| BEST
IN THE DESERT Series
Bluewater Gran Prix
Parker, Arizona
May 19-20, 2007
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By:
Levi Merriman
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| #6
Kristen Matlock, Wayne Matlock's Wife, discovered
why her husband is driven to race ATVs. |
Alternating between quad races and motorcycle races, the
first ATV heat of the day was the quad unclassified moto.
Forty six individual quad racers entered this class, but
only a handful of them were actually battling for the
win. Many of the pro’s, experts, and amateurs were
merely entering the race to allow them some prerunning
before their true race later that day since BITD did not
allow any prerunning of the twelve mile course. Out of
the 46 competitors signed up for the class, only 8 would
go on to finish the race while most dropped out after
just 2 laps.
However, the battle between the top three was close.
Leading the majority of the race, and pulling ahead
at the end was # 41, John Nelson, from Parker AZ. completing
all six laps aboard his Honda 450R. Finishing in second,
completing all six laps was # 19 Charles Borgess, from
Phoenix AZ, on his Suzuki LTR 450. In third and the
last one to complete all six laps was Kirby Faulkner
from Blythe California aboard his Yamaha YFZ450.
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| #41
John Nelson |
#19
Charles Borgess |
With the unclassified quad class complete, it was time
for the Pro Quad teams and UTV’s to take to the
track. Snatching the holeshot on the start and into
the desert was the Q1 factory Honda 450R ridden by Wayne
Matlock and his partner Chad Prull closely followed
by the rest of the Pro class as they headed into the
desert.
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| #Q4
Jeff Hancock heading to the pits with a flat front
tire |
Right behind the Pro ATV’s, the UTV started their
fight for the holeshot, and in the end it was the lone
Polaris RZR that nabbed the lead just ahead of a field
of Rhino’s. As the 1a Honda held the lead for
the entire race there were many position swaps taking
place behind them as the others tried t keep pace. Unfortunately
the Polaris Outlaw 525, #Q4, ridden by Jeff Hancock,
and Joshua Edwards had problems early on including a
tangle with one of the Rhino’s that lead to a
flat front tire, twisted rim, and eventually a DNF for
the day. Another Pro team with some bad luck was the
Q12 Yamaha YFZ450 piloted by Collins Webster, and Tyson
Leaver. They too would succumb to a DNF as their chain
broke, and shattered a whole in the side casing of the
engine mid way through the race.
Only two UTV’s would not complete the course,
1930, and 1907 due to mechanical problems. As the race
continued both UTV’s and ATV’s began blending
in as the mud hardened into a silt based beige shell
making it difficult for everyone to keep track of the
competitors and race. In the end, the Q1 Factory Honda
450r would take the win, closely followed by the Q3
Honda 450r ridden by Jose Ramirez and Don Green, who
made the long trip from New Mexico, to a second place
finish. The young and up in coming team of Josh Row
and Travis Dillon from southern California Battled their
way to a third place finish aboard their #Q17 Honda
450R. #Q15 would walk away with a fourth place finish,
and Q22 ended the race for a fifth place finish.
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| #1926
Robert & Neal Mason |
#1919
Brandon Schueler & Eric Borden |
The UTV’s were closely battling for their entire
race. The Mason Motorsports Rhinos were able to work
their way through the crowd giving them a 1-2 lead in
the early laps, but the #1919 Jagged X Polaris RZR would
work its way back to second when #1906, stuck itself
on a hill. In the end #1926 would finish first overall
for the UTV’s, with #1919 in second, and #1926
would have to settle for third in class.
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