By: Robb Pritchard
In 2007 12 guys played in these rocky eastern California hills for a 6 pack of beer. 8 years later a whole new series, a global series, of cars are built for just King of Hammers. To put that into perspective, with just 15 more vehicles entered the King of the Hammers would actually surpass the Dakar as being the world’s biggest motorsport event. That’s absolutely incredible.
If you’ve watched the event grow over the years you might have thought that in 2014 it had peaked and reached a natural plateau in terms of competitor and viewer numbers… but the word here in Johnson Valley is just how much bigger it is this year compared to last. Viewing figures for the insane East-West Shootout where Rock Bouncers and ULTRA4 cars throw themselves at the sheer face of Backdoor were double what the whole main race was in 2014!
King of the Motos was on Monday, a side event already close to attaining legendary status. A couple of weeks ago I was in the Atacama desert talking to a Dakar bike rider and he said that one day he’d like to try KoM! Then after dark that party started with the East-West Shootout. With the redneck level up at 8.9 it surpassed all expectations. The Gates of Hades opened at the foot of Backdoor when a fuel spill was ignited and twenty years of spilled engine oil ingrained in the sand burned for half an hour and then the insanely powerful, huge-tyred Bouncers went up… and the ones that died trying got just as big a cheer as those that made it.
Tuesday was qualifying. A rough 1 mile track over the back of a rocky hill put pay to many vehicles with mangled wheels, snapped steering and ‘blown trannies’. Most were happy enough to get around and save their vehicles as after the big rains here a few days ago a lot of sand on the trails has been washed away and it is expected to be the toughest KoH ever, and not just because the course is now over 200 miles long!
Wednesday saw the hotly contested Polaris RZR UTV race presented by HCR. 46 side-by-sides were split into two classes and set off to attack the scenery… and the scenery won! Although 5-time former winner Mitch Guthrie slipped away to win by hours it was total devastation behind as only one other Polaris made it home behind him, plus one from the Sportsman class. The rest of the field spent the day struggling to get around or over the rocks… until darkness fell. If anyone says that KoH is easy take this as an indication that they need their medication adjusting!
The late afternoon was the end of the qualifying and the main show was the big guys going all out in Power Hour. Levi Shirley was one of the most spectacular as he bounced down the hill to the finish line. And his new car looks stunning. Shannon Campbell hit a ledge so hard that the front came up and almost sent him into a roll, reigning champ Loren Healy damaged the transmission,
Tom Wayes was fast, just not fast enough and the pole position for the race on Friday was won by a stunning drive from Jason Scherer, the only driver out of 146 to get under the 2 minute mark. “I got the pole in 2013 so I know what a tactical advantage it is,” he explained. “Now I can decide if I should get up Backdoor first or not and can control the race which is important because KoH is win or loose race. No one cares who comes second, only the King is important as this is not the place for queens.”
Last year he had a co-driver to help but for 2015 will be going solo. “It means that I can have the radiator low down and also have the transmission running where the co-driver would normally sit. Getting the weight down is a great advantage. On the downside if I can’t get up Backdoor because of all the oil there I will have to get out and winch by myself or if I make a wrong turn I have no one to tell me to turn around so might go off into the military zone and get arrested!”
Tomorrow it will be the Smithybilt Everyman Challenge. You can find the excellent live streaming on www.ultra4racing.com Seriously worth watching!
