Bryce Menzies Back on Top at 2021 Toyo Tires Desert Invitational

The winner of the 2021 Ultra4 King of the Hammers won’t be crowned until Saturday, but when it comes to the Toyo Tires Desert Invitational, Bryce Menzies is the undisputed king of the event.

Just like last year, Menzies ended Sunday in Johnson Valley with a giant check in hand, taking home $50,000 for scoring the top finish in five laps of one of the most unique events in desert racing. On an incredibly rough day where most finishers were missing significant portions of bodywork, Menzies finished five laps of the diverse and challenging course in 5:38:00.588, more than six minutes faster than second place.

Cameron Steele and Kyle Jergensen completed the podium and took home $20,000 and $10,000, respectively, for their efforts. The duo were separated by just 14 seconds on corrected time, and while Jergensen physically crossed the line first, Steele managed to retain the runner-up spot despite losing oil pressure for the last 20 miles of the event, as he once again aims to complete every event at KOH in 2021.

The T2 spec truck class win went to Dustin Grabowski over Pierce Herbst and Brad Lovell, as the T2s handily defeated the B1 division in the Battle on the Lakebed for Class 1 and Ultra4 entries in the overall standings. In fact, while class winner Ray Griffith was the only B1 driver in the overall top 10, T2s took up half of the top 10 finishing positions with Jeff Proctor coming home seventh and Jeff Bader in eighth. 16-year-old Jax Redline completed the overall top 10, finishing fourth in the T1 division.

Full combined results from Sunday’s Toyo Tires Desert Invitational and B1 vs. T2 Battle on the Lakebed were as follows:

King of the Hammers continues today with qualifying for the Can-Am UTV King of the Hammers and the Holley EFi Shootout, while Tuesday will see qualifying for the 4WP Every Man Challenge, the Pit Crew Challenge presented by Pro Eagle and Buggy Whips, and the All Ballas Racing King of the Motos.