Steve Beilman and Wayne Matlock piloted their virtually stock Can-Am Maverick 1000R X rs side-by-side vehicles to a 1-2 finish in the UTV Open class at round one of the 2013 Lucas Oil Off Road Series (LOORS) at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California.
In Texas, Louis Powersports / Can-Am DS 450 Pro Cody Miller won both the Open Expert (Pro) and Pro-Am classes at round one of the Dockside Marine Texhoma Quad Racing Association (TQRA) series.
“It’s great to have off-road racing veterans like Wayne Matlock and Steve Beilman behind the wheel of the new Maverick 1000R X rs and even better to have them put it on the LOORS podium. These guys basically had stock vehicles, sans the cage and doors, yet still dominated the UTV Open class at round one,” said Jimmie O’Dell, Race Manager, Can-Am. “Their genuine excitement about the Maverick, along with their recent racing success is not only contagious, but it also reinforces that fact that our all-new high-performance side-by-side vehicle is purpose-built to win races.”
Despite limited practice time, Matlock qualified first in the UTV Open class, while Beilman secured the third spot on the line. At the start of the main event, a modified competitive vehicle edged Matlock for the holeshot, but both he and Beilman locked in behind the leader and, by lap two, were already pressuring him for the lead.
Matlock was on rear bumper waiting for a time to pass, but was hampered when the leader slowed over a jump. Beilman took advantage of the leader’s pause and pinned it over a tabletop jump and literally leapt to the front, passing both the leader and Matlock. From there, Beilman maintained a steady pace and tried to extend his lead.
Matlock, who tired of following the second-place racer, made his move and made a timely pass after the finish line jump at the start of the fourth lap. MatlockÂ’s pass put the Maverick pilots in first and second with several laps remaining.
However, a mandatory caution allowed Matlock to reel in Beilman and during the final six laps the two racers put on a show, as they were bumper-to-bumper to the finish line. At the checkers, Beilman held off his fellow Can-Am racer by one second to take the first-ever LOORS win with the Maverick 1000R.
“With literally only minutes of seat time in the new Can-Am Maverick, we didn’t really know what to expect this weekend. We knew the Maverick 1000R was fast, but didn’t know how it would stack up under real race conditions. Obviously, my Velocity / Can-Am Maverick showed us that it could out perform the competition right out of the box and that is huge,” said Beilman.
The LOORS schedule resumes Saturday, April 13 at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Southern California.
TQRA Results:
Louis Powersports / Can-Am DS 450 teammates and brothers Hunter and Cody Miller each won one Open Expert (Pro) class moto at round one of the TQRA series opener at Village Creek MX in Forth Worth, Texas. However, since Cody won the final moto, he earned the overall win over the elder Miller.
With 1-2 moto finishes, Cody also edged Hunter in the Pro-Am ATV class. Hunter Miller won the second moto, but finished third in the first moto and had to settle for second overall. With a 1-1 moto sweep, fellow Can-Am racer, Jeff Reeves, won the Over 30 A class and put his DS 450 ATV on top of the podium at Village Creek MX.
The Millers were excited to debut their Maverick 1000R X rs vehicles in the series, but due to a lack of competition, the side-by-side racing was cancelled. Round two of the TQRA series is slated for March 16-17, at Moto City in Blanchard, Okla.
For more information on Can-Am racing, the Maverick 1000R side-by-side vehicle, the entire 2013 schedule, the ’13 contingency program and Can-Am DS 450 ATV amateur racer support program, please visit www.can-amxteam.com.
