Jagged X Heads South of the Border for Rosarito Beach Desert Challenge

Posted on September 26, 2016

The SCORE championship off road racing series held round three with the Rosarito Desert Challenge. The race took place in the beautiful coastal town of Rosarito Beach just a short trek south of San Diego in Baja California MX. The race is a multi-day heat format with various race groups competing in two heats, one on Friday and a repeat schedule on Saturday.

Tech and contingency was held right on the main street through town then looped down to the beach in front of the famous “Papas & Beer”. While not on the same grand scale as the Iconic Baja 500 and 1000 this race offered a very scenic low stress atmosphere for a race that promises to be a popular event in years to come.

The Jagged X crew arrived on Thursday morning and enjoyed the great weather while breezing through the tech line. After a nice early dinner the team wrapped up a couple last minute details and were feeling confident for the first day of racing. The UTV’s made up the second group of racers along with the class 7 race trucks. The trucks would start first but with a 5 minute gap between classes the dust was not too bad at the start. The Jagged boys pulled the short straw in the draw and were the last turbo class UTV to start. The tight twisting course would prove to be a challenge but all the while showcasing the capabilities of the Polaris RZR. Just a short 10 miles into the first lap Brandon and Co-driver Chad Hummer would have a slight disagreement in line choice for a particularly rough section. It would turn out that the choice was a bad one and the 2919 RZR would end up on its side in a deep rut off course. Chad was able to rock the car over far enough to allow the team to claw their way back onto the course with the help of their BFG KR 2 UTV tires and after looking the car over they were back in the hunt but had given up some valuable time. With each days race being barely over 60 miles the loss in time was insurmountable and they finished day one in 6th place.

The crew was able to take some time insuring that the race car was still at 100% and Brandon and chad were now ready to go for day 2.

For the second day of racing the field would be inverted and the larger class 7 trucks would start in the rear. This meant that the 2919 Jagged X car would be the very first off the line. This coupled with some very useful knowledge of the course from day 1 it would allow the team to jump out to an early lead. Brandon set a blistering pace and laid down a flawless second day, leading from flag to flag with nothing but dust in the rearview mirror. In the end, the first place day two coupled with the lost time from day one would leave Brandon Schueler just off the podium with a fourth place final spot.

Congratulations to the podium finishers who made the top four spots in the turbo class all POLARIS RZR. And Congratulations to Polaris teammate Marc Burnett who’s time put him in eighth place overall in the four wheeled classes.

Jagged X sends a huge thank you to Polaris RZR and to all our product sponsors who make our teams success possible. BFGoodrich Tires, Jackson Motorsports Group, Walker Evans Racing,Vision X Lighting, Varta Powersports batteries, OMF Performance, Factory UTV, Polaris Engineered Lubricants, CR Designs and Mountain States Contracting.

PRO UTV FI (Forced Induction, 4-wheel Utility Vehicle)

1. 2905 Marc Burnett, Lakeside, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 3:14:31 (39.61 mph);
2. 2975 Mike Cafro, Fallbrook, Calif./Jamie Kirkpatrick, Olympia, Wash., Polaris RZR XP1000, 3:19:14;
3. 2916 Cody Rahders, Alpine, Calif./Kevin Sullivan/Fernando Ramirez, Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 3:24:40;
4. 2919 Brandon Schueler, Phoenix,/Chad Hummer, Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 3:28:56;
5. 2917 Derek Murray/Jason Murray, Eastvale, Calif., Can-Am Maverick X3-1000, 3:33:04.
(Starters 8, Finishers 5)

PRO UTV (Naturally Aspirated, Stock 4-wheel Utility Vehicle)

1. 1901 Greg Row, Alpine, Calif./Josh Row, El Cajon, Calif./Brad Meyer, Polaris RZR XP1000, 3:22:01 (38.14 mph);
2. 1949 Alonzo Lopez, Murrieta, Calif., Polaris RZR XP1000, 3:47:29.
(Starters 6, Finishers 2)