Friday night’s Ultra4 drivers meeting.

Adding any new venue to an already popular series always begs the question, will anyone show? This years 2nd Ultra4 race, or the 1st Ultra4 race in the new western series, added to it the all new Cinco de Baja venue. Cinco de Baja happens to be an already established event, where many types of vehicles from Trophy Trucks to UTVs battle it out in a 40 mile lap style endurance race. So, just how well did the Ultra4 class represent? Beyond expectation.

Nearly 50 Ultra4 racers (still waiting on the official tally) showed up in Albuquerque, NM to show just how this racing thing is done. All in all, the Ultra4 class made up nearly half of the entire Cinco de Baja racing list, providing enough of an impact to show the world just how serious Ultra4 racing is. While all other classes followed the traditional 40 mile racing line, Ultra4s added a rock bypass section to make an already hard endurance race even harder.

The battle was fierce all day long, with race leaders Jason Scherer, Matt Messer, & Levi Shirley battling it out neck and neck. As with any endurance race, sometimes the unexpected happens, as was the case with Scherer. While leading the pack, he suffered a lower a-arm failure which put him out of the race. When the dust settled, Matt Messer ended up securing first, while from really out of nowhere Loren Healy pulled ahead for 2nd place, and Levi Shirley secured 3rd. Both Loren and Levi were powered by Spider 9 axles, so ending the day with 2 out of 3 of the podium spots for Spider 9s was great to see.

Sorry to say I (Thom Kingston) was unable to be there for race day, but was lucky enough to watch the action unfold on ultra4racing.com/live . That’s my excuse for lack of photos this time around, and hope to make that up at the next Ultra4 event.

Congrats to all Ultra4 racers who crossed the finish line. While we’re all still waiting for official results, here’s the list of unofficial top 10 placing courtesy of Hammerking Productions.

1. Matt Messer
2. Loren Healy
3. Levi Shirley
4. Rick Mooneyham
5. Gary Ferravanti
6. Stephen Watson
7. Nick Nelson
8. Darren Henke
9. Scott Ward
10. Cottin Rodd.

Next up is Rausch Creek on June 2nd in Pine Grove, PA. This is Erik Miller’s home territory, so the east coast defender will be in full force. Stay tuned!