Spartanburg, SC - Team KYMCO KEP (KYMCO Extended Protection) WARP factory racing takes on the Vegas to Reno—the grueling, brutal and arguably most savage off-road race this week Aug. 16-19.
Sharing the challenging joys of riding for the team on the KYMCO MXU 700i LE are popular ATV pro racer Adam McGill, newly crowned GNCC 4x4 Lites National champion Justin Wood, and team captain Alex “Wicked Al” Koolitz.
This is the first time KYMCO has competed in the Best In the Dessert General Tire Vegas to Reno Presented by FOX off-road racing event, which is an unforgiving test of the mettle of man and metal of machine. This race is more than 500 miles long, traversing spline-rupturing ravines, dirt, dust and hissing lizards in the wilds of Nevada’s western desert.
Trading riding duties on the Team KYMCO KEP WARP factory racing MXU 700i LE are top-level pro ATV cross-country racer McGill, who is known nationwide for his charismatic personality. McGill started racing in the premier Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) series as a 16-year-old, and was the youngest racer to place in the top three of a GNCC. McGill quickly won a GNCC Pro Am Championship title and was awarded the AMA ATVA Amateur Rider of the Year Award. In the Pro class, McGill has spent the last three years ranked in the top 5 nationally, with his many fans known as the “McGill Mafia.”
Wood, now retired from the US Navy, re-immersed himself into GNCC cross-country ATV racing, competing an entire GNCC season aboard a utility ATV in the 4x4 Senior class and bringing home his first championship. In 2017, Wood joined KYMCO USA as a factory-backed ATV racer and has wrapped up the 4x4 Lites class, with a few races yet remaining, aboard a KYMCO MXU700i LE ATV. Maybe even more impressive, ironman Wood pulled off a miraculous No. 13 overall finish at the toughest race of the season at Snowshoe, WV, in a field of well over 200 racers.
Kollitz has raced in MX, dirt track, arenacross and cross-country; anything he could do with the equipment he had. In 2008, Kollitz switched from bikes to ATVs, finding success in series such as AZGP, Whiplash, WORCS and Quadcross. Currently, Kollitz is a well decorated factory-backed KYMCO racer who has earned championships in the WORCS series aboard both the KYMCO MXU 700i ATV and UXV 700i UTV.
Join in for live reports on Instagram (@kymco_offroad) and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KYMCO.ATV/, and look for race reports in ATV/UTV media outlets such as Dirt Toys dirttoysmag.com and ATV Illustrated atvillustrated.com.
The sponsors graciously supporting Team KYMCO KEP WARP factory racing include KEP (KYMCO Extended Protection), WARP Offroad, Elka Suspension, TrakMotive, TireBlocks, CST, Dynojet and MZM Performance.
