Can-Am team wins Heartland Challenge

A three-man team consisting of Cliff Beasley, Richard Cecco and Michael Swift won the Pro Utility class by more than 15 minutes at the GBC Heartland Challenge endurance race near Carlisle, Iowa, while Polaris took top spot in the UTV race.

Beasley, Cecco and Swift piloted their PIAA Powersport Can-Am Outlander 800R ATV to the class championship and ninth overall in the grueling 10-hour race that proved only the toughest utility ATVs would survive the course.

“Endurance ATV racing is the ultimate test for both rider and machine,” says Del Bohlman, racing manager for Can-Am ATVs at BRP. “The three racers all rode a smart race, but the Outlander proved its durability by beating the next closest class competitor easily. This is a big win for Can-Am and proves we have toughest utility ATV in racing.”

Beasley, Cecco and Swift are all teammates from the Team Warnert Racing / Can-Am Grand National Cross Country race team. The racers will each split a grand prize of $7,500 for the race win, making it the most lucrative utility-class purse in ATV racing to date. Both Swift and Beasley were victorious in the GNCC 4×4 Limited and 4×4 Lites class respectively. Cecco took third in the GNCC U2 class with five class podiums in 2008.

In the UTV endurance race, Polaris’ region sales manager Matt Lube and Steve Muncur won the 850cc stock class as well as the overall race in the brand new Polaris Ranger RZR S.

Karst Motorsport’s Ranger RZR took second overall, while third in the 850cc stock class went to CST Racing, a local farmer and enthusiast, who purchased a RANGER RZR only six days prior to the race.

“This was a great first-time, endurance event,” says Lube. “The weather and mud definitely added to the challenge but the Ranger RZR S shined among the competition. It is truly impressive how well these machines performed and held up to the elements.”