The European Robert Butler and the American Levi Shirley will compete at the 2020 King of the Hammers in the UTV race. We will see them in action on Saturday 1 February in qualifying and Sunday 2 February in the race. Here is the presentation of the Off-Road Armoury team.

Photography and story by Paolo Baraldi

Few years ago, in one of my articles, I called them Brothers in Ultra4 because the bond between Rob Butler and Levi Shirley goes beyond friendship and team spirit. Rob supported Levi in Europe and Shirley helped Butler in the States.

This year at the King of the Hammers the roads of these two extraordinary drivers will once again unite to compete in the UTV class. Robert Butler will drive the Polaris RZR Turbo S Velocity, purchased by 2-time “king” Mitch Guthrie, and Levi Shirley will take on the role of co-pilot.

Aspettando di vederli in azione nel deserto e nei trails della Johnson Valley ecco la presentazione del team Off-Road Armoury

Waiting to see them in action in the desert and trails of Johnson Valley, here is the presentation of the Off-Road Armoury team.

Team name: Off-Road Armoury

Team number: #187

Country: United Kingdom / USA

Driver: Robert “Rob” Butler

Co-driver: Levi Shirley

Team contact: info@offroad-armoury.com

Team web site: www.offroad-armoury.com/

Team Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Offroad-Armoury 

Rob Butler and his highly experienced crew are one of Europe’s top Ultra4 offroad race teams and Ultra4 vehicle builder. Since 2012 Rob Has placed highly at Ultra4 races in both Europe and the USA gaining many podiums, consisten regular 1st place qualifier, fastest lap awards and night stage wins. Robert Butler raced twice at King of the Hammers: 2015 and 2016. In 2015 he drove Layla Levi Shirley's old vehicle but got fought in a huge bottleneck at Sledghammer and ran out of time as a result. In 2016 he shipped his own mid engine Eurofighter (solid axle) to the Lakebed and he completed the race in time placing 23rd... only like 35 cars finished the race. Rob is still the only European driver ever to compete and finish King of the Hammers in a European built Ultra4 vehicle (his Off-Road Armoury built solid axel Eurofighter).

Robert Butler and his company Off-Road Armoury have been associated with many top name motorsport manufactures working with sponsors and events, races and shows worldwide. Rob and his company are always pushing the boundaries of offroad motorsport and are at the forefront of European vehicle research and development. Many of the vehicles competing in the Ultra4 Europe championship are built by Off-Road Armory. In 2017, Rob Butler was the first in Europe to build an IFS Ultra4 vehicle. This year will be the debut for the new Off-Road Armoury IFS Eurofighter 2.0 race car. Off-Road Armoury have been involved in movie and television vehicle builds, most recently building the rock clawler chassis for the 2019 box office hit movie Hobbs & Shaw from the Fast and Furious franchise wich are heavily featured.

Levi Shirley was named the Ultra4 Sportsman of the Year 2011 and 2014. The title is a huge honor, as fellow drivers in Ultra4 vote on this title. In 2015, Levi proved himself a top contender by taking 3rd place at the toughest off-road race in North America, King of the Hammers in Johnson Valley, CA. He followed this huge accomplishment with an incredible race season of five top-ten finishes. He then ended the 2015 season with the Ultra4 National Championship. In 2017, Levi had five podium finishes, and became the Ultra4 West Coast Series Champion and runner up in the 2017 Ultra4 National Championship. Levi is also well known in the Ultra4 Europe community. He was the first American driver to race in the Ultra4 European Series. Levi became a triple threat after taking three titles in the 2014 Ultra4 Europe Series: King of the Mountains in Italy, King of the Valleys in Wales, and King of Portugal.

1st 2019 King of France

3rd 2019 King of Spain

5th 2019 U4E championship

1st 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed Ultra4 Shootout

3rd 2018 King of Britain

1st 2017 King of Wales

2016 King of the Hammers official race finisher

1st 2015 King of Italy

2nd 2015 King of Portugal

1st 2014 Ultra4 USA National Championships Reno (NV) – 4500 class

1st King of the Mountains (IT)

1st King of the Valleys (UK)

1st King of Portugal (P)

2014 U4E Champion

- Builder: Polaris

- Model: 2019 RZR Turbo S velocity

- Axles: RCV

- Custom rear mounts radiator

- Cognito Heavy duty trailing arms.

- Cognito heavy duty a-arms

- Custom HD Crawler Gears

- Wheels: KMC 15”, Yokohama 32” Geolanders

- Custom HD doors and skins

- Cognito roll cage

- Hostyle window nets

- Heavy duty front and rear bumpers

- Factory UTV skid plates

- Seats: PRP

- Rugged Radios comms

- Winch: Warn

Team sponsors:

Spidertrax, King Shocks, RCV Performance, Corbeau Seats, Yokohama Tires USA, Trail Gear, Gigglepin Winches, Lazer Lamps, CBM Motorsports, Infinity Fab & Perfomance