Can-Am / Driven Powersports’ Take Third at UTVWC
Don Higbee & Bryan Buckhannon BITD Pro ATV Race Report

Casper, WY (4/19/2017) - Can-Am / Driven Powersports’ Don Higbee teamed up with Bryan Buckhannon to finish third in the UTV World Championship Best in the Desert Series Pro ATV race in Laughlin, NV. Riding a Can-Am Outlander 1000, the duo recorded another podium finish on the only 4X4 utility quad in the class.

Running consistently on the relatively smooth, fast and dusty course, Higbee and Buckhannon overcame their speed differential with a smooth run, especially in the 16-mile track’s proving ground section. The podium finish allowed them to gain some points in the championship race.

Driven Powersport's Don Higbee

“We had a good run out there,” said Higbee. “We didn’t get the greatest start and it was super dusty for the first few laps. We put in the absolutely the best effort we could and came away with third. We’re right within striking distance of the championship. Our game is to finish and we have a near perfect record at doing that. That’s how you win championships: you keep plugging away at it and we have a solid team this year. We have a great game plan and we’ll continue to capitalize on it.”

Higbee said the combination of Custom Axis Shocks, Kenda Tires and Tire Spines were perfect here. The proving grounds section was especially whooped out, but their reliable Can-Am was up to the task.

“The proving grounds made it difficult to push the 4X4 through than a sport quad, but the Custom Axis Shocks worked great there,” said Higbee. “The rest of the course was really fast, and the speed of our quad was right there with the sport quads. We’ve been through three races with the Kenda Tires/Tire Spines combination and we’ve had zero flats. Bryan has always run Kenda and we switched to them this year for desert racing. We’re loving the HTR Bearclaw 8-ply Tires”

Buckhannon has been racking up the frequent flier miles this year. After running the Hunt the Wolf race in Romania, Buckhannon arrived back in the states the Tuesday before the race and was quickly back on an airplane to Nevada. Buckhannon showed his experience by his success two very different disciplines of racing.

Can-Am's Bryan Buckhannon

“We went from winching each other in the team sport in Romania to wide open in the desert,” said Buckhannon. “I felt really good at the start and once we got into the dust, it was just still air. I had to get out of the gas and the pack really strung out. By the third or fourth lap, the dust died down a little. It’s hard to make up time when it’s that smooth and the guys are so fast. We were fortunate enough to get third at the end.”

Though they were at a disadvantage here, Buckhannon rode strong. That attitude is playing to their favor in the points chase.

“We never gave up and turned some negatives into positives,” said Buckhannon. “It’s a points game out there and we have the reliability of our Can-Am. We’re looking forward to the longer races where the reliability of our Can-Am will shine. We want to be the first ones to win the championship with a 4X4.”

The Can-Am Driven Powersports’ team will have several months to wait till the next round of Best in the Desert racing in August at the Vegas to Reno, but they will also be heading to Mexico for the SCORE BAJA 500 on June 3rd.

Driven Powersports Racing 2017 Sponsors:
Can Am, Driven Powersports, Custom Axis, Tucker Rocky, Dirtworks, Tire Spines, David Jesse Racing, OMF, Dirtworks, Kenda, DP Brakes, Evans Coolant, MSR, Arai, Team JDR, Airdam Clutches, Spider Graphix, Cecco Racing