Solar Racing take 1st place in legendary BAJA
500!
Thursday the Solar Racing BAJA 500 team headed south
for the seaside town of Ensenada, Mexico. The team was set to take
on the famed (or infamous) Baja Peninsula for the 36th annual BAJA
500. Mark Handley and Marc Stein (former owner of the race truck)
would share in the driving duties, Ignacio "Nacho / Iggy" Sanchez
and Kevin Galloway would split the co-piloting duties. The race
truck was painstakingly prepped by Mike McComas of ACE Motorsports.
Our goal was to have a problem free race and to win!
Friday was contingency and technical inspection.
Friday night was the driver's meeting. It was held in the outdoor
amphitheater on the grounds of the Convention Center. Always a
spectacle. For example, at last years BAJA 1000, Mario Andretti was
the master of ceremonies. As usual, the Mexican Navy was there to
do the presentation of the flag and their national anthem. There
was a brief award for Sal Fish from the Colonel at DARPA for his
help with the Robot race in March.
Afterwards, the racers were briefed as to any last
minute race details and to be reminded of certain rules, ie. don't
run over slower traffic and no speeding on the highway (instant DQ
if caught. the race goes on and off the pavement, where most of it
is NOT a closed course). The racers were limited to 60mph on the
freeway, down for some vehicles who can do in excess of 140mph. One
actually got DQ'd for 125!
Our race truck was set to depart towards the back of
the some 300 plus entries from around the world. The first
four-wheel vehicle left at 9:00am, leaving our truck to start at
approximately 10:45. The race is based on elapsed time, so the
racers start at 30 second intervals. Marc and Kevin started the
race and set a blistering pace from the beginning. We knew we had
to contend with the 4wheel drive Hummer of the last couple year's
class champion and Baja 500 winner as well as a new Dodge 4wheel
drive. In addition, a last minute entry into the class was a 1969
F-100 and previous Baja Winner.
Despite a couple flat tires, Marc maneuvered the
truck thru the coastal mountains out to the coast for some 90+
miles south, and then off into the mountains that would lead to the
demise of many a race vehicle. This was a 50+ mile loop thru rocky
river beds, freshly cut mountain trails, rocky silty uphill climbs,
and spectacular scenery. The best part is coming out of a section
like that back to the civilization that is the "pits". Marc and
Kevin jumped out at race mile 223 and handed it over to Mark and
Iggy at about 5pm.
With the truck so well prepared for the race, there
were no issues at the driver change to deal with, only getting us
strapped in and the "pig being fed" some liquid fuel, gas, lots of
gas! As we take off out of the pits, our focus is on the mountains
ahead. Our next scheduled pit stop was to be at race mile 317.
Nascar and Indy have their pits every 1-2miles, ours are
50-100miles.
Within minutes of being in the truck, we encounter
our first problem. There are two race cars blocking the course in a
very technical section. Due to the fact we are climbing up through
the mountains, there is no way to get around them. There were
approximately 5 cars/trucks between us and the blockage and
probably 15 racers behind us. Unless you were confident your race
car could make it over 4-6 foot boulders, you weren't getting
around. Finally, about 8 co-riders walked up the hill to help lift
the cars apart and try to get them thru the rest of the section. It
was deep silt strewn with boulders along the side of the mountain
while making a 90 degree turn as you climb the mountain. Finally
after about a half hour of waiting, seemed like longer since we
were feeling our lead evaporate. We at least knew our competitors
were behind us.
Thinking of how the lighter buggies got stuck, we
knew it would be a trick for our 6000lb 2wheel drive stock F-150.
With a little recon of the boulder configuration and turn
requirements, Nacho got us on the right route. Mix with a few extra
ponies at the right moment and we were on our way. Next destination
Mike's Sky Ranch and Valle Trinidad. It was the Mike's Sky Ranch
loop that handed us our DNF at last years 500. Time for us to exact
our revenge on the course that beat us last year. It was now
getting dark as we approach the locale of last years demise. With
much relief, we pass last years "spot" and continue to go down the
hillside into Mike's Sky Ranch, where we are greeted by all the
race fans partying at this mountain rancho. The campfires and music
were a welcome sight after coming across some 90 miles of mountain
terrain.
It was now a sprint down the graded road and into the
river wash then on to our pits at Valle T for our final gas stop
and to put up the roof lights, bringing the total number of
high-power lights to 9, not including the HID factory headlights.
It can be very easy to outdrive your headlights (not a good thing)
while going so fast along some of the roads. The mountain and
desert skies just absorb so much light.
Now we were set and we only had another 115 miles to
go! The truck ran flawlessly all the way from the "Goat Trail" up
thru the mountain areas of Independencia, where we encountered the
flash floods at the BajaMex last year. We were going back and forth
with a couple of other cars from other classes, while taking in the
nighttime scenery with the rising moon in the background.
Then it was of to Tres Hermanos, and out to the
farming community of Ojos Negros. A quick stop to check everything
before the last 20 miles back into Ensenada. We go thru the ranchos
of Ojos, jump on the highway for about 9kilometers but get behind a
line up of cars. With a DQ not being an option, we did not want to
pass the truck going about 2mph down the hill which was causing the
line up. Fortunately, we had a race course to jump back on to and
did not have to wait all the way into town. We were feeling home
free, only a few miles to go. Only thing is, of all the prerunning
I've done in Mexico, I had never been thru this section. This is
where the Mexico experience kicks in. This would involve my lack of
experience in that area, and, the experience of having the locals
remove all of the course markings to try to get us lost on the way
in. Are you still lost if you know exactly where you are but not
where you are going? Between a few missed turns and a few back-ups,
we were able to navigate our way around the booby-traps the locals
had out (another Mexican experience) and eventually made it to the
pavement in Ensenada. There is something liberating about running
stop sign after stop sign while the police just sit and watch!
As always with Baja, it's not over until it's over.
We had to go back off the pavement into the riverbed that led
racers out of town at the start. After maneuvering around some
exuberant fans, both 2 and 4 legged, and a broken race truck less
than a mile from the finish, we were led up the side of the river
bed into a back alley which led to the FINISH LINE at the downtown
Baseball Stadium. Just finishing is always gratifying, but
finishing first is what we came to do! Our well prepped race truck
was First On Race Day! We got in just after 1:30am, with a total
elapsed time of 14hrs and 44 minutes. Only 58% of the entries made
it to the finish line.
Special Alert: Based on our
calculations, I am now leading in points for SCORE Stock-Full
Class! Two more races in the SCORE series: Primm 300 & BAJA
1000!
Special thanks to the team: Marc Stein for delivering
a flawless truck to me after taking it through some of the roughest
terrain imaginable, (and for helping get rid of some of those spare
tires that were stacking up). Kevin and Iggy for keeping us drivers
on the right track. To the chase crew for the great pit stops: Mike
McComas, Pat Sharp, Julie Galloway, Bob and Mary Childers, John
Castillo, Rob Eldridge, Leo and Carla, Medardo Borquez. To Lance
Walser and Wendy Rosenthal for having to chase the truck through
some of the roughest terrain imaginable and, not destroying the
prerunner. Gnarly Racing for the help in Valle Trinidad.
Special thanks to our
sponsors: TheBestMortgageLoans.com, Tri-Star Capital Equipment
Leasing, Goodyear Tires, Bilstein Shocks, F&L Race Fuels,
K&N Filters, Kartek, PCI Race Radios, MSD Ignitions,
Mastercraft Seats, Sign Pros Lettering, National Spring,
DesertRacing.com Next race: "Vegas to Reno - The Longest
Off-Road Race in the United States!"
June 24-26, Race is on
FRIDAY!!! | 
