The first rock-crawling event at Pima Motorsports Park kicked off last weekend with hundreds of spectators taking in the first in a series of the Western U.S. National World Extreme Rock Crawling Championship.
The championship, presented by W.E.ROCK and Pima Motorsports Park, drew entries from all over the western United States. There will be eight national events and one grand event, said Kirk Rysdam, the park's operator.
"The difficulty of the courses depends on how you steer the riders through the course," said Rysdam. "They are meant to replicate natural obstacles."
The 400 yards of manmade obstacles gave the riders a challenge from all directions. Some riders attempted to crawl over the most difficult obstacles, which included 40-foot hills. Some got stuck and had to be lifted out or they cleared the hill — but rolled their vehicle.
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Nicole Johnson, one of a few women of the 80-plus entrants, wowed the crowd when she attempted to clear one of the precarious hills. After revving her engine and a few attempts, she finally made it over, but rolled her car.
It didn't stop her from celebrating, screaming at the fans and throwing up peace signs when she climbed out from under her crawler as the crowd roared.
The 2009 grand nationals will be held Oct. 3 and 4 in Farmington, N.M., according to the W.E.ROCK Web site. For more information on the rock crawling championship series, go online to www.werocklive.com.
