ECORS Round 2 at Great American Park

By Brit Mansell
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Updated: March 21, 2012

Again for 2012, the ECORS series returned to The Great American Park in Auburn, AL. After a successful round 1 in Marion, NC, I was very happy to be closer to home for round 2. The course mapped out last year was an absolute blast and the park owner was very accommodating at making suggested changes. Last year, he vowed that the course for 2012 would be even better. He definitely held to his word. This year’s course was even faster than last year’s and featured obstacles such as a new group of single jumps, several bridge crossings, a completely new and wide woods section and a few whoops. This was absolutely my favorite ECORS course layout yet.

I arrived at the park on Friday afternoon and we immediately unloaded the 2012 Polaris RZR-4 XP 900, which is clearly the best prerunner on the planet. We were able to take four competitors out on course at the same time and still drive at near-race speed. The XP4 has been critical to keeping our race car ready for each race.
After softening up our King shocks a few clicks, the #101 RZR XP 900 was ready to go. I ran a couple of laps Friday evening just to make sure everything was set on the car. After dodging a handful of mud holes, I had confidence that the car was dialed in enough to park it for the evening.
The Class U race was set to start at 8AM sharp. I had a first row start, so I was excited to be one of the first racers on course. After a long straight away start, I ended up with the lead into the first obstacle. My lap times were averaging somewhere around 7 minutes as I pounded through obstacles and jumps found throughout the course. There were many, many flats in the SXS class, but the GBC Dirt Commanders and HiPer wheels kept me out of the pits. There’s no doubt that my success this season would not have been possible without the support of these two products.

Huge thanks to Jim Tsakatos for coming out to the race and running my pits and manning the radio. After a few laps, Jim instructed me to back it down a little. Conserving the car and maintaining the lead became the new objectives. I dropped the lap times down about 45 seconds. After what seemed like hours, fifteen laps were in the books and I ended the race with a lead of 3 minutes and 13 seconds.
That’s two race wins in a row at the ECORS series. Defending the ECORS title was a big objective this year. So far, it’s shaping up well. The next ECORS race will be at Durhamtown Plantation in Union Point, GA on July 7^th. That’s the weekend of July 4^th and there are tons of events planned for that race weekend. If you’re anywhere around the Southeast, you are guaranteed a good time at Durhamtown that weekend.