This HD video covers the first wave start of the 2012 VORRA USA 500 Race. At 6:30 a.m., the lower horsepower and Full Metal Class took off from Fernley, Nevada. They head into a summer’s day of desert heat, rock, fast track and rattlesnakes!
See the finish of the race in this HD video…Hear candid racer comments! This vantage presents the racers’ points of view just minutes after crossing the finish line of the 2012 VORRA USA 500 Race.
By nightfall, terrain changes hue. Tired eyes peer through silt dust and chilling darkness for this finish line near Fernley, Nevada…This is the 2012 VORRA USA 500 at its best!
July 14, 2012, Fernley, NV—On a crisp summer morning, within sight of truck traffic on Interstate 80, the second annual VORRA 2012 USA 500 Race began. Multiple classes meant a wide range of competition and equipment. From Suzukis to UTVs, hardcore desert buggies to trophy trucks, the race promised a long day of action!
The racers left Fernley and immediately hit hard trail. 30-40 minutes out, Check Point One and the pit crews waited patiently for traffic. There were two starts, based upon race car class: 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. By the first check point, traffic already commingled and began to bunch.
By the end of a very long day, Don and Chris German were surprised to learn that they won the race—a First Place finish overall! Hear their comments in the finish line HD video below…
On their first lap, at Check Point Pit One, the team of Koenig/Robinson slows to the mandatory 25 mph. They will pass through here several laps. The lengthy course swept out across stark desert and pole line roads, meandered northeast and eventually looped above Lovelock, Nevada.
Here, two of three top competitors missed the turn out of Check Point One during their first lap! A traffic jam changed their positions. Changing positions became common and frequent in the combination of high-speed desert dirt roads, rocky canyons and loose two-track.
Second Place rolls across the finish line as the sun sets. There is much to be gained by crossing this line before dark—only the top three race teams were able to do so. Shadows and rock require intense lighting, both atop and in front of the race car! Many teams drove well into the night…
Tired yet exuberant, the team of Koenig/Robinson gets the official word before heading to the staging and debrief point, alongside the Truck Inn and Terrible Herbst, Fernley, Nevada!
Car #156 entering the Pit One check point on the first lap. Driver Jerry Wood has a long day ahead. The temperature will exceed 100-degrees F, where equipment and bodies get taxed to the maximum.
At the finish line, the sun has now dropped below the horizon. As the desert night begins, Wood draws a Third Place checkered flag. He’s had his hands in repairs, driven doggedly through a gruelling day, and managed a highly prized 3rd Place!
Jerry Wood had barely enough time for repairs—and no time for cleaning his hands! Driving and wrenching is not uncommon in this form of wide open desert—with long stretches of barren, scorching terrain.
Rod Hall Racing, based at nearby Reno/Sparks, Nevada, played a role in both the promotion and sponsorship of the VORRA USA 500 Race. Here, Damien Michelin pilots the Rod Hall/Damien Michelin team to a First Place finish in the Full Metal Class!
Full Metal Class means careful prepping. The heavyweight Hummer has been a mainstay for Rod Hall Racing. Here at the finish, Damien Michelin reflects on the gruelling challenges of this long race. Victory in a class makes it all worthwhile!
