Fort Mill, SC – October 16, 2014. Dry, hot and sandy. Those were the words used to describe this year’s Best In The Desert (BITD) Blue Water Desert Challenge held at the Blue Water Casino in Parker, AZ. This two-day race is not for the faint of heart and drivers struggled with rough terrain and extreme temperatures with the ambient temps reaching 95 degrees Fahrenheit. It wasn’t enough to hold back Team GT who dominated the 1500 Class on their General GRABBER’s with Harley Letner taking top honors.
“The track was very rough and sandy on day one,” said Letner following his victory. “Day two was even rougher and more sandy with giant holes that weren’t there the day before. My Grabber’s helped the most with traction. They helped put me up front both days and put the power to the ground without a single issue.”
“Congratulations to Harley and all our Team GT members who raced to a podium finish at Blue Water,” said Travis Roffler, director of marketing for General Tire. “These guys put our tires to the test this weekend on an extremely tough course and we are so proud that their Grabber’s gave them the durability, traction and balance they needed to run up front.”
Letner piloted his No. 1570 buggy from the 16th-place starting position on day one to assume the lead and he never looked back. Navigating the dry, dusty and silty conditions served up by the Arizona desert, Letner was relentless in his pursuit of the win.
“The key point for me was being smooth and not making any mistakes,” said Letner. “After coming from 16th to first on day one to have a dust free day on day two was key. My Grabber’s hooked up like champs off the start getting me out in front and Inever looked back!”
Meanwhile Letner’s Team GT teammate, Ray Griffith, battled overheating both days due to extreme heat and soft ground. His finesse and patience paid off as he drove to a third-place finish in Class 1500 competition. C.J. Hutchins fell just shy of the podium finishing fourth in Class 1500.
Team GT member, Randy Merritt, finished second in his Ford truck in the 8000 Class. And Macrae Glass once again posted a podium finish (second place) with no flats marking 13 races and more than 4,300 miles over two years.
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For more information on Team GT, or to locate a dealer near you, please visit www.generaltire.com.
For media information, visit www.ctamedia.com.
About General Tire
For 99 years General Tire has offered a complete quality line of ultra-high performance, passenger, light truck, off-road and commercial tires to meet all your needs. General Tire is a proud supporter of Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series, Best in the Desert Racing Series, Major League Fishing, Chili Bowl, Pro-Pulling, Late-Model Dirt Series, Drag Boat Series, World Cup of Softball, American Sprint Car Series, FreestyleMx.com Tour, Zero One Odyssey, and Spec Tire of Trophylite and JeepSpeed. Team GT supports off-road and short course teams including Mikey Childress, CJ Hutchins, Doug Fortin, Harley Letner, Jim Riley, Justin Lofton, Macrae Glass, Randy Merritt, Ray Griffith, Steve Alexander, Steve La Roza, Ryan Beat, Carl Renezeder, Robby Woods and Camburg Racing.
About Continental AG
With sales of around €33.3 billion in 2013, Continental is one of the world’s leading automotive suppliers. As a provider of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires, and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently employs around 186,000 people in 49 countries.
