|
The Big Buck GNCC UTV Race Report
Union, South
Carolina, April 4, 2009
Ready for the start |
William Yokley finished 1st Overall and 1st
in the Open Modified Class today in South
Carolina. There were 60 total entries with
25 Open Modified teams. The guest
passenger for this race was Rod Cooper.
Summary
This was the first GNCC UTV race of the 2009
season, and there was a big turnout of teams.
I invited my friend Rod Cooper to join me in the
cockpit for a nice smooth ride through the
woods! After the 2 hour ATV race, I only
had about 45 minutes to cool down and get some
fluids back in me before the UTV race started.
The course was 4 miles long and had a little of
everything - tight woods, creeks & mudholes,
fast fire trails, and plenty of whoops.
New for this year was a live engine start
with 5 teams per row, and each row starting in
10 second intervals. This was done to
reduce the carnage created by mass, dead engine
starts last year. We were on row 1; when
the flag dropped, I nailed it and the National
Guard Polaris RZR pulled a wheel stand.
That had never happened before! We got the
hole shot and tip toed around the first few
turns until we got into the woods. I felt
my way around that first lap, and got a feel
where the obstacles were then tried to pick up
the pace.
There were several bottlenecks after a few
laps, and alternate lines were necessary to get
through. We got held up a few times when
there was only one way up some long, muddy
hills. There were many damaged machines
throughout the course as well as pieces and
parts scattered along the trail. I only
had to use our horn (front bumper) a few times
to pass lappers, but all in all, everyone was
courteous.
We finished 7 laps in a little over one hour,
and had a nice gap over 2nd place. Our RZR
ran flawlessly and strong the whole time.
We ran a totally stock engine and clutch, which
speaks well for the way Polaris builds these
things. We had a great day and Rod didn’t
whine or scream the entire event, although he
did say he may be a couple of inches shorter
after all the pounding!
The next UTV race is in Somerset, Pa on May
16. I look forward to racing again; these
things are a blast to drive! See you
there.
Yokley Racing Team Sponsors are The Army
National Guard, Polaris Industries, Kenda Tires,
Elka Suspension, Roll Design, HMF Exhaust
Systems, IMS/Roll, PURE Polaris Lubricants &
Fuels, Intense Fabrication & Design, Douglas
Wheel Technology, Moto Pro Training, Tire Balls,
Andrews Cycle, Tsubaki Chains, IMS, Four
Apparel, ASV Levers, CV4 Hoses, Hygh Octane
Design, PIER Graphics, Universal Handlebars,
Scott Goggles, ATVRiders.com, Hetrick
Motorsports, Powermadd, and Rekluse Clutches.
|
