Axial West Coast Championships 2011

There are many types of RC racing that West Coast Editor, Tony Phalen, and I have participated in, but there was one area where we haven’t competed; rock crawling and trail truck driving. When Axial caught wind that we’d only fooled around with these types of trucks and have never been in a competition, they made certain we got a chance to experience this unique world of off-road adventure. The venue was Cisco Grove Campground in Cisco Grove California; with some of the most beautiful sites and nature-scapes we had ever seen. We rolled into the event on a Wednesday night and had no idea how much fun was in store for us.

Since the comp world and the scale trail truck driving event known as the G6 were new to us, we’ll pass along the adventure we had in this Pit Pass in order to let others know what happens at these types of events.

THURSDAY: SET-UP/ PRACTICE
On Thursday morning, participants started to arrive at the campgrounds while the event crew began preparing for the weekend’s events. The group of guys selected to run the event were among the most professional and friendly people we have ever come across. It seemed as if their only concerns were that the events be run flawlessly and that everyone would have the best time possible. Whenever we had a question, we got a handful of friendly responses and offers for continued help; impressive!

The Axial tents were raised, campers set up their sleeping areas and pits and the crews got to work building some of the G6 tuff truck obstacles. The comp area was off on the mountain, but although no markers were yet set up, crawlers were all over the rock faces practicing for the next day’s AWCC Last Chance Qualifier.

FRIDAY: LCQ / G6
Early Friday morning LCQ participants were up and moving about, registering and getting equipment ready for the day. The courses had been set up and drivers were crawling about the rocks like ants checking out the courses and gate positions. In comp crawling, you don’t get any practice, your first run on a course counts, so you have to study the courses well before running. For those of you who don’t know, there is a point system and time limits. At first, all the talk of bonus points, point deductions, time limits and hitting gates all seemed overwhelming, but once you lay down your first run with a friendly judge helping you along it all falls into place. This is where I’d like to give a shout-out to my man B-Rad for judging my first comp run and making it an absolute blast!

For hours, drivers ran against the clock on four different trails. Each trail had its own unique spin to make it more than just running through gates on rocks. The first course, for instance, was a lap course where you had to run two laps through rocks, dirt and even between chalked lines on asphalt. It was a favorite course for many. Drivers of the LCQ were competing for just a few open positions for Saturday’s main event. The top three in the pro class to move on were 1. Keith Boleens, 2. Elio Dianda and 3. Don Clark. In the sport class the top three were 1. Spencer French, 2. Anthony Dianda and 3. Bob Downing.

Later on that evening was the start of the G6. Drivers had flocked to the field with their trail rigs early to register and impound their trucks. Some went in search of the course while some left it to mystery. The G6 is in essence a competition that is based on time. There are deductions for hitting gates or using judge’s winches and so on, but what the competition stresses is competing against yourself with the ultimate goal of having fun. Again, Tony and I looked like deer in headlights as the rules were explained, but once we asked a few questions to fellow participants and got on the trail, we knew exactly how to run the G6.

As the time tones went off, drivers ran behind their rigs with one hundred and fifty gates in front of them, judges close behind navigating through the woods, trails and obstacles at dusk and I can say for sure with just going through a few gates, I was having more fun than I had at my last 1/8 buggy club race and this was while Tony was driving and I was judging. The G6 tests your skill, your rig and how you use the two together in harmony. We went over rocks, loose dirt, trekked over fallen trees, drove through snow and next to streams and worked with other drivers to help winch or pull trucks through obstacles. It was a blast. And as night fell, it was time for me to run… in the dark with only the lights on my truck, a light on my hat and a light taped to my transmitter. You haven’t experienced anything till you’ve run a G6 night competition.

SATURDAY: AWCC FINALS / G6 ROUND 2
It was finals day and participants had their comp rigs ready for new courses set up on the mountain. Again the courses had a life of their own with unique obstacles to navigate and bonus structures to try. It is a little difficult to follow your favorite drivers as running a comp is an at-will event. You can run course number 1 and skip to 4 and run course 3 a half hour later if you wish, but whatever course you were at, you were guaranteed to see skill by many drivers. After a number of hours on the mountain, the scores made their way to the computer to be tallied by Master Stewy. Following the schedule, the awards/give-away ceremony started. Rather than raffling prizes, names were called in order of finish and each driver accepted give-away prizes. Some pretty nice items were given away by Axial, Vanquish Products, MaxAmps.com, Tekin, Futaba, Piaa, Dragon Sunglasses and more. Then we got down to the top 3’s. In the Pro class, your top three were 1. Brian Lorenz, 2. Brad Dumont and 3. Don French. In the Sport class Spencer French took first followed by Chris McMullin and Mike Boling.

That night, it was time for round 2 of the G6 and there were another 100 newly positioned gates ready for the drivers to race through. This time some of the gates were not set up until the last minute, so those who were scouting the gates had no clue how or where the event would finish. Trucks navigated some pretty tough obstacles and some drivers had to do the walk of shame, but in the end the event left drivers with lots of stories to tell in the future.

SUNDAY: G6 WRAP-UP
The last day of the event was a huge challenge for the tuff trucks. The G6 was nearing the end, but provided a ton of fun. Drivers again had to navigate a trail set up with markers and tough obstacles. This time it was in a smaller area, so spectators could get a good view of many of the competitors running. After the drivers went through the gated course, they then had to run through a mud pit which was really exciting to watch. Then there was a frame twister course with mud and rocks to get through and finally a pulling course where the rigs had to pull a waiting sled. Several trucks were left broken, smoking and glitching after the event, but there wasn’t a single person that didn’t have a huge smile or grin. At the end of the G6, the top finishers were 1. Thom KoWatch, 2. John Ripplinger and 3. Andy Berryman.

TIL NEXT TIME
The Axial West Coast Championship and G6 was probably one of the most spectacular events Tony and I have ever competed in. The skills the drivers had and their knowledge of their machines was top notch. The people were incredibly friendly, the event crew was amazing and our man Parker on the mic put it over the top. We’d like to thank Axial for introducing this event and the crawler world to us editors and we urge you, if you ever thought of getting into crawling or tuff trucks, you should get into it. You won’t be disappointed.

For more pictures from the event, make sure you visit our 2011 Axial West Coast Championships Gallery.

LINKS
Axial Racing, axialracing.com, (949) 600-8642