Baja 1000 15

[PaulW]

Chris has entered the Bronco. Race number is 4439 "Limited 4x4 Rock crawler".
4th category to start after TT, Class 1, and TT Spec. Excellent starting position. So far only two rigs in that category.
He was going to run C8 which would start after TT, C1, TT Spec, C2, C10, SCORE Lite - Not so good because most of them will be stuck in the silt and would block the Bronco.
Smart move IMO.

[ESHALLBETTER]

Awesome! I'll be on the lookout.

[SteveG]

I heard John from Autofab is running with Chris. Awesome!

[SteveG]

So this happened last week.

[yikes]

Wait a minute....what? Who dat? You.... right seating the mil? Haha! Noooooooooo.

[Seabass]

Chowing down at mk taco right now=)

[SteveG]

Wait a minute....what? Who dat? You.... right seating the mil? Haha! Noooooooooo.

Ha! Yes. The car will be off the line around 1:30. Will it make it to SF when I'm supposed to get in? I hope! It's gonna be a looooong race!

[yikes]

Saw you at Uruapan Steve, but unfortunately couldn't stop to chat. Can't wait to hear about your adventure.

[RyanDS650X]

Facebook just ruined my Saturday. I woke up and read that the moss brothers are out of the race with a broken crankshaft...

[SteveG]

Damon. Where did they break?

[RyanDS650X]

Rm296

[Wrightracing.net]

That is a bummer. At the 500 a few years back we lost the motor in our Class 8 at RM28 right outside Ojos Negros when the oil pump let loose and took out a rod. Long trip and late nights for a short race day.

[PaulW]

Chris has entered the Bronco. Race number is 4439 "Limited 4x4 Rock crawler".
4th category to start after TT, Class 1, and TT Spec. Excellent starting position. So far only two rigs in that category.
He was going to run C8 which would start after TT, C1, TT Spec, C2, C10, SCORE Lite - Not so good because most of them will be stuck in the silt and would block the Bronco.
Smart move IMO.

====
Update The RCV CV came apart before the start. It was not even used in 4wd. Bronco did not start.

[Wrightracing.net]

That is a bummer, I hope they stand by the Lifetime warranty on those, especially since they cost so much.

[PaulW]

That is a bummer, I hope they stand by the Lifetime warranty on those, especially since they cost so much.

===
They have replaced some parts in the past with no questions. Now they have to explain why the CV falls apart with no to little use.

[RyanDS650X]

Wow that's alot of coin to have fail... they must be furious.

[cs_drums]

Could the not pull the axle and run in 2wd?

[PaulW]

I asked the same question and the answer is it take a long time they did not have to disassemble the knuckle and associated stuff. Hard to believe 4WD would be any fun for dedicated 4wd guys.

[ESHALLBETTER]

So I had kind of a cool experience in San Felipe...

Wednesday we were in San Felipe waiting for the prerunner to show up. We got the call they had rolled, and we should get a room in town for the night, and plan on prerunning Thursday. Anyway, we get a couple rooms at the Hotel Cortez, and swing into the Barefoot Bar to grab a few beers. It was pretty empty, but a couple of older gentleman were sitting at a table off the end of the bar. My buddy and I were talking about the race plan, when one of the guys chimed in with a couple questions. I grabbed my drink to go over and BS, and realized one of the guys was Walker Evans! They were down there with their RZR's hanging out and watching the races. Anyway, we spent probably 15-20 minutes talking racing and BS'ing with Walker Evans and his buddy. Super cool to be able to do that with a Baja legend.

Also saw Chris and Glen at the Horsepower Ranch and had a few beers with their crew. Super fun group for sure, bummer how their weekend turned out.

[SteveG]

Eric, I looked for you at the HP Ranch party but I realized I really had no idea what you looked like. And I haven't seen Matt Helton in so long, I may as well have never met him... next time! Unfortunately, the party was pretty lame. No worries, though. I had good company.

it's very cool that you hung out with Walker for a bit. What I find find funny is how many people are running around in RZR's these days!

The 1000 was pretty wild for me. The plan was always for me to head to Baja a week before the race, prerun the week before and make a chase plan for our Class 11 car. Less than 36 hours before we are scheduled to leave, I get a call asking if I can co-drive part of the race... "Why the hell not!?" A mad scramble is made, race suit and gear is ordered and shipped overnight to our team meeting location on Saturday. We add a couple guys to cover my chase duties and proceed with the week. Car prepping, eating tacos, prerunning, eating tacos, making plans, executing plans... RACING!

I have to say, racing class 11 is one of those things I've always respected but absolutely never considered. Why would you do that to yourself!? Well, after being a first-hand part of it, the appeal is undeniable. We had an amazing team of drivers, co-drivers and crew members... pretty big names and I can tell you, without a doubt, that they had the time of they're lives. We all did. The things we all subjected that little car to were just unbelievable and the fact that it made it to the end put smiles on all our faces.

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....