Brady Melville photo
Crawlin Column #27
By Rich Walker
It's amazing how you can come back from a race (or vacation) and be so rejuvenated and refreshed. That's how I feel after coming home from a week in the desert for the 2015 King of the Hammers (KOH). It was an amazing week packed full of action and awesomeness (yes, I just said awesomeness). There will be a full write up on the pages ahead so grab a cold one and get ready to see some epic pictures from Brady Melville of Pathmaker Productions. He was out there all week, putting on the kilometres to get to the wicked places and take some unreal photos.
So now that KOH is done, what's next? Up next for the Ultra4 series is the Mint 400. The Mint is a proper full on desert race and the 4400 guys will have a class of their own this year. It is 400 (four 100 mile laps) of the most brutal, bumpy, whooped out miles you’ll ever find. I won't be able to go, but Matt Nieman and his #4487 car will be there ready to tear it up. I have not confirmed if any other Canadians will be racing, but be sure to check out the race. It’s a race that has been on my bucket list for a long time. Check out www.themint400.com for details, dates, past winners and other event information.
The 2015 Nor-Cal Rock Racing series is slated to have three events this year at the Prairie City SVRA park just outside of Folsom, California. The dates are March 28th, June 13th and August 8th. In my opinion, they are the best bang-for-your-buck races in Ultra4. The course is a lot of fun with a great mix of high-speed sections, jumps and man-made rocks. The biggest plus for us guys from BC is the fact that it's only an 18-hour drive to get there. That still sounds pretty bad, but compared to some of the almost 30-hour (one way) drives we do, this is actually close! Check out www.norcalrockracing.com for all you need to know or to sign up.
WERock will be kicking off soon as well. Both their rock crawling series and Dirt Riot series will begin by the time you receive this issue. Another great bang-for-your buck racing series. Big Rich and his staff do a great job at hosting these races and I wish I could get to more of them. The one in Arizona is a super cool show. It's a two-day event with the rock crawl on Saturday and the Dirt Riot on Sunday. Arizona is home to some awesome terrain and Big Rich and Josh England (#Murica) lay out some killer courses and lines. Again, been on my list for a long time, but being so close to KOH, I just can't seem to make it happen this year. I will be sure to keep you up to date on the WERock scene as the events go by. In the mean time, go to www.werocklive.com for dates, venues and more.
On the Canadian scene, there is talk about having two Island Cup events this year. There is talk and discussion on some of the local message boards about adding another event. The normal one in October will run for sure, but the possibility of one more earlier in the year is in the works. No guarantees as of yet, but I will report back when I know for sure. You can count on me being at one or both of these races. I love Vancouver Island and the area we have to use there.
Look to the pages ahead and get all caught up on the other happenings in the 4x4 world. Stay safe and see you on the trails!