RT Pro’s Logan Gastel Finishes Tough BITD Laughlin Desert Challenge

RT Pro BITD Round Four SxS Race Report

RT Pro’s Logan Gastel overcame a broken drive belt and rough racing conditions to finish the Laughlin Desert Classic Best in the Desert race in Laughlin, NV. Logan secured some valuable points, which keeps him in the hunt for the Pro Turbo UTV class championship.

The event was run on nearly the same course as the UTV World Championship in the desert outside Laughlin. It was run over two days with two four-lap races. On the first day, Gastel charged to a 10th-place finish.

“Day one was rough,” said Gastel. “All of us in the Turbo Class are within a minute of each other so it was really tight. The car was flawless and the RT Pro components were perfect. In fact, one of the other racers came up to me and told me he enjoyed watching me get through all of the rough stuff.”

After a full day of racing on day one, day two dawned and the track was rough with deeper ruts and square edges. Gastel’s Can-Am suffered a drive belt failure on one of the course’s downhill sections and he lost time changing it. In the end, he finished and salvaged important points.

“Sunday, the track was pretty torn up…It was basically two different tracks each day,” said Gastel. “On mile 10, we blew the drive belt up. We put on a new belt, we were getting going and realized there were still pieces of the belt in the exhaust tube. We had to take it back all apart and clean it out. So we only finished three laps, but we got a finish, which is good. We weren’t the only ones that had trouble. While we were working on our car, two other cars had the same problem in the same spot. That wet sand and high speed downhill took its toll on the belt.”

Gastel said his RT Pro Can-Am has been perfect in every race this season. “All of our RT Pro parts are great; they could probably go another 300 miles,” said Gastel. “I wish we could have gone a few more laps.”

Gastel is headed to the next round in serious contention for the championship. “We have to bring our A game,” said Gastel. “We have to finish every race. We’re still within striking distance for the championship.”

Gastel will be ready to roll as he heads to the BITD’s longest race: The Vegas to Reno, August 17-20.