Champions were crowned on the banks of the Colorado River in Laughlin, NV, as the Laughlin Desert Classic kicked off the fifth and final round of the 2026 American Off-Road Racing Championship. In their first full season unified with UNLTD Racing to form the AORC, racers battled it out on storied grounds outside of the Laughlin Event Center as the two-day format saw tight racing and fierce battles amongst all the classes. The Hero Racing Ducati team of Ciaran Naran and Cody Simpson capped off a flawless season over the weekend, winning both days at the Laughlin Desert Classic to secure the overall victory and complete an almost perfect sweep of the 2026 American Off-Road Racing Championship with four event wins.
As the sun broke above the mountains east of Laughlin, NV, on Saturday morning, the green flag flew, and the first row of Pro motorcycles roared to life from the dead engine start. Barreling into the first sweeping turn, the big contenders were left behind when their bikes didn’t fire up, forcing Naran and Logan, the only two teams to have won a race this year, to make quick passes through the painful roost from the pack of Pro riders. Unlike past years, the AORC crew prepped the entire 14-mile desert loop with a fresh grade and water that led to all-out racing on the high-speed desert circuit.
Capitalizing on the clean air upfront, Trevor Hunter took the early lead on the N57 Honda. However, a small bike malfunction and the relentless pace of the chasing pack caught up quickly. Logan on the Husqvarna and Nick Colangeli on the Beta pushed past Hunter, with Naran carving his way through traffic to join the lead group.
A fierce, wheel-to-wheel battle ensued over the first two laps between Naran and Logan. Naran eventually made a decisive pass into the lead before handing the bike off to teammate Cody Simpson. From there, the Hero Racing Ducati pair never looked back, taking the Saturday win by 30 seconds over Shane Logan. Colangeli held on to claim third in the Open Pro division, while Hunter and co-rider Hayden Hintz finished fourth in Open Pro. Fifth overall on the day belonged to Caleb Tate and Gunnar Smith, a young up-and-coming duo starting with the Experts to claim the Overall Expert and Open Expert class win on the day.
Cody Simpson took the starting duties for the Ducati squad on Sunday morning, grabbing the early lead and setting a blistering pace at the front. Unchallenged throughout the five-lap main, Simpson and Naran dominated the field to take the Day Two victory by over two and a half minutes. Saturday’s second-place finisher Shane Logan didn’t make the Sunday start, leaving the race for second overall wide open.
Behind them, the battle for the remaining podium spots was chaotic. Hunter and Hintz suffered a rough start on Sunday morning, forcing them into full charge mode as they sliced through the pack to move into second overall on the opening lap, a position they’d hold for the entirety of the race. Colangeli also suffered a poor start on his Beta, working his way back up through the pack where he’d reach third on track by the halfway point. From there, it was a battle on time between Hintz/Hunter and Colangeli to see how the podium positions would stack up. Colangeli needed to finish within 22 seconds of the Honda boys to claim second, and when the checkers flew, the Beta rider was 15 seconds behind the Honda duo to give Colangeli second overall on the weekend. Caleb Tate and Gunnar Smith moved all the way up to fourth overall and first overall to claim the class win and cap off a remarkable season for the youngsters. Fifth overall and fourth Open Pro on the day belonged to Caiden and Gregory Fenstermaker.
Other notable finishers include Patricio Cabrera winning the Ironman Pro class, Silas Hilfiker winning the Ironman Amateur class, and Keegan Hardy winning the Lites Expert class.
The 2027 Best In The Desert American Off-Road Racing Championship will return to Parker, AZ early next year with the Parker 400, the first of five rounds in the American Off-Road Racing Championship.
Unofficial Laughlin Desert Challenge Weekend Overall Results
- Ciaran Naran/Cody Simpson (Duc) 2:00:25.449
- Nic Colangeli (Beta) 2:08:10.286
- Hayden Hintz/Trevor Hunter (Hon) 2:08:17.743
- Caleb Tate/Gunnar Smith (Hus) 2:09:28.583
- Caiden Fenstermaker/Gregory Fenstermaker (Kaw) 2:11:22.543
