Monster Jam Rocks in Birmingham and Manchester
21
August 2005
Monster Truck fans were treated to a visit
from some famous names from the US as the American Monster Jam series
kicked off its European tour. The series visited the M.E.N. Arena in
Manchester before heading to Birmingham's NIA, bringing six of the
series' top trucks for a total eight arena shows.
Tail-wagging Monster Mutt, Lupe Soza's El Toro Loco and
the caped Superman represented the character trucks with unique
bodies over their high-tech
spaceframes
and monster tyres. The 'normal' trucks included former WWF and
WCW femme-fatale Debrah Miceli in Madusa in her Ford F150 Pickup, and
George Balham's Escalade - a mighty Caddy with 28” inch chrome
spinners on his 66” inch
tires and a neon and strobe light kit under the truck. Escalade pumped
out music at the show's pit parties through its
Kicker Sound System
that includes four 12” inch sub-woofers, three 1500 watt
amps and multiple speakers.
It was the big name of the show that drew
the most cheers however, with Carl van Horn driving the legendary
Grave Digger. The Grave Digger Truck was created by Dennis Anderson
suitably from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, and is based on a 1950
stretched Chevy Panel Truck. The Grave Digger that is competing in
Europe is the GD15 and is one of seven currently active Grave Digger
monster trucks on the Monster Jam Tour.
The space in the arena shows was far tighter than would
have been ideal for all out monster truck racing of the type we've
come to love in the UK's own Monster Mania series, but that was not
to be a problem for Clear Channel's all-American shows. The usual side-by-side
racing was replaced with a chase-style oval course with only two car
jumps, but each used by both trucks. There was also the addition of
a wheelie competition to define race order, and a doughnut competition
alongside the usual race and freestyle events. The later shows benefited
from the drivers newfound experience of the slippy NIA floor with Escalade
performing a continuous sliding doughnut across the entire length of
the floor - a real crowd-pleaser.
Overall, the honours were closely fought between Grave
Digger and Escalade throughout the
Birmingham
shows,
but it was
Carl
van Horn
who pulled out all the stops and took the final victory with a crazed,
foot-the-floor freestyle in the best-supported Grave Digger.
With the addition of some astounding half-time MotoX
action and the built-for-tour Armageddon mini jet car, the show was
as spectacular as it
was
loud, and the confines of the NIA proved suitable for a great family
evening out. For fast and furious racing, the small UK arenas struggled
to match the action and airs available in the outdoor Monster Mayhem
events, but with family friendly venues, the Monster
Jam Europe Tour was a great first-time event for many of the attendees,
and will
doubtless increase awareness of the continuing rise of monster trucks
in the UK.
Images from this event are available online here.
See 2005 series calendar for Monster
Mayhem, European Truck Racing Series
Related Story 09.08.2005 - Monster
Jam Goodies to be Won as the American Sensation Lands on UK Soil
