Cycle News Staff | October 25, 2022
Desert racers flocked to the riverside city of Laughlin, Nevada, for the King Shocks Laughlin Desert Challenge, the penultimate round for Best In The Desert’s prestigious American Off-Road Racing Series Championship. Defending Champions Hayden Hintz and Trevor Hunter scored 1-1 results over the two days of racing, besting the field on both days of racing.
Close racing off the start line. Photos: Harlen Foley
On the calendar since 1997, the classic event is typically reserved for cars and trucks, but a last-minute schedule change introduced motorcycles, quads and UTVs to the schedule. Per usual for BITD races, the motorcycles made first tracks bright and early each morning, setting the pace for the rest of the day on the 17-mile loop, with five laps of racing each day.
On day one of competition, the N1 machine (Hintz/Hunter) rocketed off the line first, leading the 10 other Pro teams into the dusty desert. In hot pursuit were the N4 (Broderick/Reynolds) and N2 (Newton) teams trying to hold pace with Hunter. With a few miles of watered racecourse off the start, riders were able to push the pace and shuffle through the field before hitting the traditional dusty sections.
The Hayden Hintz/Trevor Hunter successfully defended their title BITD Laughlin Desert Challenge Championship.
The N4 Husqvarna briefly passed into the lead, overtaking Hunter, but wasn’t able to hold pace with the N1 Yamaha. While the top two teams led the charge, Jeremy Newton trailed close in third overall, with plans to skip a fuel pit in an effort to save time and hopefully pass the others in the process. Unfortunately, Newton came up just short on fuel, relinquishing several minutes to the front runners at the finish.
At the halfway point, the N4 team made a pass into the lead, overtaking the N1 duo who exchanged riders and fuel earlier than most. However, the N1 team made their way back into the lead the very next lap, never looking back en-route to the checkers.
The N4 team lead briefly but later finished second.
Day two started out very much the same with the N1, N2 and N4 bikes leading the way into a treacherous, torn-up desert after a full day of trophy truck and car racing left scorched earth in their wake. This time around, the N4 bike was first to the desert over the N1 and N2 bikes. The top two teams scrapped through the first mile of desert, searching for any smooth lines while desperately vying for clean air at the front of the field. Like Saturday, Hunter was able to put the N1 Yamaha up front and made dust, building up a gap over the first lap and continuing to build through the first half of the race. While the N4 team held second early on, lap two saw Newton make his way past. When all was said and done, the Hintz/Hunter duo swept the weekend with 1-1 finishes, making for easy math. Behind them, the N4 team of Broderick/Reynolds finished 2-3, but their lower overall time kept them ahead of Jeremy Newton on the N2 bike who scored 3-2 finishes.
Kimberly Loppnow and Krista Conway captured the Women’s-class win. Photo: Trevor Hunter
Other notable finishers included Eric Hallgath, famous for his 125cc desert racing prowess in his time, riding solo to win the 50+ Expert class and overall Expert for the weekend.
Kimberly Loppnow and Krista Conway teamed up again to win the Women’s class. Joe Kidd topped the Ironman Amateur and Amateur Overall, handily winning both each day.
Trevor Hunter
OVERALL RESULTS
- Hayden Hintz/Trevor Hunter (Yam)
- David Broderick/Luke Reynolds (Hus)
- Jeremy Newton (KTM)
- Zach Myers (KTM)
- Jarrett Curley (Hon)
- Cory Skaggs/Jarett Megla (Hon)
- Eric Hallgath (Hon)
- Gage Mathews (Hon)
- Timothy Barnum/Robert Barnum (Hon)
- Ethan Drake/Austin Farley/Cole Sasso (Hon)
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