Clinical Racing showcased its prowess at the MORE PCI Race Radios 300 in Johnson Valley, CA, with a stellar performance that the team was proud of and proved that the recent upgrades are pushing the team in the right direction. The PCI Race Radios 300 is traditionally raced in September, but MORE switched the schedule this year.
The team headed out to Soggy Dry Lake Bed to take on the PCI 300 after a few long weeks of finishing up many changes to the truck to help continue to push it. The team spent the time upgrading the front suspension, fixing many of the issues that have plagued them over the last few years. With the help of SendCutSend and Hoodrat MFG, the team designed a new front suspension and bump steer bracket.
These changes helped the truck's alignment, tracking, and overall performance. Getting the truck in the dirt at the race allowed the team to see and feel the changes. The team couldn’t have been happier with how the truck handled and performed during the pre-run and initial shakedown. Going into race day, it was all smiles for the team.
“Prerunning went great,” Olsewski said. “We were finally able to put some good desert miles on the truck with all of the upgrades, and it is taking some getting used to driving, but everything is great.”
“The course is super fun and has a mix of slow technical and faster sections. There are a lot of places out there that can end your race day if you are not paying attention or push it too hard. Time to get some rest and get ready for race day!”
"The PCI 300 was a very fun race," Tessier said. "We went into the weekend a lot more tired than most weekends to start, but it was a great test for all of us as a team with an entirely different handling truck."
This year’s PCI 300 was going to be split into two separate races: a larger 32-mile course running three laps and a smaller 20-mile course running five laps. This allowed all vehicles competing in the race to be on a course with like vehicles. The unlimited vehicles would be on one course while the limited vehicles would be on the other.
Clinical Racing would start on the smaller 20-mile course and then end the day on the 32-mile course. The team drew the fifth starting position, headed off the line, and got ready for battle.
The 20-mile course was technical, with fast sections but miles of cross ruts that would be grueling to work through over 100 miles. Steven Olsewski and Mat Tessier set out at a good pace while they continued to see how the truck would perform. The team set a really good pace and headed into the pits on lap 1 in fourth place physically.
"During the first section around mile 5 or 6, that had this really deep g out that wanted to upset the truck in the rear, but immediately after the g out were two whoops that perfectly settled the truck down with the new front suspension," Tessier said. "We were able to hit that section faster and faster with each lap, and to be honest, it was just so much fun!"
A broken hood pin required the team to pit and pull the hood, and the split-second pit allowed Becerra Racing to pass them. Olsewski and Tessier headed back out on lap 2 to catch the truck in front of them.
For the rest of the first race, Olsewski would get more comfortable behind the wheel and continue to push the truck and lap times. The team sat in fifth place when the dust settled after the first 100 miles.
“I am completely happy with where we finished after the first heat,” Olsewski said. “The truck is a whole different beast than last year's last race, and it is all for the good. The speed that we were able to carry through sections last year, we were going 10 miles per hour faster this race.”
“Overall, that was a great course to test the truck on and get back behind the well, but the best part was it made the long last two weeks leading up to the race in the shop worth it. I think everyone in our pit has a smile on their face with how the truck feels and looks.”
"Leading up to the race, what myself and the rest of the team expected of the truck performance-wise was an understatement, to say the least; the truck performed flawlessly with the new suspension," Tessier said. "Sitting right seat this race left me speechless in most sections with how well the truck could soak up the rough terrain that Cody threw at us for this year's PCI 300."
The team went over the truck as they had a 90-minute window before they had to be back at the starting line to start the second race. Checking bolts, tires, and the overall truck, the team gave the thumbs up, and the truck was ready for race two.
The second race of the day on the larger 32-mile course started off dusty. It was extremely windy and the first few miles of the course were extremely dusty, but despite that, the team went out and set a good pace until around mile 9.
Everything was going and running great until the truck had fuel delivery issues. The truck got put into limp mode and did not run or sound like it had during the earlier race. The team pulled over and got out to check the truck to see if they could see what was wrong.
Nothing visually was wrong, but after a few key cycles, the truck was running again. To avoid damaging the engine, the team decided it would be best to limp the truck around and finish the lap to get the points before pulling off and calling it.
"The low point of the race would be having some fuel pressure issues on the 2nd and last heat of the day," Tessier said. "It's unfortunate, but we at least were able to finish a lap for points and keep the truck alive and healthy."
It wasn’t what the team wanted, but given the circumstances and to avoid damaging parts, the team decided it was best.
“The race may not have ended the way we wanted to, but overall, we can walk away knowing the truck is a beast this year, and we have some good data to review,” Olsewski said. “We can go back and look at the numbers, but we can just tell by our lap times compared to where we were last year that we picked up almost 10 minutes on time compared to some of the guys in the front.”
“Ultimately, this was a great first race, and the truck went on the trailer under its own power. We will figure out the issue that took us out of the race and be ready for the next one.”
"I think as a team, we showed up to have fun, most importantly, and we definitely did that," Tessier said. "We also treated this race as a test to dial in all the new changes we made during the offseason. Even though we couldn't finish the 2nd heat, I feel that we all achieved what we set out for this race as a team!"
Clinical Racing's next event is the MORE American Rentals Freedom Cup, July 13-14, at the world-famous Glen Helen Raceway. This fan and racer favorite brings desert racing to a motocross track with banked turns and high-flying jumps.
Clinical Racing couldn’t have done the race without the help of our partners Atlas Suspension, Mickey Thompson Tires, SendCutSend, Raceline Wheels, FK Rod Ends, Rigid Industries, Hoodrat Manufacturing Company, Motul, Holley, JE Reel, PNDA Offroad, M Whips, Rugged Radios, Fluid Flow Performance, LP Engineering, and Derale Performance.
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