Walking the pits last weekend at Ultra4s American Rocksports Challenge, one thing stood out above all else. Intensity and focus filled the air in a manner unlike any race prior, and while the engines in these monsters can wake the dead there was still a level of quiet that surrounded me. Everyone was humble as you’d expect, but something was a bit different this time around. It wasn’t until I left the pits Friday night, the night before the big race, that the lightbulb went off. This race represented the west coast finale, and points among the leaders was as close as you could get. There was fame and money on the line, and it all came down to roughly 40 minutes of Saturday racing. Oh, and it just so happened to be the most aggressive race course ANY Ultra4 driver has seen. Read more…

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

Another weekend means only one thing… it’s time for some racing! Next up in the 2014 Ultra4 circuit is the American Rocksports Challenge, which has its home at massive Miller Motorsports Park of Tooele, UT. Over 90 drivers are registered for this mixed short course meets man-made rocks terrain, a field that has always dished out non-stop action and nail-biting finishes all weekend long. Drivers from coast to coast will make the journey this year, even King of the Hammer’s champion Erik Miller is making the drive all the way from Maryland. Read more…

Going to dive right into our summarized race version, as we just got word an article we wrote from the race got published on DrivingLine.com. Let’s get rolling:

• Full write-up from the 2014 King of the Valleys HERE ( http://bit.ly/2014kov ) . Well worth the read, and there’s a number of photos already set in that article. Thank you DrivingLine for getting that one up so quickly.

• SPOILER: Levi Shirley took top honors. This is his 2nd Ultra4 European win this year in his Spider 9 powered ORA Euro Fighter. HUGE CONGRATS AND RESPECT LEVI!!! So very well deserved, you earned it once again.

• ANOTHER SPOILER: Spider 9 axles took the top 3 spots, again (Spider 9s grabbed the top 3 at Ultra4 Europe’s King of the Mountains). Rounding out the podium this time was Jim Marsden in 2nd and Sylvain Bessiere in 3rd. Congrats Jim and Sylvain!

So, that should get us rolling for today. Having that been said… still have a lot to talk about and share so stay tuned for a few more photos and stories this week. Till next time!

EDIT: As of 9am MST on 8/13, a scoring error has been caught and recorded by Ultra4 Europe which has moved Sylvain Bessiere to 4th place. Team WSR, with driver Nicolas Montador, have now moved into 3rd. Both Nicolas and Sylvain should be proud, all top spots from our vantage point. Nicolas’ Ultra4 is also powered by Spider 9 axles, so that top 3 Spider 9 bit still stands :) .

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

The weekend is before us, and that means only one thing. It’s time for another Ultra4 racing installment, this one in the land of sheep & windmills (and ale) a plenty. The 2014 King of the Valleys will kick-off this Friday, taking place in the history rich lands of Walters Arena in South Wales. Packed with 3 days of racing goodness, The Ultra4 European Circuit has its roots with this venue, which kicked off Europe’s Ultra4 racing in 2012. Fast forward to today, and we have a field of racers that are lightyears ahead of the competition just a few years back, which makes one thing certain. This weekend is going to be one seriously competitive race.

US’s own Levi Shirely will be taking the field after having just grabbing 1st at the last European race, King of the Mountains AND 2nd at the last US Ultra4 race the Glen Helen Grand Prix. He will be racing alongside many other top Ultra4 European competitors we’ve come to know, including Nicolas Montador (current series leader), Walter Philippo, Jaap Betsema, Axel Burmann, Jim Marsden, and many more. We’re excited for this 3rd Ultra4 European race of the 2014 season, and excited to see the sport growing so well across the ocean. We’ll be there once again, capturing a few photos and stories along the way. Stay tuned for more details as the weekend of racing unfolds.

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

Almost forgot to share the link to our high res Glen Helen photo set. Two bonus photos added in there as well, head over to our Flickr page ( https://flic.kr/s/aHsjZ8r3jN ) for download. All photos licensed under Creative Commons Attribution, so feel free to download and share as always. Happy Monday!