Frozen Rush
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The Red Bull Frozen Rush was a short course off-road match race held on snowy alpine skiing slopes. The event debuted in 2014 featuring eight short-course and desert off-road racing drivers. Road & Track magazine said "The unique action provided a mix between the traditional stadium-style off-road racing and the crossover jumping from Global Rallycross."[1]
In 2013, Red Bull had their team driver Ricky Johnson haul one of his Pro 4 short course trucks across the United States from California to Mount Snow in Vermont for an exhibition on the ski slopes.[2][3] Red Bull filmed the exhibition and the video was popular enough that they decided to turn it into a competition.[3]
The first competition happened in 2014 at the Sunday River Resort near Newry, Maine.[3] The drivers raced the trucks on the resort's snowy ski slopes.[3] About 10000 spectators attended the event with temperatures topping out below 10 °F (−12 °C).[2]
Vehicles
The event features Pro 4 four-wheel drive Trophy Trucks racing with studded tires.[3] The BFGoodrich race tires featured an inner liner and approximately 700 studs.[3] The studs damaged the fiberglass fenders of some trucks.[3] The 900-horsepower trucks have modified jets in their carburetors for the less dense air in the higher altitude.[3] Teams had to adjust their suspensions and gear ratios for the conditions.[3] Trucks didn't need to use as efficient of cooling systems in the cooler temperatures.[3]