Moreno Valley, CA (3/22/2017)
- BDR Motorsports’ Larry Heidler finishes
sixteenth on Saturday in the WORCS SXS Pro
Class at The Crazy Horse Campground in Lake
Havasau City, Arizona. Heidler and his naturally
aspirated BDR Motorsports car initially had
gotten off to a great start, but after that
first 150 feet, he took a hit coming into
a crowded first turn, causing his front passenger
axle to break and the tire rod to bend.
“We spent some time getting the car all prepped;
made some changes to it. Got it to the starting
line, made it to the first turn, and with
the way that some side by side racers seem
to think, they believe can just run right
through you,” explains Heidler. “I broke my
passenger side front axle and bent the tire
rod at that first turn, which was about 150
feet from the start, and with the way the
terrain is at Havasau, without four-wheel
drive, you hardly have any forward drive.
Which makes it difficult to race that course.”
|
BDR
Motorsports’ Larry Heidler was off to
a great start but took a hit coming
into a crowded first turn in the Pro
SXS class |
Although Heidler had experienced this misfortune
early in the race, he was still able to maintain
a fourth-place position for a couple more
laps, but then ran into another issue as he
approached Lake Havasau’s “Lagoon Jump.”
“I wasn’t sure if it was my axle or a rock
that got stuck in my tire, but right by the
Lagoon Jump my car just came to a screeching
halt, says Heidler. “It took me probably two
to three minutes to get that thing un-lodged
and back going again.”
Because of these unfortunate mishaps, Heidler
ended up finishing sixteenth on this Saturday’s
event, dropping him down from third place
to fourth in the points standings, but that
didn’t bring him down.
“Knowing where I stand right now, makes me
feel a little more confident going in to Vegas,”
says Heidler. “All I can do is forget about
this last weekend, start prepping the car,
charging for Vegas, and keep moving forward.
That’s racing. That’s the way things go sometimes.”
Lake Havasau’s “Lagoon Jump” seemed to be
the biggest concern for nearly all the racers
this weekend. With all the heavy rain this
year, the Lagoon Jump water level had gotten
a lot higher, and instead of a couple foot
gap like it has been in the past, the water
had stretched out at least fifteen to twenty
feet from the base of the jump. When the racers
launched over it, most were landing on the
edge of the water and splashing as they would
come down into it. Others were having troubles
with their vehicles bogging out, and couple
racers even wrecked going over The Lagoon
just from hitting the water alone. Larry Heidler
was among the concerned racers.
“Friday before they changed the jump, it was
quite interesting watching the other guys
go over it. I originally had opted out on
trying to hit it because I didn’t think it
was worth the risk,” Heidler expresses. “But
after they made some changes to it Friday
evening, I walked it out and looked at it,
then decided to hit it a few times. It wasn’t
too bad.”
Lake Havasau’s venue is one of the series’
favorites, because it happens during Spring
Break. The track is located right on the lake,
which attracts a huge crowd of boaters rolling
in and pulling up anchor right along the shoreline.
Fans gather around, some even standing out
in the water, and watch the racers as they
speed along the edge of the lake.
|
Larry
Heidler's finish dropped him from third
place to fourth in the points standings
after his unfortunate sixteenth place
finish |
“Havasau is always an interesting place,”
says Heidler. “It definitely is a place that
you either love or you hate. I love Havasau
for the boating. The track wasn’t bad, which
really surprised me, especially for the race
being so early in the day. The WORCS guys
laid out a great course. It’s always rocky,
but there isn’t anything you can do about
that. It’s a fun place. I race this course
with both quads and side by sides, and I definitely
like it better with the side by sides.”
Despite the obvious issues Heidler had experienced
in the beginning of the race, he had no complaints
whatsoever about the performance of his naturally
aspirated BDR Motorsports car in this Saturday’s
event. With his GBC dirt commanders and FOX
shocks, Heidler’s car handled this challenging
course comfortably.
“We got a pretty decent jump on the start
until we all came together. My GBC tires were
running 29-inch dirt commanders and they ran
great. My suspension was working amazing out
there, especially as we went on and the course
started to get rougher,” describes Heidler.
“My car just soaked it up more and more thanks
to my FOX shocks. That’s a huge hit in my
opinion.”
Although Heidler’s luck didn’t run well for
him in this week’s course, he is still sitting
in the top five as the series nears its halfway
point.
“Being fourth, I’m still on the hunt. I just
need to buckle down, put my head down, focus
on each round as it comes, keep pushing forward,
maintain every point that I can, and finish
the best I can. BDR Motorsports never fails
to make sure that my car is running perfectly,”
explains Heidler. “I’ve only had to experience
a few small malfunctions from broken parts,
which each are from different situations,
but other than that I can’t thank everyone
enough; Maxima Oils, everybody. It takes a
team effort to get to the finish line now-a-days.”
Heidler is looking forward to returning in
full force at the next WORCS competition,
as the series heads to Las Vegas, NV on March
31- April 2, for the next SXS race.
Larry Heidler
2017 Sponsors:
BDR Motorsports, GBC Motorsports, Super ATV,
AVI Wraps Raceline Wheels, FOX Shocks, Maxima
Oils, Hess Motorsports, Beard Seats, Tire
blocks, Factory UTV, R3 Fabrication, Malcolm
Smith, Troy Lee Designs, Skat Trak
