2012 Arizona Off Road Promotions Series off to a Flawless Start
Yamaha's Josh Row Wins AZGP Round 1 at Valley MX Park

Pheonix, Arizona (2/23/2012) - Arizona Off Road Promotions was formed in late 2011 to provide a new place for ATV and Motorcycle riders to race. They are putting on 2 brand new series for 2012 and everything is off to a great start. The first series is called the “Arizona GP series” (AZGP). Round 1 kicked off on February 4th in Cottonwood, AZ at Verde Valley MX park. This series consists of GP races that combine motocross track and elements with off road and desert racing sections.

The Verde Valley round combined the entire motocross track with a tight and technical woods section. From there the course jumped into and out of a water retention basin, down a wash and into a high speed desert area. The course totaled approximately 4 miles. A video preview of the course was offered online weeks prior to the race.

The series offers many classes for kids all the way to the 40+ age group classes. The opening round had 6 ATV Pros on the starting line. Josh Row from El Cajon, CA took the holeshot and never looked back, claiming first place over Wickenburg, AZ racer Matt Hancock. Trent Kendall rounded out the podium with 3rd. First prize paid $180 and second place was $120. All of the races started on time or slightly earlier and the results were posted within 30 minutes of the checkered flag. Full results can be seen here.

Arizona Off Road Promotions has also teamed up with the newly resurrected Arizona Desert Racing Association (ADRA) series to manage and promote the ATV and Motorcycle program that will take place at all 2012 ADRA races. The ADRA is a famous name in Arizona, it was once the largest desert racing association in the southwest and the name has not been used for decades. Initially it was going to be a truck and buggy series only, until the Arizona Off Road Promotions team stepped in to team up and offer an ATV and motorcycle program.

Round 1 of this series was not a true desert race, instead taking place at Speedworld Off Road Park in Surprise, AZ as a part of the “Off Road Fest” event. This series opener was only meant to give a taste of the quality races that the ADRA will be offering in 2012. The ATV and Motorcycle course snaked all over the Speedworld facility including the ¼ mile drag strip! The course was very high speed with many sweeping turns along with the Speedworld Stadium Course track and the International track. The desert section boasted a desert style whoops section too. All of the racers had memorable moments when they first jumped over the drag strip guardrail and proceeded down the track pinned in 5th gear before hitting a hairpin turn.

This series offers classes for youths, sportsmen, expert, pro and vet pro skill levels along with a team class. Round 1 had 5 Vet Pros and one open Pro on the line. Mike Sloan took the holeshot in the pro classes and held onto the lead until mechanical troubles slowed him down. Shiloh Strunk racing in the Vet Pro class took over the lead and held on for the full 2 hours for the Vet Pro victory and the $375 payday.

The overall ATV winner went to the pro 2 man team of Trent Kendall and Nick Steinman. Third place overall went to an Shannon Gladem aboard his Kawasaki from the Open Expert division. Full results are available here.

The remainder of the ADRA series will take place out in the desert. The next race will be in Rocky Point, Mexico on April 13-14th, with later dates in Congress, AZ at Thunder Rock Ranch and Vidal, CA. The ADRA series also boasts an end of the year points fund where all classes will be eligible to win money. Both series are also part of the Rocky Mountain MC/ATV Race fuel program where each entry gets a $10 gift card at Rocky Mountain!

Pre registrants for Round 2 of the AZGP series March 10th in Tucson, AZ will receive a free UNI filter and maintenance kit from UNI.