2011 BITD BlueWater GP

[facteryfmf]

Congrats to Matt Parks for another WIN at BITD's Bluewater Grand Prix​

BEST of luck to everyone tomorrow afternoon. I think the race starts at 2:00. I hate to admit it, but Im pretty excited Im not waking up in 4 hours to move in and sit around all day watching the races and dealing with the heat!

 

[blurryvision]

Any word or pics on the UTVs?

 

[jeffy]

Top 3 was 1932 parks,1919 jaggad, then 1905 rhino.
Not to sure after that but 1929 rzr was running solid in the top 5 and then smoked a belt. Tough luck but thats racing. I stayed out of the rzr for this race and raced my quad instead with my stepbrother and we took first! Pretty stoked about that!

 

[staggs]

any one know how the cognito teryx did?

 

[JoeyD23]

Due to the Moab trip I was unable to make it to Parker for this race. I will try to acquire some pics. I know the racers will chime in with their stories. I spoke with Jagged and Lasher already. Sounded like a fun race. Lots of sportsman cars ran if I heard correctly.

 

[BiggJim]

We DNF. Fuel pump went out on our 3rd lap. Ill have a full story tomorrow.

 

[jaggedx]

I took some contingency pics that I'll post later. Tons of fun this weekend for sure. Huge congrats to Matt on another win...you are definately making us pay for minor issues...stop that!
Our race started "strangely" as the car died at the starting line and had to be restarted...not a good thing in a "dead start" race for sure. I think we ended up around 7th or 8th in line when the dust settled. We recovered and worked through the pack and had a very small lead over Matt for first place at the end of the first lap.
The car was working great and we were able to build on our lead each lap until lap four. At that point, our sway bar bolt decided to hang out on the ground, jamming the linkage into the ecu and causing a voltage spike. This, in turn, popped the main ignition fuse so we were unable to fire the car, though all the accesories worked...obviously it took a few minutes to diagnose this and remove the sway bar linkage...I think we were in about 5th when we got back on course.
Last time through the pits on lap 5 and we were back in third behind Matt and Murrays. Charging hard and ended up passing Murrays on the final lap as they had lost a wheel on course. Anyway, ended up finishing around 4 minutes behind Matt for second place...we were definately happy with that result after our "incident" and are really looking forward to V2R.
Once again, huge congrats to Matt and all the other finishers, the course was rough on equipment as usual.
Mike

 

[Bajaxp]

Thanks Mike!

Very fun weekend! For a guy that lives at the beach, it was hot as hell. It was a very quick turn around from the Silver State 300 and the two races couldn't be more different. One is a very fast, very scenic single loop, chase race...and this one was hot, the course was rough and it all started with a land rush start - motocross style, for six 11.5 mile laps. The weather on Saturday was nice until about noon then it got hot. We all pitted literally 10' from the Colorado River. Our race came up at 2 pm and we lined up in the dirt lot next to the parking lot of the Blue Water Casino. I got the hole shot into the first turn, but Cory came by me on the next straight. We splashed our way through the over-watered first section. After a about a mile, in a rough sweeping turn I passed Cory and just set off trying to maintain a decent pace. But after about six miles we could see the front amber light of the JX XP900. He stayed about 30 yards back, but was pretty close coming through the abondoned house. We rode the ridgeline and on the last blind rise the course went immediately left and I...well just went straight...off a cliff. Fortunely we rode it to the bottom and didn't hit anything and got back on course after a wild ride through the pucker bushes. "I'm good...meant to do that." Jagged obviously got by at that point. Brandon hit the water (mud?) hole at about 30 mph and shot a geiser about 25 feet in the air. So I was no longer chasing the white and blue car, but the brown car . We came into the pits pretty close, but they gapped us during the next few laps. That JX car and driver combo are frigg'n fast! We saw them pulled over at lap three or four and they gave us the thumbs up. So we just went into cruise mode and had a fun bobsled run. It was good talking to all of the UTV guys and the turnout was very good considering only a two week turnaround from the SS300. JXBS said that he thinks we are tied in points going into V2R. Thanks to Jason and Todd from Desert West Off Road, for co-dogging and crewing this weekend. MP

(Thanks to Holz Racing Products, Walker Evans Wheels and Shocks, Maxxis tires, Tire Balls, Kroyer Racing Engines, Muzzy Exhaust, DWO race prep and Pure Polaris Lubes)

 

[450grl]

Here's a couple of pix from the bunch I took out there while we were spectating/helping pit for our buddies. I'll try to post up more later.....

Congrats to everyone who raced/finished! It was fun seeing everyone out there!!

 

[450grl]

A few more.....gotta run to work, but I'll post up more later!

 

[OFFROADSWAPMEET]

Looked like a fun race. I wish my pit was on the lake !

 

[MRPAT920]

 

[MRPAT920]

 

[Mike L]

Oh Boy, where do I start with the Blue Water GP this weekend? We weren't too excited about the back to back races coming off the Silver State 300 but always look forward to the Blue Water GP as it's a fun race and great family event! Not to mention my right hand man Wally had shoulder surgery on Monday so he wouldn't be at the race this weekend too!

As always the weather was warm and the course was rough by the time we got to race. Even though the UTV race wasn't until 2pm it still required a 4:30am wake-up call! Pit move-in started at 5am and the utv practice lap was not long after. Everyone lines up for the start of the practice lap and takes off in a mad dash. I hang out in the back and wait for all of the UTVs to go and settle themselves out. I'm not sure why some guys charged at this like it was a race. We took our time checking out the course and marking the gps so we would be fast during race conditions. I'm proud to say we were the last finisher during the UTV practice lap.

After the practice lap we had a 5-6 hour gap, this gave us an opportunity to look over the car and make sure we were ready for the race. Our car looked good and we were ready to go! We took a nice boat ride up the lake for breakfast and enjoyed a couple of hours on the water trying to stay cool before the race.

2pm comes around and we line up for the race. We line up a little farther to the right than I would have liked but it's ok we can make it work! The green flag drops and the mud settles and we're in the fourth position! Car seems to be running great! We motor on down the course and get passed by Jagged moving us into 5th place. We run the 2nd lap with out any issues. At the end of the 2nd lap we stop in the pits to check out a noise in the front end but the pit crew can't find anything wrong so we motor on loosing 2 positions in the pits.

Probably only a mile into the 3rd lap of the race there's a canned ham on its side blocking the race course. We're right behind the 1905 and follow them as we find a way around it! Sweet we move up one more position! Not long after that we pass the 1905 and were back into 5th position. The third lap must have been the hardest on guys as there were cars everywhere! Not long after that we pass Jeff in the 1929 and have regained 4th. We continue on the third lap without any issues. During the fourth lap we pass Jagged X on the side of the road and think about what this could mean as far as season points go. It puts a smile on our face!

Not long after our car rolls to a stop and quits running right in the middle of a tight section with nowhere to go! We're trying to figure out the problem and we realize that we don't have enough fuel pressure! Our pump is screaming hot, I sacrifice Pete's camel pack and cool the pump down. I also take my helmet skirt and build something to cover the pump so it stays out of the sun as well. During this Jagged passes us now... and then Parks laps us. At this point we realize that it's probably best just to take it easy and get the finish points for the race. We did just that and stopped on the side of the course with a nice view of the river and waited for Parks to finish his final lap and crossed the finish line not too far after him.

All in all it was a great weekend and we were able to keep our third position in season points and we can't wait to get the car ready and head to Vegas to Reno in August.

Thanks to everyone who made this weekend possible for us!

Monster Energy, Kawasaki, GBC Motorsports, Muzzys, Walker Evans, XMF, K&N, PRP, Hostyle, EPI, Pro Armor, and Wally World Designs.

 

[Desert Toyz Cory S]

1904-1917 Desert Toyz Commander Race Team showed the rest of the competition that the Commander is a contender! I powered off the line and got the hole shot right at the apex of the first turn, But with only 10" of rear wheel travel it was only a mile or two before the 1932 and then 1919 past me. I held third for laps 1,2,3, and 4. on the 4th lap I passed the 1919 broke, and was now in second. Just before the pit the drive belt broke. I was down 30 minutes fixxing it and was pasted by the leader 1932. I took it easy on my 5th lap. I stopped to help my team mate the Murray brothers when their wheel studs sheared off on the right rear. Then cruised to a 5th place finish. The Elka shocks with the stock rear trailng arms worked great allowing me to stay ahead of all but 2 of the field. The Dragon Fire Racing exhaust and PIM controler gave me the power to pull the hole shot and the 3+ front suspension was light, tough enough to handel the big hits. My Maxxis Bighorns held tough on a rocky, rough course. There is no doubt that the Can-Am Commander is one tough UTV. This 3 month break will allow us to fully develop our race Commanders, we confident the Commanders will dominate at the BITD Vegas to Reno race. Thank to my crew and my rookie codriver.

 

[JoeyD23]

Awesome Pics and Awesome stories everyone!!! Thanks to Corry Weller and Louie Pat for hooking up the images!!!

 

[SGM4Life]

Thanks for the pictures!!!! Looked like some fun out there.

 

[450grl]

I have lots more, Joey....just gotta link them later on tonight!!

 

[Big Guy]

This is my favorite race of the year and I had high hopes for this race. I love this race because it usually rough and its more of a drivers course (in my opinion). So if your suspension is set up right and you have an above average driving ability you can make up for lack of power. We all lined up for the start and I ended up lining up next to Mike Lasher (1924). Casey droped the flag and we were off. I couldnt beleive it I was in 5th!!! I was right behind Lasher which was better then I thought I would end up! It wasnt long before I felt a small tap on my bumper. I checked my mirror and saw the yellow light (Jagged). There was no way for me to give them any room so I stayed on Mikes bumper knowing there was a place for them to pass about a half mile or so down the track. As soon as we hit that flat area Jagged passed both of us. That put me in 6th and I knew there was some fast cars behind us so I was pushing hard to keep Lasher in our sights. It seemed that he would pull us on the fast sections but I could close the gap alittle in the rough. About halfway through the 1st lap I started to see the 1914 can am in my mirror again he would get closer in the fast sections but I would open the gap in the rough. This race was going just as I hoped! We started lap 2 and were still in 6th about half way through our 2nd lap we could no longer see th 1914 but was starting to see dust in front of us. When I start to see dust in front of me that is when I really start to push hard by the end of the 2nd lap we had caght Lasher and was on his bumper as we pulled in the pits! He had to pit and we didnt so now we were in 5th!! I was so excited at this point!!! My RZR was working awesome and running strong!!! Well just as soon as we got excited we got the wind taken out of our sails...... We smoked a belt!!!! I have never lost a belt before. I didnt have a spare and not to mention it would have take probably an hour for me to change it with the tools that I had so we through in the towel! While we were stoped the 1933 stoped next to us with a broken tie rod so I let him borrow a heim and a bolt so he could continue. The weekend wasnt a total loss for our family, my boys Jeffrey and Dylan raced in the amatuer quad race and won!! I want to thank all my sponsors, Pitbull Tires I had no flats, Dirty Dawg Performance, ATVonics, Rockstar Customz, and Makin Trax Suspension.

 

[Ignore Amos]

Sounds like a great time had by all.. good racing!

we would of liked to be there but we are prepping for the Baja 500...

See you all at the Vegas to Reno!