Best in the Desert: Laughlin Desert Classic 2016 Results

The inaugural Laughlin Desert Classic, part of the Best in the Desert racing series, took place on May 7-8. It replaced the Silver State 300 in the series. The Laughlin Desert Classic was a two-day race for cars/trucks and UTVs in Laughlin, Nevada.

UTV Pro Report

In the UTV Pro class, Justin Lambert shot ahead right from the get-go and stayed well ahead of 2nd place. In fact, Lambert was fast enough to put in lap times comparable to some of the best drivers in the Pro Turbo class. The real action of the Pro class took place behind Lambert. Robert Van Beekum finished the first lap nearly a minute after Lambert, and a total of 18 UTVs in the class passed the line within the next 60 seconds. However, as the laps progressed, the tough racing took its toll and there began to be more separation. The day ended with Matt Burroughs in 2nd, Tucker Smith in 3rd, Justin Elenburg in 4th and Andrew Gorman in 5th.

Lambert didn’t get away from the pack quite as quickly on the second day, but he did move to the front right from the beginning and managed to stay there. Burroughs set himself close behind in a solid 2nd, with Corbon Wells moving into 3rd, Lacrecia Beurrier into 4th and Bill Whittington into 5th. Despite a great first day, Smith had significant problems at the beginning on the second day. Similarly, Elenburg faced a major setback at the end of the day after running 3rd in the beginning laps.

In the end, Lambert took 1st and Burroughs placed 2nd. The combined scores of Beurrier put her in 3rd for the class.

UTV Pro Turbo Report

Branden Sims, winner of the Mint 400, got off to an early lead in the UTV Pro Turbo class. However, Marc Burnett was determined to get ahead. By the end of the second lap, Burnett was in the front. Mitch Guthrie Jr followed and slotted into 2nd. By the end of the first day, Sims had fallen behind Brandon Schueler and Jacob Carver as well. Dustin Jones kept speed with the top riders for the first two laps, but a bad lap on lap 3 set him back considerably, just inside the top 10 of the class by the end of the day and even behind five of the UTV Pro class drivers.

On the second day, Guthrie was determined to close the gap and get ahead. He got the holeshot and started the race with the fastest lap of the class for either day and looked to be on track to pass Burnett’s times set the previous day. However, only seven miles from the finish line, his vehicle caught on fire. Everyone was safe in the end, but it effectively ended Guthrie’s hopes for victory with a DNF. Burnett followed in 2nd for most of the race, but he had problems which allowed Carver to pass him and get across the line first. Bill Zemak crossed in 3rd, with Dustin Jones in 4th. Sims was in 5th again.

Thanks to Burnett’s speedy first day, he still came out on top when the scores of both days were combined. Carver placed 2nd. Sims came in 3rd.

UTV Results