Calling your race series the World Extreme Rock Crawling Championships is a pretty bold statement, but when the W.E. ROCK World Championships rolled into Henderson, Nevada, it truly was a congregation of rock-buggy drivers from all corners of theglobe. W.E. ROCK has grown immensely over the past few years with an entire series being run down under in Australia as well as some events planned for both north and south of the U.S. borders and parts of Europe. We were excited to see drivers from both our continent, Europe, and that giant home of Kangaroos all wheeling, spotting, and wrenching around the man-made course built next to the Fiesta Casino in Henderson. While many of the visiting drivers had packed a shipping container full of their tube machines, a few others actually came and borrowed some wheels for the event. As it turned out, back in 2005 a group of U.S. drivers had gone to Australia and driven in a W.E. ROCK event there behind the wheel of many loaner buggies, and so many were paying back those drivers by letting their Aussie counterparts come drive some U.S. rigs. If you're ready to start competing in your own rockcrawling tube car, check out www.we-rock.cc to find a schedule of the 2007 events in your neighborhood. Jason Paule is no stranger to the pages of this magazine or the winner's circle. Jason and his cousin/spotter Nate Oyler brought their LS1-powered tube buggy to the top of the Unlimited class heap thanks to lots of practice and seat time. Even though his buggy isn't the most cutting-edge compared to some, Jason has spent years behind the wheel on rough trails and courses across the country so he knows how his machine will react and how to twist it over the most precise obstacles.Jason Paule is no stranger to the pages of this magazine or the winner's circle. Jason and One of our favorite buggies-and one of the few that still is a recognizable Jeep-is this buggy driven by Marcelino Gomo with spotter Javier Guagardo. Running a burley RamJet 350 V-8 and front and rear steering axles, this old buggy has been around for ages with different teams but still managed a respectable Eighth Place finish after a front chromoly axleshaft exploded.One of our favorite buggies-and one of the few that still is a recognizable Jeep-is this b Dustin Webster was gracious enough to offer the keys to his Red Bull Rockit rock buggy to Australian Tony Robinson for a run at the Pro Modified class with spotter Frank Johnson pointing directions. The Rockit is outfitted with special Pro Comp Competition X-terrains and CTM axles and U-joints made of specially treated 300M-alloy steel. More like a wild bronco than a red bull, this monster was rearing up under the full moon as the competition ran into the night.Dustin Webster was gracious enough to offer the keys to his Red Bull Rockit rock buggy to Another trick tube truck we came across was this low-slung Samurai-skinned ride driven by Aussies Sean Langley and Tim Scott. Running a motley crew of drivetrain parts, including a rotary engine, Land Rover LT-230 transfer case, and what looked like Toyota or Nissan axles, this BFG-shod buggy was laying a beat down on the course until it severely bent a wheel.Another trick tube truck we came across was this low-slung Samurai-skinned ride driven by Dustin and Becca Webster's new Red Bull Rock-Her Pro Modified buggy is a unique mixture of engineering ideas to build an extremely capable machine. Built by the crew at Blue Torch Fabworks, this buggy is a mixture of recognizable bodywork (actually looks like a pickup), low center of gravity, high ground clearance, and strong rugged parts. Even with rollovers and underhood fires, the Websters were able to take Second Place in their class.Dustin and Becca Webster's new Red Bull Rock-Her Pro Modified buggy is a unique mixture of This rear-engine buggy was by far the trickest rig at the event. Built and driven by Australians Peter Antunac and spotter Tarrant Baguley, this engineering masterpiece had some prototype Sway-A-Way air shocks with hydraulic rams built into the shock shaft to raise the body should it get hung up. Also the axles were custom portals with Hummer reduction boxes attached to first-of-its-kind cast end forgings with front and rear steer. Behind the driver sits a big-block that was having a few cooling issues, but there weren't any problems with the Lovell transfer case that is air shifted and uses clutches to allow shifting gears even under full load. In the end, team 679 came in Seventh Place.This rear-engine buggy was by far the trickest rig at the event. Built and driven by Austr Maxxis Tires has made a huge commitment to the sport of rockcrawling by sending a full truck and trailer stocked to the gills with parts and tools to help get any driver back on course should any mishaps occur. Danny Rohrer and Chad Rolfert had one such mishap in their Maxxis-sponsored rig, but came back to claim Third Place.Maxxis Tires has made a huge commitment to the sport of rockcrawling by sending a full tru Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
