LATEST NEWS: Drive on down the page to keep up with the crews battling to keep LIVE!! news coming through, as the storm really does hit, and hard! Commentator and UE4 driver, Jerry Hunt, who will shortly be requiring ground anchors to hold him in place, is braced in to to the wind but still out there capturing the story and following the crews as they take on the early stages. Experience the might of “Storm Xtrem” with Jerry Hunt, Jason ‘Nobby’ Morgan and the whole team as the story unfolds…..it’s a belter!!
It takes a truck load of work to get an event off the ground and a special crew to make it successful year after year. Heading up a fabulous posse of volunteers, all dedicated and experienced in their field, who do just that, is the hugely charismatic Jason ‘Nobby’ Morgan. He very kindly took time out from the supercharged run up to the 2019 Welsh Xtrem, to ponder the whys, hows and wherefores of this now cult event….
If you haven’t been yet, and don’t have the t shirt, 2019’s on trend Welsh Xtrem colour is a very striking and extremely positive orange!
Moose Offroad with a full burst of their unique Xtrem filming to really capture the mood on the Friday warm up…..
Saturday a.m. …first away….
Going in to the final day of all out Welsh Xtrem action:
It’s been relentless. All action off road, completely riveting on-line, with a properly exciting cliff hanger of a Charity Auction under canvas last night….this is the event that literally just keeps on giving!! Brace yourself for a ‘real cherry on the cake’ moment even after the event is all over…. But for now, as they say, “Buckle up Buttercup, it’s going to be a hell of a ride….” Day 3, Welsh Xtrem 2019 is under starters orders….
Brace yourselves ……. it’s nearly time for some of the most exciting Xtreme off road challenge teams to get focused, be fearless, and, to split the odd Welsh infinitive, ….. i fyndboldly!!!
The lakebed dust is only just settling after the off road quake that was KOH 2019. The challenge style events epicentre may have been 1000s of mile away in Johnson Valley, California, but the mind blowing adrenalin wave has carried across the ocean and, losing nothing in momentum, is about to make landfall!!!
Organisers and crews alike are making final adjustments, only just reigning in the growing tide of excitement as they prepare for the 7th edition of the Welsh Xtrem …. a gruelling, all action, multi discipline event, that will push competitors to the limit of driver ability and crew team work, whilst testing tactical planning under Xtreme, hi octane pressure.
Months of meticulous work and preps have been willingly dedicated by Jason ‘Nobby’ Morgan and his well practiced and experienced team, to put in place an event that the organisers hope will make this year’s Welsh Xtrem even bigger, better and bolder than ever before.
ORWW will be following the event, with many thanks to the Welsh Xtrem team for an all access on-line view to their event, so check in with us here, where we’ll link up for a run down and coverage from those on site, and, to get maximum screen time viewing, you can also go to the events own Fb page (details below) and ‘like’ page for notification of real ‘live’ coverage throughout the weekend.
The Welsh Xtrem team want you to get as much out of the event as poss., so here’s the overview of the 2019 event to help make some plans:
Friday 8th March 14:15: Odyssey Battery #FunFriday It’s the warm up! Each vehicle will perform this Section one at a time. It shapes the line up for the rest of the event!
18:00 – 22:30: Wilderness Lighting Special Night Section. (not brilliant for spectating but for the true Xtrem off-road fans not one to be missed)
Saturday 9th March 09:00 – 18:00: Special Section Saturday at the #xtrem19. This is worth a trip to come and see. We will have no less than 15 Special Sections and new for the 2019 event 5 Super Special Sections for our Competitors to complete. It’s going to be a long hard day in the office for these brave guys and girls.
19:00: We have an evening of entertainment planned. Food and Drinks will be available to purchase, It is a chance to spend time with the Organisers, Competitors and Marshals. The evening will include an Auction at 20:30 you are all welcome to come and take part.
Sunday 10th March 09:00 – 16:00: Its the Gigglepin #SuperSunday. Quite simply do as many laps as you can!
17:00: or sooner if we can Prize Giving.
There are toilets on site, but it s a field in the middle of Wales please don’t expect the marble sinks and heaters to dry your hands.
You can watch some of the Action LIVE on the Welsh Xtrem Facebook Page please like the page to make sure you receive the notifications that we are live. https://www.facebook.com/TheWelshXtrem/ there is lots more useful information also on that page so why not check it out?
Off Road World Wide takes time out with Jon Aston BXCC Organiser and Andy Degiulio BXCC competitor to get excited about the first rumblings of the new look championship…..
A pre-season look behind the scenes of the club world begins with Off Road World Wide having a catch up with Richard Maior-Barron, Chairman of the AWDC…..
Like all clubs, the AWDC has had it’s share of ups and downs. The usual struggle to get committee members on board took its toll on the club along with a slightly bumpy downhill slide in membership.
So what persuaded Richard to come back after a 17 year break from off road and jump straight in to the rather beleaguered driving seat, taking on the role of Chairman, at one very bleak point in the AWDC story?
With British drivers flying high in international events, it’s time to bring together the moments, drivers, crews and cars that have made, and are making history…right now…and archive the stories for us all to share, from the past and the present, and to treasure them right along side the future of this incredible sport.
We have world class crews, events and organisers and still nowhere near enough coverage…time to get that sorted and off road motorsport recognised as the top level area of competition that it is. There’s even going to be an area for a proper Fan Club for the crews out there busting their butts and doing us proud representing the sport…and that’s well overdue!!
This is a whole new way of collecting and sharing the news, views, stories and histories, bringing together the ‘elders’ of the sport right along side the reigning champs, the movers and shakers, and the up and coming crews in full cry for those top titles and honours.
The organisers, safety crews, time keepers, marshals and comms units will all take a place in the intricate web of off road motorsport, with presenters in every nook and cranny mulling over, debating and just wallowing in moments and events across the off road season.
The ‘virtual studio’ will be open to everyone to put questions to the guest crews. Live ‘vs’ events will happen regularly in the Cider Barn or LR shed, as well as at other venues and events all round the country…indeed the world!
We are eternally grateful to the film makers, journalists and photographers, who have given us access to their events, footage, stories and archives….these are the people who are already getting the sport out there and creating a thousand treasured moments in film and word. The whole story though, is only possible because of the people who move heaven, and quite often earth too, to create the theaters where those moments are created. The event organisers. Many will also be appearing in the ‘broadcasts’ and sharing their take on the whole scene from their own viewing platform.
We are not going to hit the course, full chat, as it were, bashing 7 bells out of the the rev limiter, screaming through the season. We’re going to start at a pace that gives us chance for a bit of trial and error and for us all to see which route we want to take. You’re welcome to come along for the ride….. we’ve got a great navigator, a solid crew …. but the driving may be a bit dodgy … so I’ll be tagging with lots of others who are top notch!!
To start the season, we would like to say a massive off road congrats to the Scottish Land Rover Owners Club, who have just celebrated their 60th AGM!! So brassed off not to have been able to get there, but we raised a glass to you all in thanks for the massive contribution the club has made from its early days, as the first recorded and committee-ed Land Rover club, to it’s current superb place in the off road story. A truly exemplary club, with a massive heart and the warmest welcome. So proud to say its where it all started for so many of us. Keep flying the Saltire high for Scottish off road…you’re just the best!! See you later in the year!! xxx
Cheers to 60 years of the SLROC, all the times we’ve shared…… …….and all the stories still to be told!!! xxx
KOH – Heading further out on course, to the lake bed of Johnson Valley. That’s where we tag in the people who talk the trending talk, with full on, off road passion, and a hell of a depth of knowledge…..which brings us nicely to the joys of international competitor and commentator, Gigglepin Jim Marsden, who also has a massively shelf bending, mind blowing haul of top pots from around the world, and is carrying a hefty bag of titles to defend from a blasting 2018 season, with one hell of a story to go with them. We’re massively proud of this British driver … it is an extraordinary feat. We’ll bring the whole story from last year before we fire up on this year’s trail to see how he gets on.
For now Jim Marsden in action…..with the finest mic ever!!
Hoping over the channel, we’ll be following the Brit crews en France and uncover the stories of the successes over the years in the Tout Terrain events, from the crews who broke new ground out at the Rallye Infernal, to the 1st glorious win for a British team, Pat Willis and Robbo Aliperti, at the notorious Rally des Cimes, and the deepest joy when Stephanie and Rachel Simmonite took the entire French championship, again a British first, with a cliff hanger of a final run on the last event…
Most brilliantly, to get the full story, John Hilton has let us loose amongst his incredible and vast archive store of events home and abroad. You can see his own, brilliantly captured vids of the French Tout Terrain c’ship and much more by hopping over to jmhilton.co.uk. You’ll need a comfy chair and a good hour at least…it’s fantastic!! We’ll be following him as he films the events through 2019, with interviews, vids and possibly even a live show from one of the events.
Jon Aston and his BXCC crew will be featuring throughout the year, along with the stunningly glorious backdrops of the Hillrallys. Mini mes, trials, comps, clubs….there’ll be a bit of all of us in the mix…..really looking forward to some Mini me commentators coming in too!!!! Steve Grogan doesn’t know it yet, but hopefully his international trialling story with the Bandit will be a major highlight for us trailers.
If we’re missing anything, pick up a phone, tablet, camera, hit rec. and just send your clip to ……..
For the start to the ‘virtual studio’, Challenge South West’s Hons Pres, Chris Peddlar, will be hopefully, weather depending, in the studio with us, bringing a wealth of experience, knowledge and love of off road motorsport. There will be much, much more, many more familiar faces plus a wealth of new names, vehicles and off road disciplines to share….plus, no doubt a shed load of errors and cock ups.
But for now it’s time set the plan, aim for the tracks and trails for a frighteningly ambitious journey across the completely unpredictable terrain of off road motorsport.
For all off road motorsport hearts and souls, this is our shared life, on film….for everyone.
Over many years writing, I signed off with “Keep Talking”…. time to ditch the pen and paper and make friends with the web cam, so …..
