With the inevitable onset of “dust lung”, and palpable excitement also looming in the air, Sunday’s Toyo Tires Desert Challenge presented a 35-mile Prologue stage before the 93-mile main course. Because times from the Prologue would both set the starting positions and affect overall times for the next day’s results, the stakes were still high for this preview of Sunday’s action.

The 99 racers who registered for the various UTV classes took to the dirt Saturday morning, with helicopter exhaust and forced induction echoing across the rocky mounds pockmarking the more technical regions of the course. With what were ultimately drier conditions than many had expected going into the weekend, the morning sun quickly warmed the earth under a nearly clear azure sky. Come 8am, the gauntlet was set, and the course was hot.

At the end of this qualifying session, after a grueling 35 miles in the heat, it was Polaris Factory Racing’s Brock Heger (#1896) who placed First in UTV Open aboard his RZR Pro R, triumphing in one of the most well-attended categories of the race. Rounding out the lineup in the Open class were Doug Mittag (#981) and Brayden Baker (#977) who both pushed their way to the front of the pack just behind Heger.

Joe Terrana (#898) was next to nab a the highest step in his UTV Pro Modified category at the wheel of a Can-Am Maverick R. With Terrana taking the top spot in Pro Modified, Beau Briggs (#23) and Michael McFayden (#2938) were looking to usurp the slot, battling against a steeper challenge on the clock and course for Sunday’s event.

Jake Versey (#43) secured pole position for Sunday’s contest in the UTV Pro Stock Turbo class, setting the stage for a tightly contested shootout with Chaden Zane Minder (#915), who’s minor deficit (at 8/10s of a second) was a mere hair’s difference between winning first and losing it.

Wrapping up the prologue action in the Pro Stock N/A class, Ethan Groom (#1911) set a dominant lead over Baylee Bryant (#5099), who would look to the main competition to make up the gap and ultimately emerge victorious in the class.

The stage was fully set for a star-studded showdown in the Johnson Valley, and Saturday night quickly bled into an early Sunday morning. Anticipation was evident with the all-too-familiar brown smog clouding the eyes, minds, and lungs of the throngs of spectators lining the race route and setting a visual spectacle which would be right at home in a Hollywood blockbuster.

With the roar of engines reverberating off the rocks of Johnson Valley, racers began the first of two laps around the punishing 93-mile course that cut through the valley. With a light breeze providing a bit of clean air on the race course, the recipe for a high-speed thrashing across the lakebed was complete. This stir of activity also served to warm up an otherwise brisk morning climate, with bated breath waiting on the sun’s energy to mercifully stop casting long shadows off the peaks of taller hills.

Disaster however soon struck for Cayden MacCachren (#1921) in the Polaris Factory Pro R, having rolled over in a narrow rock chicane in the last half of the course. Causing a brief traffic jam owing to the narrow section of passable course, marshals soon cleared up the jam but not before effectively cutting the pack in two. Unfortunately, without nearly enough opportunity for MacCachren to make up the lost time from this incident too easily.

A big day for the American manufacturer who seems to be putting their best tires forward in 2024. The streak didn’t end there, with Kaden Wells (#1895), landing 4th runner-up:

“It took me about 50 miles into Lap One before I settled into my flow state. From then on, everything clicked. No issues with the car, just gas and go! I started 23rd and lost a few positions, but I managed to finish strong with a 4th Overall.”

Amongst the rest of the group were still many high profile teams undergoing endless skirmishes – between the vehicles and the conditions equally. The UTV categories were indeed packed with big names and this made for some amazing racing through the desert. All other classes next to Open had their own fair share of ups and downs. Despite having qualified in third for the Open class, Doug Mittag, piloting the number 981 Bilstein Can-Am, unfortunately became an example of how harsh the climate here can be. On his early exit from the contest, Mittag had to say:

“So much work goes into this KOH weekend, so it’s a big bummer to be let down by a mechanical failure, [especially] while we were on a mission! That’s racing, and I couldn’t be more stoked on how the car was handling beforehand. Big thanks to everybody that [usually] helps me get here from my sponsors to my crew!”

Suffering an unfortunate malfunction with such a strong qualifying position headed into the race was unfortunately a common sight. Of the 99 UTV entrants, a mere 42 recorded finishing times.

The battle that occurred in the Pro Stock Turbo class would captivate hearts and minds. With both Minder and Versey having such a tight gap heading into the roughly 180-mile stage, the fight for the lead was just as brutal as the desert itself. In the first revolution, both drivers jockeyed for position and the advantage in front of the fans who made it out to the early mile markers in those chilly morning hours.

Even with combat taking place ahead of him, Rodrigo Ampudia, in the #2910 Can-Am managed to come up from third into first place, eventually taking the flag. This wasn’t without its fair share of drama though, as Ampudia says:

“We had a lot of fun in our Can-Am all day! The race started really well, we headed into the lead in the first lap. Getting into the infield as we went under the Bronco arch, I hit a huge rock and we ended up with a flat, and we were passed [by some cars] in the pit so we had to work our way back into the lead during the final lap.”

With such a fierce duel occurring so early in the race – making a strong testament to both the skill on display and the pure brutality on offer at this year’s desert challenge – there was plenty to feast your eyes on. Since a significant portion of the field was ravaged by DNF’s, mechanical or otherwise, some classes were decimated. And what began as a high-speed challenge of courage and skill quickly became a sheer test of endurance for man and machine.

In Pro Stock N/A, what began as a field of five was whittled down to a head-to-head between Ethan Groom and Baylee Bryant. With the other entrants scoring tapping out, owing to the brutal nature of this course and the Mojave itself, these two drivers would be in an entirely separate kind of race as opposed to what would occur in other classes. Groom would finally emerge victorious in this wounded class, proving both his speed and, importantly, his durability at the Desert Challenge.

It was a mixed pack of talent, some succumbing to chance. In the first stretch of the two-loop attack is when MacCachren made that uncharacteristic, cringeworthy, error, landing him door-side-up on the back half of the course through a narrow boulder-lined shoot which opens up to wide-open desert. Just as two cars exited the descending canyon, MacCachren’s incident led to a tremendous bottleneck, which held up the pace for several minutes. Some pilots even opted to crawl over the distressed side-by-side, resembling an upturned turtle in this vulnerable position.

It was a challenging beginning to the Toyo Tires Desert Challenge, but Joe Terrana ran away with the UTV Pro Modified trophy anyway, managing to hold off efforts from the list of cars he beat in the Prologue. Despite all the theatrics, Michael Mcfayden and Chris Reindl managed to hold their own, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively, but ultimately falling to Terrana.

This edition of the Toyo Tires Desert Challenge saw victories, defeats, and heart-crushing failures. That’s just the way things happen at KOH. And in that unforgiving environment, with further races later this week, those who had experienced heartbreak, regret, or struggle are surely looking to the Can-Am UTV Hammers Championship to make up for it. Plenty of teams are already back in the saddle tuning, testing, and preparing for the infamous rock race. And for those who’s journey came to a close on Sunday, it’s time to pack up and head back to the drawing board for another year of planning and plotting to become the next king or queen of Johnson Valley.