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!!