Preparing for the race … recon and Baja “pets”

With racers competing in 32 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, the legendary race will be held Nov. 19-22 in Ensenada, Mexico. Completing its 36^th year as the World’s foremost desert racing sanctioning body, the event is the finale of the five-race 2009 SCORE Desert Series. To date, 338 adventurers and the world’s best desert racers have come from 39 U.S. States and 14 countries to gather on the majestic Baja California peninsula.

This year’s 672.85-mile race will start for the 35^th time and finish for the 20^th time in Ensenada.  The motorcycle and ATV classes will start their journey at 6:30 a.m. PST (Friday, Nov. 20) with the car and truck classes starting at approximately 10:30 a.m., or three hours after the last ATV leaves the line. Vehicles will leave in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race and while the fastest finishers are expected to complete the course in approximately 14 hours. All vehicles will have a 31-hour time limit to become official finishers in the legendary adventure.

… Ok, so that’s the press release … the race isn’t until Friday of this week, yet the adventure, preparation and planning started months ago. For me, only a couple of weeks … For Tim and others on the team much longer.

The Baja 1000 is a “signature” race, it is one that many would have heard of, and one that is on everyone’s list of things to do, attend or be part of (at least if you like motorsport). This is an endurance race, it is nonstop and to complete it successfully requires a great deal of planning and effort. While the race vehicle has a driver and co-driver … it needs to be supported for it to compete and finish. Our team has 11 people in it.

Part of supporting the race, is “chasing” … chasing, I think, is the act “following” the race vehicle around the course, getting ahead of it to provide “pit” support and getting drivers and co-drivers to different places to swap people out. The chase team also needs to be able to go “help” the racers should they need it.

One of our goals on Sunday was to see where the primary pit stop area would be (race mile 200+). This was a 3 hr drive (one way) to get to the location, and a 3 hr drive back. The Baja peninsula is pretty much a desert in most locations, cactus, rocks and dirt … lots and lots of dirt.

Rob, Abuelo and I made the run to Borrego pits, leaving around noon from Ensenada and getting back around 7P … it is a long, long drive to a part of the desert, that looks like all other parts … look around … and head back. We will be setting up our “pits” there, and there will likely be hundreds of others there … should be very interesting. We made notes of the road, the gas stations along the way and how to get to/from downtown Ensenada to the right highway.

As we pull into our base (Hotel Papagayo), I say “Hello” to the guy at the gate and tell him we are in cabin 51. He responds with “Hello” and “Visit often" (in English)??? I explain that I speak more Spanish than “Hello” and he explains that we need to visit the office … ahhh … and that there is a problem with our cabin.

Turns out the problem is that our boiler (aka water heater) is not working, and they have not yet been able to repair it … ok … cabin 23 for the night, as the water heater will be working tomorrow. He explains that cabin 23 is not as nice as cabin 51 … I reassure him that we would be fine for the night … at least we’d have hot water … I may have spoken too soon.

Now, let me explain some stuff … it is off season here. It is cold (50F at night), the place is empty (except for racers who are starting to arrive). Most of the hotel has been “unused” for a couple of months … Cabin 23 … has been unused for a couple of months … at least by humans!

We unlock the door, not needed as you could push it in. It is very dark and cold. We fumble around and find the light switches … ok, not so bad … living room checks out. We turn lights on in the bedrooms (there are 2), seems Ok … the kitchen, think 1950s stove and bar fridge … well we won’t be cooking … we chuckle and say at least we have hot water. Abuelo comes out of the bathroom and explains that while we have water, it is a nice red color … :( …. Ok, no showers … but at least we have a place to sleep.

Rob pulls back the covers on his bed, only to find that the room comes with “pets” … and by pets, we mean the kind with multiple legs capable of surviving nuclear holocaust. To be fair, we didn’t actually see them, but we did see their many droppings. Ok … so no sleeping in the beds … heck, I never even took the covers off mine. Out come the sleeping bags and we all agree that it would be safer to sleep on the bed … :)

I sleep like a rock, and can do so almost anywhere, with pets, without … once I am out, I’m out … Rob on the other hand claims that he heard a bunch of noise on the ceiling … very wisely, he never turned on the lights to verify his thinking … I guess what you can’t see, can’t hurt you.

First day of recon in Mexico … complete! Tomorrow (Monday) … Tim (driver/owner), Mark (driver), Brooke (cook) … yes, we have one … and Dennis (co-driver / mechanic) arrive. More recon to follow.