Sheila’s post race notes–2011 Baja 1000

Guest post from Sheila …

The documentation of our adventure is priceless to me. I hope that friends and family are enjoying it, but for the team it is a recording of what’s fresh in our minds now and will fade over time. Writing it down takes time, but it’s worth it.

Flashback to the beginning of 2011. I hear rumblings from Tim and Tom that we are going again. Really? Can’t be. Just ignore….this too shall pass. 2009 was a busy year, as are all in the Smith household, and the task of creating a team to tackle Baja and to trudge through the paperwork involved was daunting. But I realize now, that is just because it was unchartered waters. In 2011, when I finally chose to no longer be in denial that we were going to try this crazy thing again, I must admit it was easier. We already had a team and they were willing to try again. And although I had less time to handle things (since I didn’t accept that we were going until about 5 weeks before we left), it wasn’t as time consuming, as I had all of 2009’s paperwork to remind and guide me.

After our disappointing trip in 2009, my hopes for this trip were smaller. Be sure somebody gets in besides Tim and me. Make it to Borrego at least (race mile 200ish). That’s as far as I let my mind go. Tim has been with teams who prepared for months/years and never made it to the start line.

Every trip to Baja builds knowledge and experience. That showed in the first days in Mexico. Arrival, recon of the course, pretech inspection, race registration, IRC check-in, Sunoco fuel check-in, BFG meeting, contingency, rider’s meeting…..all smooth as silk….so much easier when it is not your first time.

Race day…..ugh. Being so prepared had its negatives. Mainly, Tim had more time to worry. We had plenty of time to pack the race jeep and chase vehicles, slowly and thoughtfully, all while Tim’s stomach is in knots. When others weren’t around, he would say to me, “I just really want this to go well.” It is a funny thing, owning the vehicle and creating the team. Yes, you are providing team members with a potential opportunity, but they are giving up time out of their lives to support you on a venture that could be incredible or could go nowhere. Baja is anything but certain, no matter how well prepared.

So, at 10am, it was finally time to head to staging. Should be off the line by noon. Not. Ended up 2:30pm because of problems with the start of the trophy trucks. That was another 4½ hours of worry we didn’t really need. Lots of time in staging for people to exaggerate the worst parts of the course….lovely….then you get the wise and quiet Don Moss. We knew that info was the real deal. Well, shit, that scared us, too.

Having been in the navigator seat for the first (and only L) 58 miles in 2009, I knew I was going to have a blast for the 30 miles I would be in this time….my worries were beyond my short leg. The start itself didn’t have the same surreal feel of 2009….nothing will match that. And the 30 miles on the course were similar to those of 2009. The wash had a little extra excitement with the mud….the spectators loved it….the less traction you had, the louder they roared. I think the first 30 miles or so are designed to spread out the field, if not thin out the field. It is fairly tough with steep hills, tight turns and plenty of rocks and deep ruts. Nothing impassible, but not much at all where you can carry much speed. We only got off course once and Tim had to put it in 4 wheel drive to get us out, but I wasn’t concerned, other than if we were blocking someone else’s way. Tim told me later I would have been more worried if I could’ve seen the view from his side. Glad I didn’t.

We made it to race mile 30 for the driver switch. I was thrilled just to make this milestone that we hadn’t in 2009. Yes!…..Tom is in!….someone else is going to get to share in the fun. Michelle interviewed me at this point and I hope I never see that video…..was a little bit of spaz, I think.

Then at race mile 80ish, Tim and Tom get to BFG Pit/Fuel 1. Yes! Fuel stops are made by real race teams. Are we for real? Are we legit? Perhaps yes. Feeling good now.

Okay, reality says we are in the race, but that we have a new challenge. We won’t make any of the distances between the fuel stops without splashes. No problem…gives purpose to the chase team. Out with the maps. We will have to head to Borrego, then east and north to try to get to a potential fueling stop before the race jeep gets there. Brooke and Sheila’s mini adventure in “1502 Chase 2” begins. A few hours on the highway to Borrego, which feels more dangerous then the race course with the crazy American chase crews acting like they are on the race course. A rock flies up and puts a small dent in the windshield. Two thoughts….crap, sorry Tom…..and, okay, this feels normal as we had done the same thing, in the same spot on a jeep from the same rental company in 2009. Weird. Our Baja mark. After a quick stop in Borrego to check out our future “resting spot”, we depart from Chase 1 here and get back on the highway, heading east. Soon we will be out of radio contact with Chase 1 and it will be hours before we have contact with Tim and Tom. Through a military check point with just a wave….excellent…these can take time…..and north to Mexicali. With the BFG chase notes in hand, we easily find the access road and bump along this road for the next hour. We arrive at the proposed splash point and try to reach the race jeep by radio. Perhaps they are in range now. They are and are, in fact, just a few miles out. Perfect. As if planned that way. Too perfect. In the next minute, we seem to lose contact. Turns out they were stuck in the silt and would be for the next 45 minutes. But they eventually get there and the splash is made. Excellent. Another milestone. A driver switch, a BFG fuel/pit stop, a successful splash and the race jeep is in one piece and only 40 or so race miles to Borrego. Tim and Tom have conquered the summit at night, which people love to say can’t be done, and have survived the silt with one minor setback. We are in this thing!

The race jeep beats us to Borrego, but we get there within a few minutes. Mark and Dennis are in and will soon be headed west and south for the dreaded San Felipe loop. What? We made it to Borrego! Mark and Dennis are in! We won’t go home without all drivers and navigators getting to participate. I move past my original hopes. Maybe we will complete the San Felipe loop. Well, here is where it all gets foggy. It is about 3am and we’ve been up since 6am the day before. Spent about 3 hours in Chase 2 (a very small rental jeep) trying to sleep in the front seat. Slept on and off, while listening to Chase 1 and the race truck try to find each other to make another splash about 40 miles south of Borrego. I am glad that Tim and Tom are sleeping/resting in cots just outside the rental jeep and are not hearing this on the radio. We can’t help….just have to hope they find each other. We wake at 6am and for the next, oh I don’t know, say 7 or 8 hours, we are out of radio contact with the race jeep. Over this period of time, it seems that at least twice, we have BFG relay contact us to say our race jeep is going 0 miles per hour and do we know what’s up. And later, BFG saying that they are moving again. The emotional roller coaster of being out of radio contact. Many times while Mark and Dennis were completing the San Felipe loop, we thought our race might be over. Every time that proved to be wrong, the chase crew had new life! Who needs sleep? We are passed the half way point and all indications are that we’ll keep chugging along. Is it possible we’ll finish? For the first time, I start to consider it……

Contact from BFG indicates the race jeep needs a spare….that explains one of the mysterious stops. Chase 1 and 2 are together at this point. We have refueled our spare cans and our own vehicles and have placed ourselves at our 3^rd splash location. Here, we will put Tim and Tom back in (earlier than planned, but we know Mark and Dennis have been through a lot) and will give them the spare, fuel them up and send them on their way.

At this point, we have done the math. We are almost ¾ of the way through and know that it will be near impossible to complete the race in 32 hours. But we are still kicking and there is no reason to stop. Let’s see how far we can get. Tim and Tom get in and I’m so impressed that Mark and Dennis persevered to get us to this point. They were both pretty beat up and looked like hell, but I know that they will be happy later, when they have some time to reflect. Dennis says never again, but I don’t believe him. Mark is very matter of fact, as he tends to be. Yes, it was more than a bear, but it is Baja and we didn’t expect any of it to be easy.

The chase crew starts to head north. There are several places where the highway parallels the race course. We stay with them as much as possible. Lots of photos and videos taken and once we actually get out and stand right by the course like the crazy locals do, hootin’ and hollerin’ as 1502 passes. Brooke decides to really play the crazy local and builds a “ramp” to challenge our race truck. Well, it was only about 4 inches tall, but it was symbolic. “Take that, Timothy Scot!”, says Brooke. Must be settling some score between cousins from childhood. We are sleep deprived and beat, but suddenly having a little fun.

We are at an interesting crossroads at this point. We all know the clock has beaten us….but so many of the challenges of Baja haven’t beaten us. The race jeep has not been beaten by the terrain of Baja. There is probably nothing we will see in the remainder of the course that we haven’t already and the jeep is still kicking and for the most part in great shape. Our drivers have prevailed over the summit, the silt, the rocks, the whoops……27 hours of this, no less. Many experienced racers are saying this is one of the toughest courses in recent history. So many racers have given up at this point…..many of them several hours before….and of those still on the course, most are giving up now. You have to realize that this course is designed to challenge the best of the best….the Robbie Gordon’s of the off-road world, with $200k+ race vehicles and chase crews with helicopters. And we are still in the race. How do you give up?

The chase crew has new life. We know we will time out, but don’t want to give up. We start strategizing how to keep 1502 fueled to the end. With BFG still staying out on the course, we can make the splashes, although it would involve the race jeep waiting on us. But it would be a finish to us. Again, how do you give up?

Well, I’ll tell you….3 things happen at once. The first is that BFG starts to hint that they don’t want to wait for us. They want to pack it up and go home. We are their customer and we run their tires. They won’t leave unless we tell them to, but are hinting heavily that they want us to. The second is that night falls. Another night in the desert, even if all goes well from here, and none of us has had more than 3 hours sleep in a day and a half. The third is that the motor of 1502 is sending us a message. Something is amiss. We make it a goal to at least reach race mile 500, which we do and the next access point for race and chase to meet up is race mile 503, so this is where our story ends. Any further west than race mile 511, we put ourselves in danger of a problem with the jeep and no easy access to help. With BFG and Score wanting to clear the course for safety reasons (and because they are exhausted), we have to be smart and call it quits. Yuck.

A finish will have to wait for another year. A finish in the sportsman truck class is no easy thing. Many teams are 5 times + before they get a finish. Many teams never do. And in our class, finishes are often a win. It is our 2^nd time and we came close. We should be proud, but it is hard to feel anything but disappointment.

And here’s the crazy thing about Baja. Now, we have more knowledge and more experience. We know we could shave time, with a few changes. We now know it’s doable (weren’t sure before), but also know many, many, many things have to go right. We leave Baja in 2011 with knowledge and experience that would increase the chances of them going right…..will we use it?

***A big thanks to Team Vintage Florida! We gave it a great effort. We pulled together as a team and hung in for 28 hours. Every person on this team brings something different to the table and together we proved to be strong. John and Juan, I can’t thank you enough for the haul. This trip is simply not possible for us without you. Michelle, thank you for getting me home! Saturday night spent in the police station in Ensenada to report the break-in of our condo added to my sleep deprivation and Michelle had to do the thinking for me to get me home to Florida J.

Race Day–past the half way mark

On our drive back to Borrego, we knew we were out of radio range of Chase 2 and the Jeep, so I switched over to “weatherman” to listen to race gossip … as we got closer, I switched back to our race frequency, just in time to hear BFG relay call for us … Chase 2 had been trying to get an update on us, and the Jeep had a message to relay.

We learn that the Jeep had been stuck at RM360 for over 45 min, that was just 7 miles beyond where we left them. We also learned that the Jeep needed a tire, as they had a flat and had used the spare. When we got into Borrego, we found that most of the people had packed and left … making it very easy to find our “camp”.

We hung out for a few minutes, Michelle bought a cold coke from one of the “taco trucks” that had come to service the area … I think Sheila had a cup of coffee, but didn’t look all that pleased with it.

We knew the Jeep could make BFG 3 at RM 321 for fuel, but they could not make it back to BFG 4 (same place as BFG 2, as this is where the course intersects itself) without being fueled. We also knew that we wanted to put a new spare tire on the Jeep. We packed camp and headed down to meet them at RM404. We stop at the same Pemex as earlier that morning for fuel, coffee and a real working bathroom. With all chase vehicles fueled and our 20gal of Jeep fuel ready to make it to RM404. Here we wait.

Around 145P we hear from the Jeep, both Mark and Dennis are very quiet, not a lot of chatter … for them it had been a very long night. At 214P they stop in front of our chase vehicles. We replace filter, refuel, put a new spare on and switch Tom and Tim into the Jeep … Mark and Dennis didn’t complain about having to get out of the Jeep 45mi early <g>.

At 229P, Race 1502 gets back onto the course … we are over the half way mark, we have travelled 411 miles (they added 7 miles to the start and end) and done so in 24h and 23 min … this gives us an average speed of 16.9 mph. The race has a 32 hour max, so we will need to travel the next 300 miles in a little under 8 hrs … and bring our average speed up to over 37mph!

With 1502 fueled and back on the course, we once again make our way towards Borrego, we don’t doddle, as the Jeep has to cover only 45 miles. We keep in radio contact with the Jeep for most of this section … they seem to be doing well, speed is up, but the engine is not running well. We get to Borrego when the Jeep is 8 miles out.

Borrego is shedding the “city” feeling, in the morning it was more like a village, now nearing the end of the afternoon, it definitely had an outpost feeling to it. The BFG Pit team which has been working for the last 24+ hrs looks exhausted … While BFG 1 was all energy, BFG 4 is mainly apathy. When our Jeep pulls in they “spring” to action … and by spring, I mean like an old tired bed spring that takes a long time to adjust to anything new <g>.

Fueling the Jeep has become a real problem, they are unable to get much fuel it … it just won’t go. Mark explains that they had the same problem at BFG 3 and that the solution was to put something into the filler hose, as the flap valve at the tank seems to be sticking … a pit crew finds a small hose that they can put in there … as they push, the tank burps .5 gal of fuel onto them … then they can dump stuff in … I’m sure that the last thing that guy wanted was a 110 octane shower.

1502 pulled into BFG 4 at 420P, they covered the last 45 miles averaging 19.3 mph … faster than the previous sections … but not enough. We know we are not going to make the end of the race before we time out … no one is talking about it, but we all know. They pull out at 432P (only a 12min stop)

For the next 60 miles, the race Jeep is always within radio contact, as the course parallels the highway (although a couple of miles in), and crossed the highway a couple of times. They will also have to drive on the highway to transition across. We get in our chase vehicles and drive up to the first place that we can see them and they will cross the highway.

The weather changes a great deal … better said, the temperature changes a great deal. This is due to Baja being a peninsula with the cold Pacific on the West coast and the warm Sea of Cortez on the East coast. The peninsula also has some significant mountains with our highway getting to over 4200ft in altitude and the race course closer to 5000ft. While this may not sound like a lot … it is the difference between, Ok, cold, really cold and miserably cold. Borrego is near sea level on the east side … so Ok. The Jeep is climbing over the mountains heading west, getting higher, getting darker … it is really cold, heading towards miserably cold.

We wait for the Jeep at RM 466, they cross at 528P … better time, averaging now 22.5mph. This next section has them in the gulley off to the right of the highway, we can see them bouncing their way through. I speed up ahead and stop to try to get some pictures and video … as I pull over and get out, I notice, so does Tom in the Jeep. Helmet off, he walks about 20ft from the Jeep, stands there, looks around, then heads back to the Jeep. Apparently, they had found a “rest area”.

So … you may ask (as I did in 2009), what do you do if you have to go #1? Well, you have 2 options … you either stop at a rest area as Tom did, or you pee in your pants … yep … you pee in your pants. Before you get all grossed out, before you start the race you can put on a condom catheter. This has a surgical hose attached to the end of it, which you run down your leg … this in turn comes out by your feet. Now that you know that, pay attention to the racers, you will see sometimes a small hose coming out of there pant leg … now you know. Oh yeah, and do not step in the puddle if they made one.

We take a few more pictures along the route and then follow them as they get on the highway. Our planned splash point for fuel is RM512. From here, they can make BFG 5, which is at RM588. But the time limit will expire, so we make plans to let BFG go home, and the chase team will head over there to refuel them. It’s getting darker and colder and the fog bank is starting to roll into the mountains in the path ahead for them.

BFG relay contacts us and lets us know that they will be there to support us if we need it. They at no point tell us to quit, on the contrary, they seem very much interested in us finishing the adventure we set ourselves on. Tim and Tom turn off the highway at RM474, we head on to our splash rendezvous at RM511. As we get closer to that point … Tim tells us that he is having more problems with the engine. We adjust plans and route for chase, to meet them earlier at RM504.

We get to RM504 about 7 minutes before the Jeep. They pull in at 655P. As we check the engine, turns out that several of the ignition wires are arcing. We can patch them to keep going … reality starts to set in … 200 miles to go, our ETA at race finish will be around 6A at our current pace … that’s 8 hrs past the end of the race … it also means nursing a wounded Jeep through 200 miles of mountains, in the bitter cold, at night … the section in front poses logistical challenges as well … as chase cannot go through the mountains and has to go around … The Jeep will likely beat us there and have to wait for us for fuel … and … if wee need to recover them from a breakdown, it will be a fairly treacherous route, with everyone on the brink of exhaustion.

Tim makes the call to stop the race for 1502 … I’m sure it was a very hard decision to make.

While we did not beat the 2011 Baja 1000, we did complete 511 race miles (RM504+7 added to start) in 28h 49min, averaging  17.7 mph. Now that is a great success!

For me personally, this was a great adventure, one that I would repeat in a heartbeat. This is one of the great races of the world, it is the pinnacle of offroad racing and our team was part of it … aside from the race accomplishment, it helped develop friendships, afforded me some great experiences with my dad and taught me a great many things…. thank you Tim and Sheila for making this happen.

Baja, I for one … will be back … as I hope so will be the team, to beat you.

Race Day–a long night

“Mark, Dennis, wake up … just heard from Tom, they are about 20 minutes out.” …  I had been sitting in the truck calling for Chase 2 and for Race 1502 for the last half hour. Michelle is sleeping in the back seat, in what I can only describe as a terribly uncomfortable position … while my dad looks equally uncomfortable in the passenger seat … next time, we need to think this part a little better.

The radio crackles with Race 1502, after a couple of minutes, I am able to have a decent interchange with Tom. They should be arriving around 2A. One of the lights is out, they need a new air filter and a new “pumper” filter. The “pumper” is an air pump that has a large filter, it draws in air through the filter and pumps it into the helmets of the people in the Jeep.

I acknowledge the communication, ask how they are doing … which is fine and ask if they had seen Sheila and Brooke … Yep, they got splashed at the agreed upon place … good, everyone is safe. I moan a little as I open the door to get Dennis and Mark up … as I do … I realize that there is still a sand storm blowing, and while we may be uncomfortable in the truck, Dennis and Mark are outside … ugh … really need to prepare for this desert thing better. In 2009, it was no wind, big bonfires, lots of people in lawn chairs around fire talking, drinking and playing music …

At 1:59A, Race 1502 pulls into BFG Pit 2 in Borrego. They have travelled 117.5 miles in 6h 56min, that’s an average speed of around 17mph.

The best I can do to describe the Jeep, is to say that it is covered in soot … or, someone dumped dirty gray flower all over it … or, what looks like decades of dust having settled on it. They had, not many miles ago, run through a silt bed. I’ve heard it describe, but have never witnessed it … all I can say, is that the Jeep and it’s passengers where really, really, dusty. This was the cause of the request for the filters … the engine air filter is clogged, the pumper filter is clogged, the radiator is clogged (having led to an overheat), everything and I mean everything is clogged … Tom and Tim looking like they are clogged as well.

BFG fuels them, which is becoming painful, as the Jeep will not take fuel quickly, so not only are we short on range with needs to splash … but when we do fuel, it is a slow process. With BFG done, we move the Jeep to one side, for us to do some work.

Mark and I change out the engine air filter, Dennis tackles the light and getting the jack bolted back down. Tim tells us that they got buried and stuck in the silt bed, and had to use the jack to lift the Jeep enough to get it to move. The jack is bolted to the Jeep frame and one of the bolts is missing. The pumper filter gets replaced and then with the aid of a BFG air hose, we blow out the radiators.

Tim briefs Mark on how the Jeep is running, explains to him some of the what he has learned, all I hear is … “stay in the ruts”, or something like that … I’m still with the BFG guy blowing out the radiator, which looks like one solid piece of sandstone. Dennis tackled the light that is burned out … they have 6, but only 3 worked when they came in. We’re up to 4 lights, but the 2 on the front bumper won’t come on … oh well, they’ll head out with 4 lights.

Mark and Dennis, buckle in … Tim and Tom do the final transfer of knowledge <g> … and off they go. Race 1502 has spent 35 minutes in the  pit, driver swap completed … Jeep operational (although a little darker) … and a “fresh” crew on board. Now to relax a little … umm … no really … it’s 240A. The Jeep does not have enough fuel to make it to BFG pit 3.

While servicing the Jeep, Chase 2 returns … so we are all accounted for. Chase 1502 is low on fuel and with 2 empty fuel cans. Chase 1501 has 2 can for a total of 10 Gal. Our plan is to take Chase 1, meet up with the Jeep at RM243, splash them … refill all 4 cans … so that we can come back to here and be ready again.

RM243 is 44 miles down the race course and for us to intercept, it is about 60 miles on the highway, and 4 miles on a dirt road. We load up, leave Chase 2 at Borrego .. and Michelle, Abuelo and I head down the highway at 250A.

We have some radio contact with Mark and Dennis and let them know the plan … we will meet at RM 243, it will be close on time. If you get there before us … wait. Then we are out of range. We drive for over and hour, before we turn onto the dirt road … Chase 1, Abuelo’s 2001 GMC 2500HD, has had new shocks for this trip, new offroad lights and a new set of tires. This dirt road is basically a washboard … and it is rattling the dentures out of my dad. We do the best we can, but average under 20mph.

We get radio contact with Dennis, and try to communicate … “Dennis, where are you?”, “On the race course. Where are you?” … “Umm, on the access road.” … Ok that wasn’t helpful at all. “Dennis what RM are you at?”, “Don’t know, there are no signs out here”, “Dennis, have you crossed any roads” ,” Yes, many, everything looks the same.” … then … “John, just passed a marker, we just went by RM 245” …. ugh … “You guys missed the crossing” …. ugh … next access point is 10 miles further down. “Dennis, we will try to meet at RM 253”

Abuelo clenches his teeth (so they won’t fall out) and I push up the speed, we’re doing about 40mph down the dirt road, with the race course on our left side… out there, somewhere is Mark and Dennis … we are, in effect … racing them to get ahead to meet them. In a few minutes we spot some lights bouncing around … has to be them … “Dennis, we see you.” …. a couple of minutes later we see a large bonfire well in front of them … “Dennis, do you see the bonfire?” … “Stop there!”

We have to make a u-turn and head about .5 a mile back, then I switch the truck in 4wd and turn off the road, picking my way between stuff heading towards the fire … we see the fire, and we see the truck, they are about 500 yrds up the course … “Dennis, drive about 500 yds down the course, you’ll find us.” … “Can’t, Jeep’s broken.” … “Ok, we’ll be right there.”

We meet up with the Jeep at 453A … in the middle of the desert, next to a couple of guys with a bonfire, waiting for their team to bring a transmission to replace the one that they have blown. Not worried about them … let’s see what’s wrong with the Jeep.

The battery tray, has broken off the frame … which means that the batteries are jumping up and down and tearing things apart. Hmm … everyone out of the Jeep and looking for options and ideas. We need to isolate the batteries from the fuel tank (which they are banging against) and then secure them, so they don’t come loose … Mark looks for some wood to do the isolation and I remember that we have tie down straps in the truck. The stick isn’t working … so we pull out some 4x6 blocks of wood that we use to chalk the trailer … with wood, and tie down straps. We secure the batteries.

There’s also something wrong with the carburetor, that Dennis deals with … then we start to fuel. While I do this, Michelle asks Mark for an interview … he graciously declines and suggest she interviews the pretty one … Dennis.

Mark’s back in the Jeep ready to go, telling Dennis to buckle up and get his helmet on … this is after all a race. Mark and Dennis head back onto the course at 525A. We work our way back to the road an head back to Borrego.

A quick stop at the local Pemex to refill gas cans, use the bathroom, grab a coffee and then the 1.5 hr drive back to meet up with the rest of the team … we arrive at Borrego around 7A.

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.

Race Day–here we go again

Unlike the riders (motorcycles and ATV) which started the race at 630A, ours is schedule to start around 1P … with us staging around 1130A. This meant a somewhat relaxed morning, more packing and I’m sure more worrying. I’m pretty sure that Tim didn’t get a great night sleep <g>.

The final packing included getting your personal stuff ready, this meant everyone brought a small bag, that would be wedged into the Jeep. Food for the course was taped to the inside roof  and drinking water bags zipped in place behind each person. This should, at least by the plan allow people to snack and drink on the course.

The race strategy is for Tim and Sheila to start the race, have both of them run to RM (Race Mile) 31, then swap Tom in. Tom and Tim would then take the Jeep to RM 198, where we would swap Dennis and Mark. Our second driving team would take to Jeep to RM 449. Our plan is to put Tim and Tom in the Jeep at that point and have them take it to near the end, where Sheila would get back in for the finish.

As the morning moves on, we get all our cars ready to go … Race 1502 is ready. Sheila and Tim are suiting up. Chase 1, which is our pickup truck, has food, spares, 10Gal of fuel, sleeping bags, chairs, cots and is completely full. Chase 2, our rental Jeep Wrangler, is carrying 10Gal of fuel, some food and clothes.

Our chase strategy, is to have Chase 2 head to the rendezvous point on RM31 for the co-driver swap. They will leave early to make sure that they are able to get there in time, since we cannot predict traffic. Chase 2 will start off with Michelle, Brooke and Tom.

Chase 1, with Abuelo, myself, Dennis and Mark will head out to BFG Pit1. This is the first place where we are scheduled to spot and fuel. We aren’t doing any swap here, just taking on fuel and giving the Jeep a look over. Our plan is to have Chase 2 join up with Chase 1 at BFG Pit 1, and continue together to BFG Pit 2, an area called Borrego.

Since we have more time, to make our meeting point, we stop by the race start to see all the cars staging … while there is still a “circus” event around all of this, the teams look fairly serious, especially the early classes. The race is a stagger start, one vehicle off the line at a time, with another starting at regular intervals. Fastest classes go first … so Trophy trucks, Class 1, etc … our class, class 15 will start near the end … so we have over an hour before 1502 sets off.

We find 1502 near the end of the staging area, we hang out a little, then decide to get going once we hear the roar of the trucks … and I mean roar … these things are monsters <g>.

All our vehicles have radios, this allows us to stay in communication with each other … they are line of sight, so we are limited to 10-15 miles, but much more if we are up on a hill, less so in a valley. We stay talking to race 1502 as we drive out of town … which surprisingly has little traffic … soon enough we are out of radio range, and switch over to one of the relay channels.

There are 2 relay channels that we will used of the race. One is the “official” relay channel which is referred to as “weatherman”. This is sort of a party line channel, everyone listens … if you want to get information you use this. If you want to reach your team, but are out of range … you call relay and they in turn call your team … as they are situated on mountain tops, there is radio coverage everywhere. Since we are pitting with BFG, we will also use BFG relay, this is similar to weatherman, but reserved for BFG racers.

We hear on the weatherman relay that there is a problem … apparently a local in a tractor trailer took a wrong turn and got on the race course at RM4. When he realized his mistake, he tried to back out but managed to jack knife his rig and blocked the entire course. The first truck, run by Jesse James (of TV and Sandra Bullock fame) came up on it and had to stop … as did 13 other trucks causing a big jam. Officials stopped the race, and decided to do a restart once they cleared the mess … all said, this delayed the race start by almost 1.5 hours … this gave us enough time to make it to RM31, catch up with Chase 2 and wait together for our Jeep.

This change in plans was a foreshadowing of things to come … at RM 31 we waited, and waited, and waited … after a while, we started to see helicopters … and a dust trail coming out of the mountains. There are at least 7 helicopters down here providing support for the big race teams …. when you see the helicopter, there is usually a very fast trophy truck underneath it.

I figure that the first truck (still Jesse James) passed us … and 1502 had yet to start … so more waiting. We watched a few teams pit, we picked up souvenirs (they left stuff behind) … and we waited. When we started to see the later classes come by … we started to call on our freq for the Jeep … “Race 1502, this is Chase 1502 … do you copy?”, “Sheila can you hear us?”, “Race 1502 this is chase. Can you hear us?” … in a while … we heard Sheila’s distinctive, although slightly garbled voice coming back … “We hear you, we are doing fine.”

Tom suits up and we get our pit board ready … Ok, lid from a food bin with duct taped numbers.

Now WE are racing … adrenaline up, camera ready … lookouts in place …