Whether you’re an off-road fan or a racer yourself, watching drivers take on the obstacles of an off-road race is always exciting. But unless you’ve been in the vehicle yourself, it’s hard to imagine just what drivers and co-drivers experience every time they get in their rig on race day.

Luckily, some of off-road racers take cameras with them along for the ride, giving you as close to a personal experience in an off-road event as you can get without being behind the wheel. Check out one such video from our good friend Trevor Ritch above.

We met Ritch at the second race in the W.E. Rock Dirt Riot Mountain Series back in July of 2014, and liked his ride so much that we even featured it right here on Off Road Xtreme. But nothing is more impressive than an off-road ride in the heat of battle, not only against other vehicles, but also the terrain of any given course.

Last weekend, Ritch competed in the third and final race of the Dirt Riot Mountain Series, held in Cortez, Colorado. And with a course filled with just about every kind of obstacle Colorado could offer, this race proved to be quite the adventure.

Ritch and his team went into the race with a new PSC Hydro Assist steering system with CBR pump and fast ratio box, as well as a Currie Anti Rock sway bar (rear) on the ’76 Land Cruiser race rig, which proved to be quick the combination for improved performance and durability.

A few hang-ups were inevitable, but Ritch handled them like a pro, positioning his rig for tricky passes and great racing lines. In doing so, Ritch was able to tie for second place (out of 19 competitors in the Trail Unlimited Class), under corrected times, with Ryan Miller for the first lap, setting Rusty Mustard up for a great day of racing.

Unfortunately, shortly after this first-lap video was recorded, the Land Cruiser lost its front axle, presumably from broken upper link welds that caused the axle to loosen and break more components on its way out. Among the damaged components when all was said and done were the driveshaft, radiator, crank pulley, and front coilover shocks.

That mishap ended Ritch’s race day, but he told us that he’s determined to rebuild Rusty Mustard and get her back on the race course under the Crawlorado flag in the near future!