Ontario, Calif. - Team ITP ATV and side-by-side racers recorded many overall class wins and podiums competing in numerous racing series, including the World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) finale in Primm, NV, the Best In The Desert (BITD) BlueWater Desert Challenge near Parker, AZ, and round 12 of the Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series in St. Clairsville, OH. ITP racer Cody Rahders also captured the Lucas Oil Off-Road Regional Racing Series XP900 Class championship in Southern California.
"We had a pretty good showing in the Desert Southwest region, earning a LOORRS championship, one WORCS class win and getting a top-three finish in the 1900 class in the Best in the Desert series to expand our points lead," Pat McGuire, Public Relations/Race Support, said. "Across the country in Ohio, our racers won six classes and Adam McGill narrowly missed his second overall XC1 Pro class victory, settling for second."
GNCC
Team ITP racers earned a spot on the overall morning overall afternoon and overall SxS podiums at round 12 of the AMSOIL GNCC series held at Powerline Park in Ohio, which also features round five the SxS series. Pro racer Adam McGill (Lonestar/Precision/Axis/Baldwin Racing/ITP) finished second in the XC1 ATV Pro class, earning one of 10 total podium finishes for Team ITP. McGill, who led the first two laps, took second place in the class for the third time this year and also climbed to within three points of third place with one round remaining on the schedule.
ITP-backed afternoon session racer Brian Schmid made up for a poor round 11 with the Senior A/B (40+) class win, his seventh of the season. He now has a nine point lead headed into the GNCC finale. Team Hilltop Motorsports/ITP also had four afternoon racers. In the Pro-Am class, Chad Jones and Nathan Wallpe finished fifth and 11th, respectively. In the College B 16-21 class, Brigham Patterson earned sixth while Justin Paul took 11th.
Dave Simmons, who already captured the 2013 Super Senior (45+) class championship for ITP, won his class for the fifth straight race and also earned a the third spot on the overall 10 a.m. podium. Simmons was one of four ITP racers to earn a victory in the 10 a.m. session. Masters 50+ class rider Kenny Rich, Sr., officially captured his class championship with his seventh win in the last eight rounds. Kenny Rich, Jr., also won his class at Powerline Park. The younger Rich, whose championship hopes remain mathematically alive, has four victories and trails the class points leader by four points heading into the GNCC finale.
Kristen Deloach also notched a class win, taking the checkers in the Womens' Amateur (15+) class at round 12. She now has seven victories this year and owns a six-point lead. Another class win went to ITP youth class racer Jordan Digby, who won the 90 Limited (8-12) class. Digby now has six victories this year, but is currently third in points. He would need to win the final round to capture the class championship. Samuel Williams tallied his sixth second-place finish and 10th class podium of the year in the 4x4 Open class.
The Powerline Park side-by-side racing results included Team Jack's Excavating/ITP, who took third place and third overall in the XC1 Modified SxS class. Team Jack's Excavating II also used ITP tires to finish second in the XC2 Limited class and take seventh overall, while maintaining a comfortable 17-point lead heading into the final round.
The next round of the GNCC series, The Ironman, is Oct. 26-27, in Crawfordsville, IN.
LOORRS
At round six of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Regional Series at Lake Elsinore MX in Lake Elsinore, CA, Cody Rahders (UTVunderground/FOX/Magnum Offroad/ITP) won his class and clinched the 2013 RZR XP900 Class title in the process by winning the LOORRS Shootout event. Coming into round six, Rahders held a two-point advantage. However, after taking the top spot in qualifying, he had grown his lead to three points. Knowing he just had to finish behind the top spot or win to secure the XP900 class title, Rahders gave it his all during the 12-lap main event. Even a second-row start couldn't slow him down, as he grabbed the lead by turn two and then checked out for his second win in a row.
"I felt good. The car ran great," said Rahders in his official release. "FOX had my shocks dialed, and, even with two races on them, my ITP tires were still hooked up. I just got out front and laid down laps. My spotter was even telling me to slow down at one point but that can be risky, so stayed in it until I saw the checkers."
WORCS
In the SxS Pro Production class, Murray Racing/Yoshimura/ITP pilot Dave Martinez came from 11th place to finish fourth at the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC WORCS finale at Buffalo Bill's Resort and Casino in Primm, NV. Martinez equaled his season's best finish with his second consecutive fourth-place run. He ended the season ninth in SxS Pro Production class points, one spot behind Team IMG Motorsports/ITP racer John Pacheco, who was eighth at Primm.
ITP pilot Justin Lambert (Cognito Motorsports) won the SxS Production 850 class at the WORCS finale, but came up short in his chase for the class championship. Lambert, who posted his second straight victory and third win overall and missed round three, came up two points shy of the class championship. He was joined on the podium by fellow ITP-supported SxS racer Kyle Melville, who took third with his first podium finish of the season. Sara Price ended up with fifth in the class after taking ninth at Primm.
BITD
The Murray Racing/Yoshimura/ITP team of Derek and Jason Murray came into the Best in the Desert BlueWater Desert Challenge leading the 1900 Pro SxS class in points. Although the Murrays didn't win the BWDC, they captured another podium finish and gained three points in their chase to win the BITD SxS championship. Finishing one spot ahead of the Murrays was Lambert (Cognito Motorsports/ITP).
The BITD BlueWater Desert Challenge is a two-day race that featured a gnarly course, complete with whoops, sand, silt and rocks. Side-by-side vehicles raced three laps on Saturday morning and then three more laps on Sunday for a total of 146 miles. The final positions are determined by total time for the two days combined. The Murrays started ninth in their class and 12th overall, but moved up to fifth after day one. On day two, they pulled another holeshot and were able to gain two more positions. They ended up third for the weekend, based on cumulative time.
"We pulled two holeshots and finished on the podium," Derek Murray said. "The results will come down to the final race of the year, a double-points race, making anything possible."
The final BITD round, the Henderson 250, is slated for Dec. 6-8, in Henderson, NV.
