EVENT: RED BULL HIGH DESERT SCRAMBLE & UTV INVASION

On Mar 18, 2023

**This year a new terrain was added to the lineup of Red Bull Scramble races, with the High Desert Scramble at the Sand Mountain Campground in Eureka, Utah, where UTV Invasion was also taking place.**

The Red Bull Scramble series, which features both amateur and professional racers, spans every corner of the U.S. with no single event being the same. This year a new terrain was added to the lineup of SxS races with the inaugural High Desert Scramble at the Sand Mountain Campground in Eureka Utah, where UTV Invasion was taking place. The 5.5-mile course took more than 40 racers through both technical desert and unforgiving dunes. The 2023 event will take place along with UTV Invasion May 19-21. To sign up for the RedBull Scramble click HERE.

**Pro-class winner Paul O’Brien came back big time for redemption after coming in fourth place at the Glamis Sand Scramble back in December.**

RED BULL

The race featured two classes—the SxS Pro class was comprised of 17 racers, and the Sportsman class totaled 25. With a time of 35:03:15, Paul O’Brien from Phoenix, Arizona, won the SxS Pro race class, earning $5000 worth of Polaris accessories. Colton Larson from Idaho Falls, Idaho, won the SxS Sportsman race with a time of 35:53:14, taking home a brand-new set of BFGoodrich tires. Larson’s first-ever race was at the Red Bull High Desert Scramble, and he credited his Ibexx-clutching Polaris Pro R for reaching speeds up to 68 mph in sections where other UTVs were getting lost in the chop.

**Colton Larson came for his first-ever race and took the Sportsman-class top podium spot in a Polaris Pro R outfitted with unreleased Ibexx clutch products.**

**Pro-class second-place finisher Riley Snow passed Red Bull athlete Seth Quintero in the qualifier. Quintero didn’t make the podium after dealing with four overheating problems.**

O’Brien placed fourth at the Red Bull Sand Scramble in Glamis last December and returned to the Red Bull Scramble series for another shot at claiming victory. Red Bull athlete Seth Quintero never made it to the podium after an astonishing four overheating issues. There was plenty of local talent rolling through the course in four-seater family cars, but those weekend warriors looked like they were having a blast.

**While this race only had a total of 42 racers, most of them were weekend warriors, with about half of the Sportsman class driving four-seater family cars.**

THE EVENT

While Sand Mountain was new to the Red Bull lineup, it was also new for the UTV Invasion lineup, which is traditionally held annually at St. Anthony sand dunes in Idaho. Since this was the first Utah event, it was open to the public to give visitors a taste of the years to come. With the brutal heat, there was a mere 500ish attendees but no shortage of fun.

The weekend kicked off with a guided ride, and activities included cornhole, water balloon fights, vehicle teeter totter, night drags and, of course, the intense Red Bull High Desert Scramble. The heat didn’t discourage spectators from parking themselves around the course to catch a bit of the action.

**Pro-class podium: Paul O’Brien, Riley Snow, Jayden Gerber.**

TOP FINISHERS

SxS Pro

1. Paul O’Brien (Phoenix, AZ), 35:03:15

2. Riley Snow (Salt Lake City, UT), 35:15:28

3. Jayden Gerber (Phoenix, AZ), 36:16:88

**Sportsman-class podium: Colton Larson, Devin Smith, Matt Tychsen.**

SxS Sportsman

1. Colton Larson (Idaho Falls, ID), 35:53:14

2. Devin Smith (Terre Haute, IN), 37:26:37

3. Matt Tychsen (Salt Lake City, UT), 39:42:18