The Adventurous Baja 1000 Raffo Racing Report Chris Raffo with his all volunteer pit chasers, drivers, and navigators came from throughout the United States to run the 40th edition of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. This year?s edition saw the racers travel from Ensenada all the way to Cabo San Lucas. The trek down the peninsula for the Class 3 #306 Fig Partner, Phil?s Inc., DiMare Fresh, Reid Racing, Ringers Gloves, Fresh Air Systems, Bilstein, BFGoodrich Tires Chevrolet K5 Blazer was scheduled to be nearly 1300 miles long. This was the longest route ever for the ?1000.?
Along with all the guys in the chase truck, Chris put together four pairs of drivers looking to cross the finish line before the fifty three hour time limit expired.
Driver LineupChris Raffo and his eighteen year old son, Pete, would go until mile 205, when Texan, Brianne Corn would navigate until mile marker 350.Then Californian Jeff Dolan and Wisconsin native, John Holtz, would take over the controls until the 830 mile marker. The Pennsylvania team of Dennis Chencharick at wheel with Jody Nevling keeping an eye on the course, would take over for another three hundred fifty miles. Finally Chris and Pete would get back in the Blazer to complete the final one hundred fifty miles into Cabo San Lucas.
1300 miles to Cabo The start of the race saw the #306 Fig Partner, Phil?s Inc., DiMare, Reid Racing, Ringers Gloves, Fresh Air Systems, Bilstein, BFGoodrich Tires Chevrolet K5 Blazer start strong, quickly catching up to the truck that started thirty seconds in front of them.
Just after Chris and Pete headed down the trail outside of Ensenada, a u-joint broke. Undaunted the team replaced the unit and quickly got back on course. Unfortunately this was the first of many diversions the team would experience. The longer course with hundreds of miles of new territory would really test Raffo Racing.
Here?s a list of stops the team made as they raced down the Baja Peninsula.
Race Mile Description100 Replace right front flat and a broke brake hose.160 Replace front driveshaft205 Rebuild both front hubs, replace one front spindle, replace front driveshaft 250 Replace rear flat tire280 Replace rear flat tire and found broken rear brake hose340 Replace broken tie rod350 Driver change ? Jeff Dolan and John Holtz514 Run out of fuel and replace left front shackle bolt791 Run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere830 Driver change ? Dennis Chencharick and Jody Nevling, rear brake line repair 839 Replaced broken steering box990 Transmission housing breaks in two and two rear shock mounts are broke.
At race mile 990, with a lengthy repair at hand, and time running out to make to finish, Raffo Racing retires from the 2007 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.
In an effort to get some rest and decompress from the non-stop three day trek through Baja, Chris takes the team to a friend?s vacation home in Bahia de Los Angeles. There, the guys decided to replace the transfer case on the Blazer, giving the entire crew some time behind the wheel of the ?Raffonator? K5 Blazer.
Once back in the states, team owner Chris Raffo commented, "Our race obviously didn?t go as planned. All the competitors mentioned this year?s 1000 was one of the roughest in recent memory. Even the winner of our class had serious downtime. My guys never quit. No matter the problem, they kept plugging away, keeping the Blazer headed for Cabo. Unfortunately there wasn?t enough time to replace the transfer case and make it to the finish within the time limit."
"Thanks goes to Reid Racing, their steering knuckles performed flawlessly. I can?t forget Fig Partners, DiMare, D & L, High Angle Driveshaft, Powermaster, and Phil?s Inc. without their support we wouldn?t be here."
"Hats off to Brianne Corn and Jody Devling. It was their first time navigating the Baja 1000, let alone ever in Baja, they did a great job. Everybody stayed on their game for almost 50 straight hours. It?s just another incredible experience in Baja."
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Raffo Racing Baja 1000
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Riding high below the border
http://www.daily-times.com/sports/ci_7620548 The father-son combo run C&J Equipment and Manufacturing in Bloomfield — David (Dad) is the president and CEO, while his son, Chad, is the acting vice president. On Nov. 13, the Thornton boys took on a challenge that made compressor packaging and noise abatement, C&J's specialties, look like child's play. A team of five riders, including David and Chad, participated in the 40th Baja 1000 on the Baja peninsula in Mexico, just south of the California border. Racers from across the world gathered to compete on the 1,000-mile course — Chad said it's closer to 1,300 miles — and tried to conquer the desert's demons. "Since I was a kid, (the Baja) was the grandaddy of desert races," Chad said last Friday. "Anyone who has ridden motorcycles in desert has thought about the Baja." The Mexican course is open to all age levels, and to athletes with any mode of transportation. People rode everything from trucks, motorcycles, buggies The Baja is like no other course in the world. Besides the natural elements acting as obstacles — terrain, weather, fatigue — residents on the peninsula provide even more drama for riders. "The race has a reputation of being booby-trapped. Some of the locals want us to crash," Chad said. "I saw that on the course with dead trees, rocks and even an old toilet. It's kind of become a mythical thing." During the weeks leading up to the race, Chad focused on dodging toilets while his dad tended to business matters, including providing sponsorship for the race. "Chad did most of the logistics work and prepared the bike," David said. "You're talking over $1,000 worth of tires, handle bars and all the spare parts." With a team of five, the C&J team — nicknamed "Team 505" rotated every few hours. The group wore orange shirts to represent New Mexico's colors, and because it was the shade of the bike they used, the KTM 525XC. Team 505 finished eighth out of 55 teams in their class. Their impressive time of 35 hours, 15 minutes required a physical and emotional sacrifice. Chad Thornton was happy just to be standing at the finish line. "It was pretty special for us," said Chad, 36, a graduate of Bloomfield High School. "It had a little bit of everything. There were a lot of rocks, lot of uphill and downhill." The ultimate payoff for Chad was watching his father cross the finish line. Team 505 asked David if he wanted to ride the final leg, a tremendous honor for an experienced biker. "That's the leg to run. You get all the glory at the finish line," said David, who grew up in San Diego before moving to Bloomfield in 1976. "I can't tell how much it meant to me to be the one who crossed the line." With over 120 combined years of racing between Team 505, the 1,000 ridden on Nov. 13 were by far the most grueling. "Mentally, it's tough. You have to stay sharp mentally," Chad said. "There's things down (in Baja), if you lose your focus for a second or two, your race can be over. "It's not like the United States. If you crash (on the Mexican course), there's no hospitals around. Care for riders is limited, and the language difference is also a barrier." The Thornton family accomplished an uncanny feat in Baja, Mexico, a distance unfathomable to most riders. But before the C&J clan starts looking back on their glory days of racing, it better keep its eyes on the future. Last Friday, Chad's sons brought their dad's Baja trophy into school for show-and-tell. Chad, 6, and Jacob, 4, may have to wait a few years before they hit the dusty desert on a bike, but they certainly have the right backyard for it. And as long as the Thornton's are living in the Four Corners, that will never change. "This is the best place to live if you're into any type of recreational activity," David said. "There's so much public land. San Diego was a pretty nice town, but I'm glad to raise my children and grandchildren here."
Sunday, December 2, 2007
TEAM REPORTS (BAJA) - Raffo Racing Baja 1000 Race Report
The Adventurous Baja 1000 Raffo Racing Report Chris Raffo with his all volunteer pit chasers, drivers, and navigators came from throughout the United States to run the 40th edition of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. This year?s edition saw the racers travel from Ensenada all the way to Cabo San Lucas. The trek down the peninsula for the Class 3 #306 Fig Partner, Phil?s Inc., DiMare Fresh, Reid Racing, Ringers Gloves, Fresh Air Systems, Bilstein, BFGoodrich Tires Chevrolet K5 Blazer was scheduled to be nearly 1300 miles long. This was the longest route ever for the ?1000.?
Along with all the guys in the chase truck, Chris put together four pairs of drivers looking to cross the finish line before the fifty three hour time limit expired.
Driver Lineup
Chris Raffo and his eighteen year old son, Pete, would go until mile 205, when Texan, Brianne Corn would navigate until mile marker 350.Then Californian Jeff Dolan and Wisconsin native, John Holtz, would take over the controls until the 830 mile marker. The Pennsylvania team of Dennis Chencharick at wheel with Jody Nevling keeping an eye on the course, would take over for another three hundred fifty miles. Finally Chris and Pete would get back in the Blazer to complete the final one hundred fifty miles into Cabo San Lucas.
1300 miles to Cabo The start of the race saw the #306 Fig Partner, Phil?s Inc., DiMare, Reid Racing, Ringers Gloves, Fresh Air Systems, Bilstein, BFGoodrich Tires Chevrolet K5 Blazer start strong, quickly catching up to the truck that started thirty seconds in front of them.
Just after Chris and Pete headed down the trail outside of Ensenada, a u-joint broke. Undaunted the team replaced the unit and quickly got back on course. Unfortunately this was the first of many diversions the team would experience. The longer course with hundreds of miles of new territory would really test Raffo Racing.
Here?s a list of stops the team made as they raced down the Baja Peninsula.
Race Mile Description
100 Replace right front flat and a broke brake hose.
160 Replace front driveshaft
205 Rebuild both front hubs, replace one front spindle, replace front
driveshaft 250 Replace rear flat tire
280 Replace rear flat tire and found broken rear brake hose
340 Replace broken tie rod
350 Driver change ? Jeff Dolan and John Holtz
514 Run out of fuel and replace left front shackle bolt
791 Run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere
830 Driver change ? Dennis Chencharick and Jody Nevling, rear brake
line repair 839 Replaced broken steering box
990 Transmission housing breaks in two and two rear shock mounts are broke.
At race mile 990, with a lengthy repair at hand, and time running out to make to finish, Raffo Racing retires from the 2007 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.
In an effort to get some rest and decompress from the non-stop three day trek through Baja, Chris takes the team to a friend?s vacation home in Bahia de Los Angeles. There, the guys decided to replace the transfer case on the Blazer, giving the entire crew some time behind the wheel of the ?Raffonator? K5 Blazer.
Once back in the states, team owner Chris Raffo commented, "Our race obviously didn?t go as planned. All the competitors mentioned this year?s 1000 was one of the roughest in recent memory. Even the winner of our class had serious downtime. My guys never quit. No matter the problem, they kept plugging away, keeping the Blazer headed for Cabo. Unfortunately there wasn?t enough time to replace the transfer case and make it to the finish within the time limit."
"Thanks goes to Reid Racing, their steering knuckles performed flawlessly. I can?t forget Fig Partners, DiMare, D & L, High Angle Driveshaft, Powermaster, and Phil?s Inc. without their support we wouldn?t be here."
"Hats off to Brianne Corn and Jody Devling. It was their first time navigating the Baja 1000, let alone ever in Baja, they did a great job. Everybody stayed on their game for almost 50 straight hours. It?s just another incredible experience in Baja."
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Baja in Canada
http://www.wheels.ca/article/33061
Rough and rumble in mighty Baja
Mexico's unforgiving terrain attracts racers to gruelling 2,085-km race through the desert
Lawrence Hacking
Special to the Star
Nov 24, 2007
ENSENADA, MEXICO–This month I co-drove in the Baja 1000 off-road race in Mexico, the 40th anniversary of this spectacular desert challenge.
The course started in Ensenada in the north of the Baja Peninsula and struck out due south for 2,085 kilometres, or 1,296 miles, to Cabo San Lucas.
The Baja 1000 is notorious for being rugged and relentless, the terrain is without a doubt one of the most unforgiving on the planet.
Most entries have more than one team of drivers. I was slotted into the night shift in our team with my motorcycle-riding buddy Peter Weiss in a Protruck.
He and I go way back, having ridden off-road bikes elbow to elbow under the most arduous conditions for years. Teamwork is essential in any endeavour, and knowing your teammate is key. Peter and I know each other's capabilities better than our own.
The Protruck is a "specification" class, purpose-built vehicle developed by the legendary off-road race veteran Ivan "The Ironman" Stewart. Stewart probably has more off-road race wins than anyone else.
Our Protruck (number 253) has a 5.8-litre Ford engine that, in its modified state, develops 430 horsepower. The rules are very strict in Protruck. Each vehicle must conform to specifications mandated by the organizer: all sponsor brand name parts, such as 35-inch tires, shock absorbers and identical seats. Engine size must not exceed 360 cubic inches (5.9 L) and all teams must use the same gasoline.
Because Protruck rules level the playing field, the competition is close. The Baja 1000 is an endurance race and patience is the key to success.
Our team had 18 members including three driver/co-driver combinations and six support vehicles. The fuel range in a Protruck is 160 km; the 151-litre tank is the same for each team. We calculated that we would use 2081 litres of race fuel. At $8.95 (U.S.) per gallon, the fuel bill alone was significant.
This year 424 entries set out on 30-second intervals toward the finish – the Baja 1000 waits for no one. Typically, 50 per cent of participants don't finish.
Ken Losch, an Indy Pro Series team owner and driver, and his son, Sebastian, drove the first section. They left the start at 11:34 a.m. – 835 km later, they handed the truck over to us in the small fishing village of Bahia de Los Angeles, situated on the eastern side of the peninsula.
It was 3 a.m. on the hand-off. Ken and Seb were behind schedule, having struggled to extract the truck from a mud hole. But we were in fifth or sixth place at that point and they deserved a well-earned rest in the beds we just vacated.
Peter Weiss and I drove south in darkness, the truck's roof-mounted row of massive HID headlights shooting beams of light into the inky desert. Our plan was to run a conservative pace and hand the truck over to the next team in good shape for the final run into Cabo.
The Baja peninsula is mountainous; the roads are dusty and extremely hazardous. We were often snaking along narrow rocky roads with 30-metre drop-offs to the side.
On the flat desert floor, the road straightened out. Tall Saguaro cacti loomed above us as we hit speeds of 130 km/h. Because of the open cockpit, a chilling blast of wind hit our faces. Protrucks don't have windshields.
As the sun rose, spectator camps became visible. We were never far from local people watching along the racecourse.
In fact, sometimes the locals build "booby traps" that launch the vehicles in the air. The general rule is, if you see a large group of people, lift off the throttle until you're sure the coast is clear.
Halfway through our leg, we stopped at our pit area in San Ignacio for more fuel, new rear tires and an air filter change. Our crew worked quickly and got us on the road in a flash.
The course turned west toward the Pacific coast along a wide-open smooth gravel road. This is where we hit our top speed of 138 km/h, according to the GPS.
My job as co-driver was to stay glued to the GPS screen and let Peter know of any turns or dangers we were approaching on the course. Even though we had helmet intercoms, it wasn't long before my voice turned hoarse from shouting over the staccato bark of the exhaust.
Near a beach, we tore through some low dunes, onto a tidal plain and along a narrow road filled with metre-high sand whoop-dee-doos.
A Protruck has about 60 cm of suspension travel front and rear. We used all the suspension we had as the truck soaked up the big bumps with aplomb.
Peter kept his foot on the gas pedal – the truck growled like a panther passing a kidney stone as the whoops passed under our wheels.
The last 160 km was the roughest our section had to offer.
There was one particularly steep and rocky climb, but we dispensed with it handily and were on our way into Race Mile 867 (1,395 kms), where the final driver change was to be made.
But on the way, a competitor bumped us from behind. It's customary in the Baja 1000, that if you want to pass someone, you merely tap the bumper to let them know you want to pass. We graciously let them go ahead and were rewarded with a shower of rocks and dust, as the number 215 Protruck pulled away under full throttle.
We later took smug delight as we cruised by them parked beside the road with mechanical problems.
We handed our truck over to Rob Martensen and his father-in-law Steve Stroud for the last 689 km to the finish line.
Rob and Steve had three previous runs in the Baja 1000 and were our most experienced drivers.
They fought hard working their way into third place before a slight miscue found them stuck in a riverbed for more than two hours, only 45 km before the finish.
Steve and Rob had to pull the fibreglass rear fenders off the truck and shove them under the rear wheels to get some traction and get out.
After 36 hours, 22 minutes and 11 seconds of racing, the number 253 finally crossed the finish in sixth place. The Protruck was looking worse for wear but still in good shape. We shook hands and swore to make it to the podium next year.
Viva Baja!
Source: Toronto Star
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Notes: 517 Luivan Voelker “Lula”
Luivan started the race and he broke a CV right off in wash at RM2,
before pavement; he did the repairs but after he recovered he was in
the middle of the 7s trucks and some Baja Challenge cars.
He got stuck in the helo crash traffic jam; they did OK to El Crucero
when his buddy and new car owner for 2008 season Carlos Albañez took
the wheel the VW “new” beetle.
Carlos broke a front spindle and an upper arm before El Talon
(Vizcaino) and Luivan came in to make repairs, losing more than two
hours from the competition.
They ran with the BFG pit service … PLUS they also got the 2007 class
points championship.
Moss Brothers Racing 2007 Baja 1000
1
Moss Brothers Racing 2007 Baja 1000
The 2007 Baja 1000 was the 40th anniversary for the event, and SCORE set up an extra
long 1296 mile course that started in Ensenada and finished in Cabo San Lucas. They
had some additional parties and events prior to the event to celebrate as well, including
some vintage vehicles, celebrities, and legendary racers. The course looked like this,
courtesy of the official SCORE course map.
2
The preparations on the Moss Brothers Racing Bronco had started right after the Primm
300 race in September, but the big news for this race was a fully sponsored deal from KC
Hilights for HID lights for the Bronco, and halogen lights and light bars for the chase
trucks! We have been scrounging lights for the last 8 years to mount on the Bronco, and
had worked our way up to a couple of home built Hella HID lights, but we were still
getting comments from people in the pits when we would pull in and they would say,
“What is wrong with your lights?”. Well no more, we now have ten 8” HID lights on the
truck now! The problem was that we had received them less than 2 weeks before the
race, and we had to build two custom light bars and modify the wiring to operate them.
Thanks to Chris Reilly who fabricated the new bars, after a couple hundred e-mails and
numerous CAD drawings and a whole lot of measuring! The light bars worked perfectly,
and really changed the look of the truck.
In addition, we powder coated the new light bars, the radius arms, as well as the front
and rear bumpers. West Coast Broncos had sent us a new set of radius arms, and River
City Differential had set us up with a new alloy axle to replace the one that we had bent
in the Vegas to Reno race in August.
We got on the road, headed for Mexico on Sunday, November 11. Of course this meant
we missed most of the festivities that had already started, and it also meant that we would
not get a chance to pre-run any of the course. We drove straight through to Ensenada
from Sacramento, and arrived during a pretty good rain storm. Monday was bright and
3
sunny though for contingency and the tech inspection. We lined up about 9:30, and
finished about 4 pm! That makes for a long day. We did get a chance to talk to a lot of
people and take a look at a lot of vehicles. There were 9 entries in Class 3 this year,
matching the number we had in 2000, an excellent turnout. The Pike’s from Baker, had
built a new truck based on a Dodge Ramcharger, and this was a very serious looking race
truck. In addition there were three early Broncos, a Range Rover, a Cherokee, the Evans
FJ Toyota, and the Raffo Blazer.
Race day was Tuesday, and we had calculated that we would start at approximately 12:45
with the record number of overall entries. There were no Wal Mart grand openings this
year to compete with, so the process of getting to the starting area through a snarled
traffic jam in Ensenada seemed easier than in races past. Maybe we are just getting used
to it? Dan Thunborg was scheduled to start with me, and we pulled up next to Chris
Raffo, and had a chance to meet his son Pete who was starting with him. His satellite
phones arrived at about the same time, after a special delivery from a kitchen table in the
central valley of California.
This year the Canadian portion of our crew consisted of Don Crosson, his dad Dave
Crosson, and 16 year old Jake. Apparently Jake was standing too close to their vehicle
when they left BC and he was somehow sucked into the vortex heading south to Baja, or
stowed away, or ???? In any case, he had the time of his life! Last year Don had lost his
mother, and Dave his wife, to cancer during race week. Over the years we have had a
chance to meet Don’s entire family and numerous friends. Don is impossible to keep
with, however we learned that Don has spent his life just trying to keep up with his dad!
Here’s what the two of them have started as their summer project:
4
Just prior to the start of the race, Dave Crosson asked if he could tape his digital movie
camera to the light bar. I said “OK, but didn’t you just buy that camera like three days
ago?” He said yes, but wanted to see what would happen! So the duct tape came out and
the camera went on! We ended up with 3 hours of digital video.
We started 5th off the line at 12:38. The rain had filled the wash with water, but the
mayor of Ensenada can really get things done, and the course off the start was in
excellent shape. There was one slimy spot that we got into and nearly looped the truck,
all caught on the video of course! We caught and passed the Range Rover before we left
the wash. As we made the turn onto Ave Ruiz, which is the last street heading out of
town, I could see the Raffo Blazer catching up to us quickly in the rear view mirror. He
was nearly on us, when a huge cloud of blue smoke began following him, and he quickly
pulled over. I am curious to hear what that was all about, because we never saw him
again but he did continue in the race. We caught the Pike Ramcharger at the end of the
pavement and passed him shortly after. We caught the Wright Bronco a few miles later
and passed him. This section is typically very dusty and has some silt sections, however
the rain had settled things down a lot. There was still an appreciable amount of dust, but
no one was stuck. I believe there were 3 Class 9 cars that started in front of us, and we
passed them all in that first few miles. We could then see the Maine Cherokee ahead and
we began to follow him. They had talked to us at contingency, as this was their very first
off road race. Of course their truck was brand new as well. They had mentioned that
they had done a lot of circle track racing in Oregon, and that was evident! We finally
caught and passed them just before the first highway section at race mile 15, so now we
were in the lead and starting to catch the various stock class entries that start in front of
us. This race we had installed two horns to use while passing. I could hear the backup
horn had already stopped working, and the primary quit soon after, so we went the next
1250 miles without one!
The silt in the RM 50 to 55 section is legendary, and we saw our share of dust and
carnage in the June race in this section. The rain just 2 days before had made all the
difference in the world! You could have driven a Cadillac through there with ease! We
saw one of our C3R buddies from the Livermore area in this section, his Bronco safely up
away from the course! Glenn Long and crew had been shadowing us in this section, and
we saw them once again on the highway section. Nice to hear a friendly voice out there,
as the rest of the crew was steaming south towards San Quintin. He mentioned
something about a helicopter crash, as well as some problems on the course. Glenn met
us again at the BFG Pit 1, RM 121, before he headed back towards Ensenada and then
home. At the BFG pit, we did another one of those granola bar and Red Bull under-thehelmet
tricks, got a full load of fuel, and were on our way.
As soon as we made the turn onto the road to Mike’s Sky Ranch, we could see
emergency lights just ahead in the road. It turns out this was the helicopter crash, which
had occurred right on the road. There were some power lines involved, however this
story was only just started! You will have to read about that elsewhere. They had us
detour around through the fence and we were on our way. You can always depend on
5
lots of spectator traffic on this road, coming and going, and we were not disappointed.
Web Wheeler Cam was stationed at Mike’s Sky Ranch, and we had been in radio contact
with him. He was hiding behind a camera near the creek crossing, and Dan and I never
saw him! Here’s a picture he took there:
It was starting to get dark now, so we had some of the lights on. Even though we have
twice as many lights now, and probably 6 times as much light, the HID systems only use
35 watts per light. This is roughly the same power loading as we had with the old
system. We never had an electrical system problem for the entire race, and the KC lights
were flawless. This is the first time we have had lights on the top of the truck, and we
had been concerned about glare. We learned instead that alignment of the lower lights is
the key, and they had to be adjusted lower later in the race to work in the dust.
Dan and I arrived at the BFG Pit 2, RM 177, with a pretty good lead, but there were
several entries in the class running well. Ken and Dennis Dunn got in to run what we had
heard was the toughest section of the entire race. They had things like this in the picture
below to deal with in the dark. These are ditches dug by the military to discourage drug
smuggling airplanes from landing on remote air strips:
6
We had drilled into all the drivers and crew that we would be racing our own race,
regardless of whether it was fast or slow, and regardless of what the other entries were
doing. Our biggest competitor was the time limit and check point closing times. This has
served us well in the past and it turns out it did this time as well.
At the BFG Pit 3, RM 321, on the highway in Catavina, for the first time in Moss
Brothers Racing history, someone other than Ken or I got in to drive. Dave Grundman
made his driving debut with Gary Dunn co-driving. They had the long highway section
to do south of Catavina, and then the detour out to Coco’s Corner and the infamous
Calamajue wash. We had heard the wash was full of water, but Dave and Gary had no
problems whatsoever, and met up with us just south of El Crucero. Ken and Dennis had
complained of looseness in the front end in the prior section, and Dave had the same
comments. We found that the panard, or track bar, was loose at the axle, so we pulled in
and tightened it at each pit there after. Don Crosson and I got in for the run through the
Bay of LA. This was Don’s first ride in the truck, and I saw his dad throw the digital
camera in with him just before we took off. We typically hit this section at midnight, but
since SCORE had added an extra 140 miles in the upper section of the course, we started
at about 4 in the morning. Don and I got to see the sun come up as we passed through the
amazing cactus forest. Truly a spectacular part of the race for us both. This section
typically holds the dust on the course from racers in front of us, and of course there were
vehicles in front of us. We had been catching and passing the slower Baja Challenge
cars, and I could tell there was another in front of us as we began catching dust. On a
7
tight right hand turn, I got a little to close to the right side bank and smacked a loose rock
that I never saw with the right front tire. After about a quarter mile, it was apparent that
the tire was losing air, so we looked for a place to pull off. Don and I worked well
together and had the thing changed in a few minutes, even with the balky jack. The Hi
Lift jack rides in the back of the truck and typically gets coated with a heavy layer of
dried mud. Anyone that has ever used a Hi Lift jack knows that caked mud and the Hi
Lift jack mechanism do not mix well. Since it was light, and easy to see what was going
on, I was able to work the pins manually, and it went pretty quickly. This is the first BFG
tire I have changed on the course myself during a race since the 2000 race! That’s 8
years without changing a flat, not a bad record!
Don and I continued on, and since it was light, he began taking digital videos of our
progress. Since the camera was in his hand, it’s a little shaky, but he has shots of
everything he could reach from that seat. He got out the front, out the back, the gauges,
the GPS, and even me. We also had some fog in this section, and eventually caught and
passed the Baja Challenge car that we had been following when we got the flat. The fog
is so bad that you can’t wipe it off the visor fast enough, and have to run with the visor
open. The new upper light bar served as a collection funnel that caught the fog, and then
dripped it down on us.
We pulled into the BFG pit 5, RM 517, (we are now just over half way!) on the long
highway section just north of San Ignacio where Ken and Craig Laws got into the truck.
Everything on the truck looked good, for what was supposed to be the longest and most
remote section of the course. We had spent a large amount of time adding a second fuel
cell and fill pipe system just because of this section. Out around El Datil, on the beach
section, the rear ring and pinion gears exploded, snapping the ear off the driveshaft yoke
in the process. Since the truck is 4-wheel-drive, it is possible to drive it on front axle
drive only after removing the rear driveshaft, and we have done this in the past. It is just
that the front axle is many times more fragile than the rear, and much harder to repair, so
you try to limit the time doing this. Ken had decided it was no big deal, and would keep
going until the BFG Pit 6 at La Purisima, RM 829, however he chose to use the BFG
relay to let the rest of the crew know this. Unfortunately, the message that got to the rest
of the crew made absolutely no sense, partly because we were many miles from the relay
on the Sea of Cortez side, and partly because the message had gone through several
people. It sounded like the message was that “the truck was down and needed a rear
driveline”. Since they had the only spare driveline on the truck, and the truck was
capable of moving on the front axle, the message made no sense. All of the chase
vehicles pulled over at Olivia’s, south of Mulege to try and sort it out. The BFG relay
would not answer us back, but Dave finally decided to try the Weatherman relay. By
some miracle, they were not in the middle of an emergency, and took the call right away.
Our message to Ken was to stop the truck and whatever they were doing and call us on
the Satellite phone. This was done, and it was at that time that we finally learned that
they were indeed still moving, but needed the spare set of gears, and would meet us at the
BFG pit 7, RM 829, in La Purisima. The down side to this was that we were over 3 hours
of driving time away from that location with the parts. We got the parts transferred to
Dave’s truck and he took off with Gary, while Ken and Craig removed the old parts and
8
prepared for the installation of the new parts. This allowed us to keep our scheduled
driver and co-rider changes, however Dave and Gary would not get a lot of time to sleep.
In the picture below, the ring gear looks fine (for what it’s been through!), but all the
teeth on the pinion gear in one little section are gone:
During this whole episode, we were getting sporadic text messages from Chris Reilly
who was tracking several of the racers in our class over several different sources on his
computer in Reno. In addition, Pete in Iowa, and Rob in San Clemente were doing the
same and routing info to Chris as well. We knew the Toyota had been down for some
time at race mile 200, but was moving again. They had also seen the Bronco when it
stopped at El Datil. The rest of the chase caravan had moved to the next scheduled stop
at RM 875, on the highway above Loreto. We were able to get a little sleep, and watch
some other teams deal with problems on their vehicles, and met up with Ken Leavitt from
the Anger Issues team. Instead of racing, he and his team had come down to pre-run,
camp, fish and pit for another group of racers in several different classes. He offered any
assistance he could, just like a 100 other people do for other racers down there. It doesn’t
matter what team you are on, everyone’s goal is to get all the racers to the finish.
We watched the Toyota go by, and about the same time got the word from Dave that Ken
and Craig were on their way. About an hour and 45 minutes later, Cliff and I climbed in
the Bronco and headed out. It was now dark again, and I had recalled Ken mentioning
this section coming up was “kind of nasty” last year. What an understatement! There
9
were some enormous silt traps in here, the kind with thick bushes on both sides, or maybe
a barbed wire fence on one side, thick brush on the other. There were cars stuck all over
the place and heavy, heavy dust. They had not received the rain that the northern part of
Baja had a couple days prior, so it was dry, dry, dry! When the dust was really bad, I
would just try to pull over and wait for it to settle. I really did not want to plow into
another stuck racer, or blast into a bottomless silt pit when I could have picked a line
around it. Sometimes this meant that another vehicle would sneak by us, and then we had
to wait for their dust to settle. This turned out to be the best strategy, and we made it
through just fine. We even pulled up next to a Dodge truck sitting in the middle of the
trail, thinking he might have been doing the same, waiting for traffic to clear. When we
got up next to the door, the driver was not even in the truck! His co-rider was still
strapped in, and gave the hand motions that they might like to have a tow. Sorry guy, no
tow strap, and you aren’t even out to help? Not going to happen!
Going out of Loreto, there are some steep climbing switchbacks, and then the road goes
over the top and down into a canyon on the other side. Last year, this canyon had 30 or
40 rough water crossings, with deep water at each one. This year, the crossings had been
repaired, and the water was just a trickle, so it went easily. Cliff and I pulled into BFG
pit 8, RM 978, where Dave and Gary jumped in. Dave and Gary had an amazing run
over the next 120+ miles, averaging nearly 52 miles per hour, and actually caught and
started dicing with the Toyota. They also had a tough whoops section that I had done
several times before, and did not miss! As they were about to pull into the BFG pit 9,
RM 1106, they reported that they might need to change the panard bar, as the right coil
over spring was hitting the frame. I believe the panard bar had been damaged all the way
back in the Bay of LA section when I had hit the rock, but had been gradually getting
worse. When Ken took a look at it, he decided that it was not that bad, and that it was not
worth the time to change it. He and Jerry Ornellas jumped in for the next section.
Somewhere in this section they found a silt hill, and actually got the Bronco stuck. An
enterprising local farmer just happened to have his tractor in place, and $20 later; Ken
and Jerry were on their way. The Toyota apparently got by somewhere in this section
again, and the race was on again, with less than 150 miles to go! Ken and Jerry
continued on, sticking to the game plan of running our own pace, and continued south.
At the road crossing at Todos Santos, the Bronco and the Toyota were only minutes
apart, however our crew parked at the road crossing reported that Toyota was missing
and coughing severely. They had apparently picked up some trash in their fuel, and it
had plugged the inlet in the fuel tank. They had to pull it apart and clean it before
continuing on. We had planned on another rider change at the road crossing, but
Michelle Read decided it was too close a race to risk the stop, and told the crew to
continue on.
The Bronco pulled into the finish, at about 5:30 in the morning, with an elapsed time of
40 hours, 41 minutes, and 37 seconds over 1296.39 miles, with an average speed of
31.857 mph. Not any kind of record, but certainly not bad considering all the lost time
waiting for parts. Needless to say, the finish line was nearly empty, Sal Fish was not
there, and we didn’t even get our BFG Winners hats! We later heard that the Atkinson
BC Bronco made it nearly 1100 miles, the Raffo Blazer made it about 800 miles, and the
10
Maine Cherokee made it about 900 miles, all timing out on the course. The Pike
Ramcharger was on the scene of a wild wreck involving a class 8 truck that rolled off a
cliff, and they ended their race helping with the recovery. Thankfully (and miraculously)
the two guys in the truck that went off were not seriously hurt, although one was flown to
the hospital in San Diego. With no other entries finishing, the class had a pretty low
finishing rate. Given more time, we would have had some more make it. In the picture
below, you can see every mile that Ken has just driven etched on his face, and then there
is Jerry with the silliest grin ever on his:
We did get some great finish line and podium photos, and then waited for the Evans
Toyota to pull in. We congratulated them on their finish with a case of Tecate Light, and
got some photos with their team and their truck. That’s Kreg Donahoe in the driver’s
seat, and Dylan Evans just on the left edge of the picture:
11
With that, we all climbed into the handiest vehicle and headed out in search of some food
and our beach house, in that order. We found Mama’s breakfast place, home of the
stuffed French toast, and powered down the first solid meal in a couple of days. After
that, it was off to find the beach house. By this time, it was full on traffic and road
construction hour, and the house is at Punta Gorda, some 20 or 30 miles away, so it took
a little while to find, but well worth the search! Thanks to Dave Grundman for arranging
this one! The place is right on a quiet beach, with water that was in the 70’s or 80’s, all
self-contained with a solar electric system. The rest of the day consisted of showers,
sleep, and then dinner at Buzzard’s which is just down the road. Friday was the awards
ceremony back in Cabo, but first we did a little exploring, and found the beach a little
farther east was open to riding and wheeling. After airing down the tires on the Bronco,
we ran through another tank of fuel running up and down the beach giving rides, before
shutting down for apparently dusting some of the neighbor’s solar cells. (Whoops!)
12
Here’s the team at the awards ceremony, all in one or the other of the team’s newest KC
shirts:
Apparently Jerry must have been taking the picture, because I don’t see him in the photo.
With the conclusion of a very long and drawn out awards ceremony, we all picked up and
headed off to find some dinner. After wandering the streets of Cabo for some time, we
decided on the Giggling Marlin, and as we are waiting for the table, the Donahoe/Evans
team pulls in. So heck, let’s get a table for 30! I had a chance to sit by Bob Bowers and
his wife and listened to a few of their stories, great people to know. Bob had been a corider
in the Toyota on the way down, something he is long time veteran of. After dinner,
a few drinks and some questionable photos, a couple of the single guys have decided that
their mission for 2008 will be to lure Sera from the Donahoe team over to the Moss
Brothers team. After sticking KC stickers to just about everything that did or did not
move, we moved on to El Squid Roe, and more KC stickers. From there it was one more
night of sleep, and then we had to do that 1300 miles backwards!
Michelle and Jerry had arranged flights from the Cabo airport, so they were dropped off
on the way out. We took highway 1 north from San Jose del Cabo, for something
different, and it was quite a drive. The road is a little narrow and windy for trailer
towing, but very pretty. The hills are covered with thick green brush and big cactus, with
large and colorful mountains.
13
We pulled into Olivia’s, south of Mulege, in time for dinner, and found several racers and
the Dusty Times crew there already eating. I was able to relay my story to Judy Smith,
but we left too early the next morning to get our BFG hats. We just threw our sleeping
bags out on the beach, and I think Dave mentioned that it should be against the law to
stay inside and not be out there to see the stars, with the water just a few feet away.
Thankfully Dave Crosson thought to get a picture before all of the crew was on the road.
14
From there we were able to make it all the way back to the house in Ensenada, finishing
up with a dinner in El Bufadora. We stopped on the way, for a couple of broken down
vehicles. One needed fuel, and we were able to send them back to a guy that was selling
some at the Bay of LA turn off. Another couple from Ensenada had broken down and
needed a ride back to El Rosario, and since we still had a couple of open seats, we were
able to help them out. They were very pleasant and she spoke very good English, and
had a lot of questions about the racing.
Monday morning it was back on the road again for the final leg of the trip, a full 8 days
after we started. The border still took a couple of hours to negotiate, but there were no
major problems. After a quick breakfast/lunch of good old Denny’s food in Chula Vista,
the various chase trucks split up for the rest of the trip. Eric McGill was dropped off at
the airport in San Diego for the plane ride back to Texas. Thanks Eric for coming out, we
will take you any time you can make it. The Canadians, Don, Dave, and Jake had a
number of places they wanted to see on the way back, however they got skunked on their
stop at Magic Mountain. None of us remembered that it is closed down during the week
this time of year. They did make it back to Sacramento late Tuesday night, and had
already peeled the stickers from Krista Crosson’s Yukon! As I have said before, these
are the finest people you would ever want to meet, and I look forward to the next excuse
that we can use to get them down here again.
I just wanted to give a huge thanks to everyone involved. It takes a team of many, many
people to make this happen. There are the 20 people that we took across the border, and
thankfully they were careful and they all made it back safely once again. There are the
many sponsors, including KC Highlights, BF Goodrich tires, American Racing ATX
Wheels, River City Differential, West Coast Broncos, Deaver Suspension, King Shocks,
and Bronco Driver Magazine. A big thanks to Class3Racing.com and Web Wheeler Cam
for promoting the class and helping to increase the number of entries. Michelle Read for
writing the press releases and working with KC for nearly a year to put together the
lighting sponsorship. All of those that helped with the preparations of the truck before
we left Sacramento. Chris Reilly for putting together the light bars in record time and
then staying up all night to monitor the computer and send us updates from home. Rob
Jones for covering the BFG meeting in San Diego the week before the race, and all the
families that took up the slack at home while we ran off to Mexico to take on and conquer
one of the most challenging races in the world. Thank you all!
Don
Monday, November 26, 2007
#124 RACE TALE
2007 SCORE Baja 1000
Car #124
FRIDAY
November 9, 2007
To
Checker-radio contact with Stuart Chase who was pulling into
SATURDAY
November 10, 2007
Stuart and I ran from Rio Ensenada to Hwy 1 in my Z71 to GPS that stretch. No issues, just taking it slowly. Rain reported in
SUNDAY
November 11, 2007
Preran start to
MONDAY
November 12, 2007
Set #124 up in Contingency line for “Bluwood” show-n-tell.
Preran Start to Hwy 1 again in Tahoe. Changes near granite quarry/rock drill downhill: no issue for racing car. Driver’s Meeting = an hour out of my life that I will never see again. Got to hear Robby Gordon counsel motorcycle riders as how to pull off course: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. How presumptuous.
TUESDAY
November 13, 2007
Crews headed south to San Telmo light bar change. Checkers w/ fuel and spares in-place; Baja Pits signed as emergency spots. Fiddled around staging, wishing well, and putting juju on The Wilsonian’s #114 car. Watched a “5” car from
The flag dropped and we found that the Rio Ensenada ... awash 24 hours earlier … had been groomed, drained, and pumped: bueno! Tank traps and spectator issues were trivial.
Made Hwy 1 60-mph section clean. Ran down #122 w/ Jerry Penhall at the controls. Decided: WTF … passed him near the Batch plant as he slowed. High Fives all around and ran to Pepsi Stand: “Se Vende Quesso”.
Looked “long” for telltale dust in new Ojos farm bypass single-track … potential for a logjam. Nothing there. On to the traditional Tres Hermanos road. Caught a buggy, which took to longer rougher left-hand “high” line; we took our scouted southern route through the Cottonwoods and never saw him again. Silt bed open, damp, free. Jahahahaaa!
Up the hill to El Alamo mining area where we caught the Hooters reclaimed sand car. Tapped him. Spectators scattered. Geared down, laid back, and smacked him good: he got out of the way in one quick hurry. Higher fives all around.
Ran slot car section to K77 ... a certifiable asshole threw a plastic pop jug half-filled with dirt into me. Tossed it back out. Would sorta been fun to do a 180 and plow their cars.
But onward ever, backwards never. Saw
#114 pulled off on Hwy 1 near VT. Jahahhahaha.
Run up to Mike’s got us 108, tops. Car working terrific on gravel and deep whoops.
Radio-ed Big John Files' ”Mike’s” pit for gas and Stu’s helmet redeaux. In-and-out urge = roosted Gary Bates. “Sigh”.
Clean run, no cars front or rear to El Coyote,
Minor confusion at San Telmo “Baja Pits”: crew left race radio unattended so did not hear my confirmation calls for four dumps, new face shield rags, etc., it all went unheard. Light bar installed quickly and we were let go without fuel. Baja Pits told our guys that this was not a fuelpit. It was not, for baja Pits: we had our own fuel to dump, not baja Pits.
Radio Xmission instantly stopped us and the crew got us filled and gone. A couple minutes lost, at most. Mexicans trying to convince us to go on.
“LESSONS WELL-LEARNED”
· Plan your work, work your plan
· Someone on a race freq radio at all times
· Disregard external influences
Rock wash to
Into deep canyons amid gathering gloom. Spectators everywhere … in for the long haul, they were. Course very tight; up, left, down, right, repeat in reverse order. Saw #85 precariously teetering in downhill side of hillside: looked ready to go over at any burp.
Got even tighter with large cottonwoods; saw lights ahead. #7 Syko Killer stopped in rock wash crossing, very tight. TT #54 rider got out to survey situation while we revved engine. They got around and we went by very quickly; they stopped to re-installed co-dog and we split.
It seemed forever to get to RM305 Checker gas pit … running through riparian vegetation. The area had had plenty of rain and turns were firm berms … but still tight.
Section south of the El Rosario river was exposed rock ledges and slow Sportsman riders. Our Solartech adjustable light bar was tits! “Down” a click or dust, then back up as required. Very tight 180s. 30 mph was a good pace, if that.
Eventually lights came up on us. We thought that it would be #54. (It was so damp that we put up no dust to slow them!) We did not move until I could count the number of lights: #132 Feldcamp on a mission. (After they passed we drove into a dusty stretch: Oh, well, hell.)
There were MANY brightly burning agaves … so “Road Warrior” surrealistic.
Left-right-left – etc. … until we lost the left rear sidewall: “Where the hell are all those Mexicans NOW?!” We got out and affected a fairly speedy tire change. At least the car did NOT fall off the jack. Back in, and to Hell with the D-Cel helmet straps (can’t that be easier/faster?), it’s only ten to Hwy 1 and Jimmy Tucker’s takeover.
Old crew out, new spare on, new crew in, new Tecate in … off they went at a blistering sixty-per.
Road trip to Vizcaino … went quickly while nodding off.
Set up gas pit in fog south of Vizcaino … heard Jim’s call, set out flares on road, generator w/ halogens a-burning. Came in minus one of the spares; straps broke “somewhere”: filled to spill then off they went into Hwy 1 fog and San Ignacio.
We left for the east side and warmer climes … coffee and a sandwich at
#124 third crew reported that engine would not pull over 2-3,000 rpms. They would meet us at K55 south of La Purisima access road.
They had the engine exposed and we began a protracted session of lookie-see, checkie-do … all to no avail. Operators said that it acting like a “limp home” ECU failure: ran up fine then went flat. Everything looked A-OK: WeatherPak connectors, injectors connectors. Looked for damage due to spare loss. Fuel filter clean. The inlet air sensor was sorta cruddy: Stuart had no contact cleaner so he drove up to the access road where he got the total cold shoulder from the Voss crew – they would not even roll down the windows at a safe 0900 hours -- but the Martensen/Losch PT crew dug deep and got him a can. They stopped/slowed where we were[1] flogging down Hwy 1.
Sat phoned Wise men: we had already tried everything except the engine ECU water temp sensor. Contacted the crew in Cd. Constitucion and had them scrape up a new thermistor senor at the local GM dealer and bring it the 80 miles to Loreto. On the clock, of course. We strap-towed the car through the Army stop … we had become family by this time.
They installed the new sensor near Tom Minga’s Baja Pits and that change proved to be ineffectual: same-old same-old symptoms.
For those many hours we had experienced all of the human emotions:
· Anger
· Fear
· Sadness
· Joy
· Disgust
· Curiosity/interest
· Surprise
· Hope
· Acceptance
Except the last one: “We are going to finish!” Eric and Stu ran up the road without helmets and reported a strange acoustic horn-like noise when the engine would fall flat. Horn = noise = leak … WTF!?
I had the engine fired and Dan ran the vergasser as I sprayed the fluid on possible air leakage points. No stumble, no rev-up. I had Dan “eatfastgotacos” George slowly increase the Rs then Kevin Ahern pointed at the coil-wound inlet duct twisting and collapsing … “suction” was closing off the inlet.
Chris said: “There’s jacket in the intake screen! Inside the cockpit.”
That was pulled, the duct duct-taped for rigidity and they left for higher ground.
We sat back and relaxed until they radioed that the CVs were clicking. SHIT! PISS! They were at K38 on an agricultural scale (for cleanliness) … with the hub caps off. I got a tube of grease and grease gun from Minga. We slathered everything and sent them back onto their original exit point: IRC-trackers in the
Finally done we headed for the Pacific: the car was a on a tear and beat us to Insurgents and hwy 22. He drove the dually and flat bed into the Santa Rita area for a gas stops and Stu elected to change the rear brake pads as Chris had radio-ed that the brake pedal was getting longer: “Put the bias up font.”
We got there to discover that the Baja Pits were/was another two miles downcourse …we would have had to drove on the course at 0.01 mph. We set up at the RH sweeper area and got the lights lit and the tools out.
The change was quick and easy. “And don’t EVER come back!”
Down Hwy 1 we flew with Jan Jonatta’s F-whatever in the lead. We got a call that the RH front coil-carrier mount had torn off and the spring was through the hood: the plan was to pull the damper and put the spring in that location. Okee-dokee.
We caught our collective breath and a bizarre interchange occurred: a taciturn woman self-IDed as “BFG Relay” called on the Checker freq that #124 was going to meet us at K38 on Hwy 19. I checked the many maps that I had and called “Bullshit!” If they could drive all that way to K38 on Hwy 19 why not just just go on to Cabo!
We re-contacted and reviewed: the story was now K38 Hwy 1 which made only slightly more sense; if they put the spring on and could drive the 15 miles to Hwy … where we had nothing to help them … why not go to Kraz’ Checker pit at K44 Hwy 19 where there was a welder.
Where we did get car #124 on the horn was, indeed, the plan. The ONLY reasonable plan, actually.
LESSONS WELL-LEARNED:
· ID your sources
· Confirm/substantiate
Off to
We got the welder set up … it was so old that Noah had used it to arc-weld the
Stu spattered/goobered steel stock around the torn material with AC then DC power and olde rod while Eric and Chris grabbed some Zzzs … they had been in and around the car for almost twelve hours. Eric said that he been in and out over twenty times though off of this.
Finally, after my two chili gut-bomb dogs – burp, snort --the car was let loose into the rising sun: BANZAI!
They beat us to the finish line, culminating in a frustrating but successful race but getting the Turnkey-Penhall to the finish in all six 2007 SCORE events. ROGER THAT! 13th and last “1” car.
Adult beverages at The Office, a show, a nap, and do it again! And again!
PRINCIPLES
Race 1
Stuart Chase / Tony T
Race 2
Jimmy Tucker / Kevin
Race 3
Eric Chase / Chris Wilson
Northern Crew
Bryan “BB King“ Brimecombe
Southern Crew
Gary Johnson
Joking Jake
Nicole Johnson
Chase 1
Kevin Ahern
Marion Chase
Stuart Chase
TTRIFM
Chase 2
Jan “Jota-Jota” Janotta
Hayden Kerzner
Dan George
Anna George
Chase 3
Jim Tucker
Kevin
Dyanne Wilson
Linda
Mayhem crashes the party in Baja
Call it Holly's excellent adventure. High-profile socialite Holly Kylberg (she helmed the Nordstrom opening last month) is just back from the Baja 1000, the famously rugged 1,296-mile off-road race in Mexico. The six-member team included husband Rich Kylberg, Dutch Rehbun, Buzz Wiepking, Matt Autterson and his daughter Madison Autterson. Holly and Madison were two of very few dames in the race. The good news: Team Kylberg finished in 46 hours, 22 minutes — and that's more than four hours ahead of Patrick "Dr. McDreamy" Dempsey's team. But Holly tells me it wasn't uneventful. They had to detour around a helicopter crash that killed two people, one of whom was the boss of a notorious Mexican drug cartel. His body was later stolen from the morgue by an armed gunman in a caravan of eight to 10 vehicles; two police officers were killed during the theft. "What a wild experience," Holly says in an e-mail.
Source: Denver Post
Helicopter crash scary part of Baja rac
Todd Welling and Phil Speet explained that they encountered a number of close calls during the recent running of the 40th annual Baja 1000.
But no one has to take their word for it.
Go to YouTube.com and see for yourself. After all, seeing is believing.
An amateur photographer captured a horrific helicopter crash and posted the video. The helicopter went down in the early stages of the race, about 60 miles west of the city of Ensenada, Mexico. It slammed into the ground, killing two of the four people on board and two more on the ground.
Watch the video closely, because mere seconds after the chopper went down, an off-road vehicle comes racing into the picture and right towards the down helicopter.
"Yeah, that was us," said Speet, of Holland, who ran the Baja 1000 with Todd Welling, his brother-in-law. "From what I understand, the helicopter got caught up in power lines."
They were able to motor through the wreckage unscathed.
"It was a helicopter doing support for a car, and it was going through about the same time we were going through," said Welling, a Holland native who now resides in San Carlos, Calif. "It was a very close call, but there are a lot of things in life that just miss you, and someday, it's going to get you. But you can't sit around and wait for one to get you."
Welling and Speet were making their second appearance in the Baja 1000, having competed a year ago and taking top honors in the Class 14 division. The two returned this month with a brand new V-10 powered Ilmor Viper, which was built by Andy Prins of Spectrum Sand Sports, 4195 Blue Star Highway in Holland.
The team made the jump up to Class 1 and finished the 1,296-mile race in just over 38 hours. That placed them ninth in the Class 1 field and 89th overall in a field of more than 450 entries.
"We did pretty good overall," Speet said. "The car did well. We had some electrical issues, but overall, it did better than expected because we put it through the moves."
Send e-mail to the author: sports@grpress.com
http://www.mlive.com/autoracing/grpress/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1195975392295360.xml&coll=6Source: Mlive.com
HUMMER H3 Alpha and H3 first stock class vehicles to finish Baja
November 19, 2007, 11:00 a.m. EDT
General Motors
GM Communications
Detroit, Mich., USA
media.gm.com
HUMMER H3 Alpha and H3 first stock class vehicles to finish Baja
Racing legend Rod Hall earns 19th career win in 40th Anniversary race
DETROIT – Team HUMMER once again
demonstrated the inherent off-road
capability of the HUMMER H3 as Rod, Josh
and Chad Hall piloted their stock class H3
Alpha and H3 nearly 1,300 miles to become
the first stock class vehicles to finish the
2007 SCORE International Baja 1000.
The 2007 Baja 1000 marked the 40th anniversary of the grueling off-road race and covered
1,296.39 miles from Ensenada in Baja California to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Baja
California Sur. It ran from November 13-15, 2007.
Team HUMMER races in the SCORE International full and mini stock classes which feature
production-based vehicles with stock frames, stock suspension designs and productionbased
engines. With 18 entries, the 2007 race boasted the most stock class vehicles in the
history of the 1000 and included models from seven different automakers.
As the only racer to have competed in a car or truck in all 40 Baja 1000 races, Team
HUMMER owner Rod Hall marked his 40th race with a victory behind the wheel of his #760
stock mini class H3.
MORE
Hall shared driving responsibilities in the race with his eldest son Josh Hall and business
partner Mike Winkel. The trio piloted the vehicle to victory in 40:04:30 hours averaging a
speed of 32.34 miles per hour. The H3 was the second stock class vehicle to cross the
finish line.
The first stock class vehicle to cross the finish line
was the #863 Team HUMMER H3 Alpha, piloted by
Chad Hall and Sam Edgar. The team drove the H3
Alpha to a full stock class victory in its inaugural
race, finishing in 36:27:25 hours and averaging a
speed of 35.56 miles per hour.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my 40-years of racing Baja, than to partner with
Josh and Chad to sweep the stock classes with our H3s,” said Rod Hall. “The capability
and reliability of the H3 definitely gave us an advantage over the competition in this year’s
race.”
Hall’s win marked his 19th career victory, continuing his record of the most wins of any
driver in Baja 1000 history. It also marked Josh Hall’s fourth win at the 1000 and Chad’s
sixth.
One of the three Halls has been the driver of record on the winning team in the SCORE
Baja 1000 for the seventh straight year and 11th time in the 15 years of this class’ history.
With 29 class wins, the Halls continue to be the winningest family in the history of the
race.
The 2007 Baja 1000 was also the inaugural race for the #866 2008 H2 SUT in the full stock
class. Piloted by Josh Hall, the H2 lost a front differential mounting bolt near race mile
177, ending the vehicle’s race short of the finish line. Of the 424 entrants in this year’s
race, only 239 finished.
MORE
About Team HUMMER
Team HUMMER was founded by legendary off-road racer Rod Hall in 1993. Since then, Rod
and his sons Josh and Chad have compiled 13 class wins at the Baja 1000; countless
podium finishes in the Best in the Desert (BitD) Racing Association series; and five BitD
class championships. Team HUMMER competes with the H3, H2 SUT and H3 Alpha in the
stock class, which features production-based vehicles with stock frames, stock suspension
designs and production-based engines. For more information about Team HUMMER, visit
www.rodhallracing.
About HUMMER
HUMMER is a division of General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest vehicle
manufacturer, which employs about 321,000 people globally. HUMMER is one of the
world's fastest growing truck brands, with a product line-up that consists of the H2, H2
SUT, H3, H3X and H3 Alpha. HUMMER models are available today in 37 countries around
the globe.
# # #
Contacts:
Nick Richards
HUMMER Communications
313-665-9292
Nick.Richards@gm.com
George Thompson
Team HUMMER
(661) 823-0454
grt@sunrisegroup.com
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