UPDATE November 2, 2009
New Interview with Jimmie Jeffries from Baja South:
Passionate career off the road.
Jimmie Jeffries - Off Road Racing.
By: Joseph Monastery Avila
One of the most Stables have excelled in recent years is La Scuderia Jeffries, Director Jimmie Jeffries has strongly promoted in recent years of Off Road Baja Sur, their units are the best of condition but little is known of his life in pleasant kindly agreed to talk to us, that we said.
Jimmie, since when in Los Cabos?
He arrived in 1969 to live here but I know Baja California several years ago, in 1959 the first time, I came with Abelardo Rodriguez for help with a launch in Las Cruces.
Off Road Is the passion of your life?
Yes indeed, I'm running since 1967 and for 5 years straight with a Thousand Miles NORRA and 500 miles, but then when I'm retired and now living on Cape with a very low pension, I can not continue, but in more recent times to sell land so I can acquire more modern cars.
The best thing I got in a Baja Mil NORRA was 3rd. Place in the unlimited class in times of NORRA was class 4 but right now is class 1, was running against Parnelli Jones and these famous people.
At that time there was so much technology, the vehicles were more limited, how were the races?
You really think so? I think my car was a little thinking time, I have ideas in my car at that time being used now, but the quality of the pieces were not as good as now, were pieces are handmade and are currently manufactured with excellence.
Jimmie, how long did a Baja Mil Ensenada-La Paz?
For me 32 hours to 16 hours Parnelli Jones were, but this race I had many problems along the way, a flat tire and my 37-inch tires were the only car in that time with the measure and had no spare, had a little extra and ran about 400 miles with a small rim until I got to the Arc where he had a big tire deposited and made a "record time" faster than Parnelli Jones in the second half.
"De La Mula del Diablo that you tell us?
I made a car in 1960 to come out because my mom and dad were living here by boat to Cabo San Lucas hotel and made a special car to come and return, is the first Mula del Diablo and then I have new ideas to make a but nice car and remove the pieces of Mula number 1 and made another car, Mula del Diablo 2nd. And just when the car is ready Mr. Ed Pearlman has the event with NORRA Thousand Miles, then the car I did not wanting to run, not thinking about racing, but enters the car in the event and provided the car pulls very well in the races, use the same car to find your way to travel, to visit my family and also for racing.
La Mula del Diablo was on the beach in San Lucas for many years, 2 hurricanes hit him because at that time had no cars and a warehouse was damaged because enough sunlight and sea breeze enters the tubes and begins to rot inside and outside, but fortunately now I am rebuilding 3 years that the Devil and the Mule is almost completed, it is my private project, I have another person preparing and arranging the race cars, but my project is La Mula del Diablo.
Mula Is the original Diablo?
There is an exact replica of the original, the other was impossible to rebuild, it is very rare to do again a car you did 50 years ago in the past, I feel weird when I'm doing the same pieces again after so long.
How it was at that time Cabo San Lucas?
Very small, a house in the center that was the post office, a shed of bamboo that was the restaurant, an office of Harbor Master and little outside the village an airstrip and a bar behind the dune, other houses and almost nothing but the place was nice but the people were very rustic.
All the people who lived in San Lucas worked in the packing house, three tuna rods and hooks used to catch tuna in that time, there were also 2 ranches outside of town and the road to San Jose del Cabo was the most horrible of the world was made 2 hours from San Lucas to San Jose and sometimes could not happen, but they were good times, fishing was fantastic sandy beach and friendly people always as now, had no hotels, I arrived in Puerto Chileno where my parents did boats, was a business that was not completely good for them, lost their homes and in that time my mom bought a piece of the beach in Cabo San Lucas for little money and lost her home when my dad left for the Philippines to work there while my mother built a small house here on the beach where I lived, eventually divorced my dad and she then marries another man and goes to live in the USA and I came to live at her here in Cabo, I could not come because he was retired, was a firefighter in Beverlly Hills where I worked for 9 years but I had an accident in my work where I injured my knee and I retired with a small pension, was in love from Cabo San Lucas first visit, I enjoyed riding motorcycles, fishing and diving and for me it was like being in heaven.
How to turn the Off Road in Baja California Sur?
I like racing here, I know several runners and people who run the United States and note that they believe there are "secondary" and is completely false, they are great runners and have high powered cars here and an example, the child my son is also running in races in the U.S. and is gaining on the Americans, Robert Ross is another young Cape has become known there and you clarified that the son of my son is "Fito" Luis Ramirez Jr.
The races here need more participation from people from other countries, like Germany, France, China and think that someday they will come because these races in the Baja California are famous throughout the world.
There are many brokers who did not have much money to come here is very expensive for them, is far and hotels are a bit expensive and almost always come with 20 people per car.
Speaking of things more recent "satisfied with the victory of Juan Carlos in the Thousand Choyera?
Ho if enough, Juan Carlos is not running his life, he is running on a class 1 car but also less powerful, is learning and learning and doing better each race, this race the Grand Baja Sur is the first International Once he runs into my car, which is faster, more horses and I'm not going to win and the incredible run, won the overall and an hour ahead of the next car and his career average was 55 miles per hour, is fantastic! mainly by the difficulty of the route that had many curves, rocks and plenty of water along the way, I am very happy and satisfied!.
What is missing from the Scuderia Jeffries?
I just need to win the Two Seas, the rest of the races and we won with different drivers and different dates but the Dos Mares I really want to win.
Something you want to add?
Thanks for coming. Otherwise, I feel like an important person for their love and their presence is incredible that my children and I are signing photos and jerseys is a nice surprise for me to receive the affection of the people of Baja California Sur.
Amena was the talk with Jimmie Don Jeffries to thank him for his hospitality and simplicity, his effort to give this interview in which he speaks Spanish with security, it is clear the love for this state, provided the major impetus to the sport that passionate, another clear example of people in love with Baja California Sur, one day he decided to stay here forever, in heaven, as he calls it . END
LIVE! WEBCAST OF BAJA 1000 2008 CLICK HERE
100 Off-Road Years
Jimmie Jeffries
THE DEVILS MULE!
By Miguel Mada
Throughout all these years many of us we have testified as the Off Road has come modifying its nature from almost instinctive way. From its more elementary beginnings the talent and talent of the first adventurers were sufficient so that the passion by the speed follows intact and in increase in spite of happening of the years. After to have lived to the maximum the anniversary on Baja 1000, we continued with our work and now it is called on turn to finish season 2007. The coexistence and the interchange of ideas with Mr. Jimmie Jeffries have given the opportunity us to prepare a very special news article; the fiance' is debt and many have asked for their trajectory. It goes much for all the liking and for that we know a little or of the living legend of the motor sport: Jimmie Dale Jeffries. Who is Jimmie Jeffries? Perhaps they are more than 300 routes and the innumerable expeditions throughout the peninsula, those that a perfecionist and innovator of motoring outside route did of Jimmie. Their knowledge took it to design at least four hybrids with which there would be to defy to the Mexican desert from his first performances within "Mexican 1000". Over the years, there were three different "Devils Mule".
Although Jimmie was born and lived many years in Californian Santa Monica, nowadays; in motorsports, he like the Mexican American but in the Bajas. In fact it does not interest to him if many consider a "Gringo him" but in the Baja; anyway the good accent of its Spanish denotes the love that "
Jimmie realized of which it wanted to end the record of forty hours established by a motorcycle in the years sesentas.
Thus it was decided nonsingle to participate, but that also occurred to the task of preparing to the maximum the units with which it ran. It was the work much that I dedicate to him to its prime work; more than two years within the factory and five hundred working hours were those that baptized that "Car for Sand" and as it appeared in "the LA Times" that Thursday six of September of 62". In those years everything was very different, the races outside route "were sanctioned" by NORRA unlike now; nevertheless the war of marks was exactly the same one. Jimmie I finish constructing and designing its first vehicle of races at the age of 26 years, when it worked for the department of firemen of
The Devils Mule is but one of Jimmies creations. The Mule was supposed to be in the 2007 Baja 1000 historic parade, but an American from
Excuse the broken English
Baja Racing News.com EXCLUSIVE