JAY, Okla. — For many Ultra4 USA competitors, the primary goal is simply to finish the race.
For others, it’s to make memories and carry on a legacy. Several drivers accomplished both during the weeklong, crown jewel Visions Off-Road event at MidAmerica Outdoors on June 12-18.
A Borrowed Jeep Leads Sergio Pinillos To Victory
Sergio Pinillos surprised himself on Thursday afternoon by earning the prize piece of hardware in the 4600 Stock class. Considering the stout competition from Ford Bronco drivers Loren Healy and John Rants, as well as his brief history in the Ultra4 USA series, the last thing Pinillos expected was to be on top at day’s end.
Furthermore, the vehicle he wheeled — the No. 4688 Jeep — wasn’t even his.
He used to co-drive with the Jeep’s owner, but Pinillos has borrowed the keys for two Ultra4 USA races this year, including King of the Hammers and Visions Off-Road.
“It seems to be working pretty good,” Pinillos said. “We need to prep the car a little bit more next time, not just doing it last-minute like always. But it feels great to be on top of the box.”
He’s content with his driving technique — which he’s been sharpening at other off-road races in Baja, Mexico, and at the Dakar Rally — and the speed he showed in Oklahoma. But with Visions being a double-points race, Pinillos is thinking bigger.
“I’ve got to see where this puts me in the championship, and now, I might have to steal the Jeep again,” Pinillos said.
Pip Justice Brings Rufus Racing No. 78 Home Sixth
Pip Justice’s favorite story to tell about Ultra4 involves his 40th birthday, a gifted plane ticket from Australia to California and his first trip to King of the Hammers.
“We literally pulled up in a camper, knew not one person at King of the Hammers and there was a fire going over there in the distance. I could see people standing around it, walked up to them and asked, ‘How’s it going?’” Justice recalled. “And they turned to me and said, ‘Where the hell are you from?’ And that’s how it all started. Zandy was there.”
Zandy Willems competed in Ultra4 from 2018 to the fall of 2022, when he lost his life in a crash at Crandon (Wis.) Int’l Raceway in September. He co-founded and drove for the Rufus Racing team, which Justice has been involved in since that first meeting at KOH.
Justice, who is a multi-time champion in off-road racing in Australia, now drives the No. 78 entry for Rufus Racing in select Ultra4 USA events. Visions Off-Road made the list this year.
“Expectations were just to get out, finish races and make memories. Just trying to get things together after the passing of Z and try to, in his memory, do exactly what he loved to do,” Justice said.
In the 4400 Unlimited feature on Friday afternoon, Justice brought the No. 78 entry home sixth in the eight-lap race.
Rufus Racing’s second entry, the No. 4 driven by Chip McLaughlin, was unable to finish the race.
25-Hour Haul For Pitre & Dion
Yan Pitre and co-driver Mechael Dion made a 25-hour haul, crossed the Canadian-United States border and ended up in Jay, Okla., for Visions Off-Road.
“There’s a reason for that, because it’s the best place in the world for us,” Pitre said. “Our friends came last year and they said, ‘if there’s one race that you need to do, it’s this one.’”
The duo’s start in the 4400 Unlimited class at MidAmerica Outdoors marked their first off-road race in the U.S. They attended KOH earlier this year, but as Pitre puts it, “You just don’t do your first race at King of the Hammers.”
Pitre has been competing off-road for the past 10 years at regional races in Quebec and Ontario, while Dion has spent the last several years racing against Pitre in his own car. But the two teamed up this week for both the 25-hour drive and the two-hour 4400 Unlimited sprint.
“We’re East Coast people, so we like trees and mud and stuff. We’re not used to desert and short-track stuff, so this is really a good track for us,” Pitre said.
The day before the race, Pitre admitted he’d be happy to finish the race, but his greater hope was for a top 15 in the 27-car field.
The pair got their wish, as they placed 15th in their No. 797 entry on Friday.