UTV WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY POLARIS

Racers tackle the tough desert near Lake Havasu, AZ

On Apr 12, 2022

Classes for every age group and skill level had the chance to take on either a youth track, short desert loop or longer desert lap in the hopes of being named a UTV world champion at the UTV World Championships presented by Polaris. The venue has made a home for itself in Lake Havasu, Arizona, at the Standard Wash Recreation Area for the last two years. Not only is this a great racing venue, the trail riding is vast and diverse, starting within sight of Lake Havasu, then heading east or south into the Sonoran Desert. Best of all, you can link up to the Arizona Peace trail from this site.

Supercross icon Ricky Johnson had a few difficulties on four wheels and finished out day two laps down in 16th. He probably made good use of those Assault mirrors getting passed.

As for the champions, Can-Am’s Phil Blurton took the big crown in the desert race after battling all afternoon with last year’s winner, Ryan Piplic, in his Polaris. Bruce Binnquist, in a very trick Can-Am X3, had the fastest lap but broke his car later. JD Marsh and RJ Anderson gave wins to Polaris in the Non-Turbo Desert class and in Short-Course Turbo. Most amateur races were won by Polaris drivers, including the Youth 170 Production crown going to XTC Power Products’ Jaxon Leaming. Robby Gordon also debuted the Speed UTV in the Pro Desert class, taking home an 11th-place finish.

Expect the UTV World Championships to return to Lake Havasu in 2022, as well as other races put on by the Mad Media Group.

Wayne and Kristen Matlock entered their Baja pre-runners in the Rally class. Here they are pushing Donnie Bales (Honda) out of the way on their way to the front of the pack. However, they pulled out of the race early to let the regulars fight it out.

Max Gordon was entered in the Non-Turbo desert race but had issues early on so he went ahead and entered the Turbo class in his Yamaha-powered Textron Wildcat with Speed UTV suspension. He fought his way to the second position, but a penalty bumped him back to eighth.

RJ Anderson dominated the short-course Pro Turbo race, finishing eight minutes in front of second-place Larry Heidler and Sierra Romo in third, all in RZRs.

Bruce Binnquist was clearly the fastest guy on course in the Pro Turbo class. Unfortunately, a part failure ended his day just a little early.

The Leaming brothers dominated the Production 170 class, taking the holeshot and finishing in the top-two spots with Jaxon on the top step. He followed it up with a third in the Youth 570 class as well.

See the 2022 Polaris UTVs here: 2022 POLARIS UTVs – UTV Action Magazine

2022 UTV WORLD CHAMPIONS

Desert Pro Turbo: Phil Blurton, Can-Am

Desert Pro N/A: JD Marsh, Polaris

Desert Pro Unlimited: Michael Mamellie Jr., Polaris

Desert Rally: Barrett Howarth, Can-Am

Desert Pro RS1: Jimmy Rodriguez, Polaris

Desert Sportsman: Daxton Dotson, Can-Am

Youth 1000: Ethan Groom, Polaris

Youth 570: Chase Mankin, Polaris

Youth 250: Chase Mankin, Polaris

Youth 170 Open: Mason Cotter, Polaris

Youth 170 Production: Jaxon Leaming, Polaris

Short-Course Pro Turbo: RJ Anderson, Polaris

Short-Course Production 1000: Brayden Baker, Polaris

Short-Course Production 1000 Mod: Brock Hanmer, Polaris

Short-Course Production 900: Ryan Prosser, Polaris

Short-Course Production 700/800: John Koltura, UNK

UTV WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY POLARIS

Racers tackle the tough desert near Lake Havasu, AZ

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