I've mentioned before that my son-in-law, a retired firefighter, is pretty serious (or as serious as you can be with limited financing) about off-road racing. He has been in the Baja 1000 and 500 several times over the years. This past November he and his few partners in Highlander Racing had the good fortune to line up a new sponsor, Salt Life. The company put a little money into last November's 1000 and had some videographers put together a short feature about prepping for the race and running it -- up until the point the car broke down with unfixable problems. Here's a link to the first short video that they cut out of all the footage they shot. There will be more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr4Y1bs6XSg
My SIL, Matt, is the guy in the pale green cap who appears at 2:30; the other green cap guy is one of the other drivers. Richard, who has a British accent, is an interesting fellow and probably the most improbable Baja enthusiast you would ever meet.
The loss of the roof and roll bar that you hear about in the video was not what stopped them. My SIL knew a welder in Loreto and woke him up in the middle of the night to put their car back together. After three to four hours they got the car reassembled and took off again. They were still in competition when the clutch died irretrievably about a hundred miles from the finish line. Those are the breaks.
The car is a Class 12 vehicle for those who know about such distinctions. Not a huge class, but big enough that you can't be assured of a prize just for making it to the finish line.
If you watch the video, please drop a Like or a comment on the page. The Trophy Trucks get 90 percent of the coverage in the Baja races, and the downfield guys appreciate being noticed for their skill and audacity in running exactly the same course in lighter and less powerful vehicles.
I love Baja, which is one of the most interesting places on the planet. My wife and I used to go there on driving vacations with our daughter and son-in-law, and some of the best camping experiences of our lives took place on remote Mexican beaches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr4Y1bs6XSg
My SIL, Matt, is the guy in the pale green cap who appears at 2:30; the other green cap guy is one of the other drivers. Richard, who has a British accent, is an interesting fellow and probably the most improbable Baja enthusiast you would ever meet.
The loss of the roof and roll bar that you hear about in the video was not what stopped them. My SIL knew a welder in Loreto and woke him up in the middle of the night to put their car back together. After three to four hours they got the car reassembled and took off again. They were still in competition when the clutch died irretrievably about a hundred miles from the finish line. Those are the breaks.
The car is a Class 12 vehicle for those who know about such distinctions. Not a huge class, but big enough that you can't be assured of a prize just for making it to the finish line.
If you watch the video, please drop a Like or a comment on the page. The Trophy Trucks get 90 percent of the coverage in the Baja races, and the downfield guys appreciate being noticed for their skill and audacity in running exactly the same course in lighter and less powerful vehicles.
I love Baja, which is one of the most interesting places on the planet. My wife and I used to go there on driving vacations with our daughter and son-in-law, and some of the best camping experiences of our lives took place on remote Mexican beaches.
