Franklin, Tenn., - Phil Blurton drove his turbocharged Can-Am UTV to victory in the long course desert race event at the UTV World Championship on Saturday, April 15, in Laughlin, NV. Dressed in ITP Ultra Cross R Spec tires, Blurton won both the UTV long course overall and the Pro Turbo class. ITP racers overall earned two additional podiums at the 2017 Polaris RZR UTV World Championship.
"It's great to see Phil Blurton get his first career 'Best In The Desert' win—and do it on ITP Ultra Cross R Spec tires," said Rhett Turpin, head of ITP Sales. "The UTV World Championship continues to grow in both the number of racers and international prestige, so a 1-2 finish in the long, difficult desert race is fantastic—and especially gratifying to ITP engineers."
Blurton, a Pro Turbo class rookie, and his co-pilot, Beau Judge, started on the third row, but eventually worked their way to the front on the challenging 16-mile desert course outside of Laughlin, NV. Their No. 944 Can-Am Maverick X3 SxS, outfitted with 8-ply, 31-inch ITP Ultra Cross R Spec tires, ended the day in front of more than 100 other vehicles competing in the "Safecraft" long course desert race. It was Blurton's first BITD win in just his second start in the series.
Justin Lambert (Cognito Motorsports/ITP/Polaris), the reigning UTV Production class champion, finished second overall and second to Blurton in the Pro Turbo UTV class. Lambert appeared to be in the driver's seat for another UTVWC win, but a small mechanical delay ended up slowing him down enough to allow Blurton to capture the lead based upon adjusted time.
The UTVWC short course event was held on the same track, but featured just three laps around the 16-mile course. Branden Sims, who took sixth earlier in long-course action in the Pro Turbo UTV class, finished third with his Polaris RZR Turbo dressed in 31x9.50R-14 Ultra Cross R Spec tires.
