Desert Racing Domination Highlights BFGoodrich(R) Tires 2014 Motorsports Season

UTV Weekly | January 21, 2015 | 0 Comments

GREENVILLE, S.C. (Jan. 21, 2015) – On dirt and pavement, BFGoodrich® Tires demonstrated its advanced technology and drove racers to championships across many disciplines during the 2014 motorsports season. Four tires developed with the racer in mind, the BFGoodrich Baja T/A® KR2 desert tire, the new purpose built and custom grooved BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A^® KR2 short course tire and the BFGoodrich g-force™ R1™ and R1-S™, highlighted a season that included 21 season championships. Desert racing witnessed a dynasty-like performance with racers on BFGoodrich Tires sweeping the SCORE International Desert race season and all but one Best in the Desert race this year were won by racers on the companies tires.

The investment a tire company makes in motorsports often directly integrates technology and testing into developing its latest consumer-focused tires. That case study played out brilliantly for BFGoodrich as its newest desert race product, the Baja T/A KR2, dominated the desert race season and much of its tough characteristics were unveiled with the launch of the BFGoodrich T/A® KO2 tire this year.

“We witnessed an unprecedented desert race season this year,” said Chris Baker, North American motorsports director for Michelin and BFGoodrich Tires. “We have delivered unmatched engineering and support for our racing ventures and the dedication of our race tire engineers was truly what was on display when our racers climbed the podiums this year. Maybe the biggest source of pride is our ability to offer the broadest range of products to bring continued success to those talented racers trusting in our brand.”

The Baja KR2 won seven of the 10 major North American desert races including the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and Baja 1000. Thanks to epic runs by BFGoodrich Performance Team members Bryce Menzies (Baja 500) and Rob MacCachren with Andy McMillin and Jason Voss (Baja 1000), BFGoodrich tires claimed its 81^st overall win on the Baja peninsula. Additionally, Steven Eugenio secured the 2014 SCORE International World Desert Championship title after returning to BFGoodrich Tires for the final two races of the season.

It turned out to be a breakout year for desert racer Jason Voss as he relied on the BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2 mounted on his trophy truck to bring home six desert race wins, including four in the Best In the Desert series, the NORRA Mexican 1000 and partnered with MacCachren and Andy McMillin on their Baja 1000 winning run.
Since being run as a developmental tire in 2013, the BFGoodrich Baja T/A^®KR2 tire has won eight times and this year claimed 14 of the top 18 overall spots at the SCORE Baja 500 and 1000 combined. The tire was also responsible for helping claim nine desert racing class championships.Using its industry leading engineering and trackside support programs, BFGoodrich continued its short course race development. New All-Terrain KR2 products, with customized grooving, helped lead to 19 total Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series wins on the season. The brand also captured the Pro Lite championship with Sheldon Creed on the Mud Terrain KM2. For this track record BFGoodrich was named Tire Manufacturer of the Year for the 2014 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing season. The brands 76 total podium finishes was more than any other tire manufacturer competing in the series.BFGoodrich Performance team member MacCachren finished second in both Pro 4 and Pro 2, while Bryce Menzies finished third in Pro 2 and Ricky Johnson third in Pro 4. Finally, RJ Anderson finished strong in third place in Pro Lite, while also winning Pro 2 Rookie of the Year honors

On the club road racing circuit, which includes the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and National Auto Sport Association (NASA), BFGoodrich Tires claimed three national championships. At the pinnacle of amateur sports car racing, the SCCA National Championship Runoffs and the NASA Championships, the BFGoodrich Tires g-force™ R1™ and R1-S™ drove home three titles in the Touring 4 (Danny Bender), Nissan Spec Z class (Jay Pellegrini III) and GTS2 (Tristain Littlehale).

The g-force R1-S was also the spec tire for the SCCA Pro Mazda MX-5 Cup series and helped Kenton Koch of Glendora, Calif. win a second straight title in the series. Last year, Koch took home the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED class title in the series and this year, his first in the Cup series, Koch won six races to run away with the title with Drake Kemper taking home this year’s Skip Barber MX-5 title.Demonstrating its support for the widest range of racers in the desert, BFGoodrich Tires were key to bringing 14 class wins in desert racing including both the Best In the Desert and SCORE International series overall titles BFGoodrich Tires Championships

Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS)
Pro Lite Sheldon Creed, El Cajon, Calif, BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM2

SCORE International Desert Racing
Trophy Truck Steven Eugenio, Carlsbad, Calif., Chevy Silverado , BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR and KR2
Class 1 Justin Matney, Bristol, Tenn. Geiser-Chevy, BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2
Class 8 Mike Meeks, Marion, Texas, Dodge Ram SRT 10 BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR and KR2
Class 10 Cody Reid, Apple Valley, Calif., Custom-Chevy BFGoodrich Baja T/A
Class 7 Dan Chamlee, Carpenteria, Calif., Ford Ranger, BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2
Class 3000 Reid Rutherford, Montrose, Colo., Mason-Chevy, BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
Class 5 Jose Lopez/Arnoldo Gutierrez, Mexicali, Mexico, VW Baja Bug, BFGoodrich Super Traxion and Baja T/A
Class 3 Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif., Ford Bronco, BFGoodrich Baja T/A
1400 Sportsman Truck Jim Bunn, Bristol, Va., Chevy Silverado, BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR
1500 Sportsman Buggy Derek Fletcher, Abingdon, Va., RPM-Chevy, BFGoodrich Baja T/A KRBest In The Desert
Overall Jason Voss, Cupertino, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2
1400 Jason Voss, Cupertino, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2
Class 1500 Corey Keysar, Colorado Springs, Colo., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2
Class 3000 Tim Brown, San Marcos, Calif., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2
Class 6100 Tony Smiley, Buckeye, Ariz., BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2

Rally America
2WD Champion Andrew Comrie-Picard, Hermosa Beach, Calif.,BFGoodrich Rally TZ

SCCA Pro Mazda MX-5 Cup
MX-5 Cup Kenton Koch, Glendora, Calif., BFGoodrich g-Force R1-S
Skip Barber Mazdaspeed Challenge Drake Kemper, Los Angeles, Calif., BFGoodrich g-Force R1

Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Runoffs
Touring 4 Danny Bender, Northbrook. Ill., Mazda MX-5, BFGoodrich g-force R1-S

National AutoSport Associaction (NASA) National Championships
Nissan Spec Z National Champion (East)- Jay Pellegrini III, New Orleans, La., Nissan 350Z, BFGoodrich g-force R1

GTS2 National Champion (West)- Tristain Littlehale, San Francisco, Calif., BMW M3, BFGoodrich g-force R1-S

About BFGoodrich Tires
Using motorsports as a proving ground for more than 40 years, BFGoodrich Tires is involved in every type of racing, including sports car, drag, desert, dirt, short course, rally and extreme rock crawling. BFGoodrich Tires combines technological expertise with vast motorsports experience, delivering a high-performance tire for every type of vehicle. Visit BFGoodrich Motorsports site at www.BFGoodrichracing.com or BFGoodrich Tires on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/BFGoodrichTires or on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/BFGoodrichTires.

Media Contacts:
Tom Sullivan
tom.sullivan@us.michelin.com

Tags: BFGoodrich Tires, Desert Racing