Ontario, Calif. - Team ITP had a total of five podiums, including the top Pro UTV class winner in Branden Sims, at the 2015 Best in the Desert UTV World Championship in Laughlin, NV. Team racers also took second and third in the Pro class, third in the Unlimited ranks and a second place finish in the Sportsman division.
"Our racers have been on a roll as of late, and continued their recent success by capturing the UTV Pro class win, sweeping the Pro podium and netting five total podium finishes at this historic BITD and SxS racing event" said Ryan Edwards, Tech Support Representative/West Coast Race Coordinator. "Branden [Sims] was just on the gas out there from the start and really put together an impressive victory. All top five Pro teams ran our 8-ply, 30-inch ITP UltraCross R Spec tire, which continues to be the tire of choice for harsh desert environments such as these."
The inaugural UTV World Championship was part of the BITD series, but was promoted by UTVunderground.com and Mad Media at Laughlin Off-Road Park near the Colorado River in Laughlin. A total of 122 entries competed in the four classes, which included the Walker Evans Racing Pro Championship, Holz Racing Production Championship as well as both a Sportsman and youth class.
Walker Evans Racing Pro UTV Class
With roughly 50 competitors battling for supremacy and a wild "land-rush" start, the start of the Pro UTV race was as dusty as it was impressive. The race to the first turn was one of the most important portions of the race, but with a course loop that measured roughly 17 miles in length through rocks, ruts, washes and more, racers had to raise their game if they wanted to compete for a podium.
ITP-backed Branden Sims did just that as he finished lap one as the official leader. He went on to complete nine more circuits around the UTV Worlds course on his way to capturing a convincing victory. Sims, along with co-pilot Justin Krause, both of Prescott, AZ, piloted the No. 1913 Polaris, equipped with 30-inch ITP UltraCross R Spec tires to a finishing time of 3:09:07.503, which was nearly five minutes in front of the runner-up.
Second place went to Christina Perkins, Bakersfield, CA, and her co-drivers Abel Perez and Danny Schul. The No. 1946 Cognito/Sparks/FOX/Polaris team completed 10 laps in 3:13:08.828. The final podium spot went to the Baja Designs/Cognito XP 1000 team of Paul and Chris Cooper, also of Bakersfield, who finished less than 3 minutes behind Perkins.
John Angal, the 2014 Baja Class 19 Champion, battled up front all day long, but came up roughly 40 seconds shy of the podium. Angal, and co-driver Eric Ringler, completed 10 laps in 3:16:44.222 in the UTVINC.com Polaris outfitted with UltraCross tires. Brian Bush, who finished only six second behind Angal, was the final ITP team racer to earn a top-five finish in the Walker Evans Racing Pro UTV class standings.
Team ITP had two more of its supported drivers finish in the Pro class top 10. Justin Lambert and co-driver Justin Sheakley tallied a ninth-place finish in the No. 1918 Cognito/Polaris. Lonestar Racing's Dan Fisher and Morgan Russell finished 10th in their custom Polaris complete with ITP UltraCross R Spec tires.
The UTV World Championship event also offered an UTV Unlimited class, as well as classes for Sportsman and youth drivers. ITP was represented in two of those classes. Team racers tallied two additional podium finishes to give ITP a total of five on the weekend in Laughlin.
Lacrecia Beurrier's DragonFire/AZ West/Rockstar Racing team from Lake Havasu City, AZ, finished third in the Holz Racing Championship UTV Unlimited ranks. The team, which runs 30-inch ITP UltraCross R Spec tires on its car, said it used the UTV World Championship event as preparation for the upcoming BITD Mint 400 race.
Lanse Chournos, 18, of St. George, UT, finished second in the Sportsman class and ninth overall behind the wheel of his ITP-clad No. 2999 Polaris backed by PRP, DWT, ZBroz Racing, FUTV and Addict Racing.
