Skeeno’s AXIALFEST 2015 REPORT PART 2/3

Words and Photos by Matt ‘Skeeno’ Soileau with a few photos from Rivas Concepts sprinkled in here and there.

July 16-18, 2015

Cisco Grove Campground, Cisco Grove, California

In Part 1, I covered my Wednesday and Thursday at AXIALFEST. This blog is going to cover my Friday morning and afternoon.

After a peaceful mountain sleep and hearty breakfast, I was ready for AXIALFEST2015 to really get kicked into gear.  Thursday night registration and Concourse Show and Shine was fun, but I was ready for some racing.

The first event on Friday morning was the RECON Terra Cross, aka the RECON TerraX, aka the RTX. The RTX is an off-road race like no other.  The RTX was held partially on a basketball court and partially in the dirt.  Rocks, jumps, logs, and sand were strewn about to make navigating a challenge.

I saw that Rebel Off Road was also ready and waiting to watch the RTX.

At the driver’s meeting, Parker went over the special rules of the RTX.  In an RTX, there is no marshaling allowed. That means if you flip over, you become track art if you can’t get your rig flipped over with a little trigger play. Also, races are only two or three laps long, so clean driving is imperative.

Tree provided a perfect flag pole while Mrs. Werty signaled the beginning of competition with the national anthem.

Drivers got lined up to begin.

And they’re off.  Remember to drive smartly.

First obstacle of the RTX was the kicker ramps.

Some drivers couldn’t even get 20 feet before crashing.

Second obstacle was this sandy hill dubbed the Dust Bunny.

It ended the race quickly for those that couldn’t control their steering hand.

After the hill was a rocky gully.  It squashed the dreams of hoards of RTXers.

Chaff Channel was next.  It was relatively easy as long as you kept your cool.

The rock strewn tarmac chicane looked easy, but those rocks really bucked rigs off their lines.

The final turn to the finish was this slick 180 degree turn.  Precision throttle and steering was necessary to keep your rig pointed in the correct direction.  Lots of races were won in this corner.

After a full morning of exciting RTX racing, it was time for a lunch break.  We had a make your own teriyaki chicken kabob station over a G Central.

On the way back from lunch I noticed someone put these stickers all over the place.  They were on the ground pretty much everywhere you looked.  They directed you towards the trail heads for the RECON G6 that would begin Friday night.  This was a great idea, because some of the trail heads were fairly far from G Central and would have been difficult to find without help.

After lunch, the Rhythm Drags began.  These were drag races held on a specially prepared track.  And by specially prepared, I mean rocked, sanded, and mudded.  This was not a point and shoot course.

Josh Harris made sure the drivers got lined up for each race.

This first bump was a doozy.  Too much throttle and your rig flipped its lid and end up on its back.

It is difficult to maintain throttle control when your competition is right next to you.

This sandy corner spun out lots of competitors.

This muddy corner was the final turn before the final stretch.

It was harder to navigate than it looked.

Even the final straight was tricky.  It was sprinkled with sand to trip up heavy throttle fingers.

After seeing everyone racing, Skeeno Jr said she wanted to try it next year.

There was no waiting for next year.  I told her to get in line and be ready.

There is Skeeno Jr after winning her first round race and mentally preparing for round two.

The mud hole got more and more rutted…

But Skeeno Jr piloted Alien GeeSix with no problem to win her next few races before being knocked out just before the finals. With a smile on our faces, we walked back to camp to get ready for the RECON G6.

Before we got to our campsite, I saw Elio’s scale camp had a scale campfire.  I told you he was the King of Scale didn’t I?

The RECON G6 began Friday night and continued through Saturday evening.  Look for Skeeno’s AXIALFEST2015 Report Part 3 where I cover the RECON G6.  You won’t want to miss it.