It has been almost a year since the Can-Am Maverick R was revealed to rather mixed reception. Since then, however, it has quickly established itself as one of the best UTVs on the market.
This was highlighted during last weekend’s Vegas to Reno when Josh Row‘s Maverick R was the highest finishing UTV overall, while Maverick Rs swept the UTV Turbo Pro podium.
Row finished eighteenth overall and atop the UTV Open category. His Maverick R, prepared by Mitchell Alsup‘s Alsup Racing Development, battled with the Polaris RZR Pro R Factory of Max Eddy Jr. throughout the day. In the closing miles, Eddy suffered a flat tyre and had to pit, allowing Row to retake the lead and pull away.
Although Row had his own flat at one point, it was inconsequential as he set a time of 929:11.959. The fellow Maverick R of Joe Terrana finished forty-eight seconds back while Eddy received a one-minute speeding penalty to relegate him to third among all UTVs.
“The pace that everyone is running is pretty impressive,” said Row. “This race is really tough on the machines, especially in the heat of the day. Other than the flat tyre, we had a smooth day. We were able to persevere and put it on top so I’m really excited with the result.”
Terrana’s Maverick R, twenty-first among all cars and trucks, topped the UTV Turbo Pro class. Cody Miller had led earlier in the day before settling for second, while Dan Fisher rounded out the category podium; Miller’s time was good for thirtieth overall while Fisher was forty-second.
Lone Star Racing prepared Terrana and Fisher’s Maverick Rs while Miller’s was done by S3 Powersports. Miller’s brother Hunter suffered a mechanical failure and did not finish.
Maverick Rs had set the weekend tone early when Cody Bradbury was the fastest UTV outright in qualifying on Wednesday while Dustin Jones did the same in UTV Turbo Pro; Jones had won in the Maverick R’s racing début at the Silver State 300, a Best In The Desert round like the V2R, last September. Polaris’ Brock Heger, who spoke with TCF days before the V2R, hoped to break up the Maverick paRty after qualifying second and chasing down Row but ultimately retired.
“Vegas to Reno is the perfect proving ground for the Maverick R,” Can-Am racing department manager Jean-François Leclerc stated. “Our racers and teams are pushing UTV racing to a new level and we’re proud to provide them with a platform that facilitates their progression. This is a huge win for Can-Am as well as the new Maverick R platform.”
While people were sceptical about the Maverick R on launch due to its design, it has proven to be popular for racers since then in both North America and globally.