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Pathmaker Productions
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Brady Melville
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Brady Melville
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Pathmaker Productions
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Brady Melville
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Brady Melville
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Pathmaker Productions
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Brady Melville
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Brady Melville
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Pathmaker Productions
Story by Rich Walker, photos courtesy of Brady Melville, Pathmaker Productions
Crawlers Attack the Rock Once Again
The return of the prestigious Island Cup caused quite the stir on the local (BC and surrounding area) 4x4 forums in the months leading up to the event. It had been a long time since we were able to compete in British Columbia due to very strict and unattainable land use laws. However, all that has changed since a wonderful man by the name of Byron opened up his private land for 4x4 recreation and competition.
The name of the mountain is Frogstompers and it is the most unreal piece of rock crawling heaven I have been to since the first time I set tires on the rocks in Moab (and that’s saying something!). Bryon has a love for the land I can’t even begin to explain and he is an amazing host that opens up this area for us to test the limits of our machines. Frogstompers is located just outside of Victoria, on Vancouver Island. The site is actually very easy to get to, has a ton of room for parking and camping, and all major amenities are close by (I got 15 pizzas delivered there on Saturday night of the event). All in all, it is the perfect mix to bring competition back to the mountains of BC.
The Island Cup would take place over three days. Friday night would be a single course that would be a qualifying run to determine starting order for the following day. Saturday, each team would run four courses and Sunday would be two courses followed by awards and prizes, with enough time left to get people home. The total combined lowest time for the three days would be the winner of bragging rights and the awesome Island Cup trophy. The courses were designed and laid out by Corey from West Shore Spring & 4x4, and he did an amazing job. Not only were the courses challenging and fun, but everything was easy to get to for the teams and more importantly, the spectators as well. With almost 30 teams showing up to compete, the weekend would be a non-stop show for everyone on the mountain. Competitor rigs were mainly highly modified Toyota’s and Suzuki’s and full custom-built buggies. Let’s just say, the term “Island Spec”, may have changed over the past few years!
Friday afternoon started with a group "poser" picture on one of the rock hills close to the staging area. While there, each vehicle was tagged with a number. Then those numbers were drawn from a hat at random to determine the starting order. Wouldn't you know it, I was selected first. Seems to be normal for me when I visit the Island, but I am used to being a Guinea Pig. Each vehicle got lined up in running order and we were ready to rock and roll.
In a way, I was lucky because I was able to get my run over with before darkness fell. However, I was also unlucky as the course was fresh and I had to excavate all the moss off the rocks to find traction. The course was a fun little uphill straight shot with three major obstacles, the toughest being the last one at the top. The bonus for the fastest run for the night was a cash prize of $500.
Soon enough engines were roaring and competitors were doing everything they could to tackle the course as fast as possible. We had near flops, full roll overs, broken drive shafts and gear sets, glowing red headers, bouncing and jumping trucks, not to mention some pretty awesome driving and fast times. In the end, the spectators had a great show under the lights and Kris Fraser narrowly beat Doug TechnoBob and event organizer Cory Hinds by less than a second to win the cash payout. That is some awesome racing.
Saturday morning started out a little fuzzy for many of us, but that quickly went away when we started walking the courses to see what we were in for. We were split into two groups and would run on two of the courses simultaneously. This was a great set up for everyone. Competitors stayed busy running courses and there was a ton of action for the spectators that covered the mountainside. I don't have any exact numbers, but I would like to think there were over 700 people there watching. The plan was to run the first two courses, stop for a brief lunch break, then get right back at it. I have to give huge props to the organizers and volunteers as this plan went off without a hitch. Everything ran as it should, and by the end of the day, everyone was off the mountain and back at camp for dinner time.
Now, back to some of the action from Saturday. One course included the hardest obstacle of the weekend. It was a gnarly, super greasy climb straight up a rock face. Even the highest horsepower buggies were having a hard time. A couple came close, but in the end, every team winched up the hill for a three-minute penalty. This was a semi-dry day too. I can't imagine how slick it would be in the rain.
Another course had a little 1.5 metre drop between two trees. That sounds bad enough, but the trick was lining up to it. It was off-camber, making it hard to get the rear tires up high enough without rolling over. The competition rock crawler in me decided to start the talk about reversing down it. Soon enough that was the plan and pretty much everyone without rear steer (even some with) were lining up in reverse. For me, that was the course that was most fun and I think the one I did the best on. John Kennedy, or Johnny5 as we call him, had a crowd-pleasing moment on this course. He got a little off-camber on the last climb. He stayed in the throttle, but ended up doing a compete roll back onto his wheels. Without skipping a beat, he hammered down again and nailed the climb to the finish line. The crowd went crazy!
The other two courses had some good lines also. One was a super under-cut ledge with one "perfect line". Guys who committed to this perfect line with speed were rewarded with fast course times, but those who didn't would end up on their lid or having to winch. Tom Sanford was on point and nailed this line with his LS3 powered buggy. This was definitely a good spot to hang out and watch the action. One other cool spot was a long, steep, slimy uphill climb to finish one of the courses. The sound of rev limiters could be heard all over the mountain. Myself, Rob Duff, Trev McPherson and Tyler Skopliac all bounced our cars off the limiters and skated all over the mountain to make the climb. I don't know about you, but the sound of rev limiter and the smell of smoking tires is what these competitions are all about to me.
That ended the event on Saturday. It was a super fun, action filled day. Saturday night was the big party night. There was a band playing in a grassy field to dance and hang out in and a communal fire area for those wanting to share wheelin’ stories. Not to mention it was my birthday so things may have gotten a bit out of hand at our camp. Thanks to Kris and Daryl for bringing the moonshine,… I think. This is where the 15 pizzas I mentioned earlier came in.
Mentally, it was a hazy start Sunday (for me especially), but as always, we all worked our way through it. Sunday's courses were literally right across a small road from camp. Being so close worked out awesome for the final day of the event. Soon into the morning, the place was packed with spectators and with close to 1000 people there over the course of the weekend.
The two courses that were marked out, again by Corey, would be a great way to finish off Island Cup 2014. The first course got quite the uproar from the teams. There was a 1.4 metre drop before the sprint to the finish line. The issue was that the entrance to the drop was just nasty - off camber and slippery. If you messed up, you would either have to call for recovery, or drop off a three-metre face to the left with an undercut landing and minimal run out room. I think pretty much every team used a spotter strap for this section. For the most part the drop worked out well. Good communication and strong spotters kept almost everyone on line to finish the drop and more importantly, the course. However, for Jon Rumley and me, we both found ourselves a little off line for the drop. I yelled to Brian "J20" (my spotter), "We gotta drop the face!" He moved the strap to the back of the car and hung on. I remember looking through my floor and seeing the landing. I thought I was a goner for sure. The buggy took off like a rocket ship and stood up right on the nose. I grabbed 3rd gear and pinned it. With the help of a small tree, we came down on all four tires and finished the course. Jon's experience was very similar and I give him huge props for manning up to do that drop in his Toyota truggy!
The last course for the comp was an adrenalin charged experience. The first obstacle broke quite a few of the trucks. It was a pinch spot between a rock face and a tree (this is the island after all). Once past the tree, you had to turn 90-degrees to climb a near vertical rock wall, only to have to turn 90-degrees again and drop off the other side. This was a tough spot for some and caused a couple rolls. One competitor (Johnny5) even saved a roll after his steering wheel fell off. A few teams even did the full throttle, one-shot assault. This worked quite well for Kris Fraser, Tucker Laplante and Wayne Mortensen. It was sketchy, but they made it.
With that, the Island Cup came to an end. We had an hour to kill before awards so the land owner, Byron took a few of us for a drive to the top of the mountain. This was honestly the highlight of the trip for Brian and I. Just to see what is there and the potential for future events was unreal. We made it back down just in time for the awards. The stage was all set up with prizes from all the generous sponsors and even some free Lucky Lager for the drivers, spotters and volunteers. Lucky Lager - yet another Island staple.
In the end, less than three minutes of total time separated the top three competitors, with John Kennedy (Johnny5) becoming your 2014 Island Cup champion. Tucker Laplante took home 2nd and Kris Fraser came in 3rd.
I can't begin to thank all the organizers, sponsors, volunteers, and the land owner enough for this event. Not only was it a great way to spend my birthday, but it was a great way to bring competition rock racing back to BC. From a guy who has been to a lot of racing events, this one was tops, in every sense of the word. Be sure to stay tuned for a DVD of the event. It is in the works right now by Brady Melville from Pathmaker Productions and will be available soon. Also be sure to check out the local forums (blackflag4x4.com and crawlinbc.com) as well as pathmakerproductions.com for tons of photos and write-ups. Last, but certainly not least, please be sure to support the enthusiastic companies that support this event!
Island Cup 2014 Sponsored By:
- Westshore Spring & 4x4
- Island Torque Converter and Drive Shaft
- Richlock Rentals
- Frogstomper Automotive
- Fox Customs
- North Shore Off Road
- Big Country Customs
- Integra Tire
- Pathmaker Productions
- TMR Customs
- Family Glass
- Northwest Fabrication
- Karnage Fabworks
- Epic Poimers