2016 RMURA Round 1 Photos & Story

Dillon Pointon Wins in RMURA Pro UTV Season Opener Grand Junction, CO (05/15/2016) – Dillon Pointon made his RMURA Pro UTV racing debut a big one as he won in his brand new 2016 Yamaha YXZ 1000R after an intense battle with Brady Nay. Ray Mandel finished in second place followed by Chris Deshon in third place.. With 11 entries in the Pro Class, the start was split into three rows, with Pointon starting on the first row with Mandel, Deshon and Brady Nay. Nay snagged the holeshot and looked to have an easy win. Meanwhile, Pointon moved up to battle Nay, but spun in some water on the backside of the track. After climbing back through the field, Pointon and Nay made contact with Nay flipping and Pointon grabbing the lead and the eventual victory. The race marked not only Pointon’s first RMURA race, but his first SXS race ever. In fact, he bought his Yamaha just four months ago. Interestingly, the Yamaha is the only full size sport SXS featuring a standard gearbox and clutch setup. “I was inside and Brady came in one me,” explained Pointon of the winning pass. “He went end over end when we came through. It was a tiring race, but I just kept pushing. Nothing went wrong with the Yamaha today and it was rough out there. It was nuts at the start.” [gallery link="file" ids="39569,39565,39554"] “We’re planning to run the whole series, and you might see us at WORCS,” added Pointon. “I’ve been in shifter karting for many years. We saw the Yamaha come out with its standard gearbox, and we decided to give it a try.” Nay said the contact was just racing and held no hard feelings toward Pointon. “I had a pretty good race until the accident,” said Nay. “He came up behind me, he went to make the pass and he got into me. It’s going to take a little work to get my car going again. I was trying to hold him off and we just came together.” Mandel passed Deshon late in the race to take the runner-up spot on the podium. “That battle with Chris was a lot of fun,” said Mandel. “I was able to make it stick through the whoops and over the jumps. I’m so happy my car is holding together now. We’re planning to run the whole RMURA season this year.” Deshon broke an axle early in the race, but soldiered through to finish third. “We had a good battle there at the start,” said Deshon. “I settled into second, but I broke a rear axle and the car didn’t want to turn left at all. We went two wide over the whoops section and I decided that wasn’t a good deal, so I went back to third. There was a good car count and good competition. It looks like we’re going to have to step up our game this year.” In Unlimited UTV class, Evan Gallegos won the race, ahead of JT Walton and Kyle Raley. “I have a Turbo 1000 and there is no turbo class, so we ran in Unlimited,” said Gallegos. “I got bumped around a little at the start. I held a solid second and tried to stay out of the mud. It worked and I won the race. I ran the Sportsman 1000 class last year and won the championship, so I had to move up this year. The new turbo has more power than I know what to do with.” In the Sportsman Class race, Gina Colosimo came out atop a thrilling battle with Chelsea Konces to win. Interestingly, Colosimo was driving her husband’s car here and they had to make several adjustments, so she could drive it. “I’m super happy for the win,” said Colosimo. “My husband’s support is really important. We had to put a block on the gas pedal, so I could reach. It was different, but we finished first. I took Chelsea off the line. We battled back and forth, but she broke a belt and I won the race.” [gallery link="file" ids="39546,39548,39549"] In Youth SXS, Zavier Galaviz won, ahead of Tanner Kammerdiener and Camry Brown. Galaviz started second and overtook Kammerdiener midway through the race and never looked back. “For a minute I was behind Tanner, but I managed to get past him on the inside,” said Galaviz. “I wasn’t nervous. I was just having fun. It’s fun to win, but at the same time, I just love racing. My dad always keeps me going. My whole family supports me.” The RMURA Series heads to the East side of the Rockies for the round two at IMI Motorsports Complex on July 9-10th, so if you missed out on the opening round, be sure not to miss round two. Photos & Report by Harlen Foley // UTVUnderground.com [gallery link="file" ids="39529,39530,39531,39532,39533,39534,39535,39536,39537,39538,39539,39540,39541,39542,39543,39544,39545,39546,39547,39548,39549,39550,39551,39552,39553,39554,39555,39556,39557,39558,39559,39560,39561,39562,39563,39564,39565,39566,39567,39568,39569,39570,39571,39572,39573"]

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