Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 5

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Axial Staff

The last stop on Axial’s West Coast Qualifier Series was held this past Saturday, April 10th. The location for this final event was in beautiful Northern California at Lake Amador Resort. Lake Amador is best known for it’s fishing and camping. The resort constantly stocks the lake with a rare breed of trout known to put up a healthy fight when caught. They also boast about their huge catfish, as well as unbeatable bass fishing. Combine that with the fact that they have an RV park on site, Lake Amador is a fisherman’s dream come true. On the other hand, off to the west side of the lake, down in a ravine, is an R/C rock crawlers dream come true. The ravine has a good sized rock formation that has sharp ledges sticking up everywhere. The rock/ledge located at this particular spot is very unique, and has unbelievable traction. We have had an amazing amount of various terrain throughout this series, but this location was very different from what I am used to. It was the perfect location to close down what has been and awesome qualifier series. Let’s hit the road.

My fuel for the weekend………………………….Mocha Frappee’s from Mickey D’s.

The ride through the Cali countryside.

Brandon and Scott were busy watching Sesame Street all the way there.

Parker’s latest course design, moving courses. Ever try rock crawling on a rock pile that’s going down the highway at 70mph? Hold your line driver!!

On the way to the comp site Friday we stopped by Modesto Hobby and Craft for a quick visit. Very cool hobby shop, with courteous employees and numerous R/C related items. I wish I had more pictures to post from inside, but I’m an idiot and only brought our zoom lens on this trip.

Pulling into the resort.

Overlooking the lake.

Partial view of the comp site.

The Michael Angelo of rock crawling courses, Parker sets gates first thing Saturday morning.

Each course had a sign letting everyone know which course was which.

The parking lot was almost like a car show. Here’s Axial team driver Dean Hsiao’s Impala wagon, soooo clean!

Of course there were a few sweet off-road vehicles in the parking lot too.

Group shot of the drivers.

Group shot of the rigs.

Driver’s meeting

Time to do some work!!

Axial’s own Brandon Coonce working course #1

Me flailing around on course #1

Mr. Scott Hughes working it

Brent Brammer working his Axial SWX through course #2

Brandon on course #2

Dean Hsiao on course #2

Climbing into the alternate line.

Scott on Course #2

Captain Axial at it yet again harassing competitors, passing out free t-shirts and stealing motorcycles.

According to the locals the fire department conducts fire training in this area frequently. There were helicopters flying overhead all day long.

Parker’s newest hobby…………………..Ventriloquism.

And the winners are……..
Sport Class
1st place Shannon Davis
2nd place James Roque
3rd place Jerry Sanders

Pro Shafty
1st place Brian Lorenz
2nd place Brandon Coonce
3rd place Dean Hsiao

Pro Overall
1st place Daniel Flemming
2nd place John Hall
3rd place Lenny Tyler

The Rock Candy Girls

CanDance, Pro Rock candy winner (left), Shannon Davis, sport rock candy winner (center), Mindy Howe (right). Watch your back guys, they are gunning for us.

Well, that does it for this first qualifier series. I would personally like to thank Axial and Vanquish Products for their support during this series. I would also like to thank Brian Parker, Stuart Gartner and all the volunteers/judges that helped us with these events. We definitely couldn’t have done it without the help of everyone in this great R/C community. If you didn’t get a chance to attend any of these 5 qualifiers, come on out to the finals on June 24th-26th. You can run the last chance qualifier and still get into the main event. I guarantee the finals will be a memorable weekend whether you come out to compete, or just watch. See you then.

Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 4

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Axial Staff

The latest stop in Axial’s West Coast Championship Series was Long Beach, Washington. Long Beach is a small tourist town located in the southwest corner of Washington. There are many things to do in this small town from cart racing, moped rentals, horse back riding, clam digging, biking, etc. There are also a number of good restaurants in town as well, making Long Beach a nice location for a family vacation/getaway. The competition was held right on the beach by the ocean. The terrain was a mix of sandstone and jagged water eroded ledge that was covered in moss. The traction there, to my surprise, was extremely high almost like sand paper. We went into this comp expecting rain all day since that had been the forecast all week. But, to everyone’s surprise the sun was out and shining all day long giving us perfect weather.

For this comp Scott Hughes and I flew into Portland, Oregon. Once there we met up with Steve Brown from Vanquish Products who was riding along with us to check out the comp. After loading up the rental car we hit the road destined for Tammies Hobbies in Beaverton, Oregon. Tammies is known to have tons of crawler products in stock from scale accessories to full on competition parts.

A few pictures from Tammies Hobbies.

Steve Brown and Ryan Gerrish showing off some sweet Vanquish wheels

Ryan’s custom rock racer, 50% rock crawler, 50% 4×4 Slash……………….100% sick!!

Got scale crawler parts?

Need motors?

Comp wheels?

Maybe trains are your thing?

Me getting an education in rock crawling

Back on the road again, this was my view for the 2 hour ride from Beaverton to Long Beach along the Lewis and Clark trail. Yawn…..

That’s a little better view

Scott and Steve, or Lewis and Clark…………………….it’s tough to tell the difference.

Almost there

Once we checked into the hotel, and scoped out the comp site a little we all met at the Light Ship bar and grill above our hotel for early tech. The view from the dining area was sweet.

Stuart checks drivers in while Brian ponders the meaning of life.

For dinner I choose pasta

Stuart dives into his freshly prepared steak

Brad Bailey helped Brian and Stuart with rig tech

Insert you own caption here

Drivers file in for tech inspection

The comp site on game day.

Group shot before comp

Driver’s meeting

Comp time

Scott Hughes on his first course

Me on course #2

Cory Hannah working course #1

Parker doing work

A group of vehicles pulled into a cove beyond the comp site early in the morning. Once the tide came up they were trapped on an out cropping of rock for hours until the tide went back out. Coast Guard made a few passes through to make sure no one was in immediate danger.

Stuart Gartner on course #1

Random shots

Rock Candy winner Mindy Howe

Captain Axial, or a really bad Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume? What is that on the side of your………………..never mind I don’t want to know.

More random shots

Ryan Gerrish

And the winners are…….

Rock Candy:
Mindy Howe

Sport Class:
1st Cole Bailey
2nd Tazz Judkins
3rd Rod Comstock

Pro Shafty:
1st Dave Copher
2nd Cody Cannell
3rd Marc Linn

Overall:
1st Dustin Siegfried
2nd Josh Smith (not pictured)
3rd Ryan Gerrish

That wraps event #4 up. What a weekend!! Great weather, good people and an awesome location, what more could we ask for? A huge thanks to the Oregon and Washington clubs for all their help, we couldn’t have done it without you. Also Axial would like to thanks all the judges, volunteers and anyone else that helped this event along, we really appreciate all the help. See you in 2 weeks at Lake Amador, Ca.

Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 3

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Axial Staff

Axial held the 3rd round of their West Coast Championship Qualifier’s this past weekend (March 13th) in St. George, Utah. St. George is located in the southwest corner of Utah. It’s well known for it’s golf courses, mountain biking, hiking, camping, off-road trails, etc. If you are an outdoor enthusiast, like myself, then St. George is tough to beat as far as activities and sight seeing goes. The location for this comp was incredible. There are massive red rock formations everywhere, with endless lines to be had for an R/C rock crawling comp. Plus, for this comp we worked alongside 801RC, the local Utah club of crawlers. 801RC has a hardcore group of crawler fanatics that love everything about this sport, just like we do. So it was a no brainer for Axial to team up with them to put on another great comp in this series. Anyone up for another road trip?

Thursday morning started with the task of loading the RV up with everything we’ll need for this event. Let’s go over the checklist……..gates check, banners check, stickers check, AWCCQ flyers check, cameras check, comp rigs check, batteries check, demo rigs check, Axial flags check, flag pole check, clipboards check, timers check, Parker’s choke chain and leash check.

Loading the RV

The new mascot for the RV ensures we don’t stray off course.

We pulled into Vegas about 7:30 in the evening to pick up Parker and Stuart. Once we spotted them we stopped the RV, waited for them to get close, then punched it just to see how fast they could run. Needless to say it wasn’t very fast.

After we made them chase us for a few blocks we decided to stop and let them load up.

Before we left the airport Brian had to go to the bathroom, so we made a quick stop so he could relieve himself.

A quick drive down the strip before heading to Mesquite.

Next day we were on the road early in the morning so we had time to test and tune at the comp site. The drive from Mesquite to St. George is relatively short but very picturesque.

This was my first trip to St George and when we pulled into the comp site you couldn’t help but smile if you are into rock crawling. I think Brian shed a few more tears too.

After the test and tune session it was time to find our campsite. We stayed at Snow Canyon State Park just up the road from the comp site. This spot was awesome. They have a bunch of hiking trails that wind around some petrified sand dunes. There are huge red rock formations throughout the park, and there are even a few lava chutes you can hike/climb down into.

Pulling into the RV park

Myself, Brian and Stuart taking in the scenery.

I hope this guy ate some spinach before starting that ascent.

Notice the black lava rock spread throughout the field.

Parked…………time to wrench and charge batteries.

6am on game day

Stuart preps the tech table

Sunrise

Parker and Stuart scope out potential courses, and possible napping spots.

Got gates?

Mike “Naz-T” Thompson sets a couple courses first thing in the morning. Someone get this guy a coffee.

Rig tech

Let’s get a closer look at Stuart’s mouse pad………………….oh my!!

Group shot of the comp rigs

Driver’s meeting

Brain Parker holding court

Go time!! Scott Hughes on course 5. Not sure that is the best line through there…………………..just kidding Scott.

Scott dropping into the alternate line looking for an extra -10 points

Random shots from the comp

Me getting ready to run course 4

Scott H. on course 4

Naz-T…………………….America’s next top model?

More random shots

Jess Downing wrenches between courses

It’s just like a car accident……………..you want to look away………………….but you can’t.

More shots

Scott Hughes and Brian Parker……………….nuff said

A freak storm blew in throwing 50mph winds and hail at anyone still on the hill. For the safety of everyone involved we decided to call the comp for the day and finish Sunday morning. After we picked everything up and headed back to our campsite the sun started shining again. So, we decided to check out the petrified sand dunes and lava tubes.

Parker and I decided to take the Honchos with us and get a scale run in while it was still nice

The lava tubes

Armed with a cell phone light and a mini mag light between the 4 of us, we descended into the darkness. Brian, no matter how many times you ask……………I’m not holding your hand.

Next morning while the last few guys finished running comp courses we set out to run the scalers on the trail run I set-up Saturday morning.

And the winners are………

Pro Overall:
1st place Jake Wright
2nd place Marty Mann
3rd place Tom Barger

Pro Shafty:
1st place Jake Wright
2nd place Marty Mann
3rd place Don Hughes

Rock Candy Sportsman:
Natalia Morales

Rock Candy Pro:
Becky Barger

Well that brings us to the end of yet another AWCC Qualifier. Next stop is Long Beach, Washington in 2 weeks (March 27th). It’ll be nice to get back up to the great northwest and compete with the guys from ORCRC, who will be hosting this next event. These last two qualifiers will be must attend events if you are relatively close to these locations. See you there!!

Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 2

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Axial Staff

Axial hosted it’s second west coast qualifier this past weekend (Feb. 27th) in Farmington, New Mexico. Farmington is notorious in the 1:1 off-road world for having some of the best rock crawling anywhere in the US; numerous 1:1 competitions have been held there since the birth of rock crawling as well. This was my first trip to Farmington and needless to say the terrain didn’t disappoint. Massive sandstone rock formations were everywhere at the Brown Springs comp site, which had everyone excited to get this comp underway. R/C rock crawlers that live in the Farmington area are truly blessed with some awesome terrain. Here’s a breakdown of how the competition and the trip went for us.

On Wednesday afternoon, we started loading all the comp supplies into the RV. I went through my extensive checklist to make sure we had everything we could possibly need from scorecards, to course boundaries, gates, stop watches, pens, t-shirts for the giveaways, clip boards, banners, tools, spare parts, scalers, comp rigs, chargers, batteries, radios, spare electronics, etc. You get the idea. Everything was loaded into the RV with very little room to spare.

We started rolling Thursday morning by 6am. After a quick stop for some chocolate, Frappuccinos and petrol we hit the road bound for Las Vegas to pick-up Brian “Captain Axial” Parker and his main man Stuart Gartner.

Here is what my view looked like for 1600+ miles and a lot of hours driving.

Same view…

Still the same view…..

After we hit Vegas and picked-up the boys, we headed over to BJ’s Brewhouse for lunch and a break from the road. The pepperoni pizza was my choice with home brewed root beer, which was very tasty. Makes me hungry right now.

About 30 miles down the road we entered into the Lake Mead/Hoover Dam area.

The local helicopter tour was taking flight as we drove down into the dam.

The RV and Parker had to get a thorough inspection from authorities before being allowed to drive over the dam. Parker and the two security guards disappeared into a small tent for about 20 minutes after the RV inspection was done. When Brian returned he was walking a little funny and mumbling something about a cavity search?

Local Jeep tour vehicle was passing through security at the same time as us.

Looks like they are in the process of building a huge new bridge right over the dam. Once finished the view from the bridge should be amazing to say the least……………………..anyone up for a base jump?

Crossing into Arizona by the dam. After a few hours driving in Arizona I thought I was on the set of “The Hills have Eyes.”

A few more pics of the dam and surrounding area

Here you can see how low the water levels are right now in the lake and inlet.

Back on the road

Meanwhile, Brian meditates in the RV before numbering the Axial gate markers (whilst visions of impassable gates danced in his head).

Finally…………….we pull into the much anticipated comp site. After a quick look around we started giggling like school girls as we checked out the terrain. Brian started tearing up a little, and tried to blame it on something being in his eye, but we knew better. Sorry Brian.

After a little test and tune session at the comp site, it was time to shower and hit the local bar for early tech. Three River’s Brewery was the place to be on Friday night. They were gracious enough to let us set-up a tech table right inside the bar and then supplied us with a free pool table and complimentary nachos. We asked a few locals what was the best beer to order, since we had no idea. Everyone said the “Double Barrel Amber” was the way to go. They were right too, it was one of the best beers I have ever had…………..period. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it.

Here’s Brian getting the party started.

The Colorado crew talk strategy and rig set-up.

These lovely ladies greeted me at the door with popcorn and a fresh beverage…………….I wish.

Here’s how the tech table looked through my eyes after 4 or 5 Double Barrel Ambers.

Game day. We were at the comp site by 6am on Saturday morning to set everything up. To our surprise there were people already there. Some even camped overnight despite the cold temps.

Got wheel speed?

Brian bundled up and doing work setting courses.

Driver’s meeting

Group shot

Got snow?

Alright, now let’s run some courses!!

Dropping into Gate #3 on Course 1

Colorado driver Becky Barger working her rig through course 4

Axial team driver Jason “Sparky J” Rioux on course 3

Sparky and I working course 5

More random goodness

Colorado driver, Jay Robinette

Brain Parker (left) and Stuart Gartner (right) watch as competitors run their courses. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Stuart Gartner, he is one of the big players in this whole series. Brian and Stuart put in endless and sometimes thankless, hours of work behind the scenes at these AWCCQ Series comps for us. And we thank them for that!!

And of course “Captain Axial” was on hand passing out free t-shirts to the spectators and competitors. I still find it weird how you never see Parker and Captain Axial in the same place at the same time.

This guy looks impressed

Ummm……..

Colorado driver Matt Boken takes time out from competing to snap a picture with the R/C superhero.

Here you can see Captain Axial’s ability to blend into any background, almost like a chameleon.

Rescuing damsels in distress, a hero’s work is never done.

Time to warm up…

Once all the dust, snow, and rock settled here is how the top 3 for each class ended up.

Pro Shafty:
1st place Jay Robinette
2nd place Brad “Bender” Dumont
3rd place Kris Donaldson

Pro M.O.A:
1st place Ryan Winkleman
2nd place Rob Youngsma
3rd place Tom Long

Sport Class:
1st place Cody Mathews
2nd place Anthony Zajicek
3rd place Ron Loveland

Rock Candy Sport Winner: Melissa Mathews

Rock Candy Pro Winner: Becky Barger

Wow, what a weekend!! Brutal courses but again, those that were some of the best that I’ve driven. Unbridled enthusiasm and comradery between all the competitors is usually the theme at most comps I attend, and this one was no different. Axial Racing would like to thank everyone involved in this event. A big thanks to the Farmington club 4CRC (4 Corners R/C) for all their help in organizing the land use and promotion of this event. See you in St. George in 2 weeks.

Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 1

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Axial Staff

Axial held it’s first AWCC Qualifier this past weekend in the hills of Escondido, CA at scenic Lake Wohlford. This is the first of five events taking place over the next few months. The top 10 drivers from each of the five events will get automatic invites to the Axial West Coast Championships on June 25th-27th at Cisco Grove, CA.

Rain was threatening to make this first event a soggy one, but the Rock Gods smiled upon us by giving us a beautiful sunny day. Comp ring leader, Brian Parker, was out on the rocks at 6 a.m. sharp setting up courses in the dark. Brian sets up what I would consider national caliber comp courses. A quick walk-through of the 5 courses told everyone in attendance it was time to get serious if they wanted a shot at a podium spot, regardless of the class you signed up for. Brian has an eye for setting comp courses like no one I’ve ever seen. Not only are the gates challenging, getting from gate to gate was just as big of a challenge. If you didn’t go scope out the courses a little to figure out your lines beforehand, you probably weren’t going to do very well. You and your rig had to be at the top of your game to even finish these courses and if you did finish, you either had no time left or had to eat a gate or two to get there.

Here’s a few highlights from the mayhem:

Setting everything up first thing in the morning

Rig tech

Don Hughes patiently waits his turn in the tech line

Sunshine was a welcomed sight after nearly 5 straight days of rain

Dealing with gates like these all day gave new meaning to the term “Do work driver.”

Game on!!

Don Clark and his tuber throwing down

Me on course #3

Kacie Vess and her Sportsman class AX10

Jess Downing working course #4

The Axial superhero showed up about mid day to pass out free swag and keep competitors in check

Nabil Jamali has his rig blessed by Axial Man before starting his next course

Don’t ask, I have no idea

Axial’s own Brandon Coonce working course #2

Me working gate #2 on course #5

Brandon on course #5

The local wildlife was even checking out the comp

More shots of Brandon Coonce, Josh Theide and myself

This section was more technical than difficult and consumed a lot of time if you weren’t careful dropping in

The finish gate on course #3

Josh working course #3

Axial Man trying to point the line out to me

This ledge was impassable by most without taking a gate

2.2 Sportsman Class winners, 1st place Matt Doyle, 2nd place Kacie Vess, 3rd place Bryce McDougall

2.2 Shafty Class winners, 1st place Jake Wright, 2nd place Nabil Jamali, 3rd place Chris Dahl (not pictured)

Overall 2.2 winners, 1st place Jake Wright, 2nd place Jon Privett, 3rd place Don Clark

All in all this event was an absolute blast. Nice weather, good people, awesome location, great support from sponsors, etc., made for a memorable event. If you couldn’t make this first round of the AWCCQ Series, make it a point to attend one of the other 4 because you won’t be disappointed.

Here is a sweet video shot at the first event thanks to Lisa Budvarson.

2010 Axial West Coast Championship Series

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Axial Staff

It’s that time of year again for the Axial West Coast Championship Series!

Crawl with the best, learn from the best, and have fun with your family! The top 10 Qualifiers will automatically receive an invitation to the AWCC finals at Cisco Grove, CA.

This year, we are making all of our comps more family and spectator friendly. We’ve added more prizes, give-aways, demo rigs, display and sale booths. Not only that, we will be having 4 different classes to compete in including shafty, sportsman and M.O.A.

Our first comp starts Jan. 23rd at Lake Wohlford, Escondido, CA.

Google Map Links for each comp (we’ll update these as we go along):

Long Beach, WA

Here are some series details (courtesy of the very awesome, Brian Parker):

Classes:

1.) 2.2 Sport Class: no dig

These drivers are just a step below Pro. In order to enter your rig under the 2.2 Sport Class, you must be competing with no dig and your crawler must be a Shafty. This class is for competitors that are new to the sport and also people that want to test their skills and compete with others with no dig.

2.) 2.2 Pro Class: M.O.A and Shafty

This year, we have added a sub-class to the 2.2 Pro Class: the 2.2 Pro Shafty Class. If you are a pro driver and drive a shaft driven crawler, this sub-class was added just for you. You still compete for the 2.2 Pro overall title, but the 3 best Shafty finishers will receive 2.2 Pro Shafty awards. If you do not have a Shafty, then you will compete under the M.O.A class.

3.) Rock Candy Sport Class: No Dig and must be a Shafty.

The highest overall sport woman driver will receive an award.

4.) Rock Candy Pro Class: For the pro women. Shafty or M.O.A. crawler.

The highest over all pro woman driver will receive an award.

RULES:

1.)    In the 2.2 Pro you can only sign-up for either Shafty or M.O.A.
2.)    For the 2.2 Pro class, there will be 3 winners: Overall winner for Shafty, M.O.A, and overall winner. If you win with a Shafty or M.O.A and are the overall winner, you can win 2 awards.
3.)    These qualifier comps are family and spectator friendly. We encourage our competitors and onlookers to be courteous by throwing away their trash and to refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages during the event as children are around.
4.)    Food will not be provided to the competitors. We strongly suggest bring a packed lunch.
5.)    Please be on time! Tech rigs start at7:30 a.m. and the drivers’ meeting starts promptly at 9:00 a.m. Afterwards, the comp starts at 9:15 a.m. We all know that time passes fast when you’re having fun, so please be on time so that all the competitors/drivers are able to get to and finish each course in a timely manner.
6.)    There is a limit of 60 drivers per qualifier event and 80 for the L.C.Q. and AWCC finals
7.)    Entry fee for each qualifier comp is $25 and the fee for the AWCC finals is $50
8.)    You can pre-register at www.reconcrawlers.com, but can also sign-up the day of the event as well. Due to the 60 driver limit for qualifiers and the 80 driver limit for the finals and LCQ, pre-registration will guarantee you a spot at any of the events while signing up that day won’t always guarantee that you get in.
9.)    The top overall 10 qualifiers from the 2.2 Pro Class will have an automatic invite to the AWCC finals at Cisco Grove, CA. Top 10 sport drivers will receive an invite, and the highest placing Rock Candy Pro finisher and the highest placing Rock Candy sports class receives an invite. If for some reason, there is no Shafty in the top ten, then the top finishing Shafty driver gets an invite.
Please note: For those drivers that earn an invite, the remaining balance of the AWCC entry fee is due. For example, when the Championship registration is opened and you confirm your attendance, you pay the remaining balance of $25. This is due after you earn your invite. If you competed in any of the 5 Qualifiers and did not earn an invite, there is no LCQ entry fee required, but space may be limited due to the fact that the LCQ will be open to drivers that did not compete in a Qualifier. After registration opens up for all other drivers that haven’t attended any of the qualifiers, it will then open up for Drivers who attended a Qualifier for the AWCC Finals.
10.) At every qualifier, there will be an AXIAL Scale Trail run set up for everyone with a scaler. There will be demo’s hosted by local area hobby shops of all the latest and greatest AXIAL products, such as the new “Honcho”. If that’s not enough, there will be finishing prizes for all competitors at the Finals! What this means is, wherever a driver finishes, the driver will receive a prize.

ITINERARY:

7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. tech rigs

8:30 am – 8:45 am judges meeting.

9:00 a.m.: Drivers’ meeting

9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Comp

3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.: Announcement of winners, photos, and awards given.

We are definitely excited for this first comp. make sure to sign-up early at the Recon Crawlers Website to ensure that you get in. See you there!

2009 Axial West Coast Championships

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Axial Staff

It’s that time of year again. The 2009 Axial West Coast Championships (AWCC) took place this past weekend at Donner Ski Ranch in northern California. This event is one of the biggest R/C rock crawling comps of the year, taking place along side a 1:1 rock crawling competition to create a rock crawlers dream weekend. This year Axial teamed up with Calrocs to put on a rock crawling event that was second to none. If you’re a rock crawling enthusiast, from the 1:1 or R/C world, this event was a must attend competition. This years competition brought about 140 pro and novice drivers from all over the country to compete for the largest purse available to date for any R/C rock crawling competition. Here’s a few highlights from the weekend.

Pictures of a few various obstacles that had to be negotiated cleanly to have a shot at winning the coveted 1st place trophies. Rocks weren’t the only obstacles involved. There were water hazards, mud pits, bridges, cables of carnage, dirt, sand, etc. the top drivers definitely had to earn their paychecks.

Something looks fishy here……

Scoping out the obstacles before the madness begins

The man behind the madness, Brian Parker. This guy can build a course that will give even the most seasoned drivers fits of cold sweat and have them doubting their rig’s set-up regularly.

Parker “Doing Work” on a set of HB tires with his best friend Mr. Dremel

Brian and his new best friend……………………sorry Mr. Dremel

Every R/C rock crawlers hero

Group shot of the Pro class Saturday morning

Parker going over the rules before the comp gets started

The backdrop

Jason and Badger from RCCrawler.com provided live coverage of the event for RCC and Pirate4x4

Do work Drivers!!

Norcal driver Dean Hsiao working course #2

Each course had a “Tech Sled” to double check everyone’s wheelbase. Anything over 12 1/2″ is out of spec for the 2.2 class.

A few pics from the 1:1 competition. Team Axial Driver Cody Waggoner made the trip up to compete in the 1:1 and R/C comp. Cody usually competes with WEROCK. But, wanted to get a little extra test time behind the wheel of his 1:1 moonbuggy before the next event. Cody ended up taking the win in the unlimited class with the help of Axial’s own Randall Davis as his spotter.

Team Axial Driver Brandon Coonce on course #4

Washington driver Jason Gainey on course #2

Futaba’s own Jason Holt working course #2

Top 5 pro drivers
1st Jake “King Bling” Hallenbeck
2nd Jake Wright
3rd Kolby Klingama
4th Scott Hughes
5th Greg Sinclair

Top 5 novice drivers
1st Steven Fillion
2nd Bob Tarvin
3rd Willy Davis
4th Rhett Mora
5th Scott Jackson

Wow, what a weekend!! More 1:1 and R/C rock crawling going on then you can shake a stick at. No matter where you were on the mountain there was action to watch. Congrats to all the top finishers for a job well done. A huge thanks to the BPRCA and CKRC Crawlers out of Reno, Nevada for all their hard work and dedication to this sport. See you next year!!

We’d also like to thank Xtreme RC for their generous support of the Axial West Coast Championships. Be sure to check out Xtreme RC.

Axial Racing Blog

Axial Racing Blog

Tag Archives: AWCC

Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 5

Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 4

Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 3

Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 2

Axial West Coast Championship Qualifier, Round 1

2010 Axial West Coast Championship Series

2009 Axial West Coast Championships