The second race of the Ultra4 Europe 2023 European Championship and the British Championship will take place from August 4th to 6th at the iconic Walters Arena in Wales.
The Walters Arena between the teams and fans of Ultra4 Europe represents the historic location where it all began, where the American dream of the King of the Hammers became a reality in Europe and where the hopes of the drivers to be able to participate in the legendary Californian race became possible.
Here, back in 2012, the first European race in pure Ultra4 style took place. Since that distant July, race after race and year after year, the Wlaters arena with its 1600 acres has been the backdrop for the most adrenaline-pumping actions of the Ultra4 Europe drivers with some famous appearances such as Shannon Campbell who in 2013, with Dave Cole as co -driver, drove Jim Marsden's car or like Levi Shirley and Bailey Cole who won here in 2014 and 2017 respectively.
King of Britain will be exciting for the drivers, the teams and also great venue for the spectators. Get ready for an unforgettable weekend in the iconic Walters Arena!

What to expect for King of Britain?

- King of Britain 2023
- King of Britain 2023 spectators info
- King of Britain 2023 race prizes and championships prizes
- Which vehicles can participate at King of Britain 2023
- Ultra4 Europe 2023 European and British Championship

King of Britain 2023, 4 - 6 August, Walters Arena - Wales

King of Britain, held at one of the most Ultra4 Europe iconic locations in Europe. The Walters Arena is known and feared for an arduous, punishing terrain, combined with often treacherous weather conditions.

The event is an endurance based format with all U4 classes racing at same time on a similar course. The main course will be for 4400/ Legend, Modified and Winch Rally Raid, a slightly modified and shorter course using by pass sections will be available for STOCK/ UTV. Winch Rally Raid vehicles will also be given a more technical route at certain parts of the main course. Cars will depart startline in pairs at 30 sec between pairs.

The main race event will be divided into 2 competitive sessions, 1 on the Saturday and 1 on the Sunday.

Prologue/ Qualifying

All Teams will take part in a 3 hour qualifying event as per the schedule, the result of which will give them a start position for Raceday 1. This qualifying event will allow teams to complete as many laps as they need to get their best time. More details of this qualifying event will be given in the Driver Briefing, as per the schedule.

Raceday 1

All Teams will have a 5 hour window to achieve a set number of laps in that time – 4 laps – start order based on results from Qualifying. The aim is to get the fastest time to complete all 4 laps in the 5 hour race time wimdow.

SUPER SPRINT EVENT

All teams a chance to gain additional count with a short, technical lap with vehicles running in pairs off a common start line around a course of approx. 2 kms long. Results from the Super Sprint will not count towards the final results for King of Britain but will earn teams additional points towards the British and European Championships standings. There

Raceday 2

All Teams will have 4 hours to complete 3 laps in that time. Start order will be based on finishing order of Main Race Day 1. The aim is to get the fastest time to complete all 3 laps in the 4 hour race time window.

Anyone with a RZR170 or RZR200 is welcome.

A junior race is being introduced at the King of Britain this year! “We are excited to organize a course so that young people can also come and be part of the iconic race!”
Saturday will be reserved for free practice sessions ready for the Sunday morning main event with all spectators and riders watching.

Race Program:

Event Timings :
Friday 4th August- Prologue / Qualifying – 17.00 - 19.00
Saturday 5th August - Race day 1 – 09.00 - 17.00
Sunday 6th August - Race day 2 – 09.00 - 15.00 followed by prize giving.

Event Location and full address:
Walters Arena, Maes y Gwyn Windfarm, Intervalley Road, Glynneath, SA10 9LR.

Which vehicles can participate? All Ultra4 Europe classes

The 4400 class is the original class that started the King of Hammers race. Year after year these rigs have evolved to become increasingly powerful and performing. For their important technological development, the 4400 are considered by many people as the “Formula 1” of 4x4.
That said, it is important to know that it is possible to participate in Ultra4 Europe competitions also with other types of vehicles.

4400 UNLIMITED
These cars compete during the main King of The Hammers race on KOH Week. 4400 Drivers have to earn a spot to compete in King of The Hammers. These cars are not limited on tire size, engine or chassis design, other than to meet the safety requirements for the class. Unlimited cars must have a transfer case and be able to be driven in 4WD. These cars can be straight axle, or independent suspension (IFS - IRS). They are the ultimate and original design of the Ultra4 vehicle, capable of any terrain, any speed and no limits.

4600 STOCK
This class has been racing in Ultra4 since 2012. It is one of the 3 classes that races on KOH week during the 4WP Every Man Challenge. Currently, these cars do not have to qualify to race in the EMC race during KOH Week. At regional races, this class usually races with either the 4500 or 4800 cars.
The spirit of the stock vehicle is to allow OEM and aftermarket vendors the opportunity to showcase their products whilst providing a true driver's class experience that closely relates to street driven versions of the same vehicle. Fairly strick technical criteria makes sure that a Stock vehicle is competing in a level playing field of vehicles but still allows the driver to design his race car to the optimum for driving advantages whilst still being compliant within the rules.

Class Characteristics:
. Stock OEM frame
. Factory engine
. Factory transmission
. 35” DOT approved tires
. Single 2.5 inch diameter shocks per corner
. Mechanical steering

4500 MODIFIED
This class has been racing in Ultra4 since 2012. It is one of the 3 classes that races on KOH week during the \Every Man Challenge. At regional races, this class, if large enough, races on their own or can be on the track with the 4600, 4700 or 4800 cars. As a vehicle, the class allows for significant modification of a standard vehicle and in some cases can be as capable as a 4400 vehicle in the suspension, engine and performance.

Class Characteristics:
. Modified OEM chassis or OEM style chassis
. 2 -2.5 inch diameter shocks per corner
. Mechanical steering
. 37” DOT approved tires

4800 LEGEND
This class has been racing in Ultra4 since 2014. It is one of the 3 classes that races on KOH week during the 4WP Every Man Challenge. These cars do not have to qualify to race in the EMC race during KOH Week. This class has been one of the fastest growing classes in Ultra4 as older Ultra4 cars can enter this class as long as they meet the requirements. The vehicles follow the tradition or original technical format for the Utra4 vehicles that were racing in the beginning!

Class Characteristics:
. Front mounted engines only
. Vehicle must contain 2 seats side by side
. Single shock per corner
. Max 37” DOT non-sticky tires
. Only solid axles allowed (not IFS or TTB)

4900 UTV
Utility Terrain Vehicles or UTV are by far the fastest growing class in Ultra4, light, fast, super nimble vehicles, this class has grown in popularity as the vehicles are easier to transport, own and maintain. Vehicle is defined as a standard production based "side by side" with powersports based belt driven drivetrain.
This class is growing as the variety of vehicle designs increases - it already has sub classes in Ultra4 which cater for the increase in engine sizes available, typically 800cc and 1000cc turbo and non turbo but with the newer 2000cc vehicles coming in, the sub classes will allow vehicles to compete at similar levels.

WINCH RALLY RAID - WRR
The newest and very much the European class within the Ultra4 Classes, this class is only now in its third year of running and still being evolved. It was originally introduced as a class to entice Teams to take part in Ultra4 events, had a winch challenge capable vehicle and wanted to come and play. Vehicles that enter in Winch Rally Raid class are very capable vehicles, in their own right, full challenge spec, not always the fastest of vehicles, often diesel powered but a competitive vehicle none the less. This class gives them a more level competitive playing field whilst still getting the full effect of Ultra4 events.
WRR courses include terrain that requires a different mindset to traverse and this adds to the overall flavour of Ultra4 racing. Typically, WRR would be more at home doing the Rally Breslau Extreme class but competing with Ultra4, gives a totally different view of the speed aspects of offroad unlimited racing. Teams have made the transition from WRR to 4400 or 4800 class, altering their vehicles to fit the technical requirement for these classes, proving the diverse nature of offroad competition vehicles.
Ultra4 Europe 2023 European and British Championship

This event will be Round 2 for both European and British Championship.

The European Championship is aimed not only at drivers who can go racing in different countries and take part in the whole season, but also at those who only wish to go and ride in part of the races. From North to South, from East to West, there is bound to be a race near you, take your seat in the 2023 Ultra4 Europe Championship.

Ultra4 Europe European Championship where 3 out of 4 European events from the season count towards the European Championship.
- Rallye Breslau (25-30 June)
- King of Britain (4-6 August)
- King of France (8-10 September)
- King of Portugal (4-7 October)

Source Ultra4

FIA-FIM RALLY-RAID WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• The W2RC caravan will resume its American expedition in a month. Following the Sonora Rally in Mexico in late April, the fourth round of the championship will take place in Argentina from 26 August to 1 September with the eleventh Desafío Ruta 40 YPF.
• This edition is a first for the W2RC, which has never visited Argentina before, and marks the return of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF following a hiatus that started in 2018. The competitors will face a gruelling 2,804 km route between La Rioja, Belén (Catamarca) and Salta, split into a prologue and five stages.
• FIA overall leader Nasser Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) is ready to take on the local hero Sebastián Halpern (X-raid Mini JCW). The Argentinian, fourth in the standings, has won the race twice and is lining up as the defending champion.
• Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), perched at the top of the FIM leader board, will have to keep an eye on his teammate Kevin Benavides, currently in fourth place. The Argentinian ace, who defeated the Australian to win his second Dakar last January, also has two victories to his name in this event.

THE ARGENTINIAN REMONTADA

The 2023 W2RC added two new American races to the calendar, slotted between the Dakar and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and its traditional season finale in Morocco in October. After the Sonora Rally in Mexico, the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF is now poised to bring Argentina back to the forefront of the international rally raid scene. The country hosted the Dakar ten times in a row from 2009 to 2018, when it awed the world with its sublime landscapes and a tidal wave of enthusiasm swept the nation. The Desafío Ruta 40 also ran for ten editions between 2010 and 2018, including two in 2017 (one in the north and one in the south). After five years on ice, the DR40 —as it is known in the trade— chose 2023 as the right moment to emulate the World Cup-winning national football team and stage its own remontada!

Argentina is keen on taking a leaf out of the book of its homegrown talent, which has consistently been at the business end of the sport in recent years. Sebastián Halpern is fourth in the car championship, with another albiceleste, the rising star Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing), nipping on his heels. The Mini JCW driver, a two-time winner of the DR40 (2016 and 2018), is the current title holder. He has a real shot at joining Nasser Al Attiyah and Yazeed Al Rajhi (Toyota Overdrive) on the provisional podium. Meanwhile, in the motorbike category, Kevin Benavides claimed his second Dakar last January, following his maiden win in 2021. He lies fourth in the championship, hamstrung by a crash shortly before the second round. Also a two-time winner of the race (2016 and 2017), he is the favourite to win on home turf, but few RallyGP riders have improved their performances this year as much as his brother Luciano (Husqvarna Factory Racing). The younger Benavides is now second in the championship and certainly has what it takes to add a third Desafío Ruta 40 YPF trophy to the family's silverware.

A DAUNTING CHALLENGE

The Desafío Ruta 40 owes its name to Ruta Nacional 40, which it has traditionally followed. RN40 is the longest and most important road in Argentina, running parallel to the Andes from south to north for over 5,000 kilometres. Ruta 40 is famous for the mosaic of beautiful reserves, national parks and permanently snow-capped peaks —including the highest in the Americas— that lie along the route. It has set the stage for adventures such as "Che" Guevara's journey of self-discovery. The DR40 will bring all these landscapes to our screens, just like the Dakar once did. The eleventh Desafío Ruta 40 will take place in the northern reaches of the country. Here, the organiser warns that the main challenges will be the varied terrain and the need to change the pace throughout the rally and often within the same stage. Off-track sections, dried-up riverbeds —the famous ríos, including the Pie de Medano río at an altitude of 2,900 metres—, dunes of all sizes —including the dunes of Fiambalá, which make up 30% of the stage 4 special— , salt flats… Dakar aficionados in South America are in for a real treat, not just because the race will revisit some of the venues and bivouacs that went down in the ten-year history of the Dakar on the continent, but also and especially because it is bringing back the atmosphere that fans came to know and love. "You have no idea how many questions about the spectator areas we have received!", confesses the DR40 YPF Communications Department.

La Rioja, Catamarca (where is located Belén) and Salta are three provinces that have hosted the DR40 and the Dakar more than once. Far from resting on the laurels, they are serving up between 10 and 15% of entirely new content. The prologue, held in La Rioja on 27 August, will give fans an idea of the state of play. Stage 1 will take the field to Belén, where the caravan will set up camp in the familiar bivouac of the Dakar and previous editions of the DR40. This picture-postcard village will then host three loop stages. The fifth and final stage will set course for Salta, located almost 500 kilometres from the start city down Ruta 40.

David Eli, founder of +Eventos (organiser of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF): "We are enjoying the return of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF with great enthusiasm and excitement, even more so with the arrival of the W2RC for the first time in Argentina. In +Eventos we have a great team with an important know-how when it comes to organising major sports events. La Rioja, Belén (in Catamarca) and Salta are emblematic places in the history of the Desafío Ruta 40 and the Dakar Rally in South America since, as we know, they have outstanding terrains for the rally raid. We are designing a race for the riders to have a good time, but be careful! That doesn't mean it will be an easy race. It will be a great Desafío Ruta 40.”

PROGRAM:
· 12 August: Closing date for FIA entries
· 16 August: Closing date for FIM entries
· 17 August: Publication of the entry list
· 22 August: Opening of the bivouac at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja at 8 am
· 25 August: Opening of the press room and distribution of accreditations at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja from 9 am
-----------------
· 26 August:
- Administrative scrutineering at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja from 9 am to 5 pm
- Technical scrutineering at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja from 10 am to 6 pm
- Press conference at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja at 12 pm
-----------------
· 27 August:
- Completion of the administrative and technical scrutineering at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja from 8:30 to 10 am
- Publication of the starting order at 11:30 am
- General briefing at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja at 1 pm
- 9 km prologue at Dique Los Sauces at 3 pm
- Choice of starting order by the top 10 in the prologue at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja at 6:30 pm
- Ceremonial start at the Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja from 7:30 to 8:30 pm
------------------
· 28 August: stage 1 - La Rioja–Belén (road section: 362 km / special: 334 km / total: 696 km)
· 29 August: stage 2 - Belén–Belén (road section: 121 km / special: 339 km / total: 460 km)
· 30 August: stage 3 - Belén–Belén (road section: 196 km / special: 268 km / total: 464 km)
· 31 August: stage 4 - Belén–Belén (road section: 236 km / special: 348 km / total: 584 km)
· 1 September: stage 5 - Belén–Salta (road section: 304 km / special: 257 km / total: 561 km)
- Finish of the first competitors at 2 pm
- Finish podium ceremony at the Centro de Convenciones de Salta from 5 to 6 pm

Source W2RC / ASO
Photo: Desafio Ruta 40

Three MM Technology race trucks, led by factory car Cenda and pilot Martin Macik Jr., successfully represented Baja Aragon. Martin Macik Jr. won the prologue and two Saturday special stages to take the final second place in the race, with Firemen Dakar Team’s Richard De Groot and Ruhrtal Racing’s Florian Skibba finishing third and fourth. The next race for MM Technology will be Baja Poland in August and then the Rallye du Maroc.

The trucks from MM Technology were in the TOP4 of the race

All MM Technology race trucks placed in the TOP4 of the overall race standings at Baja Aragon 2023. In competition with seven other trucks, they demonstrated their quality and their crews also sense of fair play during the race itself.

“I’m happy that all the trucks from MM Technology placed at the top of the race. But I was even more pleased that we were able to work together as teams and help each other out on the track,” said Martin Macik Jr., who praised the cooperation of the MM Technology, Ruhrtal Racing and Firemen Dakar Team crews during the race.

Martin Macik Jr. won two special stages and finished second

The factory truck Cenda with pilot Martin Macik Jr. crossed the finish line of Baja Aragon in the second fastest time. Cenda was making up for the second part of the race by making up for a wobble during Friday stage, in which he was 17 minutes behind the race leader after winning the prologue.

On Saturday Cenda won both stages from Banon to Celadas and the shortened final stage. He crossed the finish line in the second fastest time just four minutes behind the winning Javier Mariezcurrena.

“We all really enjoyed the race and Cenda was fantastically prepared. He handled the demanding course in the extreme heat with ease and only the loss from Friday part of the program prevented us from winning. But we take only the best from the race and we gained more important experience for the next races”, commented Martin Macik Jr.

This year Baja Aragon was held in the vicinity of the Spanish town of Teurel and took place in enormous conditions in high heat, the organizers also had to shorten two of the three stages. “The race route was very demanding and it was necessary to concentrate every second on what was happening on and around the course. The race is famous for its narrow tracks and sharp turns, and this year it was exactly like that,” said navigator Frantisek Tomasek, who described this year legendary Spanish rally.

“We were able to try out some of the things from the testing in Tunisia in a sharp race and the new chassis set-up on the Cenda met our expectations. At the same time, there was not any fault on the car during the race, but the high temperature outside was of course a strain on the equipment. Overall Cenda worked great and we are satisfied with its performance,” said MM Technology mechanic David Svanda, who evaluated the technical aspect of the factory car.

The next planned race for MM Technology is Baja Poland in August, and the team from Sedlcany will finish the season at the Rallye du Maroc in October.

“But already on 5th August fans can meet us in Sedlcanska kotlina at the event for the whole family: The Posedli Dakarem Open Air. We’ll take Cenda there, show him off to visitors and of course we will add lots of stories and experiences from the Spanish rally,” invites Martin Macik Jr. to another chance to meet Cenda and the entire MM Technology team.

Source MM Technology

Over the past two days, Erik van Loon and Hein Verschuuren have shown a rising line during the Baja Aragon. During the prologue there are small problems with the Can-Am, but gradually the rally is getting better. The fourth time on the last trial forms the cherry on the cake and makes Van Loon go home with a good feeling.

“I can rest now,” says Van Loon. “It’s so nice to see how it goes when everything works correctly. It was a tough race with a lot of competition. Because we lost time on the prologue, we had to make a catch. During the first stage, we suffered from dust and an flat tyre that brought us less forward than we hoped. However, we finished the first day as ninth, so that was pretty good.”

Today, the Can-Am is running well and the cooperation in the car is as usual. “In the beginning there was a lot of dust, but it actually went fine in the morning. We ran the 7th time, but we did a good job during the long test this afternoon. It was really top! He has navigated well, the car was great and if we can drive without adversity then I will be 4th. A very good finish of the rally, in the end we finish as 7th and I’m very satisfied with it.”

Automatic translation from the original Dutch version published by:
Source: Van Loon Racing