2010 SCORE Baja 500 Notes:
Our goals for this race:
First - Have Fun
Second - Win!
Third - Finish without major problems
Fourth - Learn from the experience
Results:
1) - We had fun
2) - We finished in 4th
3) - No major problems during the race
4) - We honed our terrain reading skills and gained some familiarity
with racing in the mountains of Baja!
Race Report:
So my first Baja 500 behind me, what a
crazy ride! I soloed our Gonzo Racing 5/1600 car to the finish line in 21 hours
29 minutes and 4 seconds w/o power steering just squeaking in under the limit
putting us 4th in class. We attribute our late finish to the hours of time spent
waiting in lines at the summit and various other bottlenecks and the general
brutality of the course. The car held together amazingly well with no flats and
no major mechanical problems. This race tested our modest team on a whole other
level and we are just proud to have finished on our extremely limited resources.
Congrats to everyone who finished this one in a limited class, only we can
really appreciate what it takes to just survive in Baja.
Highlights: Fun battles at the first water crossing and second hwy 3 crossing
Sunrise in Ojos Negros
Crossing the finish line for an official Baja 500 finish!
Lows: Caught a rock in the chest thrown by spectator - ouch!
Summit
bottleneck/hill climb
Laguna Salada silt beds
A couple of Uruapan "silt hills"
Problems: Blown ignition coil in the middle of a long "silt hill"
Severely bent wheel requiring a tire change at RM 222
Co-Driver helmet microphone intermittent making communications difficult until
Co-Driver change at RM 222
I’d like to thank all my team and family for their unending support and help in
getting us to the finish line, Baja Pits, my co-drivers; my Dad and Archie
Negrete you guys were awesome taking care of nav. and logistics! Also thanks to
Rob Archibald and Kevin Walsh for letting me tag along pre-running the start to
Ojos.
Muchas gracias a los espectadores y a la familia Negrete, y Alejandro “Maestro”
sin su apoyo no pudiera cumplir esta aventura muy dura.
Thanks to:
Thanks to Archie Negrete, Archie Negrete Sr. ("Tio"), Alejandro (the "Maestro") and all the others who offered us their support for this race!!
Thanks to Jason Lauffer and everyone at VW Paradise, you guys are the best! Our motor was more than equal to the task and pulled hard all day and night without complaint. The "name brand" motor builders have nothing on you guys and I'd rather have my VW Paradise motor than one of theirs any day!!
Thanks also to Clinton and Mary Ann at Custom Aircraft Parts - we couldn't do this without your help!!
Thanks to Carlos and his entire "Baja Pits" organization - they did an awesome job taking care of our pit needs all day and night!!