2015 GBC Heartland Challenge
SxS / UTV Endurance Racing
Carlisle, Iowa
August 21, 2015
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GBC Heartland Challenge
4 Hour UTV Race Report
Mouse & Marcus Pratt
Take 2nd Straight UTV Overall Win
GBC
Heartland Challenge Links |
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Carlisle, IA (8/28/2015) - Mouse
and Marcus Pratt made the 1000-mile drive to Iowa
pay off by winning the eighth annual GBC Heartland
Challenge Four-Hour UTV endurance race. Using a
conservative strategy the Pratt brothers drove their
Team Jack’s Excavating Can-Am Maverick X Xc to their
second consecutive victory in the GBC Heartland
Challenge. Team Bikeman Performance’s Andy Ives
finished second in the 2016Polaris RZR 1000 S, ahead
of the Can-Am’s Cody Miller in a Can-Am Maverick
Turbo.
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GBC
Heartland Challenge Open UTV Class Podium
(left to right)
rOtation Motorsports (2nd), Jack’s
CanAm (1st), Miller CanAm (3rd)
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The GBC Heartland Challenge is a unique endurance
race held just outside Des Moines, Iowa. With
wet weather leading up the event, the track became
rough quickly, giving racers ruts and difficult
terrain to contend with for much of the race.
The unique course also included The RacerTech
Challenge Section, which comprised a mixture of
tires, logs, concrete, and a huge hump. The section
acted as a short-cut on the course, which saved
a bunch of time for those that made it through
without issues. With the race not starting till
after 7PM, the majority of the four hour long
race was run in the dark, so lights were a necessity.
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GBC
Heartland Challenge UTV race continues to
grow each year with a 10% growth in attendance
for 2015 with 62 total UTV teams
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GBC Heartland Challenge is also one of the highest
paying SXS / UTV Racing events in the country
with GBC putting up $3,000 for the winner of the
UTV 1000 class, and Racer Tech added a $1,000
overall winner bonus. Can-Am also had a $2,000
win contingency, and the Pratt Brothers qualified
for them all, so they duo took home $6,000 for
the win
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Mouse
& Marcus Pratt took home a combined
$6,000 in contingency money from GBC Motorsports,
Racer Tech, and Can-Am alone
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With the largest field in the event’s eight-year
history, the regular single row start was modified
for the 1000 Class, allowing them to start in
two rows. Even with 32 1000 Class UTVs taking
the start, the first lap was run without incident.
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Bikeman
Peformance's Ryan Springer grabbed the holeshot
on the front row of the UTV 1000 class followed
by the two Team Miller / Can-Am Racers Hunter
& Cody Miller |
Racer Tech’s Marcus Pratt started the race and
got off to a mid-pack start, but he utilized a
conservative strategy and just focused on staying
the top ten for the first half of the race while
others were racing at a sprint, which ended their
day before the checkered flag. Marcus kept a steady
speed, and handed the Can-Am Maverick over to
his brother, Mouse, after an hour and half, and
Mouse quickly began moving his way up the line,
and he took over the lead in lap 15, which he
held to the checkered flag for the win.
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Can-Am
/ Jack's Team Marcus Pratt ran in the top
ten before handing the wheel over to his
brother Mouse for the final stretch of the
race |
“I just had to play it smart at the start and
try not to get hit,” said Marcus Pratt. “We came
out mid pack and plugged along. We saved the car.
A lot of guys tried playing this like it was a
one-hour sprint. We knew this was an endurance
race. It’s like racing a China doll. They’re easy
to break. But we had not issues at all during
the race.”
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Racer
Tech's Mouse Pratt charged into the lead
late in the race, but he quickly built a
large lead to secure their 2nd straight
UTV win |
Mouse Pratt said the event is always fun, but
he definitely enjoyed it more on the top step
of the podium. “It’s Iowa. What can I say? This
is a great event they put on here,” said Mouse
Pratt. “This track was rough and brutal. There
were some deep ruts out there. It wasn’t for these
RacerTech A-arms were wouldn’t have made it. I
couldn’t ask for anything else. It took us 15
hours to get out here. Winning in the end makes
it all worthwhile.”
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