So you are looking to start racing desert, you bought a UTV and now your ready. But where should you race? A good place to start is ask yourself what do you want out of it? If I were getting in the sport here is a list of things I would want (in no particular order).
1. Fun
2. Family
3. Adventure
4. Value
5. Prerun
6. Camping
7. Chase
8. Pits
9. Fans
10. Competition
From the list I would start to narrow down my options. In my world Baja is king!!!! But I also am not totally comfortable bringing my family to Baja to chase me through a race. Nevada race series are great, very competitive, huge fields of cars, many pro teams but most races are ZERO Prerun and dedicated pit locations only. Fans are not allowed to drive into the desert and watch the action.
This past weekend I attended my first M.O.R.E event. As I pulled into the dirt I noticed a very odd site. There was a ton of prerunner style trucks and they appeared to be working. Loaded with spare tires and parts these trucks head out on the race course to explore lines, mark dangers and look for speed zones. I hit the media tent and paid my $25 BLM fee and was given a wrist band and a handshake. I unloaded my car and headed towards the desert.
The week leading up to the event I downloaded the GPS from the M.O.R.E. website and loaded in my MotionX app. I had the course marked, the cooler stocked and I was on a solo mission to scout the course. By about RM3 it started to set in, I am prerunning a legit race course in Barstow. As a life long desert rat the ability to prerun is the best. I could set my own pace, I could stop at anytime and take in the views or I could put the wood to it and hold on. This element alone made it 100% worth going. The 38 mile course was flat out nasty. Barstow's desert floor is some of the nastiest terrain you will find. There is no rhythm or flow. Its like taking your guts to a gang fight.
After I finished my lap..... I only did one because I was beat. I started working my way down Barstow main. The pits looked like a holiday weekend in the desert. RV's, trailers and trucks were everywhere. BBQ's, kids running around and really solid family feeling. I don't want you to think safety is not a factor. M.O.R.E requires each pit to be set up 150' in front of the camp to service the vehicle during the race. This keeps the families safe and things very organized.
Another unique thing about Barstow is this desert is used by enthusiasts all year long. So the desert is open. This allows the fans to work their way into some cool spots and get a front row seat to the action. Again safety is an issue and M.O.R.E and the BLM are on it. If your in a bad spot you will be asked to move. As a fan you can come prerun the course, find your ideal spot, find an access road in on race day and your set. As a racer seeing fans out in the middle of the desert cheering you on is a great feeling.
So lets see how we did, 1. Fun, desert racing is fun, prerunning is fun, the pit is fun and fun is fun, 2. Family, Bring the family to race, bring the family to prerun or bring the family to spectate, 3. Adventure, The prerun is the adventure for me, 4. Value, I am not sure what the cost is but it seems like M.O.R.E puts all the money raised into the program, 5. Prerun, for the next race I will arrive early and prerun more, 6. Camping, bring your crew and circle the wagons, come one come all, 7. Chase, this is a very cool deal, I saw many teams out in the desert recovering broken machines, 8. Pits, I liked the safety aspect of the pits, I also liked how the pit was in front of your camp, its a front row seat for friends and family at camp to watch the action, 9. Fans, seeing the fans in the desert takes me back to when I was a kid, 10. Competition, this is where M.O.R.E lacks, they need a UTV company to step up and create a purse for them to draw in racers.
I for one will be back, I hope next time I see more UTV teams prerunning, chasing and racing with M.O.R.E.
1. Fun
2. Family
3. Adventure
4. Value
5. Prerun
6. Camping
7. Chase
8. Pits
9. Fans
10. Competition
From the list I would start to narrow down my options. In my world Baja is king!!!! But I also am not totally comfortable bringing my family to Baja to chase me through a race. Nevada race series are great, very competitive, huge fields of cars, many pro teams but most races are ZERO Prerun and dedicated pit locations only. Fans are not allowed to drive into the desert and watch the action.
This past weekend I attended my first M.O.R.E event. As I pulled into the dirt I noticed a very odd site. There was a ton of prerunner style trucks and they appeared to be working. Loaded with spare tires and parts these trucks head out on the race course to explore lines, mark dangers and look for speed zones. I hit the media tent and paid my $25 BLM fee and was given a wrist band and a handshake. I unloaded my car and headed towards the desert.
The week leading up to the event I downloaded the GPS from the M.O.R.E. website and loaded in my MotionX app. I had the course marked, the cooler stocked and I was on a solo mission to scout the course. By about RM3 it started to set in, I am prerunning a legit race course in Barstow. As a life long desert rat the ability to prerun is the best. I could set my own pace, I could stop at anytime and take in the views or I could put the wood to it and hold on. This element alone made it 100% worth going. The 38 mile course was flat out nasty. Barstow's desert floor is some of the nastiest terrain you will find. There is no rhythm or flow. Its like taking your guts to a gang fight.
After I finished my lap..... I only did one because I was beat. I started working my way down Barstow main. The pits looked like a holiday weekend in the desert. RV's, trailers and trucks were everywhere. BBQ's, kids running around and really solid family feeling. I don't want you to think safety is not a factor. M.O.R.E requires each pit to be set up 150' in front of the camp to service the vehicle during the race. This keeps the families safe and things very organized.
Another unique thing about Barstow is this desert is used by enthusiasts all year long. So the desert is open. This allows the fans to work their way into some cool spots and get a front row seat to the action. Again safety is an issue and M.O.R.E and the BLM are on it. If your in a bad spot you will be asked to move. As a fan you can come prerun the course, find your ideal spot, find an access road in on race day and your set. As a racer seeing fans out in the middle of the desert cheering you on is a great feeling.
So lets see how we did, 1. Fun, desert racing is fun, prerunning is fun, the pit is fun and fun is fun, 2. Family, Bring the family to race, bring the family to prerun or bring the family to spectate, 3. Adventure, The prerun is the adventure for me, 4. Value, I am not sure what the cost is but it seems like M.O.R.E puts all the money raised into the program, 5. Prerun, for the next race I will arrive early and prerun more, 6. Camping, bring your crew and circle the wagons, come one come all, 7. Chase, this is a very cool deal, I saw many teams out in the desert recovering broken machines, 8. Pits, I liked the safety aspect of the pits, I also liked how the pit was in front of your camp, its a front row seat for friends and family at camp to watch the action, 9. Fans, seeing the fans in the desert takes me back to when I was a kid, 10. Competition, this is where M.O.R.E lacks, they need a UTV company to step up and create a purse for them to draw in racers.
I for one will be back, I hope next time I see more UTV teams prerunning, chasing and racing with M.O.R.E.