Go Fast Athlete Josh Patte was invited to compete in the Toughest Off-Road race in North America, titled the "King of the Hammers."
The race was located in the Johnson Valley, California; a beautiful area just outside Barstow, near the 29 palms Marine Base. The course stretched about 150 miles long, and is a key example of "true survivor racing." What makes it challenging is the racers are not allowed to receive any outside assistance. Meaning, if you have a flat, need water or break down you are on your own till you get back to the main pits. You have to be on top of your game and know what you are doing in order to complete the course.
Josh Patte placed DNF due to a wreck at mile marker 4. We are happy that everyone is okay, and wish him the best of luck in his next race.
Josh Patte commented on his participation in the race:
"Our efforts for this race started months before race day. actually we were at Hammer Town (Which, what they call the City the setup in the desert) for over a week!! Eating, breathing and living in the dust.
From the start line we ran very hard to get out in front of the pack of 100 cars! We were lucky enough to have a 20th starting position. We honestly reeled in 11 race cars in the first 2 miles of the race. On one extreme hill climb we passed three cars at once! This "hill" was very loose, had huge Boulders on the right side and made a slight turn to the left and then back to the right near the top. This was no easy task obviously by the fact that there was one of the cars stuck on a boulder on the left side.
At race mile 4 we had the worst scenario we could have wanted....We rolled at speed. This wasn't a normal rock crawling roll. This was a roll at 20-23 mph going down a very steep wash coming out of a canyon. This roll involved us stopping completely upside down with hot fluids going everywhere. I rushed to get the race car shut off and then crawled out to meet the media helicopter filming the whole roll. As they continued to film I rushed to get the car back on the wheels. In the end we were able to get the car back up and going only to find the right front wheel, brake assembly and steering were broken. This meant we were unable to continue to be competitive in this race with kind of repair needed. We were able to band-Aid the broken parts enough to continue to check point 1 which is the race mile 22..."
A very tough break, but keep GOING FAST!
