Team Falken, manufacturer of high performance on- and off-road tires, added two more podium finishes – a first and third place – at the W.E. Rock Western Series competition in Congress, AZ, last weekend, through its partnerships with Justin Hall, the series’ defending champion in the Unlimited Class, who took the top rung, and Matt Messer, who finished third in the Unlimited category.
Driving for Rock Hard Racing, Hall ran the all-new Falken WildPeak MT tire in the 38x13.50R17 size. Messer, president/CEO of Trail Gear, utilized the same WildPeak MT size, pressing his race vehicle into double duty as it was also driven by Messer’s 14-year-old daughter, Olivia, who placed sixth in her first competition. Like Hall, Messer is a veteran off-road racer, and placed second in the Legends class at King of the Hammers (KOH) earlier this year.
“Falken is aligning itself with key drivers and teams in all disciplines of motorsports as we establish our credibility through our product,” stated Nick Fousekis, Falken Director of Motorsports Marketing. “Each of these venues serves as both a test market and validation of how our WildPeaks succeed under even the most extreme conditions.”
The W.E. Rock Crawling Championship is a U.S.-based national rock crawling championship that focuses on precise maneuverability through a designated obstacle course. W.E. Rock competitors use technical savvy to achieve as fine a line throughout the course as possible and are penalized when they stray. Unlike other events, such as KOH, where competitors race against the clock and one another to see who can finish the course in the shortest time, the competitor with the fewest points wins the W.E. Rock event.
“This is a very important accomplishment for Falken Tire as we have continue to successfully push the WildPeak MT to its limits in all variations of off-road competition,” added Nestor Cabrera, Falken’s Off-Road Supervisor.
“These Falken M/T’s were amazing from the start,” added Messer. “They seemed to stick to the rocks with ease. Not only was I driving in the competition but then Olivia would jump in, drive, and I would spot her. The tires held up and ran 13 courses throughout the day while most other cars only ran six. We were proud of what we could do with our Falkens.”
