Rock Racer Rolls with Widia

Ultra 4 Unlimited class racing combines the speed and agility of hi-speed desert racing with a stiff and strong car for rock climbing.

Global tooling manufacturer, Widia, will sponsor the Ultra 4 ultimate class racecar driven by David Buchberger for the 2012-2013 season. This sponsorship is actually in the “family” in that David Buchberger also serves as vice president of Hi-Speed Corporation (Thousand Oaks, CA), which is a distributor for Widia-brand products and services.

Ultra 4 racing is a combination of high-speed desert racing and extremely hazardous rock crawling, using the same vehicle. The defining characteristic of the Ultra 4 class is that all cars must be capable of four-wheel drive. Beyond that, the class is unlimited.

All cars are custom-fabricated which, owing to the unlimited nature of the class, results in a variety of shapes and sizes. It’s a demanding design challenge as each car must straddle the line between light and quick for desert racing with stiff and strong for rock climbing.

Each February the Ultra 4 series runs the King of Hammers race, considered by many to be the toughest race on the planet. Competitors must complete a 165-mile course in less than 14 hours.

The Widia sponsorship of Mr. Buchberger gives him financial support and a real life example of applying the cutting tools he distributes.