Race Day– issues, driver changes, strategy changes and progress

“Race 1502, we see you” … “John, am I looking straight at you guys” … “Yes, Brooke is on the side of the road with the board” … “Ok, I see him”

The Jeep pulls off the road and stops beside our chase vehicles for it’s first quick look. 1502 started at 2:06PM, it is now 4:43PM, a little more than 2 and a half hours of racing under our belts. As Sheila gets out, we open the hood and start looking for anything that could be wrong … big leak, fire, small rodent, loose hose, broken fitting, stowaways … finding nothing out of the norm we get the hood back down.

Since the sun sets in 45 minutes, we take the light covers off and make sure that all 6 are working … check! Tom’s settling in and we have a bit of a conversation about the GPS and Fuel … GPS doesn’t seem to show the right course … and the fuel gauge is under 1/2 tank … hmmm both problems we will have to deal with.

Our first stop … in at 4:43, out at 4:48 … not bad 5min of down time.

As the Jeep sets off for RM 81 and BFG 1, we pack up and head there ourselves. We can stay in radio contact with the Jeep for most of this section … things going well, GPS course still doesn’t match the marked course … ugh … and fuel gauge still reading low.

We make it to BFG 1 well ahead of the Jeep,having lost communication as there are a few hills between us. BFG 1 is different then when Mark pre-ran the corner here, big tractor trailer, several other cars and a drunk Mexican on a horse asking for beer … I will add that he wobbled, but he didn’t fall down. After a few minutes of telling us that everyone had beer and all he wanted was one … he moved on the to the other chase groups in the area.

We got some comms from the Jeep that one of the lights is out and that they are experiencing intermittent electrical blackouts … hmmm … that’s a new one, and a concerning one. I take an SD card out of a camera and create a new route chip, which we will exchange … soon, we hear 1502 calling, they are about 7 miles out. While we cannot see them, and have no access to a tracking display, they are able to read the RM markers on the course and let us know where they are ….

We let BFG know that we need to do some wrenching and they point us to a spot beyond the fueling area to setup … it is now really dark. 1502 comes in to the pits, there are 8+ BFG guys working on them … they clean the numbers, clean the lights, look all around, they find the ground cable for the battery completely loose and almost coming off … they tighten it … I think that should explain the black out issues. Fueling is slow … turns out this will be a recurring problem for us … they cannot dump fast into the tank, so they must pour slowly … 1502 takes 27gal of fuel … this is a problem!

In our “wrenching” area, we replace the bulb that isn’t working … change the GPS chip … Tom and Tim seem to be doing fine … they get something to drink, something to snack on and buckle up for the next section … not bad they cover the last 48 race miles in 1 hr 50 min … they came into BFG Pit 1 at 6:38 and left shortly after 7:04 … under 30 min.

We pack up and head out to BFG 2, an area called Borrego Pits. We keep radio contact for almost 45 minutes, before 1502 heads into the mountains to tackle the Summit … BFG pit 2 is 117 miles from BFG 1 … now to deal with THIS problem.

1502 has a 32 gal fuel cell … all but 2 gal of the cell are useable, giving us 30 gal before we are empty and stopped … BFG 1 put 27 gal, and the Jeep covered 90+ miles … we figure fuel economy (not something you talk about in racing <bg>) is around 3.3mpg … 1502 will run out of fuel almost 20 miles before the next stop.

Both Chase 1 and Chase 2 are doing the math and looking at the maps. We need to find a place to refuel 1502 before they run out. We let Tim and Tom know that we will “splash them” with 10 gal of fuel around RM 165. They should be able to make it there, and then with the extra fuel make it to BFG 2.

Both Chase pull into Borrego, it is a small city … tents, trailers, cars, buses, tractor trailers, fires, flood lights … and thousands of people. They’ve even brought a couple of restaurants here … Borrego is popular, as it is a crossing point, it is the only place on the race course where cars will come through twice … a major pit area and those who do not pit, come through at high speed … making an “attractive” spectator location.

Fortunately Borrego is not too cold … unfortunately the wind is blowing at least 20mph, maybe more … just to remind you … Borrego is in the middle of the desert. When the wind blows that strong, it blows everything … and most of all, it blows lots and lots of sand. We have arrived to our “resting” place in a sand storm.

We choose a place, using lights and trailers as reference points … Michelle gets out of Chase 2 and Brooke and Sheila get ready to meet up with the Jeep … this for them is about 45-60 min away … we stay in range as long as possible … but soon we cannot talk anymore … 1502 should be at RM165 between 9 and 10P (based on the rate they have been travelling) … they should be in Borrego between 1A and 2A. With Chase 2 gone … we set up camp <bg>.

Hmmm … we didn’t prepare for a sand storm … this became very obvious quickly … fire for warmth, not an option; too windy … fire for cooking chorizo, not an option … alternative ways of making something hot … ummm … none. 5 chairs for sitting around … not much value in the wind <bg> … ugh … shelter … none. Hmmm … Ok …

We move the truck so it forms a wind break, Mark and Dennis who need to rest as they will need to get in the Jeep around 1A pull out their sleeping bags and cots… did I mention we expected no wind … so … cots at the lee of the truck, each beside the wheels, as the wind was whipping under the truck. Both climb into sleeping bags, get completely covered and try to rest. I’m not sure this qualifies as comfortable … by most accounts I think it qualifies as sand blasting.

Michelle and I head out to explore the area (did I mention in a sand storm) … mental note … bring goggles next time, many had them, and I know understand why. We spend about an hour walking about 1.5 mile up and down the race course, watching the spectators, watching the cars come by every couple of minutes, watching them pit … it is hard to understand for me the risks that some of the spectators take… they stand about 1-2 ft from 5000lb, 800hp machines travelling on sand at over 90mph … must be a latin macho thing … as most of the non-local spectators stood a good 20ft back.

We also noticed a nice “game” that they play … waiting until the truck is very close, before darting in front of it to the other side … what is wrong with these people … I also couldn’t understand the idea of putting your chairs 3 ft from the race course, sitting with your back to the oncoming racers and just “hanging” out … wow … what cohones.

Anyways … the desert is dark, very dark … and when you step away from the lights of the “city” everything disappears. The desert also has lots of cactus and other prickly things … a common site was to see lights walk out into the desert … turn off for a few moments, then come on and walk back to the city … you see, the desert, also is a bathroom <bg>

While I didn’t witness it, apparently some of the locals didn’t realize that there was a person sleeping in the cot next to our truck and came very close to “watering” them … I’m hoping to get Mark to provide all the details.

Midnight rolls around, nothing, 1230, nothing, 1A nothing, 130A nothing … we wait, nothing from Chase 2 … hmmm … they should be close.