| 2008
GBC Heartland Challenge
10 Hour ATV Endurance Race
Carlisle, Iowa
November 7-8, 2008
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GBC Heartland Challenge
10 Hour ATV Race Report - Continued
The track itself was about eight miles long and
consisted of wide-open fields, tight woods, hill
climbs, some mild motocross and of course the Can-Am
challenge section. The Can-Am Challenge incorporated
log and tires obstacles, big rocky sections and
sections that were a combination of rocks and telephone
poles. Some racers were choosing to avoid that section,
but many were looking forward to giving it a try.
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The
racers sprinted across the pits to their
ATVs, and Amazingly Can-Am's Michael Swift
was the first rider to get his ATV started
and out on the track |
Anticipation was high as racers awaited the start
and once the signal was given, the race was on.
Brandon Sommers and team Powermadd/GT Thunder
was the first Pro class team off the line, followed
by the Dirtworks team and C&D Racing. The
GBC/ATVriders team had issues off the line when
starting rider McClure accidentally hit the off
switch on their Honda 450r.
In the Pro Utility class, Michael Swift, who
was the starting racer for the PIAA/Can-Am team
was the first Pro Utility class racer off the
line, and more impressively, the first racer off
the line overall. Swift was followed closely by
Daryl Rath, who was starting for the Polaris/Rath
Racing team, while FD Racing and West Racing’s
Jesse West were right on his heels.
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Can-Am's
Michael Swift quickly pulled his team
out to a 5 minute lead and they utlized
the Can-Am Challenge short-cut every lap,
which saved them nearly 45 seconds a lap |
Rath
Racing's Team also took on the challenge
and held the 2nd spot for nearly the entire
race with the Arctic Cat team avoiding the
challenge section |
As the race began, the track was still a little
slick from the prior evening’s snowfall,
but after the first hour, things began to dry
out. “I had a close call when I almost slid
into a tree out there because it was still kind
of slick at the beginning, but it’s starting
to dry out and get nice and tacky,” stated
Jarrod McClure after his first hour out on the
track.
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Many of the teams were running the same strategy
of changing racers every hour in order to stay fresh,
but one set of racers did not have that as an option.
The Ironman class, in any race, is always known
as the ultimate test of man and machine, and the
GBC Heartland Challenge Ironman class was no exception.
There were five brave souls who signed up to race
this class, including Todd Macke, who would face
additional challenges since he suffers from cerebral
palsy. Todd Macke gave it his all and was doing
well until just past the 4-hour mark. It was beginning
to get dark and Macke encountered electrical issues
that caused him to lose his lights. Unable to repair
the problem, Macke was forced to call it a day.
Josh Jones and Ray Aspey were off to an early lead
in the Ironman class and by the midway point, had
completed 15 laps, while Ryan Reekers, who was holding
third, had completed 12 laps.
At the midway point, things were going smoothly
in the Pro classes. The Powermadd/GT Thunder team,
who ran the fastest lap time of the race in their
fourth lap with a time of 00:15:07, was holding
a strong first with Dirtworks Motorsports in second
until lap 6 when the Powermadd GT Thunder team
fell back allowing Dirtworks to take over the
lead. In lap 10 Powermadd/GT Thunder came on strong
and regained the lead. Meanwhile, the GBC/ATVRiders
team, who were almost dead last off the start,
had worked their way to third in the Pro class
and third overall with 17 laps while the C&D
Race team was holding on in fourth with 15 laps.
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The
racing was intense in the Pro Class with
Power
Madd & Dirt
Works swapping the lead back a forth
a few times in the 1st half of the race
before Power Madd was able to pull away
from th pack |
GBC's
Jarrod McClure & Jeff Pickens got off
to a slow start, which set them back 6 minutes
at the start, but as others ran into issue
the duo began to gain ground on the leaders |
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