ECORS Season Opener
- Updated: March 12, 2011
Shared media coverage by UTVReport.com
2011 RZR-XP with Polaris PURE skid plates and Pro Armor doors
Round one of the ECORS (East Coast Off-Road Racing Series) took place on Saturday, March 12th at a relatively new off road park called “The Flats” in Marion, NC.
I have been looking forward to this race ever since our last ECORS exhibition race. The ECORS series is unique in that it is designed around the entry-level competitor. The majority of the entrants last year raced in the ful-size “A-Class” category. Those vehicles are mostly stock Jeep Cherokees and Grand Cherokees. The stock-oriented rules allow the field to remain competitive without spending a ton of money on their race vehicles, keeping the racing on the track instead of in your wallets.
For 2011, ATV Scene.com and I have been working with the ECORS promoters to build a UTV-specific class. The ECORS course is specifically suited to UTVs since it primarily caters to full-width vehicles like the Jeep Cherokees, so the courses are wide enough to run a long travel UTV with zero issues.
As you can see, the black finish of the Pro Armor doors really works well with the black and red color scheme on the XP.
I arrived at “The Flats” on Friday morning after driving most of the afternoon and evening from Birmingham, AL. After getting stuck a few times in the parking lot, I knew prerunning the course was going to be an exercise in avoiding mud, and anyone that knows me knows that I really hate mud. After a few minutes to bolt on a new set of suicide doors that Pro Armor sent us to review, I took the otherwise stock RZR-XP for its maiden voyage. At this time, the machine had all of three miles on it. I literally haven’t even adjusted the shocks.
It was immediately apparent that the red clay North Carolina soil was going to be very slick, but the RZR-XP was absolutely destroying the course. I was a little concerned about the ride height being a little higher than I was used to, but it provided great ground clearance to get me over obstacles that would otherwise have held up a lower vehicle. After a few laps of pushing to the outside of all of the corners due to the slick mud, the strangest thing happened. A small tree ran right out into the middle of a turn. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Well, at least that’s my side of the story. In reality, due to the slick soil, I pushed to the outside of a corner, obviously carrying too much speed. Turning the wheel had no effect on changing my direction. When I hit the tree, it broke the lower, front, passenger a-arm. I didn’t think it was that hard of a hit, so I was surprised at the large amount of damage from the accident. We finally got the RZR-XP back to the trailer and began to get it repaired.
The latch system on the Pro Armor doors is extremely durable and allows you to enter and exit the vehicle easily. The design of the latch handle also ensures that these doors will remain shut until you need to open them.
The DragonFire Racing UTV class starts in front of the A-Class.
The XP had a commanding lead after the first lap – no competition in sight.
The only tubing material we were able to find after going to four suppliers was less than ideal, but when racing you have to play with the hand you’re dealt, so we dug into the repair. The guys from Rock Corps 4×4 jumped in with both feet to help me get the RZR-XP back on its feet. They went above and beyond and did everything imaginable to help. I am truly grateful for everything they did. After a few hours of A-arm fabrication, the XP was alive and ready to roll.
Race Day
The race started at 9AM. It was cold and slightly overcast, but otherwise perfect racing conditions. The track dried out nicely, so hopefully I wouldn’t be seeing any trees trying to run accross the track again. All three of the UTVs in the new Dragonfire UTV Class took off side by side on the starting line, with my ATV Scene.com XP loaner taking a commanding lead going into the first turn. I took the first lap very cautiously, trying to be easy on the cobbled-together A-arm. The first lap went very well and I had a comfortable lead at a very comfortable pace. We were set to run 15 laps, so all three of us planned on taking it easy in the earlier laps and putting off the bar-beating racing until the end after we were all comfortable with the course. I knew the other drivers would be on my tail soon if I didn’t pick up the pace. Unfortunately the weak material of the replacement A-arm folded during a down-hill and prevented me from getting up to race pace. I was out only a few turns after the first lap was over.
Jim Tsokatos, from Birmingham, AL took the win, completing all 15 laps just three minutes before the 2 hour cut off.
All in all, I had an absolute blast at the race. We will rebuild the RZR “stronger and faster – we have that technology”, (sorry for the bad Six Million Dollar Man reference). We will be ready for the next ECORS round at Great American Park in Auburn, AL on April 30th.
Racing on the same course as the full size vehicles is a great experience. All of the drivers were very courteous to let the UTVs by as we were not racing them for overall position.
Jim Tsokatos takes the win at round one.
This is a high-horsepower, unlimited buggy wreaking havoc on the log obstacles. Solid axles, high horsepower, straight exhaust and a lead foot always make for a great show.
For more information on ECORS, please check out www.ecors.com.
The ECORS UTV class is sponsored by DragonFire Racing
DragonFire has been great to work with and the guys there have almost anything you need to build your SxS.
