CHRIS BLAIS AND CAN-AM WIN FIRST TWO DP4 RACES

Chris Blais and co-pilot Jeremy Gray are undefeated after two rounds of DP4 Racing desert races, winning the Ridgecrest Shakedown and the Johnson Valley 150 in their Blais Racing Services Can-Am. Max Eddy Junior finished second in both races in his Scanlon Motorsports Polaris RZR. James Moore (C-A) was third at the opening round, while Bill Baker (C-A) was third at Johnson Valley.

Blais didn’t plan on racing DP4 due to a busy Best in the Desert Series and also Legacy Racing, but he couldn’t help himself. The first round had 91 entries with 25 in the Pro class, and Blais drew pole position in the Friday night draw. He started in the lead and had a dust-free ride in the lead, until he started getting into lappers. Starting the last lap, Blais’ crew reported that Dakar 2020 bike champion Ricky Brabec (Hon) and Max Eddy were both within five minutes, so Blais wicked it up to full speed and turned a 44-minute 20-second lap to win by seven minutes over Eddy. Brabec, who had been running second overall, broke on the last lap but was able to repair his Talon and salvage 22nd. Only 24 UTVs completed all five laps.

Blais was set to race the BiTD Laughlin race but it was cancelled, so he made the short trek from Apple Valley to Johnson Valley OHV Area near Anderson Dry Lake. The entries for the second DP4 round grew to 124, and Chris made some shock adjustments to deal with the hammered course. He again had a great starting position, going third off of the line. Jason Schmidt (C-A) led the first lap on adjusted time, but Blais had the physical lead by the 20-mile mark. Adam Castaneda (C-A) led the second lap on time with Blais second on adjusted time, then Blais led the last three laps and lapped up to 23rd to NA 1000 BiTD champion Kaden Wells (Pol). Blais won by five minutes over Eddy, who worked up from 29th after the first lap to 13th on the second, with Bill Baker another 10 minutes back.

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone of UFC fame worked through the pack to finish the first lap in 20th and moved up to 13th by the midpoint and finished in sixth in his Can-Am. Randy Romo started way back in the pack and was 103rd on the first lap, 75th on the second, 50th on the third and 46th overall. Sierra Romo started well and was 16th after the first lap but dropped to 84th on the second; she eventually finished 49th.

The next DP4 round is a night race at Barstow, California, on May 22nd.

DP4 RACING UTV RESULTS

Rd1 Ridgecrest, CA

1. Chris Blais/C-A…DP4 Pro

2. Max Eddy Jr/Pol…DP4 Pro

3. James Moore/C-A…DP4 Pro

4. Eric Wilkins/Pol…DP4 Pro

5. Rex Hanson/Pol…DP4 Pro

6. Kolby Buentjen/Pol…DP4 Pro NA

7. Cameron Meister/C-A…Prod Turbo

8. Steven George/C-A…Prod Turbo

9. Buck Vinson/C-A…DP4 Pro

10. Kimberly Lynch/C-A…DP4 Pro

Rd2 Johnson Valley, CA

1. Chris Blais/C-A…DP4 Pro

2. Max Eddy Jr/Pol…DP4 Pro

3. Bill Baker/C-A…DP4 Pro

4. Nick Turner/DP4 Pro

5. Cameron Meister/C-A…Prod Turbo

6. Donald Cerrone/C-A…DP4 Pro

7. Sam Chournos/C-A…DP4 Pro

8. Russell Bowers/C-A…DP4 Pro

9. Keaton Koonce/C-A…DP4 Pro

10. Tyler Stewart/Pol…DP4 Pro

DP4 RACING POINTS/WINS

After 2 of 6 rounds:

1. Chris Blais/C-A…50/2

2. Max Eddy Jr/Pol…44

3. Kimberly Lynch/C-A…25

4. Buck Vinson/C-A…23

5. Bill Baker/C-A…20

5. James Moore/C-A…20

DP4 RACING SERIES

1. Feb. 6…Ridgecrest, CA

2. Mar. 27…Johnson Valley, CA

3. May 22…Barstow, CA*

4. July 10…Ridgecrest, CA*

5. Aug. 28…Ridgecrest, CA*

6. Oct. 16…Johnson Valley, CA

* Night Race

Contact…www.dp4racing.com