Sam Cothrun enjoying the success of an overall victory in his Trophy Truck (Group T)…Cothrun took on all challengers and swept the MasterPull USA 500 desert race. The Cothrun/Anderson team posted the faster time of the race. #7272 set the pace with a final time of 12:04:51.765!
Northern Nevada, July 15th-17th—Victorian Square at Sparks, Nevada, bustled on Friday, July 15th as Lockett Shows sponsored a 4WD vendor and exhibition event—the prelude to VORRA’s inaugural 2011 MasterPull USA 500 desert race!
Rod Hall Racing seized a 1st Place in the “Full Metal” class. Damien Michelin, Rod Hall and Mike Winkel each drove segments of the race. The team overcame engine issues early in the race, and the #7611 Hummer sped to an an impressive elapsed time of 14:06:59.167 by the finish!
The MasterPull USA 500 began on Saturday, with a challenging desert course set up by legendary driver Rod Hall and his Rod Hall Racing crew. On Friday, the VORRA sanctioning body conducted tech inspections alongside the vendor booths and a live rock band at Victorian Square. Nearby, Rob Daly set up a 4WD rock crawling exhibition and a ramp-and-mountain for the dirt motorcycle antics of Metal Melisha. Just across the street loomed John Ascuaga’s Nugget, the host resort hotel.
Saturday promised to be a long day. While the Victorian Square activities kept Reno-Sparks locals entertained all weekend, a rugged desert race took off from Fernley, 30 miles east of Sparks. The race cars left the start in waves, governed by their vehicle class.
The challenges began immediately, drivers posturing and changing positions long before the first pit! The course ran the gas and power line roads toward Lovelock, Nevada, traversing stark, desolate desert on each leg.
Pit One was an action packed scenario as the fastest cars, starting two hours after the first group, were already catching up with the slower-paced competition. The race would involve three pit areas, #3 being the most remote, and #2 and #1 each set up for repairs and heavy work.
The race consisted of three long loops, eating up more than 500 miles in the course of a day. The first group started at 8:30 a.m., followed by the second wave of faster cars at 10:30 a.m. Between Fernley and Pit One, the gap closed dramatically.
The enormous loops spread race vehicles over miles of desolate, high desert landscape. Roads and easements spanned vast tracts of public land under the jurisdiction and permitting process of the BLM. Strained logistics and remote pits, reminiscent of Baja races, pressed the racers toward the finish line. At the end of the day, the top drivers crossed the finish line under starlight and a waning moon.
In the three-part video footage, experience the upbeat atmosphere at pre-race Victorian Square. Hit the trenches at the race pits and follow the high-octane desert action! ‘Part 3’ includes video footage plus photographic highlights from the race day.
Thanks to MasterPull, VORRA, Lockett Shows, John Ascuaga’s Nugget, Rob Daly and the many hard working individuals who made this stellar race possible!
Official Race Results from VORRA
Valley Off Road Racing Association
Master Pull USA 500 Race Results for
16-Jul-11
Vehicle Number Followed by Driver/Team Name, Elapsed Time and Class:
Overall Winners:
#7272 Sam Cothrun 12:04:51.765 Group T
#6 Rod Hall Racing 12:17:02.386 Class 1
#8088 Gary Hull 12:26:32.582 Group T
Class 1
6 Rod Hall Racing 12:17:02.386
24 Rick Massie 13:06:07.315
101 Greg Kudrna 14:16:48.284
149 Sam Berri 14:47:54.849
95 Lamco 15:42:07.507
100 Decker / Schnarr DNF
132 Shannon Harwell DNF
211 Scudder’s Performance DNF
856 John Wood DNF
Class 7
775 Ceballos Motorsports 14:57:23.558
7163 Reno Motorsports 18:57:50.520
707 All Fired Up Racing DNF
Class 9
903 Jay Schroeder DNF
Class 10
1029 Red Team Racing 17:21:37.334
1033 Jim Carius DNF
1055 James Brockelsby DNF
1099 Norris Brown DNF
Class 11
1177 Bob Messer 18:24:31.430
1107 Desert Dingo 20:30:30.624
1112 Two Larrys Racing DNF
Group T
7272 Sam Cothrun 12:04:51.765
8088 Gary Hull 12:26:32.582
6043 Ben Phillips 13:21:46.764
8028 Bill Jarvis 15:58:36.692
872 Jake Mathis 17:35:08.756
T813 Gary Taylor 18:03:18.094
T603 Mike Koenig DNF
T637 Jake Hallenbeck DNF
801 Don & Chris German DNF
808 Brent Downing DNF
1402 Factory Ride DNF
Full Metal
7611 Hall Racing/Damien Michelin 14:06:59.167
863 Team Myres 14:46:19.969
Sportsman
44 Ben Vanzutphen 18:20:24.687
81 Altered Racing 18:43:40.245
18 Girls Gone Wild DNF
91 Bill Hermant DNF
UTV 800 (2 laps)
1959 Team Jean Offroad Racing 10:30:22.453
Zukiworld (2 laps)
1045 David “Famous” Capell 11:27:08.478
5150 Jason Hutchinson 13:42:27.463
Z276 Taterz Racing DNF
Z637 Trouble Racing DNF
1337 Greg Fuller DNF
1837 Liberty Overland Motorsport DNF
