Six days have passed since the big day, and unless you’ve been stranded on a deserted island, with no internet, chances are you know much that is the story of the 2015 King of the Hammers. Coverage of this prodigious race is remarkable; with live internet feed & 300+ media on jackets littering the field, what more could be told? We say the more stories the better, you never know what new bit could be learned in sharing, so here’s our small recap as it unfolded on race day Friday. It all starts with that glorious morning lineup.

The Lineup, shot @ 6:58am

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

Everyone has their favorite parts of an Ultra4 race. At King of the Hammers, I’ve heard contingency being among the top, along with some of the famous rock sections like Backdoor, Chocolate Thunder, and Jackhammer. For me, nothing is sweeter than the lineup on race day morning. Kicking off at 6am, over 127 drivers lined up in their respective qualifying positions and, at this moment, it is anyones game. Your time doesn’t start until you cross the start line, so there’s always a chance whether you’re in the front or back, you could be the next King. Energies are high, drivers are focused, intensity fills the air. All in anticipation of the green flag dropping at 8am. Captured here is Jason Scherer (right) and Erik Miller (left) who qualified 1st and 2nd respectively, earning the bragging rights of pole position. Let’s get this started.

Read more…

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

We’re  just two days away from a week of Live online 2015 King of the Hammers coverage! Even for those lucky enough to make the journey out to Johnson Valley this year, Ultra4s live online coverage will keep you more up to date than being there in person. It all kicks off this Sunday, and will continue on throughout the big race on Friday, February 6th.

So, what do you need to know? First, Ultra4s live coverage URL… just head to http://ultra4racing.com/live/ and keep that page open pretty much all week. Coverage kicks off this Sunday, 8am PST . Schedule of events is as follows:

Sunday February 1st: 7:45 AM KLiM King of The Motos Presented by Trail Tech
Monday February 2nd: 5:45PM Vision X  SRRS vs. ULTRA4 Shootout Presented by Sway-A-Way
Tuesday February 3rd 7:45AM:  Qualifying coverage will be available all day. Happy Hour will be happening at 4PM as it did last year with the biggest names competing.
Wednesday February 4th 7:45AM: Polaris RZR KOH UTV Race presented by HCR  Qualifying coverage will begin at noon. Happy Hour will be happening at 4PM as it did  last year with the biggest names competing. Contingency and Qualifying will happen in town.
Thursday February 5th 7:45AM: Smittybilt Every Man Challenge, including Spec and Legends Classes!
Friday February 8th 7:30 AM : 2014 Nitto King of The Hammers Presented by 4 Wheel Parts

So that there’s no surprise for all our fans who follow us here, we will be quiet with social media all of next week. As always, we’ll be right in the middle of the action, but we’re often so busy with race teams and getting all things happy for race day Friday, posting live updates will likely not be on our list. Truth be told, Ultra4s live coverage is really the best of the best, so be sure to head there all next week for your fill of all things #koh2015. Again, that url is http://ultra4racing.com/live/ .

With that, best of luck to all drivers, teams, racing fans, and you online spectators… it’s going to be the best King of the Hammers yet!

A fresh year means a fresh commercial for the upcoming 2015 King of the Hammers race week. You’ll see this awesome video segment, put together by the creative genius of Will Gentile of HeavyMetalConcepts, a few times throughout the Ultra4 Live coverage broadcast on http://ultra4racing.com/live/ . Race week live coverage starts February 1st @ 8am PST and continues till race day February 6th.

T-minus 6 days till the start of race week!

Spidertrax | Thom Kingston | CC BY 3.0

Another surprise announcement from Mr. Dave Cole last Sunday, it is indeed a big one. The world’s toughest Ultra4 race just got tougher?!? It would appear that way, here’s what Dave had to say:

“BREAKING NEWS from Dave Cole!
For the first time total race mileage will exceed 200 miles.
215 Total Race Miles for Ultra4
3 laps in similar format as years past
Anyone up for Sledge?
Longest distance between pits 23 Miles
2 Remote Pits + Main Pit
ALL WILL BE IN PLAY FOR ENTIRE RACE
This is a big deal, you will either need 3 pit crews, team up with someone, or work with someone like Mag-7 (Pit crew for hire)…working on rates now but they are way cheaper than driving another truck out.”

So there you have it. We have officially exceeded the 200 mile mark, talk about insanity. Happy to see all those teams prepping in a big way this year… we’re all going to need it!

Side note: Sales Office will be closed this Thursday and Friday (that’s January 1st & 2nd) for New Years. We will be shipping on Friday the 2nd though, for all you online shoppers.