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BAJA 1000 2013!
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Monday, November11
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***Check Point Timed Closures Posted November 8 UPDATE, BELOW
***TT and Class 1's will NOT be mixed by qualifying time, they start by class.
***BAJA 1000 2013 Checkpoints:
CP 1 El Chinero Area Hwy3 Crossing RM 192.8
CP 2 Coloradito Area RM 268.22
CP 3 El Crucero HWY 1 Crossing 384.94
CP 4 Catavina RM 498.12
CP 5 Vicente Guerrero Bridge RM 660.19
CP 6 Mikes Rd & HWY3 RM 759.67
CP 7 El Alamo Crossing RM 798.39
CP=Checkpoint RM=Race Mile
*** Prerunning From the Start Line, Begins Thursday, November 14- or as close as you can get to it with contingency/ tech blocking the streets - to Race mile 20- OUTBOUND ONLY!
***OFFICIAL! "Class 11 AND Class 7SX cutoff; the cutoff is from mile 395 through mile 500, you take the pavement at the Y and bypass the silt bed. (basically from Checkpoint 3- Checkpoint 4) The point of the shortcut is to give the Class 11's and Class 7SX a better chance of finishing within the time limit, without the handicap of the silt bed."
***From Vincente Guerrero, Baja California, Mexico: "A little less than three weeks from the end of the current municipal administration, the police units in this district have no gasoline to carry out patrols. The units are at the police station, parked for the last two days, and do not leave for patrols as normally performed, affecting the residents of the district. The units only are moved when a call is received, and then returned to the municipal police station and parked, as they lack gasoline."
***On Nov. 5th at 22:12 UT, the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR1890 erupted, producing a brief but intense X3-class solar flare.
From November 7th through the 10th, general radio communications can be impacted. Sat phone, race-radio and radio relay communications can be disrupted.
***Police shakedowns at San Miguel reported by three teams, as southbound into Ensenada.
***BFGoodrich's Jeff Cummings reports, "There's a section near Guyaquil where the course is marked a bit differently than the plot". Beware.
***Class 11's were skipping a section near the bottom between Crucero and Catavina.
***Where are the extra miles cut from the original course?
Racers comparing the '2013 500 course notes shows the mileage crossing at HWY 3 at 40.09 and for the '13 BAJA 1000 it shows the mileage at the hwy 3 crossing at 35.65 indicating big changes. The race sanctioner had to reroute the evening before the race to eliminate some 2-3 feet deep silt ruts made by prerunning trucks.
***BAJA Crew Road Report:
Road construction with detours in the dirt at KM103 south of Ensenada for a few miles but traffic is moving good. More road work further north several miles but I don't remember the KM mark. Race vehicles are on the highway at Camalu for about 15 miles and one more very short on/off section about 10 miles further north. North of Catavina they cross the highway at KM168. The southern most hwy crossing is at KM170/171 north of the LA Bay turnoff.
***BAJA Crew Access and Chase Notes:
CLICK HERE FOR ASSOCIATED ACCESS/CHASE MAPS
South of San Quintin there are two access that join together KM16 and KM24. Meets the race course in about 30 miles from the Hwy depending on the actual route the race takes.
Below El Rosario at KM103 is the R. Los Martires access. There is a rancho at the turn off. The access road joins the race course near the El Sauzalito mining area.
At KM133 a road to the Pacific is marked Puerto Santa Catarina. About 14 miles down the road is Rancho Santa Catarina. Near the fish camp of Puerto Canoas the road turns northeast at a jct and in about 15 miles joins the race course.
At KM149 is the El Marmol Onyx mine turn off. It meets the race course about half way to the digs.
The race course will cross hwy 1 at KM 168. A hwy sign may say Faro San Jose or something similar.
At KM233 is the Laguna Chapala turn off for Cocos Corner and the race course. Also a road to the west and the Pacific Coast is there. It meets the race course about 10 miles north of Punta Blanca.
KM251 east side of Hwy 1 is access to the race course about 9 miles north of El Crucero.
KM252 is a road on the west side of Hwy 1 that access the race course about 5 miles in. Look for a white house on the north side set back on a hill and the race course is very near.
KM261 is El Crucero, sorry I didn't mark it on the map, but you can't miss it.
KM271 is where the race course crosses Hwy 1.
Access from the south is at Santa Rosalillita. The Hwy turn off is KM38. The road north is just east of the airstrip before the town.
1-The race course from the ocean to Hwy 1 at KM168 can be very slick mud if it rains. It's like driving on grease, not deep just slick. Be careful.
2-Both the race course and the access road at KM233 will have silt beds, some pretty bad, as you get near the ocean.
***Eliseo Garcia Runs Out Of Talent...Again!
UPDATE November 8:
Check Point Closing Times
Moto Car/Trucks
CP 1 RM192 Fri 9:54A Fri 9:57P
CP 2 RM269 Fri 12:48P Sat 12:57A
CP 3 RM385 Fri 3:08P Sat 5:38A
CP 4 RM435 Fri 7:38P Sat 8:09A
CP 5 RM498 Sat 1:52A Sat 2:38P
CP 6 RM660 Sat 5:43A Sat 6:38P
CP 7 RM760 Sat 7:11A Sat 7:09P
CP 8 RM799 Sat 8:59A Sat 9:03P
Finish RM883
CP=CheckPoint RM=RaceMile
Time limit for the race is 36 hours from start time, to finish, one must average 24.5 mph.
UPDATE November 7:
Lost German-born rider, 54, went missing for almost 24 hours, Found!The racer of " off road", lost motorcyclist, who intended to participate in the Baja 1000 , was lost in the area of Real del Castillo/Ojos NegrosFor nearly a day, a lost German motorcyclist remained on the route/race course of the Baja 1000 , in an uninhabited area near the town of Ojos Negros.
Ricardo Lomeli Sedano , delegate of the Civil Protection Department of the State ( DPCE ) reported that the corridor identified as Jim Menson , 54, was found yesterday afternoon successfully without injury and stable health.
It was the morning of Wednesday November 6 , when the alien came out with their peers , apparently from Canada , to make an expedition around the road located northeast of the municipality.
But around 15:00 pm the same day met without the presence of adult circulating aboard his Honda motorcycle brand , model , CRF -450 , with the number 95 , which alarmed his relatives.
Because visitors sought the support of the authorities, who in turn sent immediately to the DPCE brigade inhabitants coordinated with the municipal delegation of Real del Castillo.
Because the area is difficult to access, with steep ravines, on Wednesday night the search was called off. The work continued on Thursday, until they found the motorcyclist around noon.
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UPDATE: November 6, 2013
SCORE makes more "Official" announcements via a phone call from Roger Norman. No press release, no website issuance. A phone call. Clearly, the race sanctioning body considers this a business provision to its customers, nothing more.
The only thing of value, other than cash, are the 'hits' on their internet holdings. That's exactly why racers need to be aware of their safety arrangements. SCORE will not babysit you.
SCORE phone call: "Class 11 AND Class 7SX cutoff; the cutoff is from mile 395 through mile 500, you take the pavement at the Y and bypass the silt bed. (basically from Checkpoint 3- Checkpoint 4) The point of the shortcut is to give the Class 11's and Class 7SX a better chance of finishing within the time limit, without the handicap of the silt bed."
UPDATE: November 5, 2013
BLOCKBUSTER LOADING NOW!
SCORE TECHNOLOGY ON DISPLAY
[Edited:]'An industry expert', sez:
"SCORE will Fail Tracking BAJA 1000", in Exclusive interview with Roger Normans sponsor and vendor.
[Edit:]'The expert' told our reporter, "we tried to get the contract for tracking but Roger got the Spot units for free".
[Edit:]The expert sat down with MONSTER Mike and spilled the beans about the tracking system being used by the race sanctioning body and the plans [Edit:]'the experts company' has for covering the qualifying of the desert off-road racers.
"I meet with Roger at least once a week lately", "I talk to SCORE's tech every day", said [Edit:]'the expert' in the recent, face-to-face.
"We were going to give SCORE the services for free, but, now we're going to charge him for the internet and coverage services at Ojo Negro for qualifying", [Edit] 'the expert' said. "Internet access services".
SCORE BAJA 1000 Race Tracking
"With a new system of live tracking being used at the race will be available to the public live", is as the race sanctioner has described their 'tracking' programming.
"(Race) coverage of the race which will include real-time footage from several areas around the race course." Sure, last time Roger claimed this, their images were so bad, it reminded media professionals of high school online videos from the mid 90's. Utter trash! Video streaming from Mars looks better than the stuff SCORE produces.
[Edit:] 'The expert' commented the SCORE images were not even considered 'minimum quality' for online live events. "They were unrecognizable".
Blockbuster Details NEXT!>>>
***STORY UPDATE November 7***
""Baja 1000 Penalty Bulletin
Nov.7, 2013
All finishers must return the tracking devices to SCORE Tracking Revue [Review sp]Officials at the finish line or deliver them to the black SCORE semi-truck at the finish line.
Failure to turn in the equipment will result in your
entry being assigned a DNF and you will not receive placement or finish points.
It is the responsibility of the racer to make sure the devices are returned at the finish line.
DO NOTleave the finish line area until the
devices are removed and returned to SCORE Tracking Revue.
All competitors that DNF must return the tracking recorders to SCORE Tracking at the finish line or return the devices by November 22, 2013 to
receive placement points and to avoid being charged for the equipment. Mail or deliver the equipment to NMS, 9434 Bond Ave., El Cajon, CA. 92021.
Any racer who finishes without a data logger for whatever reason will be declared a DNF and will not receive placement or finish points and will be charged up to $500 if both the data logger and tracker are not returned.
A Driver or Rider finishing within their 36/34 hour time limit but exceeds the time limit when penalties are added will be assigned a DNF and will receive placement points and no finishing points.
60MPH SPEED ZONE PENALTY
on all paved roads except those in and around Ensenada. Paved and
concrete roads entering or exiting Ensenada have no speed limit. If you are speeding in controlled speed zones you may be pulled over and ticketed by Federal Police.
SCORE devices collect approximately 12 data points per mile or one every 5 seconds to determine speed violations in controlled speed zones. A penalty will be assessed for each data point that exceeds 60MPH. The
penalty will be 10 seconds for each mile per hour over 60MPH at each data point.
The following example of speed data will result in a 6 minute penalty.
56 – 59 – 63 – 59 – 64 – 57 – 62 – 69 – 71 – 57 – 64 – 62
In this example if you had maintained the maximum speed of 60 MPH with no penalty you would have traveled 1 mile in 1 minute. Using the penalty example the same mile now took you 7 minutes.
A competitor who finishes the race with NO DATA or MOSTLY INCOMPLETE DATA will receive the time penalties shown below. It is the responsibility of the racer to ensure that the SCORE tracking device is
properly installed. The data generated from the SCORE tracking devices will verify course compliance by providing information for the review of all course deviations.
60MPH COURSE COMPLIANCE PENALTY INFORMATION
OJOS NEGROS VILLAGE 60MPH
Race Mile
On Dirt in Ojos Housing @ Powerlines NO DATA PENALTY = 10 MIN
1) Right on pavement at junkyard
35.55
1.04 Miles
1) Cross HWY 3 @ KM 39
36.59
12 Data Points
EAST OF CERRO COLORADO
NO DATA PENALTY = 10 MIN
2) Right onto HWY 3 @ KM 76
73.15
1.18 Miles
2) Left off HWY 3 @ KM 78
74.34
14 Data Points
PUERTOCITOS RD & HWY 5
NO DATA PENALTY = 100 MIN
3) Right on HWY 5 @ KM 57
268.24
55.96 Miles
3) Left @ end of HWY 5 @ KM 146
324.20
671 Data Points
VICENTE GUERRERO BRIDGE
NO DATA PENALTY = 30 MIN
4) Merge onto HWY 1 @ KM 169
660.21
13.54 Miles
4) Right off HWY 1 @ KM 148
673.75
162 Data Points
MIKES ROAD & HWY 3 JCT
NO DATA PENALTY = 30 MIN
5) Left On HWY 3 @ KM 137
759.67
12.27 Miles
5) Right off HWY 3 onto goat trail @ KM 117
771.94
147 Data Points
Total Speed Controlled Miles - 83.99
Total No Data Penalty - 180 Minutes
COURSE COMPLIANCE PENALTY INFORMATION
The data generated from the SCORE tracking devices will verify course compliance by providing detailed information for the review of all course deviations and speed zone compliance.
There are 8 physical checkpoints. The penalty for failure to clear a physical checkpoint is disqualification.
There are 111 virtual checkpoints (VCP’s) as of Oct 28, 2013. The standard penalty for failure to clear a VCP within 120 feet is 10 minutes. However, the time penalty will increase as the course deviation distance
increases. Virtual Checkpoint locations are GPS waypoints that serve the same purposes as traditional manned physical checkpoints.""
Gary Newsome, Editor
UPDATE! November 4
LIVE! BAJA 1000 Google Map
INSURANCE, The Complete Racing Story
UPDATE: November 3, 2013
BajaRacingNews.com has taken on the big interests of one of the biggest recreation forms for years. Now is the time to expose the behind the scenes war between the race sanctioning bodies, over entry fees and other dollars.
Since the Mexico collapse that peaked in 2008, the American racing series has eaten the Mexican racing series lunch. In new ownership of the Mexican racing series, there has been new hope that a renewed effort in Mexico could take place.
Why the insurance lead-in? Because it's insurance that exposes the racers, chasers and fans in the all-out fight for the money/business of desert off-road racing and the BAJA 1000.
During the lead up to this years BAJA 500, Darren Skilton decided that he was going to pull his HONDA Racing entry (not race) in the annual event, right during contingency. When BajaRacingNews.com began taking interviews and documenting the reports, there was plenty of information confirming the Skiltons race entry pull and information pointing to financial interests fighting over teams entering races.
Some reports accused General Tire apologist Travis Roffler as the main cheerleader in the effort to damage the Mexican series.
The Tire Wars in desert off-road racing has been well documented here. The threat from General Tire and their German money had everyone's attention during the Robby Gordon v. Roger Norman, "You cut the course" debacle.
French Michelin/BFGoodrich money has a long term promotional contract with the Mexican series and they continue to dominate the podium finishes and race results across Baja and the SouthWest.
In the middle of the sanctioners and the product wars are the people racing, participating in team functions and the fanatics who follow the recreation of mayhem, desert off-road racing.
In order to travel and participate in Mexico, one must be insured. By federal law, guidelines have been in place to cover 'tourisitic' activities. Racing, prerunning and chasing have never been covered by the main stream Mexican insurance companies.
There was a brief period of coverage for "Baja race activites", provided by the work of one, Alan Kohl, but that coverage is no longer available.
The Mexican sanctioner, at one time, provided a sort of "main coverage" for racers only. The new ownership has covered itself. The provider is Qualitas. Charges of crimes committed by Qualitas in a southern Baja race recently, led to BajaRacingNews.com to suggest a Boycott of the company.
It's now asserted by the company Qualitas, it did nothing wrong and the coverage provided the race was sufficient to cover the event. However, no proof of adequate claim service has been provided to this reporter. Medical bills for an injured fan and a racer who lost a hand, still remain in question.
In past Mexico events, it has been well documented here, that International travelers and event participants have been under-insured or not insured at all.
*We'll include a link here to the documented instances. One that comes to mind right away is the General Tire team owner that was driver at a high rate of speed on the federal highway, filming his race rig and he went head on into a civilian passenger car. His wife was not wearing a seat belt and they were not carrying proper documents to be accepted for service in hospital in Mexico. General Tires had to bail them out. Luckily, no one died.*
When the Skiltons claimed the sanctioner was not insured, they were actually stating the sanctioner 'would or could not provide an insurance rider for the team itself", which it requested. We confirmed these facts by talking with both sides of this story. The Skilton team and the sanctioner, SCORE.
BajaRacingNews.com believes this assertion led to the Skiltons pulling their entry. They said, "our American insurance company suggested we not race, due to the insurance questions".
In interviews, the race sanctioner stated clearly that such a request, put to the former owner, Sal Fish, would have been met in similar terms. The request was turned down. Not because of insurance questions about surety, but because it is not the business of a sanctioner to provide insurance rider coverage to teams.
Perfectly understandable, in insurance business terms, but the act needlessly challenges the coverage acumen of the current sanctioner. Except for one thing, the former owner allowed a United States insurance broker, to structure and operate a medical response organization, within its events in Mexico. And the United States!
When the new owner of SCORE-International, Roger Norman, investigated this structure, he dismantled and closed it. He found, "they had meat wagons substituting for ambulances". The once heralded SCORE medical response structure was dismantled and cast to the wind.
This action by the Mexican sanctioner, proved BajaRacingNews.com allegations that the former SCORE-Instant Insurance medical coverage relationship was faulty. Instant was kicked to the curb and out of the rubble, the relationship with Qualitas was retained, along with the long time legal representation of Oscar Ramos.
During the entire time, Hal Andreoli was claimed and acted as 'Medical Director'. No medical authorizations could be found to support this tenure. Roger Norman claimed Andreoli was responsible for 'hiring' the "meat wagons".
Instant was/is famous for not paying on claims by racers and their associated groups. Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, refused comment when contacted for this report.
Oscar Ramos has been clear with BajaRacingNews.com, when asked whether the Andreoli's still had a relationship with SCORE, he said, "yes and no". Meaning, yes, they still are working as the insurance brokers with Qualitas, but no, Instant is not a current sponsor of SCORE. Weird because, Instant wraps itself in SCORE logo's, but is not authorized to do so, as confirmed by Norman himself.
Why is it still happening? Because the threat of losing the Qualitas coverage is real. Considering Norman's acceptance of Qualitas coverage, there may be only one insurance company in Mexico willing to take on the risk of organizing, operating and promoting one of the most dangerous recreational-touristic activites in the Republic of Mexico, Baja desert off-road racing.
What good is Qualitas if they don't pay on claims? More on the way...
Gary Newsome
BajaRacingNews.com
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UPDATE November 2
The Hotel Riviera of Ensenada, Baja California
The nerve center of gringo racing, history.
[CLICK THE IMAGE ]
UPDATE November 1:
NEW!
CLICK HERE FOR GOOGLE MAPS BAJA 1000 2013
Courtesy Szielenski
Company, Thanks!UPDATE October 31:
*Ensenada, Baja California, home of Gringo
(SCORE) Baja Racing, BUSTED!
Perfect timing for Halloween, the lights GO OUT!
"The municipal government has until October 31 to pay off its debt to the Federal Electricity Commission, or the quasi-governmental agency will stop delivering power to the city and it will be left in the dark.
"We have a problem with paying for the electric power, I have until the 31st (of October) or Ensenada goes dark," said the mayor in an interview.
The debt has reached 2.5 million pesos (US$192,000). [Roger, Got some spare change?]
However, the electricity debt in not the only one facing the administration of Pelayo Torres. He announced they will return several million pesos of federal funds because they could not provide the matching funds required from the municipality.
In addition, there is no money for the payroll."
UPDATE: OCTOBER 30:
*Race Tracking Research Underway
LOADING TODAY>>>
CLICK HERE FOR THE 2009 BRN Race-Tracking Management Coverage
CLICK HERE! REMEMBER THIS SPONSORSHIP!
*Who's Gonna Die?!
BAJA 1000 TEAMS LIST: LOADING:
TROPHY TRUCK (33) (Qualifying Start Order)
14 Heidi Steele *Road Block Alert! Where's my sandwich? 15 to 1
[This entry alone proves this IS NOT a true sport]
34 Ken Losch Second to none(ly) 6 to 1
11 Rob MacCachren *Alan Kohl's Fav To Win 2 to 1
21 Gustavo Vildosola *San Diego Favorite 2 to 1
91 Troy Herbst *Baja Fans Favorite 3 to 1
15 Armin Schwarz Needs no down-time! 5 to 1
59 Craig Potts Serious enough? 8 to 1
39 Ron Whitton Sight-seeing 9 to 1
77 Robby Gordon *MONSTER Mike's Pick 2 to 1
73 James Lin Robby acolyte 7 to 1
50 Zak Langley Strong team 4 to 1
18 Juan Carlos Lopez Will "PIN" it! 4 to 1
88 Sergio Salgado Over his head 7 to 1
30 Robbie Pierce Needs to be steady 4 to 1
72 Robert Acer Needs ace way down in the hole 9 to 1
3 Mark Post *Welcome Back! 7 to 1
49 Carlos Cortez Not a "killer" 6 to 1
57 Mike Palmer LAME HORSE 9 to 1
51 Kory Scheeler Often breaks … 5 to 1
19 Tim Herbst *Baja Fans Favorite 3 to 1
23 Dan McMillin Focus Focus Focus 4 to 1
45 Gary Magness "Billionaire's Quirky Passions" 6 to 1
16 Cameron Steele *Gary Newsomes Pick To Fail 9 to 1
70 Bryce Menzies/Jesse Jones *BAJA Crew Favorite 2 to 1
67 Austin Jones 2nd Generation 8 to 1
85 Justin Davis The Green Gang 3 to 1
98 Gary Weyhrich *Dark Horse Favorite 3 to 1
26 Charles Dorrance Jay's "R&D" partner 7 to 1
64 Abraham Lartundo A "Maniak" 9 to 1
1 BJ Baldwin *Sal Fish's Pick To Win! 2 to 1
36 Glen Greer It’s ALWAYS So mething … 8 to 1
53 Jose Flores "Baja Sur" winner … 7 to 1
84 Nick Vanderwey Must step up 5 to 1
CLASS 1 (13) (Quaifying Order)
119 Erik Harp Better not have any loose fasteners 5 to 1
153 Ronny Wilson "Why bother?" - Sporto 2 to 1
101 Justin Matney Another clean energy guy ... 2 to 1
121 Damen Jefferies Old dog; new tricks? 4 to 1
131 George Peters Big jump from "1600" 7 to 1
100 Cody Parkhouse Top challenger 2 to 1
110 Josh Rigsby Been breaking bad 4 to 1
188 Jon Walker Hansen helo team 5 to 1
115 Todd Tuls No use crying over spilt milk … 5 to 1
123 Jose Canchola "K.O.R.E." sore 8 to 1
129 Dale Lenk (3rd-RS) Not among the missing? 4 to 1
145 Nils Castillo (2nd-RS) Not Custer's Last Stand? 5 to 1
147 Pat McCarthy (1st-RS) ?????? 9 to 1
Team Observations
SPEED Energy Robby Gordon
Lets talk about his transmission...
ROCKSTAR Energy MacCachren and McMillin
A formidable team. A better match than snorting up sponsor dollars with the DA.
RED BULL Bryce Menzies and Jesse Jones
Bryce is usually solid in Baja with two Baja 500 wins. Unfocused? Jesse Jones is the REAL Elvis of Off-Road.
RED BULL Tavo and Gus Vildosila
The hometown crew, always entertaining.
MONSTER Energy BJ Baldwin
He has proven himself to be a threat, every event.
Mark and Gary Wehyrich
TSCO is a highly skilled and capable racing team.
SPEED Energy Justin Matney and RED BULL Ricky Johnson
Matney has been steadily creeping up the ranks. With RJ splitting duties with him, they have a chance.
SCam Steele
The official A-Wipe of off-road! Who will split duties with Scam, now that he's kicked Lobster to the curb?
Tim/Troy Herbst
Always a threat, the Herbst boys have a won more Baja races than most. The skills of Larry Roeseler and Ryan Arciero, help.
Dan McMillin
Dan has been steadily finishing top 5. He boasts with his Dad Off-road IronMan Mark Mcmillin, as well as fantastic chase support. Is Luke McMillin spliting diving duties with him?
Mark Post, Ed Herbst and Jimmy Smith
The ComeBack Kids!
Vanderwey/Leduc
Now that Curt has 'retired', maybe he can focus a little bit on the race course in front of him?
Juan Carlos Lopez
Too many good gringos ahead of him.
Armin and Martin
Still figuring out whether they have enough fuel.
Ms. McMillin and Heidi
Stay tuned for this write-up, we have some great spy pics!
MOTO TEAM NEWS
"SCORE has shortened the course a bit from initial reports with total mileage of the loop that starts and finishes in Ensenada now about 833, though it’ll still start for bikes and ATVs at 11:00 P.M. on Thursday, November 14, with qualifying for start position taking place the day before.
Unlike the Baja 500, the Bonanza Plumbing/FMF KTM factory team will pin its hopes on just one squad: Mike Brown, Kurt Caselli, Ivan Ramirez and–get this–Kendall Norman!
At the 500, of course, Norman ran his own Kendall Norman Racing/Red Bull team with partner Ryan Abbatoye; it was their first race on an Anthony Dibasilio-prepped KTM 450 XC-F identical to the one ridden by the Brown/Caselli/Ramirez trio to second behind the Johnny Campbell Racing Honda threesome of David Kamo/Colton Udall/Timmy Weigand.
The JCR Honda team is the defending race and series champ, of course, and will rely on those three once again. Then there’s the THR Motorsports/Monster Energy/Precision Concepts Kawasaki-mounted unit of Robby Bell/Steve Hengeveld/David Pearson/Taylor Robert that should also be right there, with hints brewing of a mystery rider possessing a supercross background being added to that group.
In what’s often considered a tune-up for the 1000, all three teams raced the John Burr Cycles 24 Hours of Glen Helen last week with modified rider line-ups, mostly to make sure their lighting systems are up to par. JCR Honda added Ryan Dudek to the mix, Mike Brown rode as part of ZipTy Racing/Bonanza Plumbing KTM with Ty Davis/Bobby Garrison/Gary Sutherlin and THR’s Robby Bell teamed up with Chris Hollis (who was on his way back to Australia after being part of the Aussie World Trophy team at Six Days) plus Ty Renshaw and Justin Seeds.
Honda clawed its way back from an early mechanical setback to sprint past Kawasaki in the final hours for the win by just a minute and 34 seconds, unofficially. Purvines Racing Beta’s Ryan Abbatoye/Nick Burson/Max Gerston/Justin Morrow/Jason Parsons/Tallon Taylor claimed the Open Expert win and third overall while KTM was fourth.
Kawasaki Team Green owned the peninsula during its run. It started its streak by winning the 1987 Baja 500 in its first foray to Mexico, but it really got going the following year and continued to dominate until finally withdrawing after winning the 1000 in 1996 for the ninth consecutive time.
Many of the people involved with the effort are still around, though they may no longer be at Kawasaki. But much like a high school reunion, getting everyone together can be a lot of fun and that’s what happened on Saturday night at Kawasaki’s corporate offices in Irvine, California: the Kawasaki Team Green Baja Reunion.
Over 160 former riders, support staff and volunteers (and their families and friends) gathered for a lot of bench-racing, a taco feed, the chance to view lots of old photos, T-shirts and other memorabilia, and just getting together with friends old and new, some of whom hadn’t seen each other in 20 years or more.
Among the riders were Anna Cody, Chris Crandall, Ty Davis, Ted Hunnicutt, Paul Krause, Danny LaPorte, Dave Ondas, Kenny Parry, Larry Roeseler and Garth Sweetland. Team manager Mark Johnson also made it as well as many of the techs who built and cared for the all-conquering KX500s, 250s and 125s, plus Pro Circuit’s Mitch Payton and Jim “Bones” Bacon who were instrumental in the effort as well.
While the KX500 that won the 1994 Baja 1000 was also on display (complete with its imposing trio of quartz-halogen lights), the evening was mostly about remembering the people who made it all possible. Despite many years not seeing each other, it seemed that old friendships were instantly renewed, with everyone marveling it had been 25 years since that first Baja 1000 victory. As the evening wound down, guests took the mike and shared anecdotes of what they remembered, some of the accounts probably being told in public for the first time.
As Cody said in a Facebook post, “It was a great evening seeing everyone after so many years and hearing stories in the company of some very fast racers…as well as the mechanics and the men behind the team.”
Right after the OiLibya Rally of Morocco, Team HRC Rally sent two of its riders to the Merzouga Rally (handily, also in Morocco) for additional seat/testing time. Since it’s not a part of the FIM Cross-country Rallies World Championship, it’s not attended by many top teams, but the team felt it wouldn’t hurt to have Helder Rodrigues and Sam Sunderland participating to further develop the brand-new CRF450 Rally that proved so dominant last week.
It again proved to be an excellent week for both riders and their new bikes; they won four stages over the next five days and ended up going 1-2 with Sunderland topping the final day and the overall, Rodrigues a strong second after a navigating error on the third day.
That’ll be the final race for the team before Dakar and the expected showdown with the Red Bull KTM Factory Rally Team’s Kurt Caselli, Marc Coma, Ruben Faria and Francisco Lopez."
LOADING NOW>>>
BAJA 1000 2013 INSIDER
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UPDATE: October 29, 2013:
SpeedMex Pit Services Announces Service provision at RM 150 Saldana every day through last raceday. Fuel, mechanic and light food and drink.
*October 28-November 17 - SpeedMex Pits Services are open and available daily! Monster Mano will be hosting the 'Saldana Pre-Run Pit' again at race mile 150 (RM 150). Any of you that have stopped at one of Monster Mano's pre-run pits know they are in for the best Monster Machaca Burritos on the peninsula. This years BAJA 1000 SpeedMex Pits will be running 19 full service pits.
If
you are a race fan, participant racer, a race team or pit crew and are
transporting your race car in a vehicle longer than 18’ (overall length not counting towing vehicle), such an enclosed trailer, step van, truck or semi trailer, you should obtain a ‘Temporary Importation Pediment’. In order to get one you should observe and follow closely the steps listed below:
 |
| SpeedMex Pits Map |
· The SpeedMex validated Broker will prepare the necessary paperwork for you to cross the border into Mexico, as well as the return
documents that you should present when leaving the country, to prove that everything that came into Mexico is returning to the United States, otherwise it will be considered as a Definitive Importation resulting in having to pay taxes and fines.
· The Temporary Importation Status allows you to bring your race car and equipment to participate in a
motorsports event , without having to pay any tax or duty and administrative fees.
· You may require a SpeedMex validated customs broker or security services, if you have personnel and equipment requiring protection.
· If you are bringing a race vehicle towed in a trailer or flatbed under 18’, you are exempted of preparing a Temporary Importation Pediment; Motorhomes, Toy haulers and RV’s are exempted as well.
· SpeedMex will
give your Tourist Visa to you before you cross into Mexico. If you are
going further south of Ensenada or staying in Mexico for more than 72
hours, it is required by Mexican Immigration Authorities that you obtain a Tourist Visa called DNI, it is a visa that allows you to travel (not good to work) legally thru the country as a Tourist/Visitor, it is good for a period of 180 days, and allows you to have multiple entries. You must show a valid and current Passport or Original Birth
Certificate. Drivers Licenses are not accepted for Immigration purposes
since they are not proof of citizenship. You'll get your personalized
coverage via the SpeedMex validated Mexican
Insurance Policy, which includes very important legal coverage while
operating any motor vehicle in the Republic of Mexico.
· Please remember that during your stay in Mexico you should always carry a current and valid Drivers License.
BAJA 1000 2012 FIRE UPDATE HERE
BAJA 1000 BLOWBACK REPORTS
Fan of BajaRacingNews.com?
You already got this story
CLICK HERE 2012 COVERAGE
CLICK HERE 2010 COVERAGE
BAJA 1000 2012 FIRE UPDATE HERE
BAJA 1000 BLOWBACK REPORTS
Fan of BajaRacingNews.com?
You already got this story
CLICK HERE 2012 COVERAGE
CLICK HERE 2010 COVERAGE
LIVE ! NOW!!! REFRESH OFTEN!
"As the race clock quickly clicks down to 16 days remaining before the green flag drops and as teams finalize logistics, vehicle prep and prerunning trips, entries continue to arrive from around the globe for November’s Classic Desert Off-Road Race, the BAJA 1000.
BAJA 1000 RaceWeek Starts Monday,
November 11, at 4 PM LIVE! ONLINE! HERE on BajaRacingNews.com.
This year’s racing events, will go-off Nov. 13-17 in BAJA, Mexico on a brutally-rugged 883.00-miles.
With the rugged course traveling on both sides of the peninsula, the BAJA 1000 will start and finish in Ensenada, Baja California Norte. It is the longest course in race history for a loop race, starting and finish in the same location.
With pre-running of the official race course opening TODAY, this year will mark the 39th time in the first 45 years of the storied race that it has started in Ensenada and it will be the 22nd time it has finished there as well.
It’s the oldest and most well known of all modern desert races, and it remains as the single most appealing accomplishment to a driver. Since 1967, the mother of all desert races has been run over the mysterious, majestic, MONSTER Mike's magnificent BAJA California peninsula.
SCORE FIRSTS
Completing his first year as the new owner of SCORE International, based in Reno, Nev., Captain Baja aka Roger Norman has announced a first for SCORE as all Pro motorcycle, Pro ATV and Sportsman Motorcycle and Sportsman ATV classes will start on Thursday night, Nov. 14 at 11 p.m. with all the car and truck classes starting at approximately 9 a.m. Friday morning, Nov. 15 in the elapsed-time race where each vehicle will leave in various intervals.
November’s race will cover much of Mexico’s majestic Baja California Norte portion of the peninsula, starting and finishing in Ensenada, Baja California. Upwards of 300 entries, from nearly 20 countries and 40 U.S. States, competing in 41 Pro and 8 Sportsman classes for cars, truck, motorcycles and ATVs are expected to compete in this year’s international desert off-road racing challenge.
SCORE is celebrating its 40th year as the world’s foremost desert racing organization in 2013. As the World Series is to baseball and the Super Bowl to football, the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 stands as tall at the pinnacle of the motorsports world today as it did when it began 45 years ago.
Norman has also announced that for the first time in 'BAJA 1000' race history, there will be qualifying for start position for several classes. Held on Wednesday and not open to the public because of safety concerns, qualifying will be held for SCORE Trophy and the unlimited Class 1, by class along with all Pro Motorcycle and Pro ATV classes with each division grouped together.
ALL COVERED LIVE! ONLINE! HERE ON
BajaRacingNews.com
BAJA-Mexico, OF COURSE
The race sanctioning-promoter, SCORE has announced that this year’s race will have the longest course in history for the years when it is a loop race. This year’s single-loop course will be approximately 833.00 miles, starting and finishing in the heart Ensenada and covering both sides of the Baja California peninsula in the Baja Notre state from Ensenada on the Pacific Ocean over to San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez and back. There will be eight physical checkpoints used during the race as well as over 70 virtual checkpoints.
The longest previous course distance in the 26 previous years it has been a loop race was 822 miles in 1985. The longest loop course since 2000 was 808 miles in 2003. The longest distance the course traveled in the history of this race was the once-in-lifetime 2000 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 which covered a total of 1,679.54 miles from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate the new millennium.
Lured by the same siren that enraptured the Ekins brothers in the 1950s, the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 remains as the No. 1 target of racers the world over, not to mention the cadre of pro and semi-pro desert racers who consider it the fitting climax to their racing season each year.""
Official OFF-ROAD LIVE! Press Statement
BAJA 1000 2013 INSIDER
BAJA 1000 UPDATES TO OCTOBER 18 2013 CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE FOR PAST BAJA 1000 UPDATES
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE! BAJA 1000 UPDATES & LIVE ! RACEDAY
CLICK HERE FOR LIVE! BAJA 1000 UPDATES & LIVE ! RACEDAY
BAJA Safari Official HWY1 ROAD REPORT:
From The BAJA Crew:
"A lot of road widening work and road construction from Santo Thomas to San Quentin. Lots of road work at Camalu*.
[*Camalú, Baja California, is a town on the Pacific coast Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. It is located in Ensenada Municipality. The census of 2010 reported a population of 8,621 inhabitants. Surfing, dune buggy riding, sailing, fishing, clamming and crabbing are activities.
Water temperatures range from lows nearing 10°C(50°F) to highs approaching 21°C(70°F).[2] 3mm/2mm wetsuits are recommended for surfing on all but the warmest of days.
The main town is on Federal Highway 1, 175 km south of Tijuana. Drive time is about 2 hours south of Ensenada. For about 60 km (37 mi), from Colonet to El Rosario you can see the ocean from the highway. For five years, plans have been progressing for a major port in Colonet, with rail access to Yuma, Arizona, in the United States.]
From Santispac on km103 small washout...km99 bridge closed detour around...km91 road washout....km62 water still flooded across the road quickly followed by another washout...km38 small washout...km9 small washout at the bottom of a hill...Road construction thru Loreto with paving delays. km106-104 major road repair from washout...km88-89 detour around bridge repair"
Pre-Running Notes
CHASE-ACCESS MAPS
It appears that the 2013 B1K will use a similar route from near the Sauzalito mine area north of Hwy1 at km103. Below are two google earth maps with the 2003 B1K course in blue. The BAJA Crew added access roads in green and show other roads in white.
The first picture expands on the AAA map above with added GPS coordinates. Note the top white line at KM16. I would not recommend using it as the first few miles get very confusing due to many roads going everywhich way.
This second picture shows an access road to the course. The BAJA Crew followed the road that google earth showed coming from Hwy1. There are others but could not tell if they were thru roads. The turn off from Hwy1 is approx. 4.7 miles north of the bridge. The bridge is south of a cluster of hotels the La Villa de San Quintin hotel is easy to see. At 3.3 miles further north is another access road. SCORE map indicates the race course will jump on the Hwy near the bridge at Vicente Guerrero. This is just south of the turnoff for Mission Santo Domingo, there is a sign showing it. Courtesy BAJA crew
CLICK HERE FOR THE ACTIVE Pre-Running Files:
2013 SCORE Baja 1000 GPX - Click Here
2013 SCORE Baja 1000 KML - Click Here
2013 SCORE Baja 1000 USR - Click Here
Pre-Running Pictures & Videos LOADING NOW
*Pre-Running has been going on for weeks! Here's a track called "Codrillera Molina" section and is also known as the "Barn door" and we last ran it in 1999. Very tight, back and forth, and extremely minimal passing! Make it
through the down hill and then start racing. There is a pretty good
possibility and being a donkey blocking the course in quite a few spots. It's much more difficult than the
summit, a lot slower and trickier. Course Routing crosses HWY 3 at the traditional spot, but then more or less head due
East over the mountains, where they rejoin the traditional 
A video from the BAJA Crew prerun:
Calamajue Wash Prerun***BAJA 1000 2013
BAJA 1000>>>OFFICIAL Pre-Running Begins NOW!
BajaRacingNews.com
LIVE ! BAJA 1000 LIVE!
Starts November 11 at 4 PM
FROM BAJA MEXICO!
CLICK ON THE BAJA 1000 MAP!
CLICK HERE FOR SCORE UPDATED ENTRY LIST
MEXICO MONSTER DISASTER UPDATE!
CESENA, CARRILLO, QUALITAS
UPDATE!
Dick Russell Passes
CURRENT BAJA 1000 NEWS STREAM:
November 1, 2013
- BAJA 1000 2013 FACTSHEET Baja Racing News LIVE!
- BAJA 1000 2013 LIVE ! ONLINE EVENTS Baja Racing Ne...
- ***BAJA Racing CENTER***LIVE! DAILY REPORTS
- Retro-BAJA 1000 Videos! BAJA 1000 2013 LIVE! Novem...
- Baja Racing News LIVE! Vintage TV Coverage of La P...
- 13 DIE IN MEXICO WHEN MONSTER TRUCK DRIVES INTO CR...
- BULLETIN! Rob MacCachren brother, Todd, brutally m...
- BULLETIN!!! Cesena, Carrillo, Insurer Qualitas: CR...
- OFF-ROAD LIVE! Blockbuster!!! SCORE Races Plaster ...
- BULLETIN! SCORE International Announces The End Of...
CLICK HERE FOR PRERUNNING & MORE PICS!
CLICK HERE FOR PAST BAJA 1000 UPDATES
BAJA 1000 2013 Coverage Continued...
Fuel Reports From Southern BAJA 1000 Course
One Report: "Plan on taking extra fuel with you. I wouldn't count on the guys in Catavina."
"Bought gas at Catavina a few weeks ago and the guy not only knew about the 1000, he was planning to have premium as well as magna. Since this is his (and other gasolineros) main source of income I think you can count on buying gas, just bring plenty of money. Magna was $5 US per gallon the first week of October and you can probably count on $$ Race Prices $$. Suggest carrying some extra fuel for some needy bike dudes."
And, a compilation of suggestions:
"Gas in Gonzaga at pemex which has been open and back up is at store across the street
Coco usually has "some" gas
Catavina is a booming business for those guys and I guessing no one needs to "tell them" the Baja 1000 and a bunch of donks are coming their way....
Fuel at BoLA rd is not a known entity to me but I hear about it all the time
Bike guys ask truck/buggy teams if you need a few gallons, we will help you.
Car/truck guys if you carry fuel do it safely, I've seen cars burn to the ground from carry fuel and it is really dumb to have in in your cab or on top of your car where it can get in the driver compartment."
Racers Candid Comments on this years proceedings:
Scam Steele #16
"well they* are successfully taking the fun out of some of it by having 1000 VCPs, I get some of it but some I don't. I'm a little old school and a little new school.... Miss the days of surprising other racers with "legitimate" lines".
*The new Score ownership
BAJA 1000 2013 INSIDER
CLICK HERE FOR DAILY UPDATES!
-----------------------------------------
CLICK HERE FOR UPDATES PRIOR TO OCT 18
October 24, 2013 UPDATE
Disease Waiting At The Start!!!
"Come' Mierda" Gringo racers! Eat-Shit".
The Start section of the BAJA 1000 2013 is well known for its human waste. Racers drive right through the Mexican poop. Covering their faces, bodies and race gear.
Now, the scientific experts have identified the source and the huge amount of Baja crap the race drives through.
"The Arroyo Ensenada is heavily polluted. Since late May and early June, the arroyo has had very high levels of fecal coliform contamination, because the treatment plant located behind Doña Petra Canyon is only "half-cleaning' the shit of Ensenada residents.
It does not operate properly, said at a press conference the researcher Victoria Orozco Bourbon, from the Oceanological Research Institute (IOI) of UABC. A university of Baja Mexico.
Durante told the meeting, held in the IIO de UABC, the researcher said that according to the Official Mexican Standard (NOM) 003 ECOL 97 the maximum Limete fecal coliform should not exceed 240 units per 100 mililiters.
In this sense and to have a better idea, the sample taken from the May 30th the Arroyo gave a figure of 920 units and for June 6th will be "much higher" over a 1,600, in other words: eight times above the norm, which already implies a health risk, said Borbón.
Orozco Bourbon Orozco said that water infected with these characteristics, must have physical contact with the human body, to provide proper infection. It was explained that the problem with the treatment plant is not efficiently disinfecting sewage, so that they are expressed almost "half a treatment" .
It should be noted that this water also infects the Bahia Ensenada, a serious source of infection, but the greatest risk is in the resdients nearby the Arroyo it passes through.
Very high contamination risks threaten local children and adults who have contact with the water, that is now confirmed.
The entire arroyo area is heavily contaminated. The ultimate consequences of this is that serious infections can occur in the skin, ears, eyes and a must be seriously treated with antibiotics."
BAJA 500 Summer '13; FROM THE LAST RACE:
"Baja Racers Finally Realize They are racing in Mexican sewage!"
Racing through human sewage, right off the start in Ensenada, Mexico!
Robby Gordon, driving through human waste, sewage, spins out at start
So it took a couple months! So What!?!
INSURANCE, The Complete Racing Story
UPDATE: October 23, 2013
LOADING>>>
Unauthorized; Illegal Prerunning!
UPDATE: October 21
These activities are violations of International, National, State and Local statutes! Call-Us if you have been a victim of this lawless activity.
Call 619-251-9486 or bajaracingnews@live.com
Numerous Race Teams in Mexico Over The Weekend Pre-Running The Un-Marked Course
In a recent press announcement, the guidelines for pre-running the 2013 BAJA 1000 race course were made clear, "The GPS, .KMZ, tulip notes and other files will be released on October 24th which is the night before pre-running opens.".
Course Marking Team at work on October 21
"Official Pre-Running". But what is now a BAJA 1000 Insider tradition, teams ignore the officialness of the pre-running guidelines made clear by the race sanctioner, SCORE-International.
Baja Racing News.com will be publishing pics and vids of the teams on the hunt for a heads up on this years BAJA 1000, by pre-running prior to October 24. We also have reports on several 'mishaps' that occurred these past days, prior to the official opening of pre-running.
October 20 UPDATE
By: Peter Hajas, Racer From Minnesota
To fellow Racers,
I thought it may be beneficial to some of you to understand what actually happened to the World Championship Standings following the changes to the rules after the cancelation of the Moapa Race. There were only 3 classes that were effected at all from the cancelation, TT, 10 and 7200 if the current data on the Score Website is accurate. As many of you may know prior to the cancelation, the HDRA component of the World Championship was to use your best 3 races out of 4 with a throwaway race if you raced in all 4. Following the cancelation there were at least 2 possibilities being considered by Score that I was aware of, the best 2 out of 3(1 throwaway) or 3 out of 3(no throwaway) HDRA races. Using the best 2 out of 3 would have conveniently left all the racers with the exact same amount of points they had immediately prior to the cancelation. No racer would have moved up or down in this scenario since there points were left exactly unchanged. The only difference would have been one less race. Score decided to go with using all 3 out of 3 races which wreaked havoc on several classes. Below is the impact of this change on all the teams that were effected. The numbers after a racer’s name are the points they were/are out of first place in the 2 respective scenarios. The 2/3 scenario is where racers would have been had they gone with your best 2 out of 3, it is also exactly where each racer actually was in the points standings immediately before the cancelation of Moapa. The scenario under 3/3 is the actual ruling they went with. To do this calculation in the 2/3 case you have to incorporate the obvious throw away race for each team which was determined prior to the Moapa cancelation for all competitive teams.
Scenario 2/3 3/3
Trophy Truck
Tim Herbst 0 0
Justin Davis 27 30
JC Lopez 32 69
BJ 34 40
Steele 72 62
Troy Herbst 62 67
Langley 203 240
Class 10
Meyers 0 0
Hajas 10 31
Shaffer 23 41
Mike Lawrence 28 62
Mark Lawrence 179 199
Langley 224 246
Class 7200
Brenthal 0 19
Quintero 0 0
Kovacs 80 71
I am trying to be objective about my disappointment of their approach and I may be biased given that I am very negatively affected. But to me it seems like leaving everyone exactly where they were makes the most amount of sense and I don’t see how it disadvantages anyone. I don’t understand how it is more fair to have Brenthel go from being tied for 1st to being 19 points out of first. Or how is it more fair to have JC Lopez go from 3rd and 32 points out of first to 6th and 69 points out of first, it is basically impossible for him to win. Or in my case in Class 10, I go from being 10 points out of first to 31 points out of first. The entire field in Class 10 other than Meyers suffered similarly. I don’t see how this approach makes sense and I think it really undermines this Championship. I realize it was unfortunate that the race was canceled but I really think there was an obvious much better solution to the problem. Leaving everyone exactly where they were seems pretty fair. The only difference would have been one less race. I have had correspondence with Roger on this topic but he does not seem to have answers that make any sense or make me see it differently.
As a racer I feel you want to understand the rules prior to a race or season and hope that the promoter deals with unforeseen circumstances in ways that are as neutral as possible and do not unjustifiably benefit a racer or group of racers .
As for a promoter dealing with unforeseen circumstances I am sure Roger did not intend to make what appears to be an obvious mistake. Unless my analysis is flawed, it will be very telling how he deals with this mistake. Do you correct several obvious injustices and risk potentially upsetting a few racers that received an unjustified windfall or do you just tell several wronged racers to suck it up? Most quality organizations fix the problems that they are able to fix, even if it happens to be very embarrassing. Just my 2 cents. I don’t see how the few racers that benefited can even make the argument that they are entitled to this benefit. It would be interesting to hear their arguments if they have any.
As a side note the doubling of the placing points for the Baja 1000 for the World Championship is something that was always there, it was just very poorly worded in the rules much like the way the Reno 500 doubling was poorly worded. So that portion of Rogers recent memo/press release is not a change according to him. I agree and also view it as a clarification.
I know I am opening myself up to all sorts of criticisms from the internet crew but I want to get my observations out there. I am also not trying to offend or diminish any other racer. I respect all the teams that I mention above and it is always an honor to be on the course with them. I apologize in advance if I inadvertently did offend any racers. I think Roger and his staff are good people, I just think they made an unjust mistake in dealing with a problem.
Cameron Steele Comments:
"Bonuses for HDRA championship, SCORE and World Championship race and series wins all posssible and part of what some count on.... those of you laughing let me be clear that some are not taking this lightly."
October 19 UPDATE
Michael Swift rides his four-wheel off-road vehicle in a previous event. Swift will compete solo in the 922-mile Baja 1000 race next month in Ensenada, Mexico.
Michael Swift rides his four-wheel off-road
vehicle in a previous event. Swift will compete solo in the 922-mile
Baja 1000 race next month in Ensenada, Mexico.
(Team UXC Racing website photo)
(Team UXC Racing website photo)
"We plan to head south of the border early for a little pre-run and then it is on to ready ourselves for the biggest race of our career," said Swift. "Many do not understand the mystic Baja and the race fever that surrounds it. For many years now the Baja peninsula has been the host of what some call the toughest off-road race on the North American continent. This will be the 46th annual event and it is the loop course that starts in Ensenada and returns there some 40 hours later.
"That is, if everything goes as planned!" Swift and his UXC Racing teammate Don Higbee will each be competing on their individual vehicles, which are Can-Am Outlander 1000XT four-wheelers specially prepped for racing.
Swift was part of a winning team at the Baja race in 2005, when the race was 705 miles in length -- but that was in the team division, with five different drivers taking turns. He was part of teams in 2006 and 2007 that entered the race but did not finish. This time, he'll compete as a solo driver, hoping to complete the entire event by himself.
Swift has been racing since 2004. His primary business is Swift Repairs on Haskins Chapel Road, which repairs heavy equipment and on-road trucks. He has a sideline in the upkeep, prep and transport of 4-by-4 racing vehicles, of the same type he drives himself.
These are large four-wheel-drive vehicles. They aren't toys, but are more similar to the vehicles that might be used for farm work or trail riding. He's with Team AXC Racing and has a sponsorship with vehicle manufacturer Can-Am BRP. He has a fitness and nutrition trainer to keep him in competitive shape, in a sport where the rider's physical fitness plays a role in his control of the vehicle. That's especially true for such a long and grueling race as the Baja 1000.
Swift is a five-time GNCC 4x4 Utility Limited Champion and was undefeated in the 2009 season, the same year he won the 4x4 ATVA Amateur Rider of the Year Award.
Earlier this year, as reported by the Times-Gazette, he won a race in Kentucky even after stopping and dismounting to assist a fellow racer who was trapped face-down in the mud underneath his vehicle."
The 2009 BAJA 1000 is the closest example to 2013
SWEET BAJA 1000 2009 VIDEO ON HULU
BAJA 1000 UPDATES TO OCTOBER 18 2013 CLICK HERE
EDITOR Gary Newsome, BajaRacingNews.com
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