landshark99
Bronco Guru
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2011
- Messages
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NORRA Mexican 1000 Race Report - Greenwood Bronco #35
This was our first NORRA race - come to think of it, this was our first desert race ever. I have been wanting to race Baja for a long time and have always wanted to do it in an Early Bronco - but this madness really started when I pulled a rotting 1972 Ford Bronco out of a field in Castle Rock Colorado on July 7th 2018 for the sole purpose of running the 2019 NORRA.
With less than a year to go I stripped the Bronco down to a bare frame and started the build, so many things had to be done, so many mountains to climb. I didn’t have any idea who would take part in the race besides me, but i knew it would fall into place. Over the next several months, things did fall into place. Engine and drivetrain built and installed, fuel and transmission lines run, axles installed - the racer was coming to life. I had several Colorado Classic Bronco members volunteer their time, their parts, did I mention time? So much time and effort volunteering for my crazy idea of racing Baja. The end of 2018 was fast approaching and the Bronco was looking more and more like a racer.
The new year is here - 2019 less than 4 months to go before the race and it was yet to run under its own power. More time, more effort and of course - more money. We are now 4 strong and dedicated to seeing this through, we now have a crew, I would be driving the distance plus three crew/chase. The Bronco build has accelerated and exceeded all of my expectations, everyone is dedicated to making it a quality build that is more than a pretty face. After a harsh uncooperative winter we finally get a few breaks in the snow and snuck in a little testing in March. We get 63 miles in the dirt, 50 on pavement.
It exceeds all of our expectation and we know what we have will work well - good thing, as we are out of time. It’s the final stretch before we leave, final prep and last minute items, decals, numbers, spares, packing, zip ties - lots of zip ties.
April 24 - Denver - We load up the chase van with our gear and spares, load the borrowed trailer with the Race bronco and more gear and off we go for a non-stop ride to Ensenada. Pretty much uneventful except for a few exciting moments in the Utah desert, apparently we forgot to check 1 out of 4 wheels for tight lugs on the van - we got lucky and caught it but not before we lost a wheel stud. At least it’s not an early bronco and we have 7 more on that wheel… we torque everything down, and again.. and again. All is good until mid day in Barstow when our transmission decides it’s a bit on the toasty side. We stop at in-n-out, let it cool, we need fluid - opps forgot that. A quick call to NAPA and a delivery later we are back on the road - Big fan of NAPA right now, so nice of them to deliver to us in the parking lot…
April 25 - We roll into Ensenada around 7pm, find the house we rented, realized the trailer may not fit into the gated yard, it does - by 1/2”. We crash out.
April 26 - we head to Contingency, being our first race with a new build we wanted to go through inspection early just in case there are any issues. We find a spot next to Bronco #66 and settle in to registration, Stella training and eating tacos. Head through tech and don’t have any problems, can’t thank everyone enough that I bugged over the last year with tech questions! That night we start to chase down last minute details on the racer, re-jet the carb for sea level, do some last minute wiring and get our tools packed up.
April 27 - we head to Contingency again, mostly for the experience and getting the lay of the land and then button up the racer for the next day, then the driver meeting and final prep.
April 28 - Race Day. 10 months ago the Bronco was a rusted out shell sitting in a field. Today it’s a race Bronco sitting at the start line at the top of Baja. Pretty surreal. I can’t say enough about everyone who helped myself and my crew get to this moment. We were pretty excited. So excited that my Co-driver left his Passport and money in the mens room at the Misión Santa Isabel moments before our start time, he realizes it - ejects out of the co-driver seat and returns with passport and money in hand as we pull up to the start line. At this point I think he’s more anxious and manic than I could be, it’s a good distraction and we both settle down to enjoy the start of the race.
From other racers advice and the limited amount of seat time i had, we ran a conservative first special stage, letting those pass who catch us and as expected see lots of carnage and gear littering the course to San Felipe, at some point we ran over a tool bag with an impact and my co-driver and I have a good laugh, we knew someone would be bummed, would turn out to be a bit ironic later in the day.
We did a quick scheduled pit at the entrance of Laguna Diablo, Bronco took on fuel and we checked fluids, we still didn’t know our MPG and did some quick napkin math.
Off we went, testing the high speed stability of the Bronco on the Dry lake, did pretty well and we turned toward San Felipe. Day 1 in the books, time for some Chicken and beers. Then we realize our tool bag is gone and we lost Bob Ross - ejected during the first stage, lesson learned - Baja style.
Off to Autozone for some tools and then to find our room and a nice spot to check the racer. That evening we decided to re-jet again, nut and bolt check, fluids, greased a few things and discussed the plan for Day 2.
April 29 - Race Day 2 - We said good bye to our chase crew around 7:30am and send them off down highway 5, we knew the road was bad and with the amount of traffic headed that way we wanted to give them plenty of time to stage. My Co-driver and I headed off to have some breakfast and get settled in to wait for the start of the race and then realize that our Lowrance was not loading the days map correctly. Heading over to the starting sand pit I grabbed 7-8 Lowrance experts just to tell us we are doing it right, but it’s not working - we give up and decide to navigate by the road book, we at least have the GPS points showing up on the Lowrance, just not the track. Turns out the Lowrance doesn’t like the memory card we have and will only work if we load one day. So lesson learned, one day at a time it is.
We leave the San Felipe starting line on time and headed into the sandy trails and gentle whoops, this is where the short wheel base Bronco really shines, of course my sarcasm is pretty thick here, I couldn’t wait for that last section of Whoops to end, I am not sure if the rear was on the ground more than the front or vise versa. I am bummed that we don’t have video footage of that section as The Kaysinger Bronco #16 came along side and we whooped it up all the way to pavement, asses in the air together. Was pretty awesome.
After the long transit and construction bypasses on Highway 5 we finally dove into the dry lake and and battled the winds but had some fun in the silt on the way to the BOLA transition. A quick fuel stop later along highway 1 we started the final dirt section north of Punta Prieta, this was a fun section and we really started to get a feel for things.
Just before the last transit section we battled some sandy trails weaving in and out of the cactus, taking stock of previous cactus casualties along the way. We took a big hit at some point, probably a rock in the sand and then the steering started to get chunky - but we kept on trucking. We rolled into the finish line of Bay of LA and took a sip of our beers, said a few words to the audience and rolled over to the taco tent - one ticket, one taco.
We left the tent and found our Hotel, it just so happened several of the other Early Broncos are staying there as well, pretty cool.
That evening we changed the Steering box and the bent wheel, I guess we hit pretty hard. Everything else looked good and we checked fluids, did some drive shaft maintenance and changed air filters. After a few sips of tequila, some advice from an offered legend and some Day 3 planning we hit the hay.
This was our first NORRA race - come to think of it, this was our first desert race ever. I have been wanting to race Baja for a long time and have always wanted to do it in an Early Bronco - but this madness really started when I pulled a rotting 1972 Ford Bronco out of a field in Castle Rock Colorado on July 7th 2018 for the sole purpose of running the 2019 NORRA.
With less than a year to go I stripped the Bronco down to a bare frame and started the build, so many things had to be done, so many mountains to climb. I didn’t have any idea who would take part in the race besides me, but i knew it would fall into place. Over the next several months, things did fall into place. Engine and drivetrain built and installed, fuel and transmission lines run, axles installed - the racer was coming to life. I had several Colorado Classic Bronco members volunteer their time, their parts, did I mention time? So much time and effort volunteering for my crazy idea of racing Baja. The end of 2018 was fast approaching and the Bronco was looking more and more like a racer.
The new year is here - 2019 less than 4 months to go before the race and it was yet to run under its own power. More time, more effort and of course - more money. We are now 4 strong and dedicated to seeing this through, we now have a crew, I would be driving the distance plus three crew/chase. The Bronco build has accelerated and exceeded all of my expectations, everyone is dedicated to making it a quality build that is more than a pretty face. After a harsh uncooperative winter we finally get a few breaks in the snow and snuck in a little testing in March. We get 63 miles in the dirt, 50 on pavement.
It exceeds all of our expectation and we know what we have will work well - good thing, as we are out of time. It’s the final stretch before we leave, final prep and last minute items, decals, numbers, spares, packing, zip ties - lots of zip ties.
April 24 - Denver - We load up the chase van with our gear and spares, load the borrowed trailer with the Race bronco and more gear and off we go for a non-stop ride to Ensenada. Pretty much uneventful except for a few exciting moments in the Utah desert, apparently we forgot to check 1 out of 4 wheels for tight lugs on the van - we got lucky and caught it but not before we lost a wheel stud. At least it’s not an early bronco and we have 7 more on that wheel… we torque everything down, and again.. and again. All is good until mid day in Barstow when our transmission decides it’s a bit on the toasty side. We stop at in-n-out, let it cool, we need fluid - opps forgot that. A quick call to NAPA and a delivery later we are back on the road - Big fan of NAPA right now, so nice of them to deliver to us in the parking lot…
April 25 - We roll into Ensenada around 7pm, find the house we rented, realized the trailer may not fit into the gated yard, it does - by 1/2”. We crash out.
April 26 - we head to Contingency, being our first race with a new build we wanted to go through inspection early just in case there are any issues. We find a spot next to Bronco #66 and settle in to registration, Stella training and eating tacos. Head through tech and don’t have any problems, can’t thank everyone enough that I bugged over the last year with tech questions! That night we start to chase down last minute details on the racer, re-jet the carb for sea level, do some last minute wiring and get our tools packed up.
April 27 - we head to Contingency again, mostly for the experience and getting the lay of the land and then button up the racer for the next day, then the driver meeting and final prep.
April 28 - Race Day. 10 months ago the Bronco was a rusted out shell sitting in a field. Today it’s a race Bronco sitting at the start line at the top of Baja. Pretty surreal. I can’t say enough about everyone who helped myself and my crew get to this moment. We were pretty excited. So excited that my Co-driver left his Passport and money in the mens room at the Misión Santa Isabel moments before our start time, he realizes it - ejects out of the co-driver seat and returns with passport and money in hand as we pull up to the start line. At this point I think he’s more anxious and manic than I could be, it’s a good distraction and we both settle down to enjoy the start of the race.
From other racers advice and the limited amount of seat time i had, we ran a conservative first special stage, letting those pass who catch us and as expected see lots of carnage and gear littering the course to San Felipe, at some point we ran over a tool bag with an impact and my co-driver and I have a good laugh, we knew someone would be bummed, would turn out to be a bit ironic later in the day.
We did a quick scheduled pit at the entrance of Laguna Diablo, Bronco took on fuel and we checked fluids, we still didn’t know our MPG and did some quick napkin math.
Off we went, testing the high speed stability of the Bronco on the Dry lake, did pretty well and we turned toward San Felipe. Day 1 in the books, time for some Chicken and beers. Then we realize our tool bag is gone and we lost Bob Ross - ejected during the first stage, lesson learned - Baja style.
Off to Autozone for some tools and then to find our room and a nice spot to check the racer. That evening we decided to re-jet again, nut and bolt check, fluids, greased a few things and discussed the plan for Day 2.
April 29 - Race Day 2 - We said good bye to our chase crew around 7:30am and send them off down highway 5, we knew the road was bad and with the amount of traffic headed that way we wanted to give them plenty of time to stage. My Co-driver and I headed off to have some breakfast and get settled in to wait for the start of the race and then realize that our Lowrance was not loading the days map correctly. Heading over to the starting sand pit I grabbed 7-8 Lowrance experts just to tell us we are doing it right, but it’s not working - we give up and decide to navigate by the road book, we at least have the GPS points showing up on the Lowrance, just not the track. Turns out the Lowrance doesn’t like the memory card we have and will only work if we load one day. So lesson learned, one day at a time it is.
We leave the San Felipe starting line on time and headed into the sandy trails and gentle whoops, this is where the short wheel base Bronco really shines, of course my sarcasm is pretty thick here, I couldn’t wait for that last section of Whoops to end, I am not sure if the rear was on the ground more than the front or vise versa. I am bummed that we don’t have video footage of that section as The Kaysinger Bronco #16 came along side and we whooped it up all the way to pavement, asses in the air together. Was pretty awesome.
After the long transit and construction bypasses on Highway 5 we finally dove into the dry lake and and battled the winds but had some fun in the silt on the way to the BOLA transition. A quick fuel stop later along highway 1 we started the final dirt section north of Punta Prieta, this was a fun section and we really started to get a feel for things.
Just before the last transit section we battled some sandy trails weaving in and out of the cactus, taking stock of previous cactus casualties along the way. We took a big hit at some point, probably a rock in the sand and then the steering started to get chunky - but we kept on trucking. We rolled into the finish line of Bay of LA and took a sip of our beers, said a few words to the audience and rolled over to the taco tent - one ticket, one taco.
We left the tent and found our Hotel, it just so happened several of the other Early Broncos are staying there as well, pretty cool.
That evening we changed the Steering box and the bent wheel, I guess we hit pretty hard. Everything else looked good and we checked fluids, did some drive shaft maintenance and changed air filters. After a few sips of tequila, some advice from an offered legend and some Day 3 planning we hit the hay.
