(Words and photos by Doug Gregory) – We hadn’t visited DTOR (Dirty Turtle Off Road Park near Bedford, KY) in a while and when we heard ARC was holding a bouncer race there we made plans. We have followed rock crawling, bouncing, Ultra4 and KOH for several years now so we were really looking forward to a big show. Word had it that a few Ultra4 rigs were coming to try their hand at it and that really sweetened the plot.
Unfortunately or fortunately (depends on how you look at it) we were about 20 minutes late to the event. We pull in and park near the entrance and we see some buggies coming up from the trails back to their trailers. We quickly learn the event hadn’t started yet and was likely cancelled. As competitors were heading to the race site one of them had attempted a donut resulting in the buggy flipping. Tragically the driver and her passenger were not restrained resulting in the driver being fatally injured. The rock bouncer community is a tight-knit group and even though many had travelled far for the event the consensus was to postpone the event out of respect for the fallen, her family, and many friends. We decided to walk around and shoot pictures of the buggies and talk to people.
The mood was somber to say the least. Safety is a big concern of mine and complacency creeps in on all of us. That sentiment was echoed time and time again as we strolled among the competitors. These buggies are incredibly well-built, but all the steel tubing, formed seats, and other important pieces don’t help without using the restraints. Please, please – if the vehicle is in motion ensure you are restrained. Thoughts and prayers for all involved. ARC is continually committed to safety and are sticklers for it on-course. The organization is planning a safety fair and benefit ride for the makeup race/race #3 combo event. For more details follow this link – https://www.facebook.com/events/1487241104880670/
Note- We did not take any photos of Shannon Fox’s buggy. The picture in this gallery was provided by ARC and is from Event #1 this year.
How I wish that off road racers here in the UK would start building rock bouncers!
It is my favourite motorsport at the moment – particularly when an inverted car is flipped back on to its wheels and carries on.
I live in hope – if there is anyone out there that is reading this who is actually building or importing one please let me know!