2009 Nevada Trophy Report
- Thread starter 24HOURSOFNEVADA
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I think you are largely correct on the tires Scott. The Maxxis Bighorns we both ran (255/85) are not the most open/aggressive MT, but they surely are not an AT and they performed very well. The conditions were such that we couldn't safely generate enough wheel speed to get the tires to clean. The mud was wet and greasy and while a VERY open MT might have been more useful, most of the time I prefer not to run such a loud, open tread.
Though we had never participated in this event, in years past it was held in the late Fall and dust was the order of the day, not mud. Because we had some very wet late Spring storms this year, passes that had been 'open' and likely pretty dry weeks prior were wet, muddy, or snow covered. This could happen any year, but late April could just as easily be dry, dusty and hot.
We certainly put our lockers to good use, but I would not avoid this event because you don't have them. As noted above, it was wetter than usual both because of when they held the event and primarily because of recent storms. The conditions that we encountered on the second day were much more challenging that what the organizers had anticipated (they told us so) and we didn't shy away from the challenges and crossed every pass
. There is nothing stopping a participant from deciding they are not going to travel a section of road and many this year did exactly that when they encountered the more difficult sections that we traveled through.
The NVTR has a strict policy of traveling in pairs and staying together. Because of this you should not be concerned about being stuck out there in 'nowhere Nevada'. They make a point to state that a stock rig can win the event.
Preparation and kit certainly helps, but again I think it's “brain not brawn” that takes the Trophy (and maybe a little luck & experience).
Though we had never participated in this event, in years past it was held in the late Fall and dust was the order of the day, not mud. Because we had some very wet late Spring storms this year, passes that had been 'open' and likely pretty dry weeks prior were wet, muddy, or snow covered. This could happen any year, but late April could just as easily be dry, dusty and hot.
We certainly put our lockers to good use, but I would not avoid this event because you don't have them. As noted above, it was wetter than usual both because of when they held the event and primarily because of recent storms. The conditions that we encountered on the second day were much more challenging that what the organizers had anticipated (they told us so) and we didn't shy away from the challenges and crossed every pass
. There is nothing stopping a participant from deciding they are not going to travel a section of road and many this year did exactly that when they encountered the more difficult sections that we traveled through. The NVTR has a strict policy of traveling in pairs and staying together. Because of this you should not be concerned about being stuck out there in 'nowhere Nevada'. They make a point to state that a stock rig can win the event.
Preparation and kit certainly helps, but again I think it's “brain not brawn” that takes the Trophy (and maybe a little luck & experience).
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