The Honda Off-Road Factory Racing Honda Ridgeline continues to impress with its strong performance and finish at the King of the Hammers 2024 Desert Challenge held on January 28, 2024 Hammertown, USA, Johnson Valley, CA. From Class 11 to T1, the Desert Challenge had 182 entries across two races. The Limited classes competed in the morning of the 28 th and the Unlimited classes in the afternoon – both on the same course. The race course was two, 97-mile laps of fast open desert, with some tight technical sections and canyon runs.
In only his third race in the new desert racing prepped Ridgeline, Ethan Ebert brought the No. 9 newly HRC liveried truck to the checkered flag in 4th place with a time of 3:26:41. Just two minutes off the podium, and only nine seconds ahead of P5.
Jeff Proctor, Team Principal, said, “The Honda Off-Road Factory Racing team had a solid day. It was on the uneventful side of things, which is its own accomplishment in desert racing. Ethan had a great day behind the wheel. The Ridgeline keeps proving itself and we’re just getting started as we haven’t come close to tapping its performance potential.
“We have an aggressive plan to keep testing and improving the Ridgeline. One of the areas we’ve seen significant advances is with the FOX suspension, featuring electronically controlled Live-Valve shock technology. We’re all very happy with the progress, support, and added traction of the new system.”
Ebert said, “King of the Hammers 2024 was definitely awesome. This was my second year racing King of the Hammers and I couldn’t be more stoked on the outcome in the new truck. It drove nice, had all the power I needed, and shifted great because of the HRC Engineers helping us tune it to perfection. It was my first time driving with Gatlan [Haddon] in the right seat, however, it felt like we’ve been doing it for years. I can’t thank him enough for helping me race through the desert at such a pace.
“I want to thank Jeff Proctor and the whole HRC team for giving me such a great race truck and solid prep. The truck felt invincible! We finished fourth in T1 and seventh, overall, which is outstanding for this V6 compared to the V8s! The next race for us will be The Mint 400 and I can’t wait to bring this pace into The Mint and hopefully get up on the podium with this HRC Trophy Truck.”
Another first for the team, was testing the Star Stream on-board live streaming service. The Honda Ridgeline crew was able to watch the No. 9’s race progress and share the experience with fans on their YouTube page. The plan is to live stream all races and fans are encouraged to follow the team on their YouTube page for updates – @Hondaoffroadracing.
