WIDIA Products Group was a proud sponsor of the 2014 Griffin King of the Hammers event on February 7, 2014, as well as the WIDIA Rock Racer car. Considered the SuperBowl of Ultra4 class racing – and dubbed the “ultimate desert race” – the King of the Hammers (KOH) is an off-road race combining desert and rock racing on public land in Johnson Valley, Calif. This is the eighth year for the event.
The WIDIA Rock Racer was introduced at IMTS 2012 and made its Ultra4 debut at King of the Hammers. With driver David Buchberger, WIDIA is sponsoring one of its own, since David also serves as vice president of Hi-Speed Corp. (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), a distributor of WIDIA-brand products and services.
“WIDIA’s theme is 'Extreme Challenges – Extreme Results,' and nowhere is that better exemplified than in Ultra4 racing in general and David in particular,” says Bernie McConnell, vice president, WIDIA Products Group and Services.
Starting with only 13 competitors in 2007, KOH grew to 135 competing teams in 2012. More than 200 teams competed in KOH 2013.
At KOH, competitors start side-by-side, two vehicles every thirty seconds, and must complete the 165-mile course in less than 14 hours. Each team must pass through seven checkpoints while staying within one hundred feet of the centerline of the course. KOH is a no-chase team race and repairs can only be done on the track by the racers or in the pit area. The KOH event draws more than 30,000 spectators and more than 400,000 online viewers.
Dubbed the toughest one-day off-road race on the planet, the race has become so popular that a whole race circuit was created. More information can be found at www.ultra4racing.com/