King of The Motos- Preview and Announcements
As posted by Scotty Breauxman
Full Article With Pics Here:
WHO: Anyone on 2 wheels who is tough enough to try
WHAT: King of the Motos Extreme Enduro Survival Race
WHERE: Hammer Town, Johnson Valley, CA
WHEN: Sunday February 3
WHY: (Why not?)
HAMMER TOWN, CA-North America’s most extreme enduro event, which is billed as a Motorcycle Survival Race, is open for entries and creators Jimmy Lewis and Dave Cole announced today that the race is open to anyone tough enough and willing to make the challenge.
“Last year was an invite-only to test the concept of a real extreme enduro in the US”, explains creator and course designer Jimmy Lewis, “This time, there are no invites and anyone is welcome. We will hold a few spots on the front line for winners of other high-profile races.”
For those wondering about the magnitude of this event and its difficulty, of the 21 invited pro starters in last year’s inaugural event, only 6 finished. The 2013 KOM is rumored to be even longer in miles with the rocky sections being just as tough.
The King of the Motos is the brainchild of moto-masochist Jimmy Lewis and King of the Hammers founder Dave Cole; Both men are credited with creating North Americas preeminent extreme enduro race, following the lead of Europe’s Erzberg Rodeo, Romaniacs and Hell’s Gate. The Roof of Africa is that continents claim to extreme enduro fame.
Desert Rookie Graham Jarvis chased local ace Kurt Caselli up the “drama bomb” in the inaugural King of the Motos. Jarvis went on to claim the $10,000 winner take all prize.
In the international motorcycle arena, events like Erzberg, Romaniacs and their counterparts draw upwards from 500 entries apiece and the fanfare is likened to major music festivals with all kinds of side attractions and spectacles. There is little doubt that Lewis and Cole have stumbled onto the future of extreme enduro for North America and RDC will be there before, during and after to bring you to most in-depth coverage and imagery you will find anywhere.
Specific Details
- -Entry fees go up December 1st
- -The race will be longer than last year in mileage with at least the same level of difficulty in the rocky technical sections.
- -There will be three classes:
1) Professional, where riders will go the full distance, ride every hard section and compete for the purse
2) Expert, riders will likely ride a shortened course and not have to do every hard section.
3) Team, Two riders each riding their own bike and riding together at the same time on the course, passing through the checkpoints at the same time so they can help each other in the difficult spots.
- -GPS is not mandatory but will be extremely helpful to supplement the markings on ground through the course. The race organizers highly recommend the Trail Tech Voyager GPS since it will be used to set up the course and it’s simple interface is easy to use at race speeds. Additionally if there is any protest or inquiry about cheating in the race, the rider must provide a GPS track log as their proof of being on course. GPS route marking is very common at hard enduros and KOM is following that trend since it eliminates course cutting.
- -Though it will be very difficult for any rider to finish the event, it is the allure of challenging a brutally difficult course that the KOM is providing: The course and the race are designed as a one rider, one machine (or two rider, two machine in the case of the team class).
- -There will be no outside assistance from crews or spectators. The course is designed and verified by one man on one bike completing the course in its entirety.
- -The course area will be closed to racers on the week prior to the event so there is no home field advantage. There will be suggested areas for riders to go and practice and a practice loop set up using the same GPS information so they can get familiar with the Trail Tech Voyager system. Entered riders will have access and availability shortly after the new year.
- -Rumors have the loop length at 70-80 miles. The loop might be separated into two loops but there will be a central pit and a remote pit. The remote pit will be for gas only and the main pit will enable a rider to do any work on their bike he or she needs, as long as they do it themselves.
When Jimmy Lewis stumbled onto the King of the Hammers by random chance a few years ago and took note of the event’s massive tent city (likened to the Burning Man for rock crawlers), he sought to collaborate with King of the Hammers founder Dave Cole and created the most extreme enduro race ever conceived in North America. In the inaugural event last February, 21 of the most qualified riders started the race by climbing up a unique “drama bomb” start yet only 6 riders even completed the event.
KOM was designed to challenge the skills of the world’s best riders yet combines aspects of trials, enduro, hill-climb, off road and desert racing. Using a mostly unmarked course with an option for TrailTech Voyager GPS, the King of the Motos will be the next huge thing in off-road motorcycle racing. No longer is KOM a side-show to the ever-growing King of the Hammers and Hammer town: it is now the main kick off event for Hammer Week.
Badass moto-master Chris Ridgeway works his 2-stroke up the “Drama Bomb” start at the inaugural King of the Motos event last February. Ridgeway and his Team Hero just finished the BAJA 1000 a few weeks ago, spanking many other pro teams.
One of the things that makes KOM a unique draw is the allure of simply finishing the event. This is one of those races where a finish is a win and, even if you got last place, you still did way better than someone who couldn’t finish. This is the standard in the international arena of extreme enduro and what originally drew creator Jimmy Lewis to ride events like Erzberg Rodeo and Romaniacs.
