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Eric Binker and Rich Walker in the #312 accelerating onto the lakebed.
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#409 Steve Duke navigating a crest during LSQ. Unfortunately, he would not make the cut.
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#308 Rocco Baldassarre had his day ruined by the traffic jam on Jackhammer.
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#4487 Matt Nieman climbing one of many mountain trails.
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Competitors lined up at Jackhammer. This traffic jam spelled the doom for the majority of the racers.
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#5 Shannon Campbell pushing the limits.
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#4448 Randy Slawson took the top spot on the podium.
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#4421 Eric Miller would finish the Hammers in second position.
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#81 Levi Shirley would come home in 3rd place.
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Hammertown is a city of 60,000 people that rises from the desert for only one week of the year.
By Rich Walker, photos by Brady Melville from Pathmaker Productions
Canadians at the King of the Hammers 2015
Seems like just yesterday I was in the planning stages of the biggest single day off-road race in the world. Now, I am home and reminiscing back on all the highlights trying to bring them to you guys on these pages. First off, the weather this year was the best it's been in the five years I have been going to this event. It rained quite heavily the day before I flew in, but I brought the good weather with me and we enjoyed gorgeous sun all week. Nice to be wearing t-shirts and shorts in February, when we weren't in fire suits and helmets that is.
One of the coolest things I heard all week was during the driver's meeting for the big race on Friday. Dave Cole announced that this race was close to being the biggest off-road race to date in the world. Not even the infamous Baja 1000 had as many competing vehicles. Only Dakar (this year) had more cars in the race than KOH. I didn't write down the actual numbers, but Dakar beat out KOH by a mere eight cars! The numbers were well over 400 per race, which is pretty impressive. Especially considering the fine people at Hammerking build a city in the middle of nowhere and bring in over 60,000 people to compete, volunteer and spectate. It is truly a spectacle you have to see to believe.
So, the 2015 King of the Hammers was yet another one for the record books. All numbers were up from the past year including competitors, volunteers, media, spectators, etc. and the general professionalism of the entire event was very well done considering the amount of organization an event of this size requires. I could go on about the event as a whole, but I think I have covered that in years past and by now I think you all know the general layout for the KOH race week. For any clarifications on that stuff, you can check out the Ultra4 website. For this article, I will focus on the three Canadian teams racing in the big show (the 4400 class) and the one team trying to get in via the LCQ (last chance qualifier). This year, Matt Nieman (#4487), Eric Brinker (#312) and Rocco Baldassarre (#308) were all pre-qualified for Friday's race and Steve Duke (#409) was in the LCQ gunning for only one of the five remaining spots.
Steve Duke and Sean Rodgers (#409)
Steve arrived on the lakebed with a newly built car with minimal test time on it. As a matter of fact, he finished the build (with the help of friends) a mere couple weeks before packing up and heading south. The plan was test and tune it the days before the LCQ race, then hammer down and get a spot in the race on Friday. From what I understand the car did quite well for a fresh car, and they battled only a few minor issues. With only five spots available for the 30 or so guys shooting for it, Steve and Sean would have to put everything on the line to get one. Unfortunately, they fell just a few seconds short of the last spot and weren't able to get into the big KOH race. However, Steve's new car did very well and I am sure they will be back next year. With more run time on the car; he will be a shoe in for a spot in 2016.
Rocco Baldassarre and Steve Duke (#308)
With Steve not getting into the race with his own car, he was able to co-drive for Rocco. Rocco's Dad, Mario, who usually co-drives with him, was ill on race day and Steve stepped up to the plate. Rocco had a great qualifying time and was roughly mid-pack off the start line. Things were going great on lap one and they were setting a solid pace. When they dropped into the first rock trail, Crowbar, they starting having some steering issues. Eric and I came across them off to the side of the trail and they needed a power steering pump. We had one, but it wasn't the right one for his car. Without the right pump it would be a fun drive to Pit 1. Rocco managed to wrestle his car through the rest of Crowbar and the desert section without power steering and got to Pit 1 where I believe they had the right pump waiting. He lost some time, but got back out there and I'm sure his arms were sore. They got out on lap 2 and from what I understand they were battling some electrical issues. They got into a major traffic jam on Jackhammer with well over 40 cars in the line up (I will explain this a bit later) and decided their day was over. It was taking (on average) four hours to get through this back up on Jackhammer. It ruined a lot of races for many teams.
Matt Nieman and Joey Weber (#4487)
Things were great for the 4487 team leading up the big race. With a new motor and more horsepower, Matt spent a lot of time pre-running and putting some miles on the car. They had a minor issue with a water pump, but they got that all buttoned up for race day. Oh, and Matt decided it would be a good idea to drop a giant rock on his foot and almost break his big toe. Luckily that was his braking foot and we all know we don't need that foot.
The race started out great for Matt and Joey and they were picking off a lot of cars on lap 1. They made it through the rocks and desert and into the pits for a quick check up. All was good so off they went on lap 2. Again, all was going great and they made it through Aftershock and Highway 19. When they got into Highway 20 (rock trail) they noticed the car was getting rather warm. It was another water pump. They were still a ways from the pits and limping the car in wasn't possible. So they set out on foot for over three miles (round trip). When Eric and I came through Highway 20, we saw both of them on the way back to the car with parts from the pits. These guys were determined to get back in the race. They got everything installed and got back on course. Unfortunately, the water pump they had was a "band-aided" one and it failed as well. With no more spare pumps, their day was done. However, in true Canadian fashion, Matt and Joey helped out a few other teams by giving them parts off of their car to keep them racing. That's pretty stand-up! The water pump issue has since been diagnosed and will be fixed properly by the time you guys read this. They will be back in 2016.
Eric Brinker and Rich Walker (#312)
After all the issues with the motor last year, team 312 was back with all these issues sorted out and we were as focused as ever to finish KOH. The car was running great and everything was working out 100 times better than the year before. Eric and I were even able to pre-run the entire first lap with no major issues. We were feeling good and the car was even better. Then it happened. On Thursday afternoon (the day before the race) we set out to the shock tuning area we use to test and tune our shocks to make a few passes and fine-tune everything (and do a photo shoot). On the third pass, Eric bumped a little berm at about 100 kmh and sent the car for tumble. It was a petty brutal 2-1/2 rolls with a twist. Eric was wearing all his safety gear and was OK. The car, however, was not. Both front shock towers were torn right off the car, the front rad was smashed and the rear passenger tire was demolished (among other smaller things). Luckily, the entire Brink-Fab Motorsports team is no stranger to overcoming adversities. They got to work right away, pulled an all-nighter and got the car ready to race for 6 am the next morning. These guys all did an amazing job and in my opinion, are the best team on the lakebed. We can't thank these guys enough for everything they did.
Once the race started, Eric and I got into our groove and the car was doing great considering what had happened not even 24 hours prior. We made a quick stop at Pit 1 just to check things over and ended up swapping out the front driveshaft as it was hitting the link, and got back in the race. We started all the rock trails on lap 2, and before long we were right in the middle of it. The car was handling the rocks like that was it's job (and it was). We made our way through the first four or five trails and popped into the pits right quick as we were developing an oil leak. With the car good to go, we got back on course. We heard about the big back up at Jackhammer, but didn't think it would be as bad as it was when we got there. There were well over 40 cars backed up and waiting to get through the traffic jam. It turned into a "Daisy Chain" where you had to winch off the guy in front of you then help the guy behind you. It was very frustrating, and in the end is ultimately what ended our race. We were there for over four hours and when we finally got through, we decided to just keep racing until the 10:00 pm time limit. It was a huge bummer to not be able to finish for reasons that were out of our control, but in the end, that's racing. Our team put forth a humongous effort and I have no doubts in my mind we would have finished without the Jackhammer issue.
Back at the main pit, we all enjoyed a few well-deserved beverages and learned that Randy Slawson had won the King of the Hammer 2015 race. Himself, Shannon Campbell and Loren Healey are all now two-time winners. Who will be the first to "Three-peat"?
All in all, this was hands down the best trip I have had to Johnson Valley yet. The people I get to hang out with and all the guys that come down from Canada to race are some of the best people I get to call friends. It is definitely a point of pride for me to be involved with these teams. It is a weeklong event of doing what we love and overcoming the elements. Who could ask for anything more?
I don't think I've even been this excited for an event that is a year away. I can't even imagine what's in store for the 2016 King of the Hammers.
Click here to watch a video of the highlights of this year's King of the Hammers.