Best In The Desert, in consultation with UTV manufacturers, aftermarket companies, race teams, and other interested parties engaged in the UTV off-road racing segment,
has drafted a new set of UTV rules for the 2022 race season.
Updated rules are designed to provide a more level playing field within the classes, clearer distinction between the various class structures, and a more defined path forward for progression from entry level to top pro competition.
In addition to new rules, the class names have been refined to provide a better description about each class and to improve their marketability.
The 2022 class names will be:
- UTV Sportsman Rally
- UTV Super Stock
- UTV NA Production
- UTV Trophy Unlimited
- UTV Open
- UTV Turbo Production
Best In the Desert’s commitment to UTV racers has never been stronger. For the first time in race history,
both the UTV Turbo Production and Open Classes will qualify at the upcoming Method Race Wheels Live Broadcast of V2R Time Trials. In addition, Best In The Desert’s All Terrain Concepts UTV Legends Championship event will be aired on MAVTV later this fall. All together, there has never been more focus or attention on this segment of the sport.
“Best In The Desert has been the leader in UTV off-road racing from the beginning,” commented Best In The Desert CMO Bryan Folks. “We were the first to bring UTVs to off-road racing and typically draw the largest fields from race to race. We have witnessed the tremendous growth first-hand and felt it was time to take a longer look at our current rules to see where we could improve them.”
“The state of technical development, the improvement by the OEMs on their production based units, the need to provide an economically-scalable platform for those looking just to get started in the sport, and to keep growing our sport were key considerations that factored into our revised 2022 rules. We think we landed in just the right spot and want to get these out as soon as possible so our racers can start making plans. A big part of the change was driven by the desire to improve the marketability of each class with names that add an extra dimension of excitement and definition about the type of UTV being raced.”
“I talk to our UTV racers every day,” stated Best In the Desert UTV Director of Competition Allen Rudd. “
It was clear that it was time for our sport to take the next step and it was important that whatever direction we took with the new rules that no one was penalized by the new rules. In other words, the new rules shouldn’t require wholesale rebuilds of existing race vehicles. With the input we received from manufacturers, aftermarket companies, and race teams, we think these are valid updates. As always, I am available for comments and questions.”
To answer specific questions and to provide more insight on the new rules, Best In The Desert UTV Director of Competition Allen Rudd will appear on Shock Therapy’s podcast on August 3, 2021.
The new 2022 Best In The Desert UTV Rules can be found at
bitd.com/rule-books/ and will go into effect January 1, 2022.
