HAMMERTOWN, Calif. – After the sun went down on Saturday, the Baja Jerky Class 11 Showdown presented by EMPi lit up the King of the Hammers short course start/finish area.
The full-bodied Class 11 Volkswagen Bug is one of genesis vehicles of off-road racing and has remained a popular and iconic racing class for many decades. This year’s Class 11 Showdown began with a 25-car field circling the course behind a pace truck for a rolling start. Â
Watching the 2022 Baja Jerky Class 11 Showdown presented by EMPi was like seeing a merry-go-round made up of circling angry bees. There was plenty of noise and action.
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Among the 25 competitors in the competitive field were well-known drivers from diverse off-road racing disciplines such as multi-year King of the Hammers champion Shannon Campbell and Baja-racing ace Larry Roeseler. Many of the competitors were from Mexico and this was their first race in the U.S.
The 10-lap Showdown was filled with paint-swapping side-by-side battles through the turns and plenty of bumper-to-bumper racing. While Roberto Robles (No. 1100) and Cisco Bio (No. 1118) traded second and third position a few times during the race, defending event winner Blake Wilkey (No. 1157) led the pack from green to checkered and took home the $11,940 purse.
“That last corner was my favorite because you could hold it down all the way through. My trick is to never lift,” Wilkey said.
