17-Year-old Christopher Polvoorde earned his first-career Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) victory in a breakout performance at Estero Beach Resort in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico Saturday afternoon. As if that wasn’t enough, the Hemet, California native made it two-for-two by winning again Sunday when the series raced for the third time in 2018.
“This is my first Lucas Oil full sweep, my first win and second one right after it, I’m just so excited,” Polvoorde said. “It’s pretty awesome when you get to lead every lap of the weekend and don’t even have to use any tearoffs on the gnarliest track for roost.”
While most drivers competed on mud terrain tires, Polvoorde opted for the all-new General GRABBER A/TX tire, a decision that paid dividends.
“I’ve had the A/TX on my daily-driver pickup truck for the past few months, and I’ve really liked it,” said Polvoorde. “When we were looking at heading to Mexico, we knew it was a tough track and that we’d need an edge on everyone else. I was talking with my crew chief Jimmy Davidson and he asked, ‘well, why don’t we try the A/TX? You run it every day and it seems to be working well for you.’ So I looked into it a little bit more and knowing what a good, reliable tire it was we went ahead and ordered a few.
“The A/TX just worked really well in practice,” Polvoorde said. “It’s a lighter tire that stayed on top of the sand. It went forward and you really didn’t have to worry about it too much. The team and I were really happy that we made the change. It came down to just trying something different. The big thing with off road is that people just don’t try different things. If it doesn’t work, well that’s a bummer. But it was a risk we were willing to take, and it paid off for us in the end.”
"Sweeping the weekend on an all-terrain tire when most teams are running three-ply mud terrain tires is pretty impressive," said Travis Roffler, director of marketing for General Tire. "It’s a testament to everyone that developed the GRABBER A/TX. The tire was designed to balance off-road capability and on-road performance. I can’t think of a better way to prove that point than with Christopher (Polvoorde) sweeping the LOORRS weekend in Mexico."
Ryan Beat, who claimed the win in the first LOORRS race of the 2018 season, earned podium finishes in both races, finishing third on Saturday and second on Sunday. Beat, who raced on the GRABBER X3, currently leads the point standings.
“It was a good weekend,” said Beat. “I had to start a little farther back in the field Saturday and had to work my way towards the front, and in the end I just ran out of time and visor tearoffs. We qualified fast time on Sunday, so I started on the front row but as soon as the green flag waved, my truck dropped a spark plug boot. So I was down a cylinder for the race, but was able to finish second after some hard-fought battles. It’s been a great start to the season. It’s a true testament to the tire, the brand and what you can do with great products and support.”
