Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0
In our first race recap earlier this week, we touched a bit on the camaraderie that makes Ultra4 so unique. Enter the spotters of The Wall, a Badlands tradition that found it’s way to this race since inception. On a drivers 1st lap, when they make their initial attempt at the Wall, they often leave their co-drivers/spotters behind. It’s a bit of strategy, no doubt, time spent getting in and out of the vehicle is costly and co-drivers are most needed at The Wall anyway. Since this is a lap based race, spotters can wait at The Wall and be immediately on call when their team returns on their next lap.
So, one may expect these spotters to just sit back and wait for their respective Ultra4 to make a return trip before getting back to work. No such deal. This year, we had Scott Decker (Mike Colville’s co-driver) & Casey Trujillio (Loren Healy’s co-driver), both of which just so happened to be the first two spotters at The Wall. For the next 2+ hours, these guys would work their asses off… winching, recovering, and just making sure every racer was at his or her best.
Pictured here is Scott Decker, running a winch line not for his own driver but for Erik Miller. These guys pushed themselves as if every vehicle was part of their own team. It’s an awesome tradition, the one at Badlands I most look forward to every year.
Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0
A rare view from the Wall of 2nd place finisher Mike Colville. After racers make it to the top, they still have to get back down… this consists of a near vertical decent to the right of the initial climb. It’s a spot virtually hidden from the spectators, and it’s impressive to watch these machines tackle the decent like it was no obstacle at all. Mike finished with 9 total laps, looked absolutely unstoppable the entire time, and took the time penalty bypass only 2 times. He secured his 2nd place spot by a large margin, and finished the race having completed the Wall more times than any single racer on the field. Only the 2nd Ultra4 competition for Mike’s brand new Spider 9 powered IFS racer, it was exciting for all of us to see both driver and machine right at home in the Badlands terrain.
Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0
Tom Wayes was running wickedly fast lap times and tackled the wall like it was nothing but a small rock. He seemed next to unstoppable, that is until mud found its way into both of Tom’s eyes. Well into his 6th lap, he ended up with double scratched corneas… my eyes water just thinking about it. Tom is not one to give up, but even Chuck Norris needs the gift of sight to drive an Ultra4. While he had to call it quits, we still ended up with an arsenal of kill shots of him in action. What’s even better, Tom was the fastest 6 lap racer, granting him a 9th place finish. Crazy considering he had another 1+ hours left to race.
Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0
We are now officially half way thru the Ultra4 US & European circuit (6 races down, 6 to go) and it’s worth pausing, even for just a race second, to reflect on how far this sport has come. I need to be careful, as to not repeat myself when returning from every race, but this year has truly been an amazing achievement for our sport and racing in general. From parmesan to corn dogs, Ultra4 is the ultimate everybody come together experience. If asked “can we all get along?” you answer “Hell yeah!” in Ultra4. Do not mistake this camaraderie, in a magnitude unlike any other motorsport on the planet, for lack of competitive drive and spirit. Every race I have hit this year commanded a field of drivers & machines faster than ever before, and in numbers far exceeding my wildest expectations. Read more…
