UTV World Championship Ends Early

Ellstrom Racing's day at the UTV World Championships in Laughlin, Nevada Saturday ended early when two accidents forced the team to put the race rig back in the hauler and call it a day.

Racing in traffic on the first lap of the 16.5 mile desert course, after a motocross style 10 car start, driver Sven Ellstrom was passing other drivers in a series of hills when his UTV went airborne and landed on its nose. The jolt did minor damage to the UTV and aggravated an old back injury for the young driver.

Ellstrom and co-driver Matt Rutz were checked out by the medical staff and given an okay, but Ellstrom was too sore to continue and was replaced by a backup driver as the team attempted to continue.

Disaster struck again when the right rear shock failed, causing that wheel to dig in sending the vehicle into a rollover. Again, driver and co-driver were okay but the suspension was badly damaged.

With that, the team loaded their damaged UTV into the hauler for the trip back to Seattle and chalked the day up to experience.

Team owner Erick Ellstrom commented, "We've had better days, but its all part of the learning experience. The event was huge and well done and we had a great experience. Our hats are off to the organizers and winners. We'll go home and make repairs and be back next year."