M.O.R.E has more to offer.

[Rusty5150]

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.

 

[suspended fabrication]

I couldn't agree more with you rusty a lot of people are just not aware of how much M.O.R.E has to offer, or they are just scared of the terrain of Barstow and Lucerne . Great write up you will continue to see Suspended Fabrication built cars out there.

 

[cocojoe]

Been racing with MORE for almost 20 years, it "IS" what desert racing is and always was all about. Racing and chasing in the desert, with the freedom to prerun and chase to your hearts content without a lot of the bulls#$t rules, think freedom, Thinks have changed a bit over they years and there are some rules that the BLM and MORE will want you to follow, mostly common sense stuff for everybodies safety, but mostly Fun Fun Fun! in the desert with your buddies.

 

[staggs]

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.

Awesome right up rusty and I cousins agree more. But more has money up for grabs , pay back in the UTV class , 1000.00 if you beat the class 9 cars and there is a 6000.00 purse from fox , this has been up all year. I think people just don't knew much about it or it is promoted enough. I hope to see more show up and discover everything that you did at these races. Then if the car count comes up it will only get better for utvs.

P.S be ready for some
Fun and some challenging courses, this isn't no graded road courses lol , don't be scared.

 

[acme]

Great, now people will show up and spoil everything... Great write up!!!

I know the UTV crowd ain't into history but MORE was started by long time 9 car racer Jim Clement at the same time the infamous MDR started. He had an idea to put on races for racers and by racers. The cool kids and truckers went with MDR and the core buggy classes went MORE (there were also some corporate politics that came into play and certain clubs supported each org). 20 yrs later MDR is gone due to the "incident" resulting from the lifestyle they encouraged and MORE is still putting on great family events.

Cody Jeffers, a Barstow raised racer has taken the reigns from Jim and carried the torch. This was our first MORE race in 5 yrs and we'll be back as he has worked very hard with the BLM to find some cool new courses and areas that haven't been run in yrs. But like Dean said, Barstow and Lucerne aren't bladed so bring your A game and be prepared.

I'll say it again: MORE, SNORE, RECORD, CODE and other orgs all have great events and it seems this community is hung up on chasing the Polaris donkey show. You guys are missing some great, challenging racing by not considering broadening your horizons...

PS It's funny a ball joint/swing axle, 100"WB, 70HP VW buggy with 8" of travel and no PS can run with the UTV's but the guys in MORE & SNORE can and Cody has put up $1G if you can beat them and win the UTV class...

 

[BiggJim]

I'll say it again: MORE, SNORE, RECORD, CODE and other orgs all have great events and it seems this community is hung up on chasing the Polaris donkey show. You guys are missing some great, challenging racing by not considering broadening your horizons...

LOL!!! I crack up when people down BITD.....guys race BITD for competition. When we started racing BITD it was because that was the only place UTV's were racing (all 10-12 of them). There wasnt any other desert options. Now there are a couple of options.... but there are still only a couple of cars showing up. I dont know where MORE/SNORE is failing at getting UTV's on board but clearly they are.... AVE even has 20+ car counts every race.

 

[Rusty5150]

LOL!!! I crack up when people down BITD.....guys race BITD for competition. When we started racing BITD it was because that was the only place UTV's were racing (all 10-12 of them). There wasnt any other desert options. Now there are a couple of options.... but there are still only a couple of cars showing up. I dont know where MORE/SNORE is failing at getting UTV's on board but clearly they are.... AVE even has 20+ car counts every race.

I was careful to not bag on any series. I think they put on a great show. From my shoes I prefer the interaction and role the support crew plays in SCORE and M.O.R.E.

These two things alone make it a very appealing series for me. As a media guy I can use my wheels to get around and get better shots, as a fan I can experience more and as a pit guy I can fix the car and get it home anywhere on the course. That is huge to me.

PreRun Rules:

Open Prerunning the week of the race. Course is not fully marked until the day before the race, but the GPS file of the course is released Friday night the week before each race. There is a 50 mph speed limit for prerunnning the day before the race and race day for night races. (Rage at the River in December has a guided 1 Lap "Fun Run" on Friday before the race)

Chase and Pit Rules:

There is a main pit and typically 1 outlying pit at most of our races roughly halfway through the lap. Chase crews can perform emergency repairs on the vehicle anywhere on the course but must remain at least 150' off the race course when doing repairs. Chase crews must remain "Mobile" keeping all pit equipment and parts in the chase truck until performing repairs. Scheduled fueling can only take place at a designated pit.

 

[acme]

LOL!!! I crack up when people down BITD.....guys race BITD for competition. When we started racing BITD it was because that was the only place UTV's were racing (all 10-12 of them). There wasnt any other desert options. Now there are a couple of options.... but there are still only a couple of cars showing up. I dont know where MORE/SNORE is failing at getting UTV's on board but clearly they are.... AVE even has 20+ car counts every race.

Not downing BITD at all, Casey runs great events. As for comp we have chased points and won races and I get it. IMHO I think it's a great big world out there and people get too hung up on following the herd and miss a lot of great opportunities to race different places... It'll be good for the sport and class to see cars in all the organizations and not just chasing a few fashionable races or series because that's what the herd does.

Class 5 and 1600 had coalitions that voted and raced various events across numerous series and everyone liked it as it varies the organizations, events and race locations and costs.

Just some options and food for thought

 

[staggs]

LOL!!! I crack up when people down BITD.....guys race BITD for competition. When we started racing BITD it was because that was the only place UTV's were racing (all 10-12 of them). There wasnt any other desert options. Now there are a couple of options.... but there are still only a couple of cars showing up. I dont know where MORE/SNORE is failing at getting UTV's on board but clearly they are.... AVE even has 20+ car counts every race.

I don't think any one is bashing any series and your right the car count is low , but if people would show up and give it a try the series could blow up I mean big teams come out and race certain more races to test , one class one team was there last weekend. I think if everyone sees what rusty seen and the fact there is a big pay out at more of the car count can come up it has big potential right now. I get it I will still be racing bitd races also but everyone needs to give the more series a shot and bring it to its full potential. Not to mention it's a good place to get a car dialed not that you guys need that though. But you can also talk to your codriver and get his feed back since he won the 1600 class

 

[cocojoe]

I didn't notice anyone putting down BITD, I believe thay are just saying that there are other options out there, I know ACME and myself have each been Desert racing for over 30 years, and have raced them and chased points in all of them, BITD, SCORE, MORE, MDR, RECORD, CODE, HDRA. We have seen it all come and go. A lot us have been doing battle desert racing at MORE events long before UTV's even existed, it sounds like some on here just think that it is a fun series to race on some really tough courses. Of course none of this takes away from BITD races

 

[cocojoe]

The people and car counts that are running AVE, instead of MORE might be that some people might be leary about running with the big class 1 cars and trophy trucks on the same course

 

[cocojoe]

Typical MORE race video

 

[Rusty5150]

I think it all goes back to coverage. UTVUnderground.com took UTV racing to the masses with the videos and content produced at BITD events. Soon people were taking note, if you wanted this high level of race coverage you must race a UTV. Buggy guys, trucks guys and bike/quad guys were making moves into the class. I think the numbers are so high now that a large chunk of racers could break off and run a M.O.R.E style race. My take away is BITD and SCORE are still the premiere series for the pro racer, M.O.R.E is much like the regionals for Lucas. Get some seat time, get your team familiar with racing, have fun and enjoy the family of desert racers.

 

[cocojoe]

I think it all goes back to coverage. UTVUnderground.com took UTV racing to the masses with the videos and content produced at BITD events. Soon people were taking note, if you wanted this high level of race coverage you must race a UTV. Buggy guys, trucks guys and bike/quad guys were making moves into the class. I think the numbers are so high now that a large chunk of racers could break off and run a M.O.R.E style race. My take away is BITD and SCORE are still the premiere series for the pro racer, M.O.R.E is much like the regionals for Lucas. Get some seat time, get your team familiar with racing, have fun and enjoy the family of desert racers.

Well said, I think the problem with most peoples attitudes is the phrase "pro racer" those are far and few between, if your not making your living from your race earnnings or paying your mortgage and sending you kids to college on your race winnings then your not a pro racer, your a hobbiest like everybody else.

 

[BiggJim]

Well said, I think the problem with most peoples attitudes is the phrase "pro racer" those are far and few between, if your not making your living from your race earnnings or paying your mortgage and sending you kids to college on your race winnings then your not a pro racer, your a hobbiest like everybody else.

Seems like that makes everyone in offroad racing a hobbyist

 

[dezertBandito]

What rule book do they follow for the UTV side?

 

[cocojoe]

That is true, back in the day I remember Robbie Gordon, speaking out and saying the same thing, That he was one of the only professional racers in desert racing all othere being hobbiest, of course it erked some of the hobbiest liked the Herbst Brothers and the McMillins. But he was right, they arent racing for profit they are racing for fun and lossing vast amounts of money to have fun at their chosen hobby

 

[acme]

If you ask any true desert racer, he really wants to race in the Baja 1000 or 500. Nowadays due to fashion the Mint has become an "event" and V2R is quite a challenge, but one I've never been personally interested in. Having raced Primm since the 80's, I don't get the hoopla of the Mint and when I ran it the first time it was back I hated the tow to-from LV for the Donkey show, but that's just me. It's cool to see the event give the sport some credibility though.

The fact is to run the SCORE and BITD series or even an event costs a ton more in time, money and logistics than a more "Local Series" like SNORE, MORE, RECORD, CODE or the others out there. One is not better or worse, it just depends on the budget and time one can allocate to this sport. We only want to race a few times a year at races we'd like to do and that's our program, so we pick the events that make sense for us.

We gave up racing the MORE series, 5 years ago because we liked racing in Baja and Parker and decided to run a few different races a year as opposed to a series for points. We were also tired of the same old courses MORE was forced to run by the BLM after MDR screwed up the sport. We have a ton of friends that run MORE so it's easy for us and we decided to use this as a shakedown race. Our friends have been telling us the last few seasons Cody has been able to find some new courses with the BLM and it's not the same old ground up crap which we found very cool, as to us it was getting like racing around Primm and we were tired of the same old stuff. The comment made in one video where a racer said something like: "we've raced here a few years now so we really know the course" seems kind of boring to me. I'd rather be hit with a new challenge each time out, but then I like the idea of old school, no prerunning and markers instead of GPS, but that's a different convo...

MORE/SNORE and the others present a great option that costs less and isn't filled with some of the drama that you see on here with respect to other associations. Like I said there's a lot of good courses and Org's out there to race with if you look beyond the Donkey Show. If you want to get your feet wet in Baja without the cost/hassle of a big event or a tagged chassies etc... try RECORD or CODE. The Ensenada to SF race lets you run Ojos, Borrego, San Matais, 3 poles, Zoo road and gets you a real sense of Baja and is easy to chase. So when you do take the green flag at the 1000, you have some understanding of how it is in Baja. Caliente is a killer town and great place to race with unique terrain and it covers some of the V2R course. SNORE has been doing NV races longer than any other Org and puts on great races. Barstow and Lucerne will teach you your weak points and how to drive smart. If you can race there you can pretty much race anywhere and the split loop December race is fun and keeps you away from most of the "BIG cars". We love Parker and regularly did the 425 and hope we can hit Bluewater this year. If you're a true desert racer you have to race Baja. I never got the guys who said "I could care less about racing the BAJA 1000", must be scared??? If you like the UTVWC it seems like BAP and Rage with SNORE are events you might want to check out. I know guys that just race those events in trucks and buggies as they like the shorter stuff and hanging in the bars after. It's all about what you want to get out of racing.

There are lots of options for great events across all the orgs but too many seem hung up on Brand X. As long as you have a few cars to run against and beers afterward, it's racing. Be glad you have the chance to participate in one of the greatest challenges you'll ever face in your life...

 

[acme]

What rule book do they follow for the UTV side?

Right now I believe they have a pro and sportsman class 1000CC and use the standard buggy safety rules in effect. They are open to conversations and Cody has been very communicative in wanting to grow the UTV class. He has bonus money and is open to dialog with racers.

He can be reached at: [email protected]

 

[mojaveoffroad]

MORE courses always have plenty of passing lanes. The longest section of single lane course is usually less than a mile. This really keeps the nerfing incidents low. All racers have the opportunity to prerun, they know where they can pass and this keeps the race flowing and safe even with all different levels of classes on the course at the same time. Next season, the first two races of the year (Jan. 28 & April. 1) will feature split races with the morning races featuring UTV's, Class 9's, Class 11, and limited sportsman classes and the heavier, faster classes running in the afternoon. Both those races will feature bonus money for winning the morning heat overall! UTV's will have a great shot at that money!

Only 1 driver will be eligible for the $6000 Fox UTV Championship Purse this year so the majority of that purse will be rolling over to the 2017 season so the UTV's could be looking at an even bigger championship purse next season!