Saint Croix Falls, WI (7/20/2016)
– Bikeman Performance/rOtation Motorsports
drivers Jason Luburgh and Treavis Poynter
earned podiums in the two-day TORC UTV season
opener at ERX in Elk River, MN. It marked
the Bikeman teammates first entry into TORC’s
Pro Stock and Pro Modified UTV classes.
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Bikeman
/ rOtation Motorsports' Jason Luburgh
put the Polaris in the center of the
box at the TORC SxS Opening Round
at Elk River
|
Luburgh won Saturday’s race overall driving
a Polaris RZR XP 1000. The class allows for
only minor modifications, leaving the UTV
basically stock. Interestingly, he finished
ahead of the first-place Pro Modified car,
despite having less power in his stock machine.
He started fifth in the event and followed
Corry Weller to the front, before passing
her for the victory.
“I battled with Corry Weller and she’s super-fast,”
said Luburgh. “Nobody knew what to expect,
and it turned out really well. The course
feels like a giant motocross track. It’s super
wide and there is a lot of sand it, making
it cool when it got rough. The track was so
big and everyone was very fast, so the smallest
mistake or adjustment can make a big difference.
They were so good at grooming that it was
really smooth all weekend. Being creative
with lines was really nice in the corners.”
Luburgh finished second in Sunday’s race.
It rained overnight prior to Sunday’s races
and while Luburgh made several changes to
the suspension, he just missed the clutching
setup, a mistake he won’t make again.
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Bikeman
/ rOtation Motorsports' Jason Luburgh
finished 2nd in Round 2
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“On Sunday, I started sixth and had to work
to the front,” said Luburgh. “I was in first
place for a lap, but I had trouble with the
clutch hooking up, so I got passed by Corry
and finished second. I was super impressed
with the event. It was a lot of fun, the TORC
people are very accommodating, and there was
just a really good vibe.”
Meanwhile, Poynter was caught in a bad luck
collision early Saturday, which left his newly
built RZR beyond repair for the first round,
so he had to quickly prep a brand new RZR
Turbo for the first round. With the help from
the Bikeman pit crew and fellow competitors,
he was able finish it just before the start
of the Pro Modified race on Saturday, but
was black flagged while leading because they
didn’t have enough time to tech the car prior
to the start.
“The crash ruined the new Turbo, but I thank
God for the Crash Addict cage,” said Poynter.
“It literally saved my life. It was built,
so well that we were able to take all of the
Crash Addict safety equipment off of that
RZR and put it on a brand-new RZR Turbo. Rob
Bailey, Hans Ada and all of the Bikeman people
took one car apart and built another one to
get it ready for Saturday, but we didn’t have
time to tech the car, which was unfortunate.”
Poynter rebounded on Sunday, finishing second
even after experiencing a mechanical issue
during the race while leading. Interestingly,
Poynter’s lap times were equal to those being
recorded by the Pro-Lite Trucks.
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Bikeman
/ rOtation Motorsports' Treavis Poynter
had the fastest laptimes on the track
& scored a 2nd place finish at
Round 2
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“That was pretty awesome,” said Poynter.
“The Bikeman Performance power, along with
the Fox Shocks and GBC Tires were able to
make that car handle so well that we could
run with the trucks. While I didn’t have the
best of luck this weekend, but when I look
back at what I did accomplish, and all of
the work that went into getting me back on
the track racing, it’s hard to be disappointed
with second place.”
The Bikeman Performance/rOtation Motorsports
team will return to TORC competition as the
series heads to Bark River, MI July 30-31
for another double header weekend of racing
in the TORC series. The season finale TORC
UTV race is scheduled for September 2-4 in
Crandon, WI.
