UTV Rally Raid – Race 2

The UTV market has been growing at an astounding rate ever since the new sport side by sides have come out on the market. People all over are trading in their mud trucks and rock crawlers for these sporty UTVs. There are racing series popping up all over the country. One issue that most series face is that the courses are brutal on the vehicles and more vehicles DNF than finish the race. Well we found a race series that does things a little different. UTV Rally Raid is a 4 hour endurance race for UTVs. They model their courses after rally car racing. They run only smooth fast flowing courses to keep the drivers and machines in tact for the entire race. Drivers can reach speeds up to 70 mph.

We made the trip down to Stony Lonesome OHV in Cullman, Alabama for Race 2 of the
2012 UTVRR series. The day started with tech inspection and a parade lap of the course. Then all 50 plus racers lined up at the starting line. Two hours before dark the racers launched off the starting line 2 at a time. The last racers left just before a thunderstorm rolled in. It brought with it downpours of rain. This made the course a whole new animal. Drivers were dealing with low visibility and mud caked vehicles. Many slid off course and a few even rolled. After four hours of mud and rain the last racers finished the course. This is a great series and I wouldn’t hesitate to race it if given the opportunity.