Monster Jam truck line-up and drivers announced

Less than a month to go until Monster Jam® races back to South Africa. American-based Feld Motor Sports, Inc, a subsidiary of Feld Entertainment, and leading local promoter, Showtime Management, together with partners McDonald’s South Africa (SA) and SuperSport together with regional radio media partners KFM 94.5, 947 and East Coast Radio are pleased to announce the full Monster Jam truck and driver line-up.

Monster Jam starts in Cape Town at the DHL Stadium on Saturday, 22 April followed by FNB Stadium Johannesburg on Saturday, 29 April and ending at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, 6 May for one exciting event only at 6pm in each city. In addition, Monster Jam also features breath-taking Freestyle Motocross (FMX) exhibitions.

This is unbeatable full-throttle fun for the entire family.

The popularity of Monster Jam in South Africa has resulted in Pit Party tickets being sold out across all three cities in record time! Event tickets are still on sale exclusively from www.showtime.co.za or www.ticketmaster.co.za the official Monster Jam SA ticketing agent. But hurry, get into gear, seats are selling fast!

The line-up of eight Monster Jam trucks features multiple fan favourites such as the legendary Grave Digger®; Max-DTM, the futuristic SUV celebrating 20 years of Monster Jam action; mighty Megalodon®; the raging bull, El Toro Loco®; Monster Mutt® Dalmatian remembered for its massive floppy ears; the ever-popular Zombie™; regular Monster Jam World Finals competitor®, Blue Thunder®; and making its South Africa debut, Earth Shaker®. The design of the Earth Shaker truck pays homage to the trucks, machines, and construction crews that build Monster Jam tracks all over the world. Even the driver’s fire suit was created with a construction crew theme.

The all-star international drivers competing in SA are 2019 Monster Jam World Finals Speedster Champion Matt Cody (Grave Digger); Blake Granger (Max-D), the 2019 Monster Jam World Finals ATV Racing Champion; off-road short course champion and rising star Monster Jam star, Brandon Arthur (El Toro Loco); Myranda Cozad (Monster Mutt Dalmatian), Chelsea VanCleave (Zombie), successfully transitioning from racing dragsters to racing Monster Jam trucks; Tony Ochs (Earth Shaker) winner of the 2019 Arena Freestyle of the Year trophy; and Camden Murphy (Blue Thunder) winner of the 2022 Monster Jam Fan Favourite Driver of the Year. Charlie Pauken, who previously drove Grave Digger at the 2019 Monster Jam SA tour, returns to South Africa behind the wheel of Megalodon. Charlie won the 2010 Monster Jam World Finals Freestyle trophy driving Monster Mutt and has also won Monster Jam Stadium Series Championships in 2018 and 2020.

Monster Jam drivers are trained, world-class male and female athletes who have mastered not only the physical strength and mental stamina needed to compete, but the vital dexterity to control 4 500 kg machines capable of doing backflips, vertical two-wheel skills and racing at speeds up to 110 kilometres per hour to produce jaw-dropping, live motor sports action seen around the world. Now across all Monster Jam events, fans in every city will have the chance to vote for the winner in the two-wheel and freestyle competitions by real-time, in-stadium fan voting on their smartphones.

One of two female Monster Jam drivers competing in SA, Myranda Cozad loves being behind the steering wheel, be it an ATV, drag racing car or her Monster Mutt Dalmatian truck! Myranda started her career in 2016 and says her driving style “has become more and more aggressive. I love to get big air and keep the fans on the edge of their seats!” Fellow female Monster Jam driver is Chelsea VanCleave, currently competing in and seeing success during her rookie season with Monster Jam. Chelsea entered Monster Jam with plenty of motor racing experience and knowledge, both behind the wheel and under the hood. Chelsea graduated Monster Jam University where she honed her two-wheel skills and mastered hitting sky wheelies.

Tony Ochs, a 7-year veteran with Monster Jam, will make his South African debut later this month. He has been able to use knowledge from his time as a certified Apache helicopter technician and as the stunt motorcycle crew chief for Feld Entertainment’s Marvel Universe LIVE! to master driving these mechanical Monster Jam beasts. Ochs is looking forward to visiting South Africa and to showing his competition skills.

Standing four metres tall and four metres wide, the custom designed Monster Jam trucks are powered by super-charged engines delivering more than 1 500 horsepower. With tyres 1.7 metres tall, a Monster Jam truck can jump as far as 43 metres in length.

South African fans will witness heated rivalries, high-flying stunts and fierce head-to-head battles for the Event Championship. Engineered to perfection, Monster Jam trucks push all limits in Freestyle, Skills and Racing competitions.

It is not long now until Monster Jam is back in SA! Limited seats available. Avoid disappointment, book now only at www.showtime.co.za or www.ticketmaster.co.za. Ticketmaster is the only official Monster Jam SA ticketing agent. There are significant risks in buying from other sources and entry to a Monster Jam event is not guaranteed.

Please note the following important information. Children under 3 years are not permitted. Strictly no unaccompanied minors. Fans are encouraged to wear earplugs or earmuffs in order to let your family enjoy the fun while reducing the exposure to high levels of noise. Professional cameras are not permitted. See entry guidelines on the relevant stadium’s website.

For more information on Monster Jam log onto MonsterJam.com, follow Monster Jam on our social media channels Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. #MonsterJamSA. Subscribe to the Monster Jam YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/MonsterJam

MONSTER FACTS

• Standing 4 metres tall and 4 metres wide, the custom designed Monster Jam trucks weigh up to 4 500kg.

• Each engine delivers about 1 500 horsepower.

• A Monster Jam truck is capable of reaching speeds of up to 110kms per hour .

• Monster Jam trucks can jump as far as 130 feet in length,

• Chassis – Custom Steel minimum of 8 points that attached to main chassis

• Body – Fiberglass Composite with Lexan Windshield

• Fuel Capacity – 83 Litre Fuel Cell

• Fuel Type – 99.9 per cent Methanol (Alcohol)

• Fuel Economy – 17 Liters per Kilometre

• Some custom designed trucks require more than 40 hours of paint time,

• Carving one Monster Jam truck tyre requires over 50 hours of exacting labour.

• The average Monster Jam truck team will go through eight tyres in one year.

• Tyres are 1.7m high by 1.1 wide.

• It takes 1 500-man hours to build and remove a track.

• 300 truckloads of dirt are used to build the track.

• 113 litres of paint are used to paint the track and obstacles.

• It takes up to 12 hours to build an arena Monster Jam track and up to 20 hours to build a stadium track.