RSS Motorsports: Autoblog goes to Thunderdome 2013 Griffin King of the Hammers

Filed under: Motorsports, Specialty, Off-Road

Whenever you want, you can play at being Mad Max. The task only requires closing your eyes, powering up the Gas-Free And Violent Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia program in your mental holodeck, then delivering a few lines in your best early Mel Gibson monotone like, "I think we've got some hoon trouble." or "I'm just here for the gasoline."

It has been called one of the hardest races in the world, numerous times.

Or you can be Mad Max. We've been to a lot of places and a lot of races in the world where you can approach the fantasy, but to go all the way - to a place where asking "When is Humungus coming back?" and "Where can I find Master Blaster?" wouldn't feel strange at all - you need to roll down onto the Means Dry Lake Bed in Johnson Valley, California for King of the Hammers.

What is King of the Hammers? The fact-sheet says it's a 184-mile race through desert and rocks, but the fact sheet can't express the experience. King of the Hammers is a one-day race that combines desert racing at triple-digit speeds, rock racing at double-digit speeds and rock crawling at low single-digit speeds. It comes after a week of vicious, timed punishments for every other kind of vehicle that can blast over barrens and crawl through quarries. It is an endurance test that gives competitors 14 hours to finish before time is called - and even then there's a good chance less than a third of the 120 runners will make it. It has been called one of the hardest races in the world, numerous times. Every year, something like 30,000 people erect a pop-up hamlet called Hammertown for a week to watch it all go down.

More accurately, it is insanity and absurdity that characterizes the best kinds of personal challenges. Even more accurately, it is Thunderdome. And the question that hundreds of off-road racers ask themselves every year, hoping for a chance to just finish - and be stranded in the desert for hours while doing so - is "Thunderdome. How do I get in there?"

Follow us. We'll show you the way.

Continue reading Autoblog goes to Thunderdome 2013 Griffin King of the Hammers

Autoblog goes to Thunderdome 2013 Griffin King of the Hammers originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 09 Feb 2013 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.<h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6>Permalink | Email this | Comments

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