Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

We love rock crawling. It’s where it all started for us, and it’s amazing to see 17 years later after starting this little college hobby professional rock crawling is still running strong. W.E.Rock, the absolute industry leaders in organizing the world’s toughest rock crawling events, kicks off their 16th season this weekend in Congress, Arizona. We are proud to support W.E.Rock and expect this year’s rock crawl events to deliver in a big way.

W.E.Rock put together some details of the upcoming season we wanted to share with you here. Be sure to visit W.E.Rocks site directly at http://www.werocklive.com as well.

W.E. Rock Starts 16th Season This Weekend in Arizona

Professional Rock Crawling Saturday and Sunday February 27th and 28th starting at 10am

The 2016 competitive rock crawling season is going to be full of surprises and epic battles. There are a number of new Pro Unlimited teams, teams moving to Unlimited from other classes, and seasoned Unlimited teams with new buggies that will be expanding the field. There might even be a surprise team coming back from retirement, if the rumors are true. Even the Pro Mod class should see resurgence this year. Our sportsman class encourages drivers from the local area, Arizona being one of the bigger classes. Spectators are guaranteed to be in awe at what these drivers are able to do on the side of extremely technical climbs and big drop offs.

“2016 will be W.E. Rock’s 4th year back to Thompson’s Ranch after about a 5 year break from the location. It was time to open up some new lines and areas for both the Pro Classes and Sportsman class, so we had a brush clearing party last weekend and have a lot of new and spectacular lines for drivers to attempt, including a new shootout area that awaits the teams that qualify to run it on Sunday afternoon. The new area will offer great spectator viewing as the teams take on the big ledges, tall terrain, and nasty boulders that make Thompson’s Ranch a fan favorite,” said Rich Klein, President and founder of W.E. Rock Events. “W.E. Rock would like to welcome Nitro Gear and Axle aboard this season as the W.E. Rock National Rock Crawling marquee partner. Some exciting news will be headlined at this event for the sport of competitive rock crawling. News that is sure to bring smiles to fans, teams, and marketing partners.”

Professional Rock Crawling is one of the most intricate sports in the motorsports arena. It is technical, mechanical and filled with action. The rock courses are setup where spectators can bring their chairs and be able to see multiple courses running at the same time. The two-day format includes 4 courses of competition on Saturday and another 4 courses on Sunday, with a final shootout on Sunday afternoon, which usually determines the final finishing positions! The winner will be determined by the driver that has the least amount of points at the end of the weekend, similar to golf.

There are many competitors, some driving over 20 hours, to be part of this professional series. Local 4×4 offroaders are encouraged to participate in the Sportsman and UTV Class joining us in two days of competition and fun. Vehicles must have doors, roof, 4 point harnesses, 2 fire extinguishers and competitors must wear DOT helmets. Enter online conta.cc/1oYXNG1 or onsite.

Many teams will be registering on-site at tech and registration on Friday, but to give fans a glimpse of the competition, pre-registered Pro Class teams include Unlimited Class Unruh Racing Jerry Unruh, Team Falken Tasuda Racing Tasuda Masanori, LetzRoll Offroad Racing Brandy Southall, Crazy Goat Racing Steve Nantz, Iron Man Racing Jeff McKinlay, Team 360 Racing Justin Keilman, and Red Dot Engineering Kevin Carroll. Pre-Registered in the Pro-Modified class includes 2015 Series Champion Rad Racing Kevin Reimer to compete against Aaron Sykes who is returning after a year break.

The Sportsman Class in Arizona is always a large field of fiercely competitive drivers. Drivers pre-registered include Sickminded Racing Steve Allard, Racing for OLM Casey Aragon, A Little Off Racing Aaron Armstrong, 2CG Motorsports Anthony Ferrara, Team Nile Virginia Foster, Team Toyota Michal Krupp, AZ Rock Junkies Andrei Martin, Blue Adobe Racing Mike Ogden, Wee Rascals Preschool Ernesto Pacheco, Blind Squirrel Racing Jason Reeves, Fly-N-Hi Charlie Vacha, 5W Fabrication Adam Wende, and Vincent Massi.

Spectators are encouraged to come and enjoy both days of entertainment with gates opening at 9am, and the action starting at 10am until around 4pm both days. The awards ceremony immediately follows the final Shootout on Sunday. Admission is $25 for a two-day pass, $15 for adults, $5 for ages 8-15 with a parent, children 7 and under free and Military with ID get $5 off. You can pre-purchase tickets at www.werocklive.com/events/w-e-rock-rock-crawling-western-round-1-az.

There are vendors, food and amenities on site, and we encourage you to bring chairs and shade structures. There is camping available onsite. After the event we will have the results, pictures and stories posted at www.werocklive.com/2016/27005 for the W.E. Rock Rock Crawl.

Past Event Coverage: www.werocklive.com

Event Sponsors:
Maxxis Tires, Artec Industries, NitroGear and Axle, Branik Motorsports, MetalCloak, Crown Automotive, Superchips, PSC, Fox Shox, JM Rigging, Spidertrax, Tom Wood’s Custom Drive Shafts, KC Hilites, Raptoworx, Dirtskins, PCI Radios, Sickline T’s, Advance Adapters, Race Team Store