It was an exciting 9-day event in Moab for the 2008 Moab Jeep Easter Safari, especially for the Rancho Team, including a tenth place finish for Rob Bonney of Team Rancho Racing and a twenty-eighth place finish for Rancho’s Bob Willis.

After running several trail days with wheelers from all over North America, we set up our display at the Jeep Safari Show inside the Moab Arena. Willis even managed to get interviewed by the local news station…make sure you check out this video:

We also ran our Rancho Interactive Garage - an awesome display that has several Rancho trucks, Jeeps and ATVs - in downtown Moab, at the Checkers Auto Parts store for a couple of days. Make sure you check out more about the RIG. We’ll be taking it to several different events across North America this summer and fall, and you don’t want to miss out.

After several days of trail rides, Rancho sent our racers out to take on the rock racing competition in the 2008 XRRA series. The season opener was Saturday, March 22, 2008, in Moab, and we were excited to see where our racers - Rob Bonney and Bob Willis of Rancho - would finish.

XRRA Action

After a couple rounds of exciting racing, including Willis endoing and causing some frontal damage to the Rancho Rock Buggy, Willis fought back in the third and fourth rounds of competition to only get sucked into Cancer Canyon, a tricky portion of Moab’s XRRA course. After hauling in the “Crane of Shame,” Willis’ buggy was pulled back onto its feet for the fourth race of the day. Willis posted the fifth fastest time in history for the course after all of his technical difficulties in previous rounds.

And just to prove to you how tough the course was out at Moab, Rob Bonney finished tenth overall…and we captured some awesome footage of him eating up the course. Check it out…

Follow Your Instincts,

Moab’s famous Red Rock Raceway is the new location for what has become the legendary season opener for Xtreme Rock Racing. Over the past four years, the XRRA has ended one of the off-road industry’s favorite weeks with an over-the-top, action-packed rock racing extravaganza.

At tech/contingency row, race teams had a chance to walk the newly constructed track, and several racers noted that this was going to be a fast course. After a high-speed start that lead to a 40-ft. table top, the teams headed right into a banked turn that shot them into a double-double rhythm section that took them into a wicked rock obstacle that included an insane vertical climb across the hill top and a rear wheel stand drop off. The teams then dropped into an abyss only to come powering up and out on the other side to the roar of the crowd. Then came the deep crevice (6 feet!) that teams would soon call their demise…once you got stuck in the cracks, the only way out came by a giant excavator that would reach down and pluck out the unfortunate team to the “Ooo’s,” from the crowd. If you were able to make it past the cracks, you were half way home, after a huge sweeping turn at the west end of the track, the racers then headed back through all they had just conquered to get back to the finish line.

With racing starting early Saturday morning, the teams found that qualifying for the finals may be easier said, than done. The action was wild as the competitors took to the course. By the time the first round was complete the carnage littered the field and “survival” became the word of the day.

Among the teams competing were veteran drivers Bob Willis and Rob Bonney for Team Rancho Racing. Bob is always a big hit at the races because he drives a four-seat buggy…and everyone wishes they could go along for the ride. As for Rancho driver Rob Bonney, look out when he gets the green flag. Bonney finished the western division competition last year in third place…he’s tough to beat! After delivering four of the most consistent runs all day, Rob delivered a great top ten finish.

With an amazing day of racing behind us, there is no question why it is called XTREME Rock Racing. The racers came and gave it their all, and for some, the payoff was huge, and for others, the course bit back.

See you in Albuquerque.

Moab, Utah 3/21/08 - 3/23/08

We’ll be following several of our sponsored drivers in races around North America here at Fresh Dirt…starting with the XRRA Series and our racers Rob Bonney and Bob Willis. They’ll be all over the West events, including the March 22 season opener in Moab, Utah, at the end of the Moab Jeep Easter Safari. Watch for some race results here…

Rancho serves as the official sponsor of the XRRA, and we welcome you to run a contingency program with Rancho in XRRA!

We’ll also cover the WSORR Series later this summer and even more drivers running Rancho suspensions or shock absorbers in several other race series.

Check back here for the latest news about any of the Rancho racing teams and recent results!

Follow your instincts,