Kelly Walker photo
Story by Rich Walker
Dare I be the one to say it? Just a shade over three months until the King Of The Hammers (KOH) race in February of 2015. There, I said it! I came to this realization when a friend messaged me asking if I had booked flights yet. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind at that point. You know, because the 2014 season just ended in October. So now that flights are booked and we are set to go, I must admit I am already excited. So far, I know for sure that there will be at least three teams from Canada on the lakebed. Yours truly will be there for 12 days so I can bring it to print on these pages. Well that and co-driving for Eric Brinker in the #308 car. Check out the Ultra4 website for the weeklong event info and if you plan to come down, book everything you can as soon as possible. It was already tough to get hotels and flights.
Staying with the Ultra4 series, the 2014 Nitto Tire National Championship is in the books. Kelly and I packed up the twins and went down to Reno to take it all in. I had to get the twins to an Ultra4 race before they turned one. First of all, let me tell you that the Wild West Motorsports Park is an unreal facility that accommodates all types of off-road racing. Also, I heard it said by more than one driver that this course they built for the national championships is a "game changer". Now that I have been there and seen it, I fully agree. The rocks and mountains around the facility, plus the man-made stuff make this track the closest to KOH style racing that I have ever seen (and I was at every west coast race this year). Only one Canadian team was there and unfortunately they had some bad luck. I will leave it at that for now as I am hoping to do a full write up.
Anybody interested in doing some racing over the winter? If you are, I suggest you head to pnwoffroad.com and check out the racing series at the Straddleline ORV Park near Olympia in Washington. I haven't been able to make it down to one of these races yet, but new venues are always high on my list of things to do. Racing starts in late November and carries through the winter into April. All the info, registration, and sponsorship info is on the web site.
I know I have written about it in length before, but I still haven’t been able to experience it for myself - the Baja 1000. This year the race is 1900 km (1200 mi), which to my knowledge (and of course this is unofficial) is the longest loop course to date over the 46 years of its existence. Best of luck to everyone out there this year and I will be sure to report back on the results in a future column. The score-international.com website will have all the info and updates you will need.
Also fresh in my mind is the Island Cup 2014, but you will have to read the pages ahead to hear about that. It was definitely the event of the year for me and I hope you enjoy the article and pictures. Make sure you stay in the loop for future events on Vancouver Island. You won't want to miss the next one. That's a promise.
That gets us all caught up for now. I am looking forward to three months of hanging around close to home, and maybe even getting in some wheelin’ in the FoRunnah. I might even go out on another limb and mention something most people are dreading. Snow! Myself, I can't wait!
Stay safe and see you on the trails.