Yamaha factory-supported and bLU cRU racer CJ Greaves, along with his father, veteran off-road racer Johnny Greaves, and Kyle Anderson were among the few competitors who completed the grueling King of the Hammers (KOH) UTV Race on Wednesday, piloting Yamaha’s pure sport YXZ1000R side-by-side (SxS) before time expired. As the top finishing YXZ1000R driver with a solid 5th overall, CJ Greaves was awarded $5,000 for the Yamaha bLU cRU racing bonus.
The KOH UTV race, held annually in Johnson Valley, California, is known to be among the toughest one-day off-road races in the world, this year with only 12 UTV racers finishing out of the starting 115. It is the largest off-road racing event in North America in terms of both competitors and spectators, combining intense desert racing and daunting rock crawling.
“The sheer attrition alone witnessed at King of the Hammers is a true testament to Yamaha’s Proven Off-Road performance – of the eight Yamahas in a field of 115 UTV entries, the YXZs still made up a quarter of those who actually finished,” said Donnie Luce, Yamaha’s off-road racing coordinator. “Furthermore, qualifying first and second, successfully completing the course, and securing the bLU cRU bonus – all in their first year at KOH – is evidence of the Greaves’ incredible talent as drivers, as well as the YXZ’s versatility, capability, and durability when pitted against the toughest terrain in racing.”
Although this was the first year the Wisconsin natives raced KOH, both CJ and Johnny Greaves are veteran off-road racers known for their short-course dominance in The Off-Road Championship (TORC) Series in the Pro 2 and Pro 4 truck classes. CJ is also the defending champion of the TORC Series Pro Stock UTV class, entering his second year as a Yamaha factory-supported racer aboard his Monster Energy Mutant Super Soda / Maxxis / Greaves Motorsports YXZ1000R.
Rounding out the top-ten, Kyle Anderson and his Weller Racing YXZ1000R finished a respectful 9th-place overall. In addition to Anderson and the GYTR turbo-equipped Greaves duo, this year’s UTV race featured an equally impressive lineup of veteran off-road racers piloting the Yamaha YXZ1000R, including last year’s top-finishing KOH YXZ1000R racer, Jason Weller, and Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Racing Champion, Dustin Nelson.
