Baja 1000

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scottm

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The SCORE baja 1000 starts thursday, the longest non stop race in the world, on road or off. I will be a co-driver (navigator) for the last third of the race. The muddy, tropical third... I'm with team Gun-it racing, car 110 (Class 1 unlimited buggy, 10th in class off line). This year has live webcasting of race car gps data and radio communications between racers, Score, and "the weatherman", an old guy who sits on top of the highest mountain in BC and relays radio comms all around. That works fine for the 500, which is a loop, but the 1000 goes all the way to the tip (see map). So for this race the weatherman will be in an airplane, at higher altitude and covering the entire course. The weatherman is featured in Dust to Glory, a movie about the b1k.

There are several on-line sources to follow:

http://www.race-dezert.com/wm/index.html
http://www.dirtnewz.com/events-06/baja1000/index.shtml
http://www.score-international.com/baja1000/index.ihtml

So if my ride breaks down before it gets to me, you guys will know before I do! I am leaving tomorrow, tuesday morning, and back on Sunday hopefully...
 
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Sounds like a ball, Scott. Have a damn good time. Be safe. Make sure you smile for the cameras. And post up pics when you're done.
 
Good luck and be safe out there Scott.
 
Damn man, that's awesome! I just watched Dust to Glory the other day too!

Participating in the baja 1000 is one of my things to do before I die. Preferably be a driver in one of the truck classes.
I also want to do the Alcan 5000 first, then the baja 500, then the baja 1000, then the Dakar Rally, then I think I can call it a day, lol.

P.S.- Best of luck to you and your team!
 
Thanks guys. Here are some more links. The first one has details on the number of entries and some historical facts. The second one is about realtime gps tracking of some select drivers, like Robby Gordon and travis Pastrana. Somehow score screwed up and my driver was left off list :thumbsup:

Just go to that thread and follow its link to digital1unlimited something. I heard Gordon hit 130 mph today just pre-running! He might as well go back to ruling baja, he sucks at nascar...


http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23371
http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23395
 
WOW scott You are going to do what alot of us would like to do!
If you get a chance take some in car pics...I know you will be busy but try...
Good luck to you and your team.
 
Hey scott, doesn't the baja 1000 start on the 18th this year instead of the 19th? Or did I just read too much into speed tv's, correction, the fox-molested speedvision's, news articles?

I also just think it's so cool that I can say someone I kinda know is going to be in the baja 1000, LOL.

That's awesome that you get to do it for the last 3rd of the race, getting to finish and all. The 2nd 3rd must not be too exciting since no start and no finish...

Be sure to let us know how those silt beds are as well! And if you find silt in your bodily crevices days later like they say you do, lol.
 
I made it home Monday morning at 2 am. It was an awesome experience, but I am glad to be home alive, which wasn't a sure thing. The highways are crazy!

These first pics are from the tech inspection line in Ensenada, also known as contigency, the day before the race. You snake the race car through a mile or more of venders and millions of people on the way to the score inspectors.

Before the car even got to the inspectors, my group had to hit the road. We went 500 miles south on the highway to Loredo and waited for the race car to arrive. It never made it to us, having a rear suspension breakdown at race mile 400. DNF'ing is common for race cars and trucks, as more than half never finish a typical off road race. Our first driver did well off the start, moving from 10th to third in the first 250 miles. He was passed by just 2 others in his class, including Travis Pastrana. Travis had some problems, more on that later.

My group camped in the desert along the track the first night of the race. We were to service the car then jump in as the new driver and co-driver for the last 300+ miles. We hung out taking pics of cars going by and listening to the radio to keep track of our car. Robby gordon's red bull trophy truck was the first 4 wheel vehicle to go by, and I got a pic of it in total darkness. We heard from the SCORE/weatherman radio network that our car was dnf'ed, so we just partied until 2.30 am!

We heard on the radio that Pastrana crashed hard and his car was on fire. Here is a pic I found on race-dezert. They were ok, but the new $200,000 car was a total loss. TP did offer to pay for it at least!

fire2la2.jpg


The next day I got a pic with Mike Metzger, the Granddaddy of freestyle. He was there in a Baja Challenge car, a training-wheels buggy deal just for celebs to get a taste of baja. I can hardly wait for fucks like Tom Cruize and Sean Penn to screw it all up down there...

We hung out in an awesome hotel in Loredo for another night then started back. We got to see the area in daylight and its pristene and beautiful. Here is a pic of the Bay de Conception, where whales go to mate. It was 12 hours back to Ensenada, then another 14 back to pheonix the next day, thanks to a 3 hour wait to cross the border.

The highway down through baja is the most dangerous thing I have ever done. It is way too narrow, and the coked up mexican truckers go too fast and whip wide around every turn. We saw several big rig crashes, including a Tecate beer truck that lost its brakes on a hill and deliberately rolled himself rather than fly off the mountain road.

It was a great experience and I'm glad I have gotten to do it twice now on someone elses' dime. Being there with the car in the contigency line is the closest you can get to being a rock star. The baja 500 is a lot cheaper and easier logistically, so I hope to drive my own truck in that someday.
 
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That sucks that your truck was DNF'ed, but, at least it's common, and not like you were the only one...
I bet those highways were scary... at least you were just in a chase vehicle, and not actually in the truck while it was racing on them, lol.

P.S- I never liked Pastrana anyway, lol.
 
Too bad you guys broke. But it's a hellacious race and it figures. Cool pic Metz. Which one are you?
 
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