AZOP Winslow Grand Prix

AZOP Races at New MX Park

Thin Air Offroad Park in Winslow, Arizona made its grand debut hosting the AZOP Winslow Grand Prix on May 5-6, 2018. We have the race report and the official video, courtesy of Jonathan Barrett and AZOP.

Here is a race report provided to us from AZOP’s Jonathan Barrett

Thin Air Offroad Park in Winslow, Arizona made its grand debut hosting the AZOP Winslow Grand Prix. The event, sponsored by the Winslow Chamber of Commerce and the City of Winslow, was held on the brand-new track built by the staff and volunteers of Arizona Offroad Promotions.

The 100-acre property is a perfect mix of motocross, desert and enduro sections. At 4.2 miles in length, a full lap runs approximately 8 minutes. The track also features a mini and peewee track for the up and coming youth to get the full racing experience on a shorter course.

The desert sections are fast and very silty, while the hard-packed motocross sections have plenty of large tabletops and berms to shred into. Thin Air, owned and operated by Katie and Craig Johnson as well as Scott and Bobbie Acklin, marks the first large MX park in northern Arizona, located 60 miles east of Flagstaff.

The track will officially open to the public in July, hosting weekend practices. Johnson stated she has high hopes for the track, looking forward to bringing in different race organizations to utilize the track. The property was a great place for AZOP to bring their series to the round five stop, with bikes, quads and UTV’s all competing for the top spot on the podium.

UTV Classes

The Pro UTVs came out and showed Winslow how AZOP races short desert tracks, with Shawn Aksamit and James Moore battling all race for the top spot. Tom Wilson and Calvin Matthews also had their battles closely behind the leaders. Moore would push all race toward Aksamit, but ultimately could not make magic happen and took a strong second, while Aksamit flew through the course, clearing any doubles and tabletops in his way.

In the 1000cc Non-Turbo class, it was the STI Offroad Yamaha YXZ1000 of Robert Olander and the YXZ of Justin Everett battling all race. With only seconds between them all race, it was a flat tire that kept Olander from making the pass and taking second, and Everrett keeping first place for himself after a smooth, solid performance. Kody Winiecki of Winiecki Motorsports/Blud Lubricants would take third in a new car purchased on the way to the race. Shane Till dominated the 1000cc Turbo class, keeping Kali Kinsman behind him as he pushed his Polaris RZR 1000 Turbo through the clear course ahead of him and into the finish.

Day two would bring Shane and Jax Redline in their Polaris RZR RS1’s hot off of a second and first place (respectively) in the Lucas Oil Offroad race in Chandler the night before. This father-and-son team would take advantage of the RS1’s light weight and superior handling and take two great positions in the front of the pack through half the race.

Olander’s STI YXZ 1000 caught Jax and the two began to battle for position. After multiple attempts at pushing the YXZ faster through the turns, Olander finally got a good line on the RS1 and made the pass as Jax ended up on his side after pushing too hard. Olander would then take off toward the lead before a broken drive shaft ended those hopes as he limped into the finish on front wheel drive only, salvaging a fourth-place finish.

Shane Redline would take the class win and a solid third overall. Top 10 results for UTV are Shawn Aksamit, James Moore, Shane Till, Justin Everett, Robert Olander, Kali Kinsman, Kody Winiecki, Eric Harrison, Trevor Yoell, and Shannon Hein.

The 170cc UTV’s had a blast racing earlier in the day, with Jaxen Gibson taking the top spot on the podium, followed by Ashton Stowell and Vincent Riccitelli. Sunday the UTV 570’s came out and put on a show. Riley Hein pushed his car across the finish line in first, followed by Kasyn Matthews and Grace Vinagro.

Thin Air Offroad Park held up well against all the abuse the weekend threw at it. Keep an eye out for the best off-road racing experience in northern Arizona, opening in early July.

Official 2018 AZOP Winslow Grand Prix Video

The next AZOP race is the Mormon Lake Grand Prix scheduled for July 7-8.