick visuals from the pit crew, everything was deemed A-OK. Except for a nasty monsoonal thunderstorm looming on the horizon. Approximately 415 miles into the race, Fitza and Novoa hit heavy rain.
“What an experience. So much fun driving this truck 80+ mph in pouring rain and mud. Our Toyo tires were hooking up in the mud without hesitation. And our Vision Wheels took the abuse we put them through. The Rigid Lights lit up the desert-like day time at night! Engine and trans never skipped a beat, thanks to the superior Motul lubricants. This was the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Fitza said.
Finish At Last
For the last 50 miles, Fitza ran the truck at a conservative pace through the rocky terrain and he and Novoa dropped into Dayton (outside of Reno), to take the checkered flag at approximately 9:09 pm. It had been an unbelievable feeling for them, crossing the finish line in such a diverse race. Although a top-10 finish had been hoped for, Team OTSFF/MOTUL had to take satisfaction with 22nd place in the 6100 Spec Trophy Class. But as is the case with every off-road race entered, the main achievement is getting to the finish line, which despite a few side-issues was once again attained.
“We saw it all. Dust, silt, rocks, mountains, wild donkeys, passing cars, driving blind in the dust, a few minor issues, rain, lightning, mud, what have you. This race was a perfect example of what off-road racing is. All in all, it was an amazing day. Thanks to Andre and Monique Laurin and everyone at OTSFF for trusting me with their truck. I hope I made them proud,” Fitza said. “Not the finish we were hoping for, but a finish in itself is a success. We have a solid foundation as a team and we strive to work together, get to the finish, and have fun doing it. And we did just that! Already looking forward to the next one.”
2020 has been a strange year. I had planned to compete in the full SCORE series. So I sat out the Mint 400 because it was so close to the San Felipe 250. Little did I know that would be the last race for some time. The Baja 500 has been dangled in front of us for a few months now, but who knows what is going to happen with it. I made the decision that I need to go race something, so Vegas to Reno it was.
I’ve only raced V2R one other time in a UTV back in ’15. I don’t know the course and the race as well as I know Baja. I also don’t set my car up for BITD rules, so I would have to race the Pro UTV Unlimited class. Although, I felt like I could still make a run at the overall UTV title. It would also be good to put a Polaris on top of the box in that class because it has been dominated by CanAm’s the past few years. I was also excited to learn that Honda would be fielding their two much-anticipated factory-backed UTV’s. Heading into the race, I knew it would be hot and dusty in the first half of the race. As the 26th entry, I was the last car to start in my class and passing would be difficult. My plan was to be smart and methodically pick my way through the pack to about Pit 7 at Coaldale, then do what it took to win from there.
Looks Like No Boost
Off the start, our coolant temps immediately started to climb. The ambient temp was around 105 and there was a lot of silt that was putting a load on the motor. About 5 miles in, I lost boost. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach and was getting the feeling this was going to be a long day. I told my co-driver we were going to have to just do what we could during the heat of the day to stay close and then hopefully the car would run better once we got to some higher elevations and the sun went down to cool the air. To my surprise, we were able to consistently move through the pack. At race mile 50, I was 3 minutes down from the leader.
Credit: Harlen Foley
The dust was terrible. In fact, it may have been the worst I have ever raced in. It was very difficult to see. You had to really push blindly to catch anyone and take some chance. There were cars dropping like flies. Broken and crashed cars littered the course. We kept working through the carnage and by our first fuel stop at Pit 3, we were now 6th physical in our class and 2 minutes down on adjusted. It was only 123 miles to Pit 3 and we took more fuel than I had anticipated. I was now concerned about our next 2 legs between scheduled fuel stops because they were 151 miles and 145 miles apart. It was going to be very close on making those. I radioed our crew and decided to take a splash of fuel in-between each of them.
Axle Vs Dust
It was really frustrating driving the car without boost. We were down about 20mph from our normal top speed and it was really doggy out of the hole. The only way to make time was to carry extra speed through the corners and technical stuff. I think the dust worked to our advantage a little there because no one could really open it up since you could hardly see the course. We caught a buggy in some silt and I made a move to get around him. I shot out to the left to make the pass and as we were coming back in front of him, we clipped a ditch. For a second I thought we were done. I felt something wasn’t right and told my co-driver I think we have a flat or a broken axle. It wasn’t really too noticeable, so we kept going. We were using a new fuel tower system for the first time.
When we came into Pit 5 to take a splash of fuel, we were about 7 minutes behind the leader. Only 2 of my crew got to the pit in time, so they had some other people help them. In the rush to get us in and out of the pit, someone left our fueling air vent cap off. They radioed and told us after we had already left the pit. We went a few miles and put the cap back on. At the same time, we saw that the driver’s side front axle had pulled out of the inner CV and was flopping around. Apparently the ditch had done some damage. We had clean air and I felt like we were finally able to start making some time, so I was very hesitant to stop to fix it. After contemplating it with my co-driver, we finally made the call to fix it at the next pit.
Quick Pit
Pit 7 was a scheduled fuel stop. When we pulled in my co-driver, hopped out and helped with changing the axle. The CV was stuck in the front diff and everything was very hot. It was taking way longer than I wanted even though everyone was doing their best. While sitting there for what seemed like an eternity, I think about 15 cars passed. Once we got going, I think we ended up losing approximately 15 minutes. When we took off, we were behind a pack of cars and the dust was ridiculous.
I was able to pick a few people here and there, but I still had a pack in front of me. Our next fuel stop was at Pit 10 and we radioed and told our crew that it was going to be crucial that they get us in and out of the pit as quickly as possible and ahead of the pack. We came into Pit 10 and my guys did an awesome job. They fueled us quickly and we jumped on course right ahead of the other cars. This was huge because it gave me clean air and I could finally start to push. The class leader broke at race mile 350, I was now 3 seconds out of 1st place. Even without boost, we had a good pace going and I felt like we were making time. By mile 400, we were 3 minutes ahead.
Credit: Harlen Foley
Fuel Anyone?
Because I was a little concerned about our fuel economy. I told our crew I wanted to take one more splash of fuel before the finish. Pit 11 in Rawhide was a remote pit and we didn’t have anyone scheduled to be there. We had 2 chase trucks, so I told them one needed to give us fuel at Pit 12 or 13. Our crew radioed us and were concerned that they wouldn’t beat us to either pit. We finally had clean air and it actually started raining. It was funny because when we finally weren’t behind someone in dust, Mother Nature decided to water the course. I wish we had that for the first half of the race. It was even a little muddy in some spots.
We beat our crew to Pit 12 and decided to continue to Pit 13. I hoped that they would beat us there. I figured worst case that I could bum some fuel from another team. We kept a good pace and were 4 minutes in the lead by race mile 450. We lost communication with our chase trucks coming into Pit 13. We had again beat our guys there. I pulled up to a few other RZR teams and asked for fuel. To my dismay, no one had fuel. Off in the distance, I could see lights coming so I made the decision to keep going and roll the dice on making it. At this point, I knew we were in first but had 46 more miles to go. I drove as lightly as possible at about a quarter throttle. I could see some lights catching us, but knew that we had started last in our class and someone would have to beat us by a way to win. I also knew that most of the last 10-15 miles were downhill.
Victory At Last
In the back of my mind, I was thinking about how disappointing this was going to be if we ran out of gas. Every mile marker seemed like an eternity. Some lights finally caught us. I wasn’t sure if it was my class or not, so I picked up the pace for a minute. I decided it was too risky to drive the car hard using more fuel. So I let the car by and figured if it was a 2900 car, I would tuck in behind it. It turned out to be Seth Quintero in a UTV Pro Production, so he didn’t matter for our class. We could finally see the lights of Dayton and the finish. I was feeling pretty good that we were going to make it. There was another UTV that we were catching. Literally a mile or two from the finish, we caught him and it was the 2929 car. We made a pass and brought it into the finish. We crossed the line the UTV Pro Production physical leader and won on adjusted time by a little over 6 minutes.
Credit: Harlen Foley
Our Polaris RZR worked awesome as usual. We didn’t have a single flat. The BFG/Monster Seal/DWT tire and wheel combo is on point. The Fox/All Tech Motorsports tuned suspension was amazing and saved me in the blind dust a few times. It was frustrating not having the car at full speed, but I know a lot of teams battled overheating issues as well. The broken front axle was my fault, but part of the risks you take when passing in the dust. My crew and co-driver did an excellent job. Thank you to everyone for their support. I couldn’t do this without you! Please make sure to like and follow me on Facebook and Instagram @WesMiller70.
Wes Miller Bomb Squad Racing/Team RZR Special Thanks to: Polaris RZR, Kicker, Elrod Motorsports, Johnny’s Custom Motorsports, BFGoodrich, Fox Shox, Torco, Baja Designs, Rugged Radios, PRP, DWT Racing, Assault Industries, Cross Motorsports, Alpinestars, Safecraft, Factory UTV, All Tech Motorsports, S&B Filters, HMF, Hostyle, Lithium Pros, RCV Performance, Desertcraft, Sandcraft, Shock Therapy, Monster Seal, Rhys Millen Racing, Bikeman Performance, Pro Eagle, Heatwave Visuals, and Agenda Surf
Pre ran the 7+ mile track on Friday and it was very apparent “survival” was going to live up to its name. Nearly the whole track was a rock. From small pebbles to 4-5-6+ inch rocks So it wasn’t looking good right out of the gate. I qualified 12th Friday night with a little brake trouble. I went into the first turn with a little fade and on the second turn, they went right to the floor. I started pumping and got them back, but it was a little late and I almost blew over the berm in the turn. To make matters worse the qualifying track wasn’t exactly well defined leading to confusion for some drivers and cutting the track. So some drivers got lucky on their qualifying time as they let them go. My qualifying spot put me on row 3 of 4 cars wide for the race. I never was able to find a problem with the brakes that night, and I had just put new pads on just a couple days before the race and everything was fine then so decided to run them as is.
I knew it was going to be a huge dust problem during the race as well, so I knew I had to pull holeshot in my row to be in clean air. I was able to pull the holeshot on row 3 and hold it for over half the race. With brake trouble in qualifying, all the rocks, and the promoter told us in the driver’s meeting that only like 3 cars finished this race last year, I put myself in cruise control mode and just paced myself once I got out front of row 3. I was able to make a couple passes, and just ran my pace and pulled off a 7th place finish in pro class!
July 19, 2020- Devore, CA- The MORE Racing Hostyle UTV Shootout last weekend was a blast! We heard about the race and quickly made a decision to go, leaving us almost no time to prep. We were able to get the car ready and headed to Glen Helen Raceway on Friday morning. When we arrived at the track, we checked in and then headed to qualifying and tech. We ran one practice lap and then we headed right into our qualifying lap. After the practice lap, I had a good feel for the track and took off to run my qualifying lap! I was stoked when the results came in and I had qualified first! We had some time to kill before racing that evening, so we grabbed some lunch to eat at the track. One of my competitors had rolled during qualifying, so after lunch, we helped him fix his car so he could race that night. Then, we gave my car one more look before heading to the line that evening.
I raced in the UTV N/A 1000 class, and when it was time, we headed to the line. The UTV Shootout was a two-day event, and the first day, we raced on the Lucas Oil track. The N/A class lined up behind the Turbo class, and we waited for the flag to fly. After the Turbos took off, I got ready to go. 15 seconds after the Turbos went, our flag flew and I hit the gas, got the holeshot, and rounded the first turn. It was a timed, 20-minute race, so I focused and got into a groove quickly. In the first lap, I had passed 3 of the turbo cars and I was chasing down the rest of the pack. I was pushing myself and my car, but I was having a blast on the track! When the checked flag flew and I crossed the finish line, I had passed all but 2 of the turbo cars and came in just seconds behind them. I took home 1st place in my class! We locked everything up for the night and headed home. On Saturday morning, we headed to the track early for the second race of the weekend. This time we raced on the Glen Helen short course track; a 4-mile loop- 45-minute race. Again, the N/A class lined up behind the Turbo class, and we got ready to go. The Turbos took off and 30 seconds later, our flag flew. As we took off and rounded the Talladega turn, I was second off of the line. I stayed on the car in front of me and about 1 ½ minute into the first lap, I was able to make a pass taking over the lead in my class. I focused and started chasing down the Turbo class. One-by-one, I passed the Turbos (11 cars in all), and about ¾’s into the race, I was running first in my class and first overall. I was able to maintain my lead for the rest of the race and finished the race in 1st place overall! I was stoked! We are getting ready to race at the GBC Series round 3 this weekend back at Glen Helen Raceway. I am ready to get back in my car!
Well, we finally were able to compete in Ultra 4 again. We loaded up and headed to South Pittsburgh, TN for some action this past weekend. We had a good prerun, bobbled a bit in the qualifier, but still started 11th off the line. Quickly passing the majority of the cars ahead of us we managed to move into not only the corrected time lead but the physical lead as well. We thought we would be stopped after 4 laps, but they sent us out for #5 and we had a good clean lap (- a flat tire). We pulled through the short course in the physical lead and bested our 2nd place competitor by a good margin. The course was nasty rough with hundreds of tire cutters, several large drops as well as A couple big hill climbs. Super tight in places and also had a few high-speed sections. There was a small amount of mud in the first 2 laps, but in lap 3 the rain came a rolling and the track was a slick nasty mess. We managed to navigate our way to the 1st place spot and we should be looking very good in the National points scene as well since we had a top 10 finish at KOH. We should know soon, but with several events left this season, it’s hard to say. We had an awesome crew in the pits to keep our car functional and fast. We wouldn’t be the team we are today if it weren’t for all you great marketing partners. We want to thank every one of you and we hope you can get some use from these photos. We switched the car up from a JK to a Ford Bronco during our break. We didn’t make any announcements about it because we were waiting to release our Bronco along with the new Bronco. The cats out of the bag and we think the car gets even more attention now with the new look and the Bronco Buzz hitting the market hard this month. We also got our new suits to help market the entire team Well, we finally were able to compete in Ultra 4 again. We loaded up and headed to South Pittsburgh, TN for some action this past weekend. We had a good prerun, bobbled a bit in the qualifier, but still started 11th off the line. Quickly passing the majority of the cars ahead of us we managed to move into not only the corrected time lead but the physical lead as well. We thought we would be stopped after 4 laps, but they sent us out for #5 and we had a good clean lap (- a flat tire). We pulled through the short course in the physical lead and bested our 2nd place competitor by a good margin. The course was nasty rough with hundreds of tire cutters, several large drops as well as A couple big hill climbs. Super tight in places and also had a few high-speed sections. There was a small amount of mud in the first 2 laps, but in lap 3 the rain came a rolling and the track was a slick nasty mess. We managed to navigate our way to the 1st place spot and we should be looking very good in the National points scene as well since we had a top 10 finish at KOH. We should know soon, but with several events left this season, it’s hard to say. We had an awesome crew in the pits to keep our car functional and fast.
The DP4 race on July 11th was the 2nd of 5 scheduled races for DP4 2020. Round 2 took place in Ridgecrest, CA and was scheduled for 5 – 22 mile laps with a race start time of 7:00PM.
On Friday afternoon we hitched the trailer and headed north from San Diego to Ridgecrest with a goal to make it to the pit site in time for the live drawing for start positions at 8 pm. But we soon realized it was going to take us a lot longer to get there than planned. There was a lot of unexpected traffic, we stopped to turn the RZR around in the trailer to add more tongue weight as we thought the trailer was loaded incorrectly and ended up just being the high winds coupled with a tall trailer. We approached Cajon pass and it was stopped and go until we got to the climb with the added trucker lane. We were motoring along until we came upon a Mercedes SUV that was trolling the semi-trucks and trailers going about 30 mph for no reason. When we caught up to him, there was nowhere to go and we lost our momentum. Having to shift into the trucker lane to try and accelerate again, we were hammering down and climbing, but the 100-degree weather and a fully loaded trailer trying to accelerate up Cajon pass isn’t the ideal situation and our truck let us know that our trans temps were too much and we needed to pull over and idle the truck to cool the trans fluid, we were about a half-mile from the summit and decided to keep our foot in it to the top and allow the truck to properly cool as we’d have a tougher time to get going again if stopped on the grade. At the summit, we pulled off the first exit we came to and fueled the truck and let the truck cool off before continuing the remaining 70 or so miles to the pit.
As we continued north on the 395, we ended up watching the live draw on Facebook and found that we drew 42nd of 43 starting positions. But the first 900 class off the line. Later that evening they also hosted the drivers meeting online, due to the new COVID restrictions in place. After stopping for a few hot n ready pizzas, we finally made it to the pit site around 10 pm. We set camp, fired up the generator, and hung out in the air conditioning for a while, talking about tomorrow’s race, decided to go shake the RZR down and see what our new Fox shocks had to offer. Mason and I went out for about 6 miles to run the car hard through some whoops, came back, and decided to look the car over in the morning and then went to bed.
Waking up early, it wasn’t too warm out and was shaping up to be a pleasant day in the shade. We decided to turn off the generator and open the windows to enjoy the nice fresh morning air, boy was that ever a mistake. By the time it got warm, it was too warm for our air conditioner to overcome the heat soak of the sun on the siding and the brutal air temp reached somewhere near 115 degrees. As the race was slated to begin at 7 pm that evening, the weather forecast was a cool 105 degrees when the first UTV was to leave the line. When tech and registration opened we rolled down to sign the wavers as a team. The team consisted of my Wife Sarah, Mom Robin, Dad Tony, Mason Co-Driver (his first race ever), Mason’s Dad Matt, and myself. We rolled the mighty Polaris RZR800S through tech and found the DP4 staff to be friendly and welcoming. This was our first experience with DP4 and so far so good.
Some things are fluid and subject to change, all pit planning had revolved around 22-mile laps and found that they changed the event to 27-mile loops. Not that big of a deal, but when you have planned fuel and pit strategy for 5 fewer miles a lap, you have to restructure your strategy and we had to run to town for a few more gallons of fuel before the race. During the day a few racers came over to say hi to us and check out the RZR800S. Racing veteran Chris Blais came over and said hi, we’ve been following each other’s programs on Instagram and I’ve always admired Chris’s racing pedigree and his skills behind the wheel. Asked him for a few pointers and he basically said we’d be fine, just have fun. As the sun beat down, I had time to think about a few things and since I’d never raced DP4 before didn’t know what to expect at all. No real youtube videos or racing to base any shock tuning off of, so I dialed in a similar setting that we had good luck with on our old Fox Podium IX. These new Fox Podium 2.0 shocks had a lot more adjustability than we ever had and knew they would be an invaluable upgrade, but had no baseline of racing or testing going into the night race. All the hard work was done, all we had to do was hydrate and relax until it was time to suit up, strap in, and stage.
We got suited up around 620 and headed to the starting grid to take our positions for the national anthem and to take our turn at the unknown course in the hot darkness. As the cars started to roll to the starting line, DP4 reported that the start of the race would be delayed as the ambulance broke down and they had to dispatch another one. The race would be delayed until about 8 pm. Which was good for the temperatures, but builds anxiety as a racer. After the replacement ambulance showed up, we were back in the UTVs and ready to race. We waited our turn as 41 other UTVs started their race 30 seconds apart. It was our turn to go, pulling up to the start line and DP4 took our start card and said be safe, have fun. Starting to notice a theme here of Fun. That’s what it should be, fun. Sure there were a few setbacks, like the heat, the traffic, the fuel, the ambulance… but none of that mattered, we were at the start line and it was our turn to have fun. I asked Mason if he was indeed ready and didn’t want to back out, he said he was ready to do this. We bumped fists and the light turned green and we were off.
Lap 1 we started 42 of 43 and headed out into the darkness, chasing reflective ribbons and course markers. The first part of the course was uphill with a significant gain in elevation. With it being super hot, I kept a keen eye on the belt temp gauge. Belt temp management would be key to us finishing the first lap and any other laps this evening. A blown belt would take us about twenty minutes to change in the 800. We kept the lights of the cars in front of us in view and could see 43rd place lights in our rearview. The fast cars would be doing 30-40 minute laps and since we were 42nd off the line, we started about 21 minutes after the first UTV, so the fast guys would be catching us about mile ten to fifteen. The course was like no other we had raced on, it was a mixture of trails, dodging boulders, cactus and some cross country paths. We passed a few racers that had tipped over or wrecked, we slowed to make sure they were ok and after a thumbs up, we carried on our way. Cresting the mountain we could see the lights of the town of Ridgecrest, a very cool sight to see for sure. As we rounded the backside of the mountain, the twilight faded to blackness and the only illumination was our headlights and the lights of our competitors. After about an hour, we finished our first lap.
Pulling into the pits at the end of Lap 1 for fuel and water, we were now 37th overall and 2min behind the other racer in our class. Our pit let us know that the officials were discussing a contingency plan for ending the race early as the event had to end by midnight and we might be getting the white flag on the next lap. This was Mason’s first race as co-driver and he was doing an excellent job, we have no comms and rely on good old fashion yelling and hand signals. There were a few cautions I would have blown through that his youthful eyes could see in the darkness and saved us from having a really bad day. Lap 2 we had started to get heat soak in the belt and had to pull over occasionally, put the RZR in low, and limp along to cool the belt. Once the belt dropped to an acceptable temperature we pulled over, put it in high, and went for it. We had to do this several times during the second lap to make sure we didn’t blow a belt. Our first pitstop plus pulling over netted us an hour and ten-minute lap, not bad for how slow we had to go sometimes.
Crossing the start-finish line we got a white flag and pulled into our pits again at the end of lap 2, we were told that 2727 in our class (current leader in Prod 900) had just left the pits, but still had a 2min lead on us. After fueling the UTV and filling the drinkers, we were off again. At this point, we were 32nd of 43 racers. Knowing that it was our last lap and that we had a finish in the books, I decided to go for it on the final lap and try to pass 2727 back before the end of the lap. Making up two minutes is a task over 27 miles and being the underpowered 800 vs the 900 was a challenge of its own. Knowing the course now, we knew where we could make up time and where our belt was going to heat up. Going for broke when we could and pulling over for the race leaders occasionally, we were about five to seven miles from the finish line when we came upon a slower moving racer. We closed on them with some speed as it was one of the sections we were able to make up time. Our new Fox Podium 2.0 shocks, coupled with our Hellwig swaybar and new ITP BajaCross tires made for an ideal setup this evening. We turned on the siren and flew by, knowing that there were more lead cars coming upon us we didn’t lift the rest of the lap and decided it made it or break it time for our Continental belt. Coming into the finish chute we crossed the start-finish line for the checkers and DP4 interviewed us and said they thought that we might have been the first 900 to finish, meaning that we somehow passed 2727 on the course and made up a gap of 2 minutes plus.
We headed back to our pits and met our pit crew and told them DP4 though we may have won our class. We walked back to the finish line to see where 2727 of Jake Smith finished. He wasn’t far behind, but we’d have to wait for the moto tally results to determine if we had gone fast enough to make up for lost time on the first two laps.
After waiting for the final results to be announced, it was official… we had WON the 900 Prod class in an RZR800 and achieved 27th overall out of 43 entries. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but remember that we are in a 2009 RZR800S with about 40 hp vs newer machinery with around 200 hp. We outdrove a lot of superior equipment this evening. At the awards presentation, we were awarded a new set of Kenda tires for first place, we gifted them to 2nd place Jake as we have an ITP sponsorship and didn’t want a conflict of interest and it was a prize enough knowing that we had won the race and for Mason’s first race ever in a UTV it would surely be memorable to have a class win.
We look forward to the round 3 of DP4 in August and for the return of the D38 series in September.
This was the first Ultra 4 race back since COVID-19 hit and man was everyone ready for some racing! Friday was qualifying at 3 pm. Derek and the #20 team had been working on getting a few things fixed up for the race that morning and put some new plug wires on just before qualifying in an effort to have fresh wires for the start of the race. One of the wires is custom made length and that wire got missed leaving Derek qualifying on only 7 cylinders! Derek still made a great pass and was slated to start 5th for the race the next day. “We had just made some adjustments to the car and I immediately knew something was wrong when I made my qualifying pass after I got back to my trailer I looked at the plug wires and saw where I had missed getting one of them plugged on to the coil! I laughed and said, that is why I did this before qualifying and not right before the start of the race!”, said Derek. Saturday afternoon was the main race and Derek & David were lined up in the 5th starting spot. As they started their first lap they had a mechanical failure and were not able to continue on. After the race Derek said, “Such a bummer to go out so fast, we will re-group and hope to come back strong for the next one.” It was a great time seeing everyone after the long break from racing and loved to see all our race family. The team is looking forward to the next race in August.
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