Cognito Motorsport’s Justin Lambert Wins Second Consecutive Best in the Desert Race in RZR 4 1000 EPS

Minneapolis, October 19, 2015-Fresh off a win at Vegas to Reno, Polaris Factory Racer Justin Lambert in the No. 1918 Cognito Motorsports RZR 4 1000 EPS would line up with 24 other Pro UTVs for Best in the Desert’s (BITD) Blue Water Desert Challenge, and come away victorious.

The Blue Water Desert Challenge is two days of racing, three laps each day, for a total of 150 miles. The loops are about 25 miles each and the total time for all miles determines finishing position. Day one went flawless for Lambert, who ended up drawing the 21st position but worked his way to a third place finish. The day one finish meant the team would start day two in third place and more than two minutes behind the leader.

Day two, the team started in the second row, and beat the UTV that started with them. The course was even rougher than the previous day with a few graded sections but luckily the team didn’t have to encounter as much dust as day one given the start position. Lambert would overtake the first and second place UTVs and keep up the momentum to come in first with time to spare. He’d beat the next competitor by more than four minutes on corrected time for both days and easily win the BITD Blue Water Desert Challenge 1900 Class. Polaris Factory Racer Johnny Angal would finish in fourth in his RZR XP Turbo with four of the top five winners in RZRs.

Justin Lambert is sponsored by Polaris, Cognito Motorsports, Sparks Performance Products, Mystik Lubricants, Fox Shocks, ITP Tires, Method Race Wheels, Rugged Radios and Rigid Industries.

Johnny Angal is sponsored by Polaris, ITP Tires, Method Race Wheels, Rigid Industries Lights, Fox IBP Shocks, Lone Star Suspension, wrap by Wolf Designs.

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Cognito Motorsport’s Justin Lambert Wins Second Consecutive Best in the Desert Race in RZR 4 1000 EPS

Minneapolis, October 19, 2015-Fresh off a win at Vegas to Reno, Polaris Factory Racer Justin Lambert in the No. 1918 Cognito Motorsports RZR 4 1000 EPS would line up with 24 other Pro UTVs for Best in the Desert’s (BITD) Blue Water Desert Challenge, and come away victorious.

The Blue Water Desert Challenge is two days of racing, three laps each day, for a total of 150 miles. The loops are about 25 miles each and the total time for all miles determines finishing position. Day one went flawless for Lambert, who ended up drawing the 21st position but worked his way to a third place finish. The day one finish meant the team would start day two in third place and more than two minutes behind the leader.

Day two, the team started in the second row, and beat the UTV that started with them. The course was even rougher than the previous day with a few graded sections but luckily the team didn’t have to encounter as much dust as day one given the start position. Lambert would overtake the first and second place UTVs and keep up the momentum to come in first with time to spare. He’d beat the next competitor by more than four minutes on corrected time for both days and easily win the BITD Blue Water Desert Challenge 1900 Class. Polaris Factory Racer Johnny Angal would finish in fourth in his RZR XP Turbo with four of the top five winners in RZRs.

Justin Lambert is sponsored by Polaris, Cognito Motorsports, Sparks Performance Products, Mystik Lubricants, Fox Shocks, ITP Tires, Method Race Wheels, Rugged Radios and Rigid Industries.

Johnny Angal is sponsored by Polaris, ITP Tires, Method Race Wheels, Rigid Industries Lights, Fox IBP Shocks, Lone Star Suspension, wrap by Wolf Designs.

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Minneapolis, Oct. 19, 2015-Driving his Polaris-sponsored RZR XP 1000, Cody Rahders took a second-place finish in Round 7 of the Lucas Oil Regional Series and won his second consecutive Production 1000 class title. This is Rahder’s fourth title in three years at the Regionals and seventh since he started racing side-by-sides in 2007.

Starting in the qualifier, Rahders didn’t take any chances and ran easy laps where he qualified third for the main however, he missed post qualification tech and was moved to last place for the start of the main.

“Brain fade. I was thinking about how I should race going into the main and drove right past tech, the penalty made the decision for me,” said Rahders.

Starting in last place for the Production 1000 main event, as the pack pushed wide into turn one, Rahders took the low line and passed four cars right off the start. By the end of lap one, he was eighth, end of lap two he was in fourth and by lap six, he was in second.

As the laps wore down, Rahders made a move for the lead but with near contact in a couple of the turns he decided to wait for the last lap, ride the leader’s rear bumper and hopefully force a mistake. The mistake never came and Rahders finished nose to tail with the race winner over the finish line.

“That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time! Starting last was a relief, I would have started third but instead to playing defense for 12 laps I got to drive relaxed, work the pack and hope my momentum carried me to the win,” said Rahders. “Once the second place in point’s car broke I wanted the win but didn’t have to anymore so I just kept the pressure on the leader hoping to force a mistake. In the end the title was more important.”

Cody Rahders Racing is sponsored by Polaris, Cognito Motor Sports, Sparks Racing, Fox, Superchips, Black Rhino Performance, GMZ Race Products, Method Race Wheels, K&N Filters, PAC Racing Springs, RacerX Race Radios, Streamline Performance, UTVunderground, Twisted Stitch Seats and Lucas Oil. The support team include: Spotter Nick Novak, mechanics Jon Kelly and Kevin Sullivan, Gina Snew, and my mom and dad.

Minneapolis, Oct. 19, 2015-Driving his Polaris-sponsored RZR XP 1000, Cody Rahders took a second-place finish in Round 7 of the Lucas Oil Regional Series and won his second consecutive Production 1000 class title. This is Rahder’s fourth title in three years at the Regionals and seventh since he started racing side-by-sides in 2007.

Starting in the qualifier, Rahders didn’t take any chances and ran easy laps where he qualified third for the main however, he missed post qualification tech and was moved to last place for the start of the main.

“Brain fade. I was thinking about how I should race going into the main and drove right past tech, the penalty made the decision for me,” said Rahders.

Starting in last place for the Production 1000 main event, as the pack pushed wide into turn one, Rahders took the low line and passed four cars right off the start. By the end of lap one, he was eighth, end of lap two he was in fourth and by lap six, he was in second.

As the laps wore down, Rahders made a move for the lead but with near contact in a couple of the turns he decided to wait for the last lap, ride the leader’s rear bumper and hopefully force a mistake. The mistake never came and Rahders finished nose to tail with the race winner over the finish line.

“That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time! Starting last was a relief, I would have started third but instead to playing defense for 12 laps I got to drive relaxed, work the pack and hope my momentum carried me to the win,” said Rahders. “Once the second place in point’s car broke I wanted the win but didn’t have to anymore so I just kept the pressure on the leader hoping to force a mistake. In the end the title was more important.”

Cody Rahders Racing is sponsored by Polaris, Cognito Motor Sports, Sparks Racing, Fox, Superchips, Black Rhino Performance, GMZ Race Products, Method Race Wheels, K&N Filters, PAC Racing Springs, RacerX Race Radios, Streamline Performance, UTVunderground, Twisted Stitch Seats and Lucas Oil. The support team include: Spotter Nick Novak, mechanics Jon Kelly and Kevin Sullivan, Gina Snew, and my mom and dad.

1st Overall UTV — Wayne Matlock
SCORE Imperial Valley 250
September 26, 2015

This was one of the hottest and roughest races I have done in a long time. We went into this race like we do any other race…with one thing in mind…to win. This race happened to be in my own backyard, a desert that I have raced in for twenty plus years. I knew that if I didn’t win, it would be because I drove the car too hard and broke it.

Our race started out on Thursday with Sammy and I going down to the desert to do our pre-run. We got ourselves signed up and ready to go. I was pretty excited to pre-run because I thought there was going to be some pretty good lines. I found a few, but for the most part it was pretty straight forward. Unfortunately our pre-run was cut short around
mile 32 because the pre-runner became overheated and we were unable to complete it; leaving us to flying blind for over two-thirds of the first lap.

On Friday morning I got up early and headed out to meet our mechanic, Greg Forsberg, along with one of our newest crew members/team doctor, Dr. Ken Gilden, at tech inspection. Ken is actually a chiropractor who likes to play doctor. We breezed through tech with no problems then loaded up the car to head out into the desert for some clutch testing. We ended up spending 6 hours out in the 113 degree desert heat trying to get it dialed in. I didn’t want to have any problems with the belt and was determined to get it figured out. I had the “good doctor” riding in the co-dog seat during our testing. On our first run, I hit a fun section at race speed and heard some mumbling coming from him. I asked him what he was trying to say. He said, “I was trying to say…oh shit!” I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more, he getting the ride of his life or me getting to scare the shit out of him! After we were done testing we hurried back to our trailer in the main pit. Greg and Ken kept on working until well after sundown, while Sam and I went to the driver’s meeting.

At the driver’s meeting I told Sam that I wanted to go check the drawing results. He looked at me funny because we put that we wanted a rear start on our entry form. I told him that I just wanted to see how many UTVs were entered. I was shocked when I saw the results; apparently SCORE did not get my request for a rear start since we were on the results as first off the line! Sam looked at me and said, “What are you going to do?” I could tell that what he really meant was…are you going to be stupid and ask them to change it or are you going to keep your mouth shut and take the gift? I decided that it was a sign and just rolled with it. After the meeting was over we headed back out to the pits to finish getting everything ready. Then it was off to bed to get 4 hours of sleep before the alarm would go off at 4am.

Race morning came all too early! I had flashbacks of racing quads. It hadn’t taken me long to adjust to the car/truck race schedule where you get to sleep in, have breakfast, and start the race at the crack of noon. This particular race though was split into two races that consisted of motorcycles, quads, UTVs, and a few other cars/trucks in the morning and then later in the afternoon the remaining car/truck classes would race. Our team had the main pit set up and the other trucks loaded and ready to head out to the alternate pits. Sam and I jumped in the car and headed over to the start line. We were now lined up at the starting line and ready to go. They were starting everyone two at a time and we were lined up next to Factory Can-Am racer, Cory Sappington, in his TURBO Maverick. I was sure that he would get the hole-shot on me, leaving me in a cloud of dust in the early morning darkness. When that flag dropped I tried to push the pedal through the floor of the car. I’m not sure how, but our Alba Racing RZR XP1000 Non-Turbo car out ran his Turbo car and I was shocked. With a smile ear to ear, it was Sam and I that was disappearing out into the morning darkness leaving him behind in a cloud of dust.

I kept the throttle pinned and after leaving the infield pit area our pit told us over the radio that we had a 27 second gap on second. Now that we were out into the desert I was confident that we could hold our own and pull out a gap on the field. I was in my happy place. I was on a whooped-out, dusty, beat up desert road…and was loving it. We were hitting all of our lines and the car was working flawlessly. We came through pit 1 at race mile 20 and didn’t have to stop. As we passed by, I asked one of our crew members, Derek McGaughy, to give me a time split back to second place. Sam and I were on a roll and started passing quads and dirt bikes. It was a little sketchy because we were heading straight into the sun and the dust was thick. Derek came on the radio and told us that we had a 4 minute lead on second place. I knew this course was going to be a killer and our car was only capable of running 68-70 mph downhill with a tail wind and our ears tucked back with this clutch setup that we were running. We were cruising along great and soon came through pit two at race mile 76 where Steve Smith was manning the radio while Heath Parsons and Marc Behnke were ready with tires and a jack. We drove right on by them without any problems. I asked Steve to give a time split on second place when they came by. Sam and I were on our way back into home check when Steve came on the radio and told us we had a 12 minute adjusted lead on the second place car of Scott McFarland.

About this time Sam and I were approaching the maze of an infield trying to navigate our way through it without missing any of the VCPs(Virtual Check Points). We popped out onto the short course track that they made for us. This thing had huge jumps. Well, me and jumps never have seen eye to eye…that’s why I race in the desert. Some guys like to jump 100’ and some guys like to go a 100 mph. I definitely fall into the second category. So we rolled the jumps, charged the whoops, and then pulled into our main pit. Greg looked over the car, Ken and Justin dumped the fuel, and Kristen “womanned” the vent can on the other side of the car. We were in and out of there in no time and not one wrench had to be put on the car.

We were now on our last lap. Knowing that we had at least a 12 minute lead we were able to back it down and cruise. As we were coming into pit 1, I smoked a bush with the rear driver side tire while swerving to miss a dirt bike that I was passing. I called Derek and Mike Froelich on the radio and asked him to check it out. We pulled in, he checked it out, and luckily it ended up being just fine. I asked him to give me a time split again back to second place.

Sam and I pressed on and caught back up to a sportsman class 1 buggy that we had been eating the dust of the entire race. I tried to do a sneak attack on him by trying a line off to his right on the outside. Well I found out why no one was using that line. We hit the biggest sand berm in the desert. We hit it so hard that the sand came over the hood like it was water and got under our helmet skirts and filled the car up as well; we shook it off and kept going. Derek came on the radio and told us that second place was now #1917 Murray Brothers and they were 20 minutes back on adjusted time.

The race was now ours to lose, so we kept it on cruise control to the end. We passed by pit 2 without stopping and made our way to the finish line. We ended up finishing the race 27 minutes ahead of second place, but after penalties it ended up being 32 minutes.

I would like to thank Terry Hui for making all of this possible…for giving us the opportunity to race and win…all while having a great time! Thank you to Sam Hayes for keeping us on the course and ensuring we didn’t miss any VCPs. I would like to thank all of my friends and family that came out to help pit us and support us. As well as all of the sponsors that stand behind us and provide the products that let us beat and pound on them all the way to the podium…thank you: Maxxis, Polaris, Fox, Alba Racing, Lonestar Racing, DWT, Coyne Powersports, Baja Designs, Jimco Racing, Rugged Radio, Cryoheat, Factory UTV, Impact, Fly Racing, Maxima, UNI, Motion Pro, IMS, Monster Seal, KZ RV, and Copy Boy Printing.

1st Overall UTV — Wayne Matlock
SCORE Imperial Valley 250
September 26, 2015

This was one of the hottest and roughest races I have done in a long time. We went into this race like we do any other race…with one thing in mind…to win. This race happened to be in my own backyard, a desert that I have raced in for twenty plus years. I knew that if I didn’t win, it would be because I drove the car too hard and broke it.

Our race started out on Thursday with Sammy and I going down to the desert to do our pre-run. We got ourselves signed up and ready to go. I was pretty excited to pre-run because I thought there was going to be some pretty good lines. I found a few, but for the most part it was pretty straight forward. Unfortunately our pre-run was cut short around
mile 32 because the pre-runner became overheated and we were unable to complete it; leaving us to flying blind for over two-thirds of the first lap.

On Friday morning I got up early and headed out to meet our mechanic, Greg Forsberg, along with one of our newest crew members/team doctor, Dr. Ken Gilden, at tech inspection. Ken is actually a chiropractor who likes to play doctor. We breezed through tech with no problems then loaded up the car to head out into the desert for some clutch testing. We ended up spending 6 hours out in the 113 degree desert heat trying to get it dialed in. I didn’t want to have any problems with the belt and was determined to get it figured out. I had the “good doctor” riding in the co-dog seat during our testing. On our first run, I hit a fun section at race speed and heard some mumbling coming from him. I asked him what he was trying to say. He said, “I was trying to say…oh shit!” I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more, he getting the ride of his life or me getting to scare the shit out of him! After we were done testing we hurried back to our trailer in the main pit. Greg and Ken kept on working until well after sundown, while Sam and I went to the driver’s meeting.

At the driver’s meeting I told Sam that I wanted to go check the drawing results. He looked at me funny because we put that we wanted a rear start on our entry form. I told him that I just wanted to see how many UTVs were entered. I was shocked when I saw the results; apparently SCORE did not get my request for a rear start since we were on the results as first off the line! Sam looked at me and said, “What are you going to do?” I could tell that what he really meant was…are you going to be stupid and ask them to change it or are you going to keep your mouth shut and take the gift? I decided that it was a sign and just rolled with it. After the meeting was over we headed back out to the pits to finish getting everything ready. Then it was off to bed to get 4 hours of sleep before the alarm would go off at 4am.

Race morning came all too early! I had flashbacks of racing quads. It hadn’t taken me long to adjust to the car/truck race schedule where you get to sleep in, have breakfast, and start the race at the crack of noon. This particular race though was split into two races that consisted of motorcycles, quads, UTVs, and a few other cars/trucks in the morning and then later in the afternoon the remaining car/truck classes would race. Our team had the main pit set up and the other trucks loaded and ready to head out to the alternate pits. Sam and I jumped in the car and headed over to the start line. We were now lined up at the starting line and ready to go. They were starting everyone two at a time and we were lined up next to Factory Can-Am racer, Cory Sappington, in his TURBO Maverick. I was sure that he would get the hole-shot on me, leaving me in a cloud of dust in the early morning darkness. When that flag dropped I tried to push the pedal through the floor of the car. I’m not sure how, but our Alba Racing RZR XP1000 Non-Turbo car out ran his Turbo car and I was shocked. With a smile ear to ear, it was Sam and I that was disappearing out into the morning darkness leaving him behind in a cloud of dust.

I kept the throttle pinned and after leaving the infield pit area our pit told us over the radio that we had a 27 second gap on second. Now that we were out into the desert I was confident that we could hold our own and pull out a gap on the field. I was in my happy place. I was on a whooped-out, dusty, beat up desert road…and was loving it. We were hitting all of our lines and the car was working flawlessly. We came through pit 1 at race mile 20 and didn’t have to stop. As we passed by, I asked one of our crew members, Derek McGaughy, to give me a time split back to second place. Sam and I were on a roll and started passing quads and dirt bikes. It was a little sketchy because we were heading straight into the sun and the dust was thick. Derek came on the radio and told us that we had a 4 minute lead on second place. I knew this course was going to be a killer and our car was only capable of running 68-70 mph downhill with a tail wind and our ears tucked back with this clutch setup that we were running. We were cruising along great and soon came through pit two at race mile 76 where Steve Smith was manning the radio while Heath Parsons and Marc Behnke were ready with tires and a jack. We drove right on by them without any problems. I asked Steve to give a time split on second place when they came by. Sam and I were on our way back into home check when Steve came on the radio and told us we had a 12 minute adjusted lead on the second place car of Scott McFarland.

About this time Sam and I were approaching the maze of an infield trying to navigate our way through it without missing any of the VCPs(Virtual Check Points). We popped out onto the short course track that they made for us. This thing had huge jumps. Well, me and jumps never have seen eye to eye…that’s why I race in the desert. Some guys like to jump 100’ and some guys like to go a 100 mph. I definitely fall into the second category. So we rolled the jumps, charged the whoops, and then pulled into our main pit. Greg looked over the car, Ken and Justin dumped the fuel, and Kristen “womanned” the vent can on the other side of the car. We were in and out of there in no time and not one wrench had to be put on the car.

We were now on our last lap. Knowing that we had at least a 12 minute lead we were able to back it down and cruise. As we were coming into pit 1, I smoked a bush with the rear driver side tire while swerving to miss a dirt bike that I was passing. I called Derek and Mike Froelich on the radio and asked him to check it out. We pulled in, he checked it out, and luckily it ended up being just fine. I asked him to give me a time split again back to second place.

Sam and I pressed on and caught back up to a sportsman class 1 buggy that we had been eating the dust of the entire race. I tried to do a sneak attack on him by trying a line off to his right on the outside. Well I found out why no one was using that line. We hit the biggest sand berm in the desert. We hit it so hard that the sand came over the hood like it was water and got under our helmet skirts and filled the car up as well; we shook it off and kept going. Derek came on the radio and told us that second place was now #1917 Murray Brothers and they were 20 minutes back on adjusted time.

The race was now ours to lose, so we kept it on cruise control to the end. We passed by pit 2 without stopping and made our way to the finish line. We ended up finishing the race 27 minutes ahead of second place, but after penalties it ended up being 32 minutes.

I would like to thank Terry Hui for making all of this possible…for giving us the opportunity to race and win…all while having a great time! Thank you to Sam Hayes for keeping us on the course and ensuring we didn’t miss any VCPs. I would like to thank all of my friends and family that came out to help pit us and support us. As well as all of the sponsors that stand behind us and provide the products that let us beat and pound on them all the way to the podium…thank you: Maxxis, Polaris, Fox, Alba Racing, Lonestar Racing, DWT, Coyne Powersports, Baja Designs, Jimco Racing, Rugged Radio, Cryoheat, Factory UTV, Impact, Fly Racing, Maxima, UNI, Motion Pro, IMS, Monster Seal, KZ RV, and Copy Boy Printing.

We’re getting ready right now for the Ultra4 Nationals next weekend. There’s still plenty of time for you guys to get equipment you need for the race. Check those helmets, double check your HNR, and triple check your communications equipment. If there’s anything you need from us, shoot me a PM and we’ll get it on the trailer with your name, that’ll make it easier to pick up at the race. We’re going to be there for the whole weekend so definitely get a hold of us if you need support.

Rugged Radios is the Official Communications of the Wild West Motorsports Park so of COURSE (see what I did there?) we’re going to be there for the VORRA short course race this weekend! We’ll be happy to help anyone who needs it no matter what equipment you’re running. Don’t forget you’ll need to make sure your HNR is up to par. Shoot me a PM if you need anything for the race and good luck racers!

Rugged Radios is the Official Communications of the Wild West Motorsports Park so of COURSE (see what I did there?) we’re going to be there for the VORRA short course race this weekend! We’ll be happy to help anyone who needs it no matter what equipment you’re running. Don’t forget you’ll need to make sure your HNR is up to par. Shoot me a PM if you need anything for the race and good luck racers!

Mitch Guthrie Jr. takes Unlimited Championship

Minneapolis, September 29, 2015- WORCS Round 8 would come to Glen Helen in Devore, Calif. and RZRs would be out in full force and take another clean sweep of the Pro class.

David Haagsma would take the Pro class in his RZR with Polaris Factory Racers Ryan Piplic and Beau Baron coming in second. In the Unlimited Class, Polaris Factory Racer Mitch Guthrie Jr. would seal up the championship by taking another checkered flag.

The single-seat class would see the three Polaris ACEs line up with Jacob Shaw taking the win. Ronnie Anderson in his Walker Evans/UTVUnderground/Polaris ACE 570 would take second and Brian Haag would take third. Anderson sits in second in the point standings with one race left.

The next WORCS race is the Buffalo Bills, in Primm, NV, October 16-18

Mitch Guthrie Jr. is sponsored by Polaris, Walker Evans, Nelson and Nelson racing, Muzzys Performance, Maxxis, Tireballs, Super ATV, Southwest Ground Control, Impact, UTVUnderground.

Ryan Piplic is sponsored by Polaris, Nelson & Nelson, Maxxis tires, Fox Shocks, Muzzys, Method race wheels, Rugged radios, Beard Race Seats, Antigravity batteries and Tire Blocks.

Beau Baron is sponsored by Polaris, Maxxis/H&M Motorsports, Holz, Sparks, Walker Evans Racing, Tire Blocks, Atvriders.com, ProMotorsports, Shoei, Eks Brand Goggles.

Ronnie Anderson’s Polaris ACE is sponsored by Polaris, UTVUnderground, Walker Evans Racing, Carr-One, Vision X, GBC Motorsports and RJ37.com.