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Baja 1000

rivrrts429

rivrrts429

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Backlash said:
Congratulations and what an epic experience!! Lucky!! 🤣 Did you get all that mud cleaned out yet?!? Looked like a mess at the end! 👍
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Yes, the crew got the car cleaned up yesterday. I don’t want to know how long it took them lol

The car is on its way home today and will go to the shop and be completely torn down and inspected for the next run.
 
rivrrts429

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rivermobster said:
In an endurance race, dependability is everything.

I'm not a fan of being towed home. Been there, done that, and it sucks!

😜

Congrats again on the win. 👍🏼👍🏼
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Thanks Joe!! You’re correct about the endurance aspect. The shorter the race the less that becomes an issue but in a 1000 it’s critical.
 
Wayn-o

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Congrats Richard on the win. Saw the car go by us at RM 1070. The whoops after that were like waist deep – they were fricken HUGE!!! A long Baja Mil it was. Seems we need to have some beers sometime soon.

How the trip went for us.

Started to pre run from RM 1025 up to Ojos Wednesday about 10 AM. Can Am off the trailer and all of a sudden it wont run right. Seemed like bad gas (not Mexico gas) so went to the hotel to work on it. Ran it around awhile by the sand dunes and it cleaned up some. Added some fuel additive to try and help it. Left the hotel about 1 and it started to rain lightly. Started from RM 1095 and went North. Rained light but consistent the whole day. Pre run to RM 1165 by Hwy 3 and it was late afternoon. The guys didn’t really need to keep going as it would all be mud up the mountain anyway. Back to San Felipe for dinner and cocktails. Decided to pre run RM 1070 to 1095 Thursday morning. Headed to the Chevron and filled her up. Leaving the gas station, the power steering stopped working. Back to the hotel, could not figure it out. Put the Can Am away and went to some fiends houses south of town for beers and beach. Tracked the race from the Starlink. Early dinner and went to bed about 7:30. Up at 12:30 to head to RM 1070. We got out to the course about 1:45 AM. The Menzies truck came by about 10 minutes later.

We were pitting the 2 Wilson Cars and the Mike Belk 512 car.

Wilson Motorsports 100 and 153: Started out pretty good just moving along running a clean pace. 153 car was 2nd on the road then ran into some trouble with the idler pully coming apart throwing a belt. Belt got tangled up in things. Got it going and it tossed another belt. Fixed the pulley again and belt. Around 850 it would not run, could not rev up at all. Tried new coils etc and it just would not go. Ended the day for the 153. 100 car kept moving along and things came back to them. Had a tight race with Brendan Gaughn the last several hundred miles. 100 car was first to us at RM 1070 at 5:45 AM. While we fueling the car, the 162 car went by. We got them out right after it and he was able to get back by them and stay ahead to the finish. I believe they won by about 15 minutes.

Mike Belk 512: Found out the 512 car has electrical issue on the way to the start line and was late to start. Had to start after 17 UTVs since they missed their start time. Long way to go so hopefully wont be an issue again. Made good time all day and into the night and back up to 2nd on the road. Near RM 815, Doug dropped a wheel over the edge and rolled it several times down into a ravine. Took out both rear tires and top light bar and needed help to get out. Sent a truck in as they were close to an access road. They were able to pull them out and get them going again about 5 hours later. All the 5 cars seemed to be having issues. Doug was whooped and he wanted out at Catavina RM 900 . Mike Belk got back in. Just below Gonzaga, the rear hub was coming apart. Stopped and had to weld the rear arm back together and repaired the hub as best as they could. At this point we were leading but the next car was coming up the highway behind us. Got the car moving again. Made it to us at RM 1070. Put LJ Kennedy and Derek Nye in and sent them off just before 6 PM. All good until we hit the rain at San Matias. Then it got cold, foggy and super wet. Had to stop at El Alamo and clean visors, glasses etc. Put clothes, blankets and other things in trash bags under Derk’s legs in case the car quit. Made Ojos Negros, had a trailer tire come apart and had to change that real quick. Car showed up and again we cleaned them up and sent them to the finish. Made it in about 2 AM and got the win. They said they were driving up a river and the only thing they could see was the edge of the road berms. Allot of work, but it paid off. Never give up.

Got a few hours sleep and headed for home. Cant wait for the next one.

1700423767646.png
 
rivermobster

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Wayn-o said:
Congrats Richard on the win. Saw the car go by us at RM 1070. The whoops after that were like waist deep – they were fricken HUGE!!! A long Baja Mil it was. Seems we need to have some beers sometime soon.

How the trip went for us.

Started to pre run from RM 1025 up to Ojos Wednesday about 10 AM. Can Am off the trailer and all of a sudden it wont run right. Seemed like bad gas (not Mexico gas) so went to the hotel to work on it. Ran it around awhile by the sand dunes and it cleaned up some. Added some fuel additive to try and help it. Left the hotel about 1 and it started to rain lightly. Started from RM 1095 and went North. Rained light but consistent the whole day. Pre run to RM 1165 by Hwy 3 and it was late afternoon. The guys didn’t really need to keep going as it would all be mud up the mountain anyway. Back to San Felipe for dinner and cocktails. Decided to pre run RM 1070 to 1095 Thursday morning. Headed to the Chevron and filled her up. Leaving the gas station, the power steering stopped working. Back to the hotel, could not figure it out. Put the Can Am away and went to some fiends houses south of town for beers and beach. Tracked the race from the Starlink. Early dinner and went to bed about 7:30. Up at 12:30 to head to RM 1070. We got out to the course about 1:45 AM. The Menzies truck came by about 10 minutes later.

We were pitting the 2 Wilson Cars and the Mike Belk 512 car.

Wilson Motorsports 100 and 153: Started out pretty good just moving along running a clean pace. 153 car was 2nd on the road then ran into some trouble with the idler pully coming apart throwing a belt. Belt got tangled up in things. Got it going and it tossed another belt. Fixed the pulley again and belt. Around 850 it would not run, could not rev up at all. Tried new coils etc and it just would not go. Ended the day for the 153. 100 car kept moving along and things came back to them. Had a tight race with Brendan Gaughn the last several hundred miles. 100 car was first to us at RM 1070 at 5:45 AM. While we fueling the car, the 162 car went by. We got them out right after it and he was able to get back by them and stay ahead to the finish. I believe they won by about 15 minutes.

Mike Belk 512: Found out the 512 car has electrical issue on the way to the start line and was late to start. Had to start after 17 UTVs since they missed their start time. Long way to go so hopefully wont be an issue again. Made good time all day and into the night and back up to 2nd on the road. Near RM 815, Doug dropped a wheel over the edge and rolled it several times down into a ravine. Took out both rear tires and top light bar and needed help to get out. Sent a truck in as they were close to an access road. They were able to pull them out and get them going again about 5 hours later. All the 5 cars seemed to be having issues. Doug was whooped and he wanted out at Catavina RM 900 . Mike Belk got back in. Just below Gonzaga, the rear hub was coming apart. Stopped and had to weld the rear arm back together and repaired the hub as best as they could. At this point we were leading but the next car was coming up the highway behind us. Got the car moving again. Made it to us at RM 1070. Put LJ Kennedy and Derek Nye in and sent them off just before 6 PM. All good until we hit the rain at San Matias. Then it got cold, foggy and super wet. Had to stop at El Alamo and clean visors, glasses etc. Put clothes, blankets and other things in trash bags under Derk’s legs in case the car quit. Made Ojos Negros, had a trailer tire come apart and had to change that real quick. Car showed up and again we cleaned them up and sent them to the finish. Made it in about 2 AM and got the win. They said they were driving up a river and the only thing they could see was the edge of the road berms. Allot of work, but it paid off. Never give up.

Got a few hours sleep and headed for home. Cant wait for the next one.

View attachment 1304594
Click to expand...

Wow...

👏💪👏💪👏
 
rivrrts429

rivrrts429

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Wayn-o said:
Congrats Richard on the win. Saw the car go by us at RM 1070. The whoops after that were like waist deep – they were fricken HUGE!!! A long Baja Mil it was. Seems we need to have some beers sometime soon.

How the trip went for us.

Started to pre run from RM 1025 up to Ojos Wednesday about 10 AM. Can Am off the trailer and all of a sudden it wont run right. Seemed like bad gas (not Mexico gas) so went to the hotel to work on it. Ran it around awhile by the sand dunes and it cleaned up some. Added some fuel additive to try and help it. Left the hotel about 1 and it started to rain lightly. Started from RM 1095 and went North. Rained light but consistent the whole day. Pre run to RM 1165 by Hwy 3 and it was late afternoon. The guys didn’t really need to keep going as it would all be mud up the mountain anyway. Back to San Felipe for dinner and cocktails. Decided to pre run RM 1070 to 1095 Thursday morning. Headed to the Chevron and filled her up. Leaving the gas station, the power steering stopped working. Back to the hotel, could not figure it out. Put the Can Am away and went to some fiends houses south of town for beers and beach. Tracked the race from the Starlink. Early dinner and went to bed about 7:30. Up at 12:30 to head to RM 1070. We got out to the course about 1:45 AM. The Menzies truck came by about 10 minutes later.

We were pitting the 2 Wilson Cars and the Mike Belk 512 car.

Wilson Motorsports 100 and 153: Started out pretty good just moving along running a clean pace. 153 car was 2nd on the road then ran into some trouble with the idler pully coming apart throwing a belt. Belt got tangled up in things. Got it going and it tossed another belt. Fixed the pulley again and belt. Around 850 it would not run, could not rev up at all. Tried new coils etc and it just would not go. Ended the day for the 153. 100 car kept moving along and things came back to them. Had a tight race with Brendan Gaughn the last several hundred miles. 100 car was first to us at RM 1070 at 5:45 AM. While we fueling the car, the 162 car went by. We got them out right after it and he was able to get back by them and stay ahead to the finish. I believe they won by about 15 minutes.

Mike Belk 512: Found out the 512 car has electrical issue on the way to the start line and was late to start. Had to start after 17 UTVs since they missed their start time. Long way to go so hopefully wont be an issue again. Made good time all day and into the night and back up to 2nd on the road. Near RM 815, Doug dropped a wheel over the edge and rolled it several times down into a ravine. Took out both rear tires and top light bar and needed help to get out. Sent a truck in as they were close to an access road. They were able to pull them out and get them going again about 5 hours later. All the 5 cars seemed to be having issues. Doug was whooped and he wanted out at Catavina RM 900 . Mike Belk got back in. Just below Gonzaga, the rear hub was coming apart. Stopped and had to weld the rear arm back together and repaired the hub as best as they could. At this point we were leading but the next car was coming up the highway behind us. Got the car moving again. Made it to us at RM 1070. Put LJ Kennedy and Derek Nye in and sent them off just before 6 PM. All good until we hit the rain at San Matias. Then it got cold, foggy and super wet. Had to stop at El Alamo and clean visors, glasses etc. Put clothes, blankets and other things in trash bags under Derk’s legs in case the car quit. Made Ojos Negros, had a trailer tire come apart and had to change that real quick. Car showed up and again we cleaned them up and sent them to the finish. Made it in about 2 AM and got the win. They said they were driving up a river and the only thing they could see was the edge of the road berms. Allot of work, but it paid off. Never give up.

Got a few hours sleep and headed for home. Cant wait for the next one.

View attachment 1304594
Click to expand...


Gotta love Baja. That’s a great summary of the shit teams go through during the week of Baja. That was well written!

Every time someone tells me they want to go race Baja I ask them, “are you sure?!?!” 😂

It’s a wild experience but one that stays with you for life and nobody can take that away from you. It teaches a lot about yourself and what you’re capable of in tough situations whether it’s leadership, your skill ability or your critical thinking. Exhausting as hell but one of the most amazing experiences.

Cheers @Wayn-o and congrats on the class win 🏆 🍺

Let’s get those beers sooner rather than later!
 
Wayn-o

Wayn-o

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rivrrts429 said:
Gotta love Baja. That’s a great summary of the shit teams go through during the week of Baja. That was well written!

Every time someone tells me they want to go race Baja I ask them, “are you sure?!?!” 😂

It’s a wild experience but one that stays with you for life and nobody can take that away from you. It teaches a lot about yourself and what you’re capable of in tough situations whether it’s leadership, your skill ability or your critical thinking. Exhausting as hell but one of the most amazing experiences.

Cheers @Wayn-o and congrats on the class win 🏆 🍺

Let’s get those beers sooner rather than later!
Click to expand...

rivrrts429 said:
"Exhausting as hell but one of the most amazing experiences." Its truly an adventure that keeps on giving. If anyone has the chance to go help someone , do it. Having help of any kind on this race is worth a ton. Even if you dont know much about the car or anything, you always need drivers to keep the chase trucks moving all night or dumping fuel etc. Again, congrtas on the win.
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baja-chris

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Congratulations on the win! So hard to do.
I was chasing for the class 3 bronco we sold. Did some prerunning with the team then chased from La Paz to San Felipe. Here is the summary from the team owner/DOR.

We were having an unbelievably great race, we were leading our class by 700 miles, and we were the leading class eight, class four, class three, class, anything truck related other than trophy, truck and trophy spec. The truck was working perfectly, and was in fantastic shape. Nothing was apparently wrong, until the motor gave out on the highway going 55 miles an hour at race mile 1188. After it was all done and said, we spent 10 hours trying to repair the motor in the field by motor experts, but to no avail. It was an heroic effort, they were working on it in the pouring rain, freezing mountain temperatures, typical Baja 1000 bad stuff. We finished 1188 total miles out of the 1310. I want to add, that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the truck at any time during the race, we never had to fix one thing, other than pulling off body panels that we’re getting damaged from desert trees and shrubs from trying to get through and around the terrible silt beds.

Looks like a last minute pre race issue ended up with the engine only half filled with oil. Cam seized broke cam bolt, valves into pistons.
 
rivrrts429

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jesco said:
SOOOOO BADASS!!! Congrats on the win!!! That is fricken awesome!! This course looked BRUTAL from start to finish, didnt matter what leg you ran you were getting your ass handed to you!!!!!
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It was the wildest one yet for me. Last nights sleep in my own bed I don’t think I moved an inch and I slept for 10 hours lol

Can’t wait for the next one!!
 
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rivrrts429 said:
Appreciate it bud. I just looked and only 152 participants of 335 entires were able to finish. Feels pretty good to have a Baja 1000 1st place trophy. Some people try for years and never get one. I got my first one at 45 years old. Not bad!
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Not bad at all!!
 
HubbaHubbaLife

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rivrrts429 said:
It was the wildest one yet for me. Last nights sleep in my own bed I don’t think I moved an inch and I slept for 10 hours lol

Can’t wait for the next one!!
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After seeing what you guys put yourself through I imagine sleeping in your home bed was magnificent.... Ice & Advil baby
 
rivrrts429

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We got to the finish about 7:30pm and it was starting to rain. I knew anyone arriving in the next hour or two was going to be a mess. Looks like those boys had some mud fun.
 
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