During the last five years, we've seen a transformation in four-wheeling that we never could have imagined. What we referred to as trick suspensions and extreme terrain in the mid-'90s is now looked upon as kids stuff. Today, fully tube-framed rigs sporting high-tech four-link and coilover suspension technology, crawler gears, four-wheel steering, and hybrid axles have not only pushed the envelope of off-road vehicle capabilities, but the drivers of these rigs have completely redefined our definition of hard-core. So, what has it all come to and where is it going? We got a taste of rockcrawling's future at the inaugural international World Super Crawl in Farmington, New Mexico.
What was this event intended to be, you might ask? Super Crawl 2002, which was sanctioned by United Rock Crawling and Off-Road Challenge (UROC), was the Super Bowl of rock wheeling, a three-day gathering of the top competitive rockcrawlers from across the country and around the globe. It was an international who's who in extreme off-roading. From what we saw, Super Crawl was the culmination of everything that rockcrawling and rock racing have become, and quite possibly a preview of where it is going.
Over the past few years, several brands of competitive rockcrawling events have surfaced across the country. You've seen them here in the pages of 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility as we've brought you hard-rockin', in-your-face coverage of CalROCS, ProROC, EROCC, RCAA, and UROC events. These premier events have been grinding out the country's top drivers. However, there hasn't been one singular event in which the nation's top rock dogs could compete tire to tire for the nation's highest honors...until now.
Nineteen states and four countries were represented as 106 driver-spotter teams converged on Farmington's Choke Cherry canyon for the first World Super Crawl. To qualify for a slot in this inaugural event, drivers must have pulled down a Top 10 finish in one of the aforementioned qualifying events; the exception being the teams from Italy, Canada, and Iceland, some of which received special invitations. Teams also had to be fully committed to a no-holds-barred assault on 10 of the toughest obstacles we have ever seen.
Milling around the pits were the likes of '02 season champs Chris Durham, Tracy Jordan, Mike Schaffer, and legendary off-road racer Walker Evans. Icelandic off-road champs Ragnar Robertsson and Einar Emilsson, along with Guilio "Dr. G" Rebesco from Italy, were also on hand and ready to take on the field. Super Crawl itself, however, was a stand-alone event. When the green flag dropped, the title was up for grabs.
More than 15,000 spectators filed through the gates, packing the sidelines of the 10 courses. Choke Cherry Canyon, a Bureau of Land Management Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) recreation area, provided an ideal setting for an event of this magnitude. The obstacles, designed around seemingly insurmountable ledges, insane side hills, near vertical sandstone hill climbs, and frame twisting crevasses, were designed to push the limits of vehicular travel.