Team OTSFF/MOTUL entered the first race of the 2021 off-road season in the newly established Legacy RacingAssociation’s desert showdown in Pahrump, NV on Saturday, January 9th. Toronto-based team owner/driver Andre Laurin took on the 220-mile race course accompanied by navigator Matt Tessier, to grab a top 10 finish in the 6100 Spec Trophy Truck class. It was Laurin’s first time behind the wheel of the truck since early March 2020, due to the complications of crossing the US/Canada border under the restrictive COVID-19 virus protocols.
From the way he handled the truck on the challenging terrain, however, which stretched from Pahrump as far north as Beatty, NV and back down again to Pahrump, Laurin showed no signs of body rust or being draped in cobwebs. He jumped into the physically and mentally demanding off-road fray by qualifying in sixth place to then go on and tear up the track and claim sixth at the finish line in the main event. Once again it was mission accomplished for Team OTSFF/MOTUL!
“After missing all but two events last year, I had been eagerly anticipating the Pahrump race. With the pandemic rampant all over the place, it wasn’t an easy race to get to. I had to jump through a lot of hoops both sides of the border, including Covid testing. But it was definitely worth it. Racing is in my blood and I love coming to Nevada and Arizona,” Laurin said. “It was a blast being back in the 6100’s cockpit. Although I came to Pahrump to win, I’m still happy with the sixth-place finish, for the simple reason that we finished the race. Over the past three years of competing in the 6100 class, the OTSFF/MOTUL truck completed every race entered. We want to keep that spree going in addition, of course, to grabbing one of those elusive podium finishes.”
Although an incident early in the race could have sparked a major pitstop delay, the OTSFF/MOTUL truck kept on truckin’. About 60 miles into the race Laurin clipped a large rock hard enough to bend the left rear wheel rim so that it was rubbing against the brake caliper. This resulted in a lot of vibration and braking issues. Stopping to assess the damage, Laurin and Tessier still lost some 16 precious minutes on the clock. Once they were back underway the vibration more or less ceased. That was the good news. The braking problem, however, haunted Laurin the rest of the way. Otherwise it was all systems go till the finish line, still a daunting 160 miles into the future. Laurin had decided to go for broke and push the envelope, knowing that the Adam Fitza built-and-prepped truck was meant to go the distance. It proved to be the right call.
“It was great to be back in the desert, after such a long hiatus. Once again all the components that go into our 6100 Spec Trophy Truck proved their worth and then some. Kudos to all our team partners for manufacturing these top- quality products. It’s because of you that we can enter a gruelling desert race with full confidence,” said Fitza. “Vision Wheel lived up to its reputation for producing rims that are second to none. The Toyo tires also demonstrated again that they’re more than capable of taking the kind of off-road punishment that would neutralize lesser tires. Motul lubricants, of course, ensured all moving parts were kept moving flawlessly. The rock incident was unfortunate but that’s racing. Are we happy with our result today? You bet!”
Team OTSFF/MOTUL would like to thank all the individuals and partnering companies for their invaluable support to help make our participation in the 4WP Desert Showdown in Pahrump possible. You guys are awesome!
Depending on the state of affairs with the COVID-19 pandemic in early March, we are aiming to take part in The Mint 400 in Las Vegas, scheduled March 3 to 7, 2021. Stay tuned for an update as we approach those dates.