Carlson Misses TORC First Podium by Narrow Margin in Sturgis

The hills of Sturgis, South Dakota rumbled during the 75th Anniversary of the legendary biker rally. Yet none of the chrome laden V-Twin bikes were as loud, as raucous, or more exciting than the trucks competing at the Battle at the Chip during The Off-Road Championship (TORC) short track truck racing series. Providing plenty of the thunder was TORC rookie Andrew Carlson, who continued to rapidly progress in the series, narrowly missing the podium by just a fraction of a second.

After a tough weekend of racing in Charlotte a few weeks prior, the team regrouped and met the challenging Sturgis track head on. Despite being the only Pro-Light driver to never have competed on the track, Andrew adapted quickly and the crew did the same, making several key adjustments to the truck over the course of the weekend.

Carved into the hills on the outskirts of Sturgis, the track features huge elevation changes, several tight corners and off-camber hairpins. Carlson was forced to “learn-on-the-fly”, navigating the challenging track at speeds in excess of 70-mph.

A hard fought 8th place finish on the opening day was deemed a study day for driver and crew alike. The lessons from the day were applied to both truck set-up and driver technique in an effort to put it all together in the follow up round.

“It’s all about traction…it’s really that simple,” said team owner Chris Carlson. “We’re constantly looking for ways to improve “hook-up”, both under acceleration and in the corners. Our Atturo Tires have been fantastic, and now we’re learning how to adjust our suspension for the massive fluctuations in track conditions.”

Apparently the crew nailed it as Andrew charged from deep in the field during the second day of racing. Logging nearly equal lap times as the top three trucks, Carlson quickly moved from 10th to 4th and from there he battled with Cam Reimers for the final podium spot. Carlson finished just 0.698 seconds behind Reimers, but the results were a season highlight to this point. It was Carlson’s fourth top-five finish of the season, an impressive feat rarely achieved by a rookie driver.

“My crew did a fantastic job with the truck. They made some key changes before the race that worked incredibly well,” said Carlson. “Something really clicked with me during that race…I just felt more confident…probably more than I have all season. I’m understanding how the truck is going to respond in different situations, and I can consistently push it (the truck) to the edge.”

“I feel like we took our program to a new level this weekend,” said Chris Carlson. “The team is gelling…truck set-up is improving…Andrew is gaining confidence…we’ve shown we’ve got the speed…we’re ready for Bark River!”

Bark River, Michigan, August 15-16, is next on the TORC schedule. The Battle at the Chip will be broadcast on Fox Sports – Round 11: October 8th at 9:00pm Central and Round 12: October 15th at 9:00pm Central. Visit the TORC website for exact dates and times for broadcasts, past videos, point standings, and the latest team news. You can see Andrew and other Atturo racers in the TORC or LOORS series by going to www.atturomotorsports.com

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN A TORC SERIES PRO-LIGHT RACE!

 As Atturo Driver Travis Dinsmore demonstrates,  just about anything can happen in a Pro-light Offroad truck race in the TORC Series!  Good thing he races on Atturo Trail Blade M/Ts...

 [NOTE: Travis and #151, Andrew Carlson battle it out for who's going to take the top spot for Atturo]

ATTURO DRIVER COLE MAMER TAKES ON CARNAGE AT INAUGURAL LOORRS BAJA RACE ROUNDS 11&12

Atturo Driver Cole Mamer and his team were prepared as they could be as they went south of the American border and pulled into the new Lucas Oil Off Road Race Series course at Estero Beach. The new course was located just miles outside of Ensenada, Baja California.

LOORRS added in the new race course to this season race schedule and as many teams were nervous about taking the series to a new stop, Mamer Motorsports was excited for the change of pace, new fans and a new course on which to race the #35 Mamer Motorsports Pro-Lite.

It wasn't long before the trucks were on the course running down four practices just in one day. The course provided the drivers with nearly a mile long of door to door opportunities to attempt a pass. The key to this course was to stay out of the dust, keep clean through the turns and keep on the gas you went through the rhythm section.

 

When race day came Saturday, fans were lined at the gate waiting in anticipation to see a new form of off-road racing that hasn't been to Baja since 2002. The thrill of meeting new drivers, seeing crews work on the trucks and witnessing first hand the carnage that can go into short course racing had the fans on their feet all day.

The Pro-Lite race was the second race of the day and Mamer had to line up at the back of the stacked class after qualifying didn't go his way. This didn't stop Mamer though as that green flag dropped he immediately made 3 passes right out of turn one. When a wreck on the first lap brought out a full course yellow the trucks had to restart the race and Mamer had to go back to his original starting position.

The 15 trucks took on the restart and once again Mamer went for multiple passes and pulled it off, this time passing 4 trucks on the restart lap. This was great momentum for Mamer as he let the race come to him. A dusty course didn't distract the driver as he battled with Creed looking to take over the 6th place position. The 10 lap race was ticking down and once Creed crashed it moved Mamer up to that 6th place. He was on the tail of DeBerti as they were coming through the rhythm section when he found himself and DeBerti both getting sideways and with a quick reaction Mamer steered out of the way as DeBerti was spinning through the air and wrecking.

Even though Mamer managed to avoid a major accident, his truck didn't make it out alive as he fell to the back of the pack with broken front end of the truck. Mamer pushed through the rest of the race with a limp truck in 10th, but still was able to salvage some points.

Mamer rounded out the weekend with a 9th place finish in round 12 and will be heading to Reno, NV for rounds 13&14 sitting 10th in points. Reno will provide the racers with many elevation changes, high speed sections and one last chance to really fight for a higher points standing before they head into the final stretch of the season.

Ride with Andrew Carlson #151 in TORC Sturgis Round 12

You want to see what it's like to drive a Pro-Light Truck on Atturo Tires in a TORC series race?

Say no more... here is the action from a Go-Pro camera attached to Atturo Driver Andrew Carlson's #151 truck featuring Atturo Trail Blade M/T tires.

Enjoy!

TORC: Andrew Carlson in Sturgis

Andrew Carlson Race Recap:

•             The wide-open terrain at the Legendary Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, SD was a nice break from the Bull-Pen like tracks Andrew had been getting accustomed to this season, and allowed for higher speeds and more exciting racing for the fans and racers alike

•             Carlson once again found himself towards the back of the pack both days in his qualifying positions, but broke away Wednesday afternoon during round 12 and grabbed another 4th place finish, his third of the season

•             With more top-5 finishes and confidence each time he’s on the track, a podium finish is looking inevitable as 151 looks forward to the final two races in Bark River, MI and Crandon, WI

TORC: Dinsmore in Sturgis

Travis Dinsmore Race Recap:

We made the long haul to Sturgis hoping to walk away with podium finishes, but were defeated by the track. With an issue during qualifying, we qualified 7th and had to start back in the 4th row. Track conditions were less than favorable with almost no visibility. Made it difficult to work through the pack and just after the mandatory caution our truck was hit in the right rear by a truck coming back on the track causing a flat forcing us to finish the race on three wheels. Hoping to recover from Tuesday we started on the front row with high expectations. Heading into the second turn another truck ran into the back and forced us off the track hitting debris at the side of the track breaking the steering assist. Now at the back of the pack with no power steering we limped to the finish to salvage points. We maintained our overall points standing but lost valuable ground on the leaders. We are looking forward to the wide open track at bark river to stretch our legs and take two more wins.

Video: Highlight Reel of Travis Dinsmore's Win at Crandon for the Atturo Racing Team