And so another 1000 was upon us....

The staff of Off-Road.com had to cover the 1000 from a variety of angles to satisfy our faithful readers insatable appetite for desert racin' info, and of course, to impress da' chicks. It was time to make some hard choices. Who covered which part of the course? Who shot stills and who shot Video? Who would write which story? Who was responsible for packing the toilet paper? Burning questions, one and all.

Since Pat "Lord Zatar" Chicas and Rick "Back when men used REAL cameras..." Sieman had long since scarfed up all the plum spots (rank does have it's privleges after all), we were left with the rest of the peninsula to choose from. Believe me Horatio, there are worse fates in heaven and hell.

The "we" in this case happened to be myself, Class 11 racer George Lara, and his bitchen Ford Ranger prerunner. Hmmmmm..... Let those two couch potatos sit on the coast swilling beer and tellin' lies. We got us some HARDWARE to play with!

As it turned out, we decided to take a quick run up to the "Locos Mocos" Pit at about race mile 85ish - the last 5 miles thereof accessable only by race course. So lets see....We've got a prerunner, a seasoned racer behind the wheel, a stocked cooler, and a stretch of whooped out race course. Breaks your heart doesn't it?

Camera? Check.
Course map? Check.
Food and Beverage? Check.

Damn if we didn't forget to strap the cooler down.

...At the signpost up ahead 40 miles from nowhere isn't a good place to have problems. Fortunately for many racers in the 99 Baja 1000, this sign, and the people behind it,was a godsend.

For the linguisticly challenged (like me), "Locos Mocos" roughly translates to "Crazy Boogers". Unhappy to just sit back and watch from the sidelines, the men and women of Locos Mocos decided to get a little more involved. These "Extreme Spectators" (It even says so on their pit signs - and don't doubt it for a second) took it upon themselves to form a pit club, farming out their services for, get this, free.

Nope, I'm quite seious, and as it turns out, they are as well. Aside from being dyed in the wool race fans, the Locos' count a goodly number of hardcore off-roaders, mechanics, and the all-around mechanicly inclined among them. The question isn't "Why start a pit club", but "Why not"? They do it because of a love of the sport, time with friends and family, and well, just for the plain old fun of it.

George and I made our way towards the Locos pit, traversing some of the most spectacular countryside Baja has to offer. Once we left the pavement just east of Ojos Negros, the fun really started. With map in hand, and an unerring sense of direction, I'd plotted out the quickest way from point "A" to point "B". Being a little more familiar With the area than I , George kicked the Ranger in the firewall and pointed us in the general direction of the race course. Translation; he knew where all the fun roads were. Who am I to argue?

Once we got to the course, we checked the course notes, got our bearings, and prepared for the quick sprint to the Locos Mocos Pits. With a maniacal grin, Lara (being of Mexican liniage) looked over, grinning maniacly and asked, "Hey Gringo, you got big Huevos"?

Moi? Moi??????

"Surely you jest" spake I, "Ustedes Huevos "Grande!"

"We shall see" said he.

George hammered the Ranger through some heavily whooped terrain, while your fearless ORC dude alternated his staring between the rear view mirror, and any possible escape routes along the way. Fortunately, there were only a couple quick bail outs needed before we arrived at the pit. Unfortunately, one of them should have occured at shortcut that would have taken a couple miles off the trip. Live and learn.

As we approached the Locos Pit (in a round about way) at race speed, we began seeing signs like "Free Coffee - Extreme Spectators", "We weld stuff / Fix stuff Free! - Extreme Spectators" , and finially, "Locos Mocos". Now there's something you don't see every day. Especially when you're seriously broken about 40 miles just south of nowhere.

Off-road racing is perhaps the only motorsport where something like this is even possible. Can you imagine showing up at a NASCAR / Indy / CART race with a few trucks, a lot of tools, beach chairs, and 5 dozen coolers saying "Hi Y'all, we'll pit ya for free"? They'd be calling security in a heartbeat.

Besides the 45 miles of red tape and insurance regulations that every man woman and child would have to go through just to get onto pit row.....well, it just wouldn't happen. In the world of off-road racing, things are a lot different. You're always a lot further than a mile lap away from help, and you'll take what you can get, wherever you can get it. When it comes to the Locos, it sure doesn't hurt that the help is well equipped and knows what they're doing.

When we got out of the truck, we were met by a group of laughing Locos in "Dirt First! T-shirts that somehow looked vaugely familiar. Introductions were made, and we quickly learned the meaning behind the mirth. When George and I had missed the shortcut, we had done so with a Class 1 car coming in hard on our tail, while testing the limits of the Ranger's wheel travel in a serious way. The Locos had been at the shortcut, yelling instructions to make a hard left just ahead. Their levity came from the cooler in the truck bed that had been levitating some 3-5 feet over the box (depending on who you asked)as we blew by. They graciously declined our offer of anything within it - it wasn't pretty.

Thanks guys. Glad we could provide the entertainment.

Couch Trip It was a rough race for Sofa Dude. Early problems left the Champ sidelined before completing lap 1 of the 99 1000. With help from Locos Mocos, Seeley was able to press on past check 4. Without their help, the situation would have been far more grim.

In the pits, George Seeley and his Class 5 Baja Bug were undergoing a bit of Loco-majic. "The racer formerly known as Sofa Dude" ziged when he shoulda' zagged, and tore up / off the driver-front corner of the car. Things were real ugly. Despite the Locos best efforts, this was a fix that would require new parts, and as un-luck would have it, they were on a chase truck some 50 miles away.

In fact, the Locos pit saw it's fair share of activity throughout the day. Because the course was in rough shape, and drivers were scrambling to make up time from an earlier course blockage, several broken racers had made use of the strategicly placed 'Mocos pit on their way to their own. Add to that the fact that this 1000 was a 2 lapper, and by lap 2, there were a large number of limping vehicles to play with.. It gives new meaning to the concept of "bringing the race to you". But then, that was the whole point of the Locos venture. Get involved!

After a couple cool ones and a bit of bench racing, the Locos' were getting ready to return to work on Seeley's Class 5. Adversity breeds ideas, and the yellow Baja had a race to get back to. We strapped the remanants of the cooler down (better late than never), said our good bye's, and headed off to Ojos to catch the leaders coming through for lap 2 at dusk.

What more can I tell you about these "Crazy Boogers"? They feed you, they clothe you (We just HAD to get a few of those "Dirt First!" T-shirts), they fix your vehicle, and serve are a great example of what makes the sport of Off-Road racing great. Friends and families out in the desert helping their fellow racers, all for the love of the race.

Got yourself a Baja Jones? The Locos' are online at http://www.locosmocos.com, with a website featuring upcomong events, race reports, pics and more. Be sure to take a stroll through the virtual path, stop in, and tell'em Off-Road.com sent ya!