Baja 1000 15

[tcm glx]

That is awesome Steve, class 11 is no joke. Brian and I looked for you guys a At tech but no luck. Cool either way!

Here is a quick little video from RM114
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=you ... D7pJjiC-tQ

[1Hondalover]

By the time I got in to co-driver seat 620 miles in, the car was in ROUGH shape. A broken torsion bar and blown shock on the left front, ALL spares had been used up (5 in one pit stop-thanks, Jason Sherer!), missing fenders, literally, coming apart at the seams... still, that little beast took a freakin' BEATING! So much took place over the weekend, I'm still processing it all... crazy, crazy good times. A normal human being would tell you it was a once in a lifetime experience. This non-normal human being and the majority of his teammates will tell you they will be back. There is already talk of a Baja 1000 50th anniversary Class 11 effort....

Really happy for you Steve. It seems like things are really going well at Rugged.....good people get great with the addition of others like you. What a fantastic opportunity to be part of such an effort, and no doubt Class 11 is nothing but.

Selfishly I hope to see you become entrenched in more off road so you'll buy another Bronco.

Good job.

[SteveG]

That is awesome Steve, class 11 is no joke. Brian and I looked for you guys a At tech but no luck. Cool either way!

We blew through contingency in about an hour and 40 minutes, so we were out of there FAST... headed back to the house to finish prepping the car. It would have been great to see you guys. Next time!

[baja-chris]

Here is our story about why we pulled the plug on our race.

Basically we had the wrong snap ring in the cross over CV (the only CV we use) in the custom front axles which consist of RCV CV inner and Spidertrax Ultra4 outer parts.

RCV has a round profile ring and a square profile ring to retain the axle in the CV star. Need to use the square profile ring on the crossover cv so plunging action of the slip joint does not pull cv apart. Round profile for other cv like outers or solid axle apps. Square profile very hard to assemble and disassemble and for that reason they have now added a grease zirk to the cv shell so you no longer have to disassemble to regrease. Still have to disassemble if you want to mag check internals like star and balls but I think we will stop doing that and run to fail. Btw a previous one had bad heat treat on the star and stripped out.

This time they are replacing the axle that goes into the cv star since it damaged splines when it came apart. And the custom outer axle that goes to the Spidertrax 1480 U-joint got banged up flopping in the housing so they are facing it on the lathe to erase any remnant stress risers then repolish then reapply black coat. Finally they will reassemble entire setup and ship back.

Originally they sent us an assembled unit and it worked fine except we had spliced together an axle to go from the slip out to the Spidertrax u-joint and it was too short. And it ended up sliding inside the u-joint because it did not have the Spidertrax retainer system on it. When this happened it hammered and ruined the RCV female slip piece. In parallel I had already asked Spidertrax to make me a custom axle for this app, And when it arrived it now properly fit the u-joint and stayed put there but it was too short because I had ordered it based on the spliced axle prototype. And splines were too tight to fit into the slip (Spidertrax male into RCV female). So we media blasted down the male splines until the axle would plunge freely into the female splines.

We raced it like that and the combination of too short an axle with reduced spline engagement and the sloppiness from the media blasting adjustment resulted in the slip being too sloppy to continue using. Meanwhile I ordered another custom axle, this time the right length and this time from RCV to insure the slip assembly would be right.

But now we decided it's time to prep the CV so we pulled it apart with great difficulty and cleaned, magged, regreassed but in the weeks that elapsed (we only work Saturdays and not every Saturday) we forgot how it came apart and the star is asymetrical. Well we think we put it back together wrong and it blew apart and fell out of the truck almost immediately at the track and we could not find the parts in the silt. So no more warrantee work now I'm buying new parts again.

New parts arrive but not assembled since I did not need to buy the stub axle that went into the start that was still retained in the diff. And meanwhile the new custom axle arrived with that shipment. But now we can't test the truck because of steering upgrade issues. We ended up testing without the 4wd axles then found steering was NFG 2 weeks before the 1000 so we tore it down again, put the axles in and waited for our custom made steering pulley to come back from mex. Well it did not arrive as promised and ended up showing last minute so we slapped it together loaded it up at took it to the 1000. No idea if the steering issue fixed or not. And then the axles fell apart. And then i noted other little shit like a light had been added to light the switches but it blocked the use of the 4wd lever, the sand tracks were wedged into the back of the truck but not secured in any way and all this 1 hour before the start. So I said we are not ready for the this race and pulled the plug. If we would have raced it like that I would be out another $2k set of axles. If we would have pulled the axles we would have missed the start and probably ruined the front diff. And I still don''e even know if we fixed the steering since the issue only showed up with hot oil end of fast run then chop throttle and no power steering. Could not test that in parking lot.

Should have parts back in a couple weeks and will go test to see if all is good. Then park it until Sonora rally and NORRA. Maybe work on bodywork in the mean time. Adding a rally computer for the Sonora rally and upgrading the driver gps to an HDS gen 2 to match the passenger gps (5" for driver, 8" for navigator).

Bottom line is we bit off more than we could chew and ran out of time when things did not go perfect. We upgraded the rear end to a 4" housing that was wider. We upgraded the steering pump from a TC pump to a T pump trophy truck setup. The TC pump was not getting the job done. That steering upgrade was a major project and took longer than expected.

[300]

Moss Brothers Racing 2015 Baja 1000 Race Report

The 2015 Baja 1000 was made up of some new firsts for us, without the usual outcome. The race had returned to its schedule the week before Thanksgiving and was a loop race of approximately 821 miles, starting and finishing in Ensenada. Note that the map below does not show the route of first 35 or last 40 miles of the course.

We had assembled a crew of 15 for this one with some 5 chase trucks, while Chris and Pete tag teamed the tracking duty from back in the states. With the race course using the only road going back up the Sea of Cortez side, we had to split the crews and send two trucks toward San Felipe while the rest went down the Pacific side. Dan T had put together another rock solid logistical plan, complete with maps and pit books, and we had all the people and resources set up to go where they needed. BF Goodrich was once again our primary pit service with 6 fixed pit locations on the course, while Sunoco had our fuel delivered to the pit locations. Three of the five chase trucks are equipped with Transfer Flow oversized fuel tanks so we didn’t have to wait in the Pemex fuel station lines. We had pre-run the first 15 miles of the course going out of town since the route is always different as the road and home construction continues on the outskirts of town. Craig had his new-to-us crew cab F150 down there that we used, and I could get used to that!

Dan T and I started the race on Friday a little bit later than originally scheduled as apparently there were huge crowds located in the wash in Ensenada that had to be moved back. The pre-running paid off as we were able to chase down and pass several of the 5-1600 entries that had started in front of us as we topped out at just over 100 mph on the road out of town. After that there were some 37 mph speed limit sections, and those are just the hardest things to do. At that speed, you can change 5 mph before your GPS has a chance to update so you are constantly on the brakes and gas while the spectators are trying to figure out what the heck you are doing. We dropped into the section of course below Ojos Negros, with a reported silt bed area just beyond RM (race mile) 50. It was still light and it really wasn’t a problem at all. We did see a few cars hung up on a silty hill a little less than 10 miles later, but overall things were really going well. We arrived at the pavement and made our way to our first driver and rider change at Santo Tomas where Ken and Craig got in. As it began to get dark along the Pacific, the fog started to form. It is hard enough to deal with in a car on the highway with a windshield and wipers but it is just miserable in a vehicle without a windshield. The KC HiLites Pods act like a big billboard and collect the fog and then it rains down into the truck through that open windshield. The race traffic ahead of you still stirs up a little dust and that continues to coat and stick to everything. The helmet face shield fogs up, but you can’t pop it open because of the dust. Ken said he just kept a rag up there and continuously wiped back and forth to get through. Just some of the challenges!


Everything continued to go well and we continued to work our way south, staying on schedule. There was another fuel and driver change at BFG 2 where Dave and Gary replaced Ken and Craig. The course worked its way inland after El Rosario but they continued without a problem. In the grades on the highway we encountered a chase truck with a big oil trail following it off the pavement, so we pulled over in what is one of the most remote parts of the Baja highway. Their transmission had been leaking for some time and the grade caused it to really leak, enough that it had blown out on the hot exhaust and started a fire. They had been fortunate enough to get it put out with what fire extinguishers they had. As we talked to them we realized that they were the crew for the 868 race team where Shannon Powell is one of the drivers. He was one of the riders from back in Cal Poly quad racing days some 20 years ago, before we had radios and GPS. (Way back when, he and I had gone to do a fuel and rider change at a remote course location and got there just as the other rider went by. It turned into a circus involving a borrowed Honda 185S in the dark, and we never did catch our rider.) So we did what we could for the stranded chase crew, since they were also carrying the fuel for the race truck. They eventually borrowed enough fuel for the race truck to keep going and finished after using some 40 gallons of gear oil in a severely wounded engine.

Meanwhile Dave and Gary continued to eat up the miles heading toward BFG pit 3 near Catavina. We have satellite phones in all of the trucks because there is nothing more frustrating or stressful to not know where either the race truck is or where to find the crew. SCORE provides GPS tracking devices for the race vehicles and anyone with an internet connection can follow along and get a general idea of the location of the race vehicle as well. We had Chris and Pete doing the tracking for us from Reno and Iowa, and they sent regular updates out to each of our satellite phones so everyone has a general idea of where everyone is. For this race, the Kurt Caselli Foundation sponsored a text messaging tracking service. Anyone could text their race number to them, and they would send back a location and speed of the race vehicle with near real time location. It worked very well if you had a cell signal.

As we waited at BFG pit 3, the satellite phones began to light up as the Bronco had stopped moving at about RM 296. The word was that the engine had experienced a catastrophic failure and would not start. The word did finally come back that the crankshaft was broken. It was running normally one second and dead the next. Whatever happened immediately snapped all 3 belts on the front of the engine and shattered the timing cover. When the guys began to troubleshoot the damage, they realized the distributor was not turning while the starter was cranking. Certainly we did not have spare parts for this, not to mention it was near midnight some 100 miles from any town. We got all of the Pacific side chase trucks back together to make our plan for rescue and recovery. The report was that Bronco was about 8 miles in from the closest highway, in a really nasty silty area of the course. A decision was made to send one truck back to Ensenada to retrieve the trailer while the other two went in to pull the Bronco back out. Sounds simple, but it took 10 or 12 hours to do each of these tasks! It was about 225 miles back to the house in Ensenada, so Cliff, Brian and myself took on that task, stopping for 2 hours of sleep at the house. Ken, Craig, Krystian, Brad, Dennis and Dan took the two chase trucks out toward the Bronco. The first few miles were easy, however they had to watch out for race traffic that was still coming through. The last mile took a couple of hours in the silt as they had to pull out stuck race vehicles to make enough room to get through. Dave and Gary were glad to have company, but mostly glad to have more hands to gather firewood! They went through the Bronco and were able to find a lighter, and of course we pack emergency food and water. They had used shovels to carve out some sand hammocks next to the fire. When the chase trucks got there they set up a sandwich making station and wolfed down most of the food they brought. At day break they watched as a trio of Class 11 Baja bugs went by, nose to tail, likely well after checkpoints had closed but intent on getting a finish. Modern day race courses with holes large enough to swallow cars every 100 feet and 25 mph mandatory race speed averages have pretty much eliminated these classes from finishing races within the time limits. As it worked out, the trailer arrived about the time the Bronco made it out to the highway. Meanwhile, Rick, Tif, Daniel and John had been on the Sea of Cortez side of Baja. Rick and crew had made it all the way down to Gonzaga in anticipation of a fuel and rider change as we started back up toward Ensenada. Fortunately with the sat phones they were able to keep track of our progress so they didn’t spend the entire night wondering. They worked their way back to John’s house in San Felipe and eventually everyone made their way back to the house in Punta Banda. We were able to get everyone together for dinner in La Bufadora and then get some sleep before making our way back to the states on Sunday.

So as far as the firsts for this race, this was the first time in 15 years racing this truck that we have had the drivers get stranded out in the desert for the night. This is also the first time we have not finished a Baja 1000. Both things a little weird for me, and I really feel bad for those on the team that were ready to go and never got their chance to ride or navigate this race. I am really puzzled as to what happened to the engine, but had no time to check it out as the family loaded up and headed for the coast of Oregon for Thanksgiving. Had all the kids and grandkids there, minus son Joe since he is a United States Marine stationed in Japan.

The constants that we never have to worry about, that come through for us every race, are the sponsors and the vendors we rely on. First on this list is BF Goodrich who have supported us for all of the 15 years with the best tires you can find and the very best pit and logistic support available. King shocks have been on the truck for each and every race mile this truck has ever done. They put together the pieces of what we sent them after destroying them at the Baja 500. The KC HiLites HID Pods were flawless, and Deaver springs set us up with fresh main leaves for the old buggy sprung truck. River City Differential keeps the gears turning at both ends of this 4x4 and we use Napa steering and chassis parts from Steve’s Auto back in Bishop. Thanks to Terri and Bill for delivering the Sunoco race fuel to all the remote locations. Even though we didn’t get to use it all, I know it was there. A big thanks to Slime tire sealant, again something you never see but certainly something you notice when you don’t have it. Always good to see Joe and Mary in Baja. Thanks to Ultra Race Wheels, the one thing that may be considered bling but certainly tough on our strictly business race truck. As mentioned earlier, we don’t wait in gas lines in Mexico with our Transfer Flow fuel tanks in the chase trucks. Always a big thanks to Mike and Powdercoat-it.com. Saw your stickers on more than our truck down there! And certainly a huge thanks to John, Tif and crew at Autofab. That same fiberglass hood has been on the truck for 15 years and is still going strong along with an absolute laundry list of Autofab race parts throughout the truck. Proud to call them my friends as well as race part suppliers. A big thanks to Howe Power Steering, wish we had started working with them years ago. Their pump and reservoir system has worked very well for us. Our Ruff Stuff Specialties rear axle housing has been another one of those “put it in and forget it” items, they have been a joy to work with from the first day I walked into their shop. Thanks also to Drive Line Service up in West Sacramento for keeping both shafts spinning smooth!

Look for more pictures on the Moss Brothers Racing Facebook page as well as videos on YouTube.

Thanks again to all of the crew, their families and friends going back more than 25 years as we worked our way through the motorcycles and quads and finally up to the Bronco. There have been literally dozens of people involved from all over the world. Some were able to contribute by doing something as simple as keep me awake, some have climbed out of the navigator seat to push the Bronco out of a hole or the mud, and others brought their trucks or even motorhomes to use as chase vehicles and may have even picked up a ding here or there. Some have been able to come back year after year, and some only a time or two, but I thank you all. There is no way to repay you all but at least I can say I sent you home with a story of an adventure you couldn’t get anywhere else.

Don

[toddz69]

Great trip reports, Don and Chris!

Todd Z.

[PBR]

Awesome race reports (sans the outcome of course)