• GBC Motorsports returned as title sponsor of the 4th Annual Heartland Challenge in Carlisle, Iowa.
• Team Ballance Racing Yamaha defended their title as Pro class and overall winners, with Team Woodhead and Team Sweet Home Alabama rounding out the podium.
• GBC Motorsports’ Forrest Whorton took first in the Ironman class.
• Team Elias was the overall winner of the 4-hour UTV Challenge; Team Dirtworks won the 3-hour Youth Challenge.
Anaheim, Calif. – Aug. 26, 2011 – The 4th Annual Heartland Challenge presented by GBC Motorsports took Carlisle, Iowa by storm this year. Great weather and great track conditions made this year’s event a fun and exciting weekend full of racing for all in attendance. GBC Motorsports is proud to support ATV and UTV racing at all levels, and was pleased with this year’s Heartland Challenge turnout.
Andy Kyner and his IATVHSS (Iowa ATV Hare Scramble Series) team did a fantastic job with all aspects of the event, receiving rave reviews from riders and spectators alike. The course itself offered up a variety of terrain, including tight technical sections with frequent elevation changes, long and fast straight-aways through the heartland’s farm fields, and motocross style whoops and jumps. The “Heartland Challenge” section is of course the defining feature of this event, in which competitors must negotiate a variety of obstacles.
GBC Motorsports was out in full force for the event, with their full line of ATV and UTV products on display. They even showcased the new Kanati truck tire throughout the weekend. There was an impressive roster on vendor’s row, including PIAA lighting, which provided an array of products to help with the nighttime portion of the event, as well as C&D ATV.
The first event of the weekend was Friday night’s UTV challenge. The 4-hour endurance race saw Team Elias narrowly beat out Team Coastal/Yokely Racing, with Team Extreme rounding out the podium. The Open UTV class podium was comprised of Team Coastal/Yokely Racing, Team Extreme and Team Donkey. The 850 Mod class saw overall winners Team Elias on top, followed by Team Galloping Zebra and Team LM1. Team I Love Hooters, Team D&S Racing and Team A-Team were the top 3 finishers in the 850 limited class.
Proving once again that endurance racing is not just for adults, Saturday morning’s 3-hour youth challenge gave teams of young riders the opportunity to compete on much of the same terrain as their older and more experienced counterparts. When the checkered flag flew it was Team Dirtworks taking the overall win, with Team NA in second and Team Extreme in third.
Later on Saturday, 54 teams finished their preparations and lined up for a Le Mans style start, in which riders dashed 20 yards before firing up their quads and heading out on the course. After 10 hours of racing, defending champions Team Ballance Racing Yamaha (Kiser, Fowler and Brown) once again claimed the $6,000 top prize, putting on an impressive display of riding in the process. Team Woodhead (Wolf, Ockerman and Henthorn) finished 2nd overall for the second consecutive year while Team Sweet Home Alabama (Pickens, Gallagher and Cecco) rounded out the podium in 3rd. “We had a lot of fun and we are happy with our finish,” Pickens said. “The tires worked awesome and we will be back next year to win this thing on GBC’s.”
Ironman Class winner and GBC support rider Forrest Whorton was the talk of the race after taking first place with an incredible display of endurance on a brutally rough circuit. “I have a lot of respect for Forrest Whorton,” said GBC sales representative Kory Ellis. “He has a lot of heart and we are proud to sponsor him.”
GBC Motorsports is thankful for the dedication and support of everyone involved in putting together such a successful event. They are already working closely with the IATVHSS crew on some ideas for 2012, with plans to make the event bigger and better than ever. Stay tuned to www.heartlandchallenge.com for updates along the way. Visit www.gbcmotorsports.com for more information on their lines of ATV and UTV tires. Follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gbcmotorsports and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GBCMotorsports for the latest news, updates and contests.
About GBC Motorsports: GBC Motorsports has been building ATV tires for over 30 years. Manufactured under the Greenball name initially, in 1995, GBC Motorsports was formed to focus on bringing to the ATV and Powersports market performance tires for every riding style. GBC Motorsport’s passion is to provide the highest quality, best value, and most innovative performance tires to the Powersports enthusiast.