Saint Croix Falls, WI (8/23/2016)
– Bikeman Performance/rOtation Motorsports drivers Jason Luburgh and Treavis Poynter took a detour from dominating TORC’s new UTV series and teamed up for the Heartland Challenge in the UTV 1000 class. Driving a Polaris RZR XP Turbo, Luburgh drove the entire four-hour race to finish second.
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Jason Luburgh finished second in the UTV 1000 Class at the Heartland Challenge |
The initial plan was to have Luburgh split driving duties with Poynter, but Luburgh was running strong in the early stages of the race, and when he pitted for fuel, the team decided to let him run the entire race. Though visibly tired after the challenging event, Luburgh was pleased with his runner-up finish.
“I pitted for fuel and Treavis talked me into staying in,” said Luburgh. “It was rough, and I am definitely spent. We found some good lines and stayed out of the ruts. It was really survival, finding a pace and staying with it. The Bikeman Performance Turbo RZR worked really well today, as did the GBC Tires. I could go anywhere I wanted to with this combination.”
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Jason Luburgh makes his way around the track at the Heartland challenge in his Bikeman / Mystik Lubricants backed Polaris RZR |
Andy Ives was challenged by the course, which got rougher as the race progressed. With 69 total entries, ruts were definitely an issue late in the event.
“We had a decent start and we had made it up to fifth place on the first lap,” said Ives. “The ruts were getting pretty deep, and I rolled over. We worked our way up to 10th place when they shortened the race due to lightning. It wasn’t so bad, considering. The Polaris had plenty of power, but with so many entries the ruts got really deep really quickly.”
Jamie Ward was running competitively in the top 10 before electrical issues slowed her charge. Luburgh was racing a Polaris RZR 1000S.
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Jamie Ward lifts the front end on her Polaris RZR 1000S |
“About the second lap, we had some issues with overheating,” said Luburgh. “We got that fixed, went hammer down and we were running really well until the final hour of the race, coming through the pit straight, an electrical issue shut the car down. We worked on it and couldn’t fix it in time, which was a bummer. The race was pretty intense and the ruts were pretty huge, but I had a blast this year. It was probably the most fun race I’ve ever done.”
The Bikeman Performance/rOtation Motorsports team will finish up its 2016 TORC season at the finale September 2-4 in Crandon, WI. That race will feature one points round, as well as a special, non-points race.
