Mitch Guthrie Jr. Rides ITP
Tires to Victory at Parker 250
ITP Racers Earn Three BITD
Podiums in the Arizona Desert
Franklin, TN (1/17/2017) - ITP
racer Mitch Guthrie Jr. kicked off the 2017 Best
In The Desert (BITD) racing series by winning
the UTV overall and UTV Pro Turbo class at the
2017 Parker 250 in Arizona. Branden Sims joined
Guthrie Jr. on the box, finishing third in his
No. 913 Polaris RZR dressed in ITP UltraCross
R Spec tires. ITP racers notched four of the top
five finishing times at the opening round, aka
the UTV Winter Nationals, all coming UTV Pro Turbo
class.
"With last weekend's Parker 250 win, I was
happy to be able to count on ITP UltraCross tires
to guide me to the finish line with zero flats
and a flawless race," said Guthrie Jr.
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Mitch
Guthrie Jr. continues to make huge strides
in his young career, notching his first
big desert racing victory. The 20-year-old
Californian put together an impressive overall
and class victory run at the Parker 250,
crossing the finish line in his Polaris
RZR equipped with ITP UltraCross R Spec
tires in a time of 4:54:15.973 |
Guthrie Jr. and his co-pilot Kurtis Elliott proved
to be the fastest at the opener amongst the 60-some
UTVs entered. They finished in sub-5-hour timeframe
(the lone team to do so) to take the overall and
UTV Pro Turbo class win in the No. 951 Polaris
XP Turbo. It was the first major BITD desert victory
for Guthrie, Jr., who battled with fellow Polaris
pilot Branden Sims for much of the five-hour event.
Guthrie Jr. benefited from a faster pit stop after
lap one to take the lead, one he would not relinquish.
"It's great to start the season with a win
and to have it go to such a great, humble kid
like Mitch Guthrie Jr.," said Rhett Turpin,
Head of ITP Sales. "ITP UltraCross R Spec
tires continue to dominate in the BITD series.
To have four of the top five finishers says a
lot about the UltraCross R Spec tire's design,
durability and dependability for desert racing.
It's also great proof for those recreational riders
out there searching for a reliable and versatile
tire for their SxS vehicle."
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Branden
Sims the reigning BITD Pro UTV Turbo class
champ, along with co-pilot Justin Krause,
started the new season with a solid third-place
podium finish at the Parker 250. Sims ran
31-inch ITP UltraCross R Spec tires on his
No. 913 RZR |
Sims, who closed out the previous BITD season
with a win to capture the Pro UTV Turbo class
crown, began the 2017 season on a good note, putting
his Lonestar Racing / Polaris car on the overall
and Pro UTV Turbo podiums. The class podium finish
kept Sims just seven points shy of Guthrie Jr.,
heading into round two. Sims, racing in his home
state of Arizona, ran 31x9.50R-14 ITP UltraCross
R Spec tires on his Polaris RZR Turbo.
Despite finishing more than five minutes behind
Sims, Tomas Sallvin's fourth-place UTV Pro Turbo
class and overall finish in his ITP-clad No. 988
Polaris RZR XP Turbo proved to others in the field
that he is one to keep an eye on in 2017. Rounding
out the top five overall and finishing fifth in
the UTV Pro Turbo class was the No. 944 Maverick
X3 driven by Phil Blurton, who posted a time of
5:12:08.958. The Californian ran ITP UltraCross
R Spec tires on his Can-Am.
Two other ITP-backed teams finished in the top
10 of the UTV Pro Turbo class and inside the top
20 overall. The Murray Brothers captured ninth
place in the class in their Can-Am / ITP / Murray
Racing X3, while teammate Logan Gastel finished
one spot behind them in the No. 969 Can-Am. Both
race vehicles were armed with ITP UltraCross R
spec tires and were two of only 37 vehicles to
complete all three laps.
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The
No. 988 Cognito Motorsports / Polaris Team
of Tomas Sallvin, James York and Daniel
York, who chose to run ITP UltraCross R
Spec tires, had a good run at the Arizona
opener, taking fourth overall and fourth
in the UTV Turbo Production ranks |
Mr. Malcom Sneed III, owner of S3 Powersports,
took second place in the Unlimited ranks. Sneed
and co-pilot Quinton Daniels ended up an impressive
eighth overall in their No. 2918 S3 Powersports
/ Can-Am, which also had ITP UltraCross R Spec
tires installed.
The next BITD race, the BlueWater Parker 425 presented
by Impact, for ITP pilots is slated for Feb. 2-4,
in Parker, Ariz.
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Phil
Blurton piloted his new No Limit / Can-Am
Maverick X3, outfitted with ITP UltraCross
R Spec tires, to strong overall and class
finishes. Blurton, and co-pilot Beau Judge,
scored a fifth-place finish overall and
in their class in Arizona |
About ITP:
Since 1982, ITP has been the world's #1 ATV/UTV
aftermarket tire and wheel source. The premier
ITP products are developed utilizing an experienced
staff of engineers, designers and technicians
at its two American tire facilities in Clinton,
Tennessee, and Jackson, Tennessee, to develop
award-winning tire-and-wheel designs for virtually
all ATVs and side-by-side vehicles. Numerous outlets
distribute ITP tires across the United States
and in more than 25 countries worldwide. ITP is
a registered trademark of The Carlstar Group,
LLC. For a free, full-color ITP catalog, call
toll-free: 1-800-889-7367. Tech questions call:
1-909-390-1905.www.itptires.com
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