Team DragonFire Strikes Out At Silver State 300
One of the toughest races on the notoriously difficult Best In The Desert calendar, the Silver State 300 proved to be a challenging weekend for Lacrecia Beurrier in her DragonFire, RideNow, Can-Am backed Maverick 1000. Actually it proved to be a challenge for many of the racers as there were only 163 finishers out of more than 220 starters. The good news is that one round in the BITD series counts as a "throw-away" and Team DragonFire will toss this round out and come back with a vengeance next time.
Starting at the back of the pack after an unlucky draw, things seemed to go from bad to worse all day. Lacrecia took off the line right into the rising sun on a very dusty racecourse. Despite having to eat everyone's dust and being blinded by the light, Lacrecia stayed true to her style. She set a steady pace, effortlessly passing many broken down cars on the way to Pit #1.
A quick pit stop and Lacrecia was back on course and picking up the pace. Pits #2 and #3 were business as usual and it looked like the Team was on track for a good finish. However about 20 miles outside of Pit #3 a tight technical section of track jumped up to bite Lacrecia in a very soft corner. She pushed through the top of the berm and ended up tipping the car over on its side. Frustrated but not beaten, Lacrecia jumped out to flag racers around the vehicle while co-driver Chris Moore found a few BITD hands to help tip the car back over onto the wheels. Nothing seemed to be broken, so the pair hopped back in the car and made their way to the next pit stop.
Lacrecia reported that the brakes seemed to be fading, but that was not going to stop her from pushing on to the finish. After leaving Pit #3, Lacrecia found herself in a high speed desert wash section, which she happens to enjoy as it is similar to her hometown riding spots. Did we mention this new Can-Am is fast? Seriously fast!
Flying along and doing everything possible to make up time for the tip over, disaster struck. Coming into a high-speed corner, Lacrecia went to hit the brakes… only to find there was nothing there! The car drifted a little wide, striking a tree stump which sent the car into a violent roll. Hanging upside down after the wreck, co-driver Chris urged her to get out quickly as fuel started to leak into the cab. The dazed duo then surveyed the damage. Despite some serious cosmetic damage and rounding of all four corners, nothing looked to be seriously wrong with the Maverick — other than the fact that it was doing an imitation of a tipped-over tortoise.
Try as they might, the two could not get the car rolled over on their own. Relaying the bad news back to the chase team, they thought their day was over. Luckily for them, a fellow Can-Am team member Michael Lansky rolled up. Lansky, who had suffered issues of his own early on was willing to put his race on hold to help out. After several attempts, Lansky was finally able to pull Lacrecia’s car over. Huge thanks go out to Michael and his co-driver for the help! Once upright it was time to make some quick repairs and get going… in a HURRY! The Trophy Trucks were catching up quick. As fast as the new Can-Am is, it can't match a 1,000 horsepower Trophy Truck in a drag race across a silt bed.
Coming into the pits after dodging Trophy Trucks and faster Class 1 cars in the blinding dust, the DragonFire duo were beaten up and exhausted. Lacrecia proved once again she is tough as nails, making the decision to try to make it to the finish. If determination were the only factor, she would have made it. Unfortunately the wreck ended up taking out the fuel pick-up causing the car to keep dying. Making it to the dry lakebed, the plan was to keep her foot on the floor to make it through the silt that was nearly 3 feet deep. Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men don't pan out… or women either.
No brakes and intermittent fuel supply were complicated by passing Trophy Trucks causing complete blackouts. In one of these zero visibility situations, the car found itself at a dead stop in a silt-filled ditch. Co-driver Chris jumped out to see if there was anything that could be done, but being buried up to the hood in silt would call for hours of digging before they could get free and with less than 45 minutes to get to the next pit, the decision was made by the crew chief to call it a day. The very disappointed duo of Lacrecia and Chris sat in the dust and waited for rescue by BITD officials.
Things don't get any easier from here! Next up on the BITD schedule is the infamous Vegas To Reno — billed as the "longest off-road race in North America." However, taking what we learned from the Silver State and with the support of our great sponsors, we will be back! Look for Lacrecia to finish on the podium when things wrap up in Reno on August 16th.
One of the toughest races on the notoriously difficult Best In The Desert calendar, the Silver State 300 proved to be a challenging weekend for Lacrecia Beurrier in her DragonFire, RideNow, Can-Am backed Maverick 1000. Actually it proved to be a challenge for many of the racers as there were only 163 finishers out of more than 220 starters. The good news is that one round in the BITD series counts as a "throw-away" and Team DragonFire will toss this round out and come back with a vengeance next time.Starting at the back of the pack after an unlucky draw, things seemed to go from bad to worse all day. Lacrecia took off the line right into the rising sun on a very dusty racecourse. Despite having to eat everyone's dust and being blinded by the light, Lacrecia stayed true to her style. She set a steady pace, effortlessly passing many broken down cars on the way to Pit #1.
A quick pit stop and Lacrecia was back on course and picking up the pace. Pits #2 and #3 were business as usual and it looked like the Team was on track for a good finish. However about 20 miles outside of Pit #3 a tight technical section of track jumped up to bite Lacrecia in a very soft corner. She pushed through the top of the berm and ended up tipping the car over on its side. Frustrated but not beaten, Lacrecia jumped out to flag racers around the vehicle while co-driver Chris Moore found a few BITD hands to help tip the car back over onto the wheels. Nothing seemed to be broken, so the pair hopped back in the car and made their way to the next pit stop.
Lacrecia reported that the brakes seemed to be fading, but that was not going to stop her from pushing on to the finish. After leaving Pit #3, Lacrecia found herself in a high speed desert wash section, which she happens to enjoy as it is similar to her hometown riding spots. Did we mention this new Can-Am is fast? Seriously fast!
Flying along and doing everything possible to make up time for the tip over, disaster struck. Coming into a high-speed corner, Lacrecia went to hit the brakes… only to find there was nothing there! The car drifted a little wide, striking a tree stump which sent the car into a violent roll. Hanging upside down after the wreck, co-driver Chris urged her to get out quickly as fuel started to leak into the cab. The dazed duo then surveyed the damage. Despite some serious cosmetic damage and rounding of all four corners, nothing looked to be seriously wrong with the Maverick — other than the fact that it was doing an imitation of a tipped-over tortoise.
Try as they might, the two could not get the car rolled over on their own. Relaying the bad news back to the chase team, they thought their day was over. Luckily for them, a fellow Can-Am team member Michael Lansky rolled up. Lansky, who had suffered issues of his own early on was willing to put his race on hold to help out. After several attempts, Lansky was finally able to pull Lacrecia’s car over. Huge thanks go out to Michael and his co-driver for the help! Once upright it was time to make some quick repairs and get going… in a HURRY! The Trophy Trucks were catching up quick. As fast as the new Can-Am is, it can't match a 1,000 horsepower Trophy Truck in a drag race across a silt bed.
Coming into the pits after dodging Trophy Trucks and faster Class 1 cars in the blinding dust, the DragonFire duo were beaten up and exhausted. Lacrecia proved once again she is tough as nails, making the decision to try to make it to the finish. If determination were the only factor, she would have made it. Unfortunately the wreck ended up taking out the fuel pick-up causing the car to keep dying. Making it to the dry lakebed, the plan was to keep her foot on the floor to make it through the silt that was nearly 3 feet deep. Sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men don't pan out… or women either.
No brakes and intermittent fuel supply were complicated by passing Trophy Trucks causing complete blackouts. In one of these zero visibility situations, the car found itself at a dead stop in a silt-filled ditch. Co-driver Chris jumped out to see if there was anything that could be done, but being buried up to the hood in silt would call for hours of digging before they could get free and with less than 45 minutes to get to the next pit, the decision was made by the crew chief to call it a day. The very disappointed duo of Lacrecia and Chris sat in the dust and waited for rescue by BITD officials.
Things don't get any easier from here! Next up on the BITD schedule is the infamous Vegas To Reno — billed as the "longest off-road race in North America." However, taking what we learned from the Silver State and with the support of our great sponsors, we will be back! Look for Lacrecia to finish on the podium when things wrap up in Reno on August 16th.
