UTV Racing at the Red Bull Scramble Series
All-Terrain, All-Season.
It’s the day after my first motorsports race ever. I still have a massive smile plastered across my face. That’s not the whole story, though, as I have frostbite on both cheeks, all my fingertips feel like needles are being put in them continuously, and my forearms and shoulders feel absolutely shredded. I’m heading home after a quick visit to Okoboji, Iowa. Yes, the town is as in the middle of nowhere as the name might imply. The landscape is very flat, snowy, and windy. On race day it was negative nine degrees with the wind chill. I was there for the 43rd annual University of Okoboji Winter Games, which includes the Red Bull Ice Scramble Series UTV race.
My chariot for Red Bull Ice Scramble Series, a Polaris RZR UTV built for racing.
Race Morning
On race morning I awoke well before the sun would have even thought about appearing, but it was such an overcast and snowy day that its rays didn’t really hit the ground until around noon anyway. My adrenaline was pumping from the moment my eyes snapped open. I had little idea of what I was about to get into, but at the same time super excited to get the opportunity to apply my years of on- and off-road performance driving training to an actual wheel-to-wheel race.
A tight course with lots of hairpin corners made passing hard.
Qualifying
First up was what the event called “practice,” but was actually qualifying. I’d get four laps to set my best lap time to seed me into the heat race brackets. I strapped into a Polaris RZR brought in for me by experienced racers Pleasant Cook and David Fisher. As I fired up the machine I tried to take it all in, as I’d never driven on studded tires, on a frozen lake, or tried to qualify for a race. I also hadn’t seen the course layout or driven this UTV before.
Each UTV gets a tracker for accurate timing, with nearly live results available online.
It was overcast, snowing, and the wind was howling as I rolled up to the starting line with eight other competitors. We were let onto the track at a few second intervals. I wasn’t first in the group, so was eating the frosty spray the studded tires were churning up from the machines ahead of me. It took a bit more than a lap to get used to the machine and figure out the general layout. Spotting the corners and figuring out braking zones was extremely difficult with the snow flying and horrible lighting conditions.
While I was concentrating hard I was also grinning ear to ear. Sliding around on the frozen lake, blasting down the straight aways, and jumping up and down the big embankment on the one-mile course was all kinds of good fun. The laps flew by all too quickly and I rolled off the track and back to the pits.
Sliding around on the frozen lake, blasting down the straight aways, and jumping up and down the big embankment on the one-mile course was all kinds of good fun.
The cold engine starts were four wide and multiple rows deep.
Cold, But Getting it Done
The first thing I noticed once unbuckling from the machine and climbing out was that I couldn’t really feel my fingers and my toes were killing me. It was -9 with the windchill — not factoring in the wind produced from the speed of the vehicle — and while I had quality gear on, it wan’t enough.
While I warmed up in an enclosed race trailer I managed to get enough feeling back in my fingers to operate my phone and check the live online standings. I had managed to place Fourth in qualifying, out of 30 competitors in the Sportsman class. I felt really good about that performance, and it set up well for the heat races.
Over 3,000 spectators braved the cold for the Ice Scramble.
Heat Race
I would be in the number one position of the fourth, of four, heat races. It is really hard to pass on the tight track, so this would set me up well to hopefully get a top three position and move straight to the final, versus going into the chaos that would be the last chance qualifier (LCQ).
For the heat races, LCQ, and finals, the starting grid would be multiple rows of four UTVs wide. The part I wasn’t fond of was the dead engine start. This means that the race starts with all engines off. Once the green flag drops you have to turn the engine on, drop it into drive, and put the right foot down. That’s a hard sequence to do fast when it’s super cold, you’ve got big bulky gloves on, and you know making it to the first corner ahead of the competition will make or break your race.
Basic safety gear is required, like a helmet and neck collar.
Getting Started
Since I had never done such a start before, and fumbled a bit in my big gloves with the key, another competitor beat me to the first corner. Slotting into Second Place in the five-lap heat race, I was able to hold off those behind me and almost make the pass to First a few times. I was set up to make a big move to First near the end of the race, but my machine actually overheated — ironic when it’s so cold out — and went into limp mode.
I figured out the issue just fast enough to hit the fan, cool the machine, and hold off the racers breathing down my neck. Second Place was enough to advance straight to the final, but put me in the second row of the 16 vehicle, 4 row final in 7th position.
Studded UTV tires offer impressive traction on ice, but are a lot of work to create.
Staying Alive in the Race
After watching a few roll-overs and chaos in the 16 vehicle, 10 lap, LCQ I knew the same format final was going to be a wild ride, especially with me being in the middle of the pack at the start. I managed a good start, retaining my Seventh Place position as I slid through the first corner.
Sadly on my first lap, a racer in front of me made a mistake and nearly spun out, which made me tap them head-on. It worked out great for them, as they spun back into position in front of me, but sadly my power steering went out, and the car behind hit me and popped my left rear tire. I instantly struggled to control the machine, but didn’t know what the issues were at the time.
I wrestled the UTV for another seven-plus laps, contemplating quitting more than once, as the machine was nearly undrivable and I almost flipped it twice. On one of these near flips, I couldn’t turn enough for a sharp corner, so one competitor did sneak by me.
Fast sideways action is what ice racing is all about.
Final
My forearms were bulging and ached with pain from the effort, but I kept telling myself to just make it through the next corner and keep pushing. On lap seven the race was red flagged as a racer had rolled his UTV. Sitting on track waiting for the roll-over to be cleared, I went through a systems check and flipped the power steering switch on and off. (Something experience would have told me to do earlier, if I had any experience…) Instantly, I gained steering control back.
The final laps were hectic, with all the racers bunched up on the restart and my UTV acting super squirrely. At this point, the tire was dead flat and I just fought the machine to stay on track and fend off racers attacking from behind until I saw the checkered flag. I had managed an Eighth Place finish.
The course included one big berm jump, tight turn, and jump back onto the frozen lake.
The Aftermath
I rolled back to the pits, climbed out of the vehicle, and saw my flat. No wonder it wouldn’t drive in a straight line and pulled hard to the right!
The bigger issue though was the pain in my face and fingers. I had chosen to use thinner gloves with a latex glove liner in the final, so I could get a good start and have steering feel. What that equated too was frostbite on all my fingertips, which took months to heal. My cheeks also had tiny exposed sections between my goggles and balaclava that were also frost bit, but after peeling off a week after the race, it healed up pretty fast.
Author Bryon Dorr is all smiles at the Red Bull Ice Scramble 2023.
Best Value in Motorsports
The Red Bull Scramble Series for 2023 isn’t just a race here or there, but an eight race national series for championship points. With racers competing in Pro and Sportsman classes, good fun abounds with all machines and skill levels.
I don’t think there is a better value in motorsports than the Red Bull Scramble Series: in general, UTVs are much less expensive than race cars, cheaper to run, and cheaper to repair. The race entry fee for the Ice Scramble was also only $40, which is insanely cheap for any time on a race track no less an actual race.
I don’t think there is a better value in motorsports than the Scramble Series. In general, UTVs are much less expensive than race cars, cheaper to run, and cheaper to repair.
Winners received custom Red Bull Ice Scramble 2023 trophies.
On the calendar for 2023 are races on ice, snow, trail, beach, desert, sand dunes, and rocks. Using the same machines across such a wide range of terrains not only showcases their versatility but will also really highlight the best overall racers.
Check out RedBull.com/us-en/Event-Series/Scramble-Series to see more of the Red Bull Scramble action, and even consider entering the UTV races yourself. I can attest, it’s worth the effort and expense, and any pain you might sustain is probably worth the racer high; I want more. UTV racing in the Red Bull Scramble Series is a great way to dip your toe in motorsport racing without breaking the bank.
Editor’s Note: A version of this story previously appeared in the May/June 2023 issue of Tread Magazine.
