Well, I am back in the US safe and sound and sitting in Houston waiting for my girlfriend to come down for Thanksgiving. My race recap as co driver for #301 for the first (and only
leg)--sorry in advance for the length!
Got into San Diego on Tuesday night after working all Monday night. Linked up with some other team members and crossed the border in our rental car. Found the rest of the team at the marina house and got to see the racer for the first time in two years, and since its third reincarnation. Really liked the improvements and felt like it was going to be a good year.
Ate plenty of fish tacos and drank lots of micheladas waiting for Contingency Day. Hoover and Chuck got the truck down early and we had a good place in line. Trucks started moving and suddenly the racer did not feel like starting. We pushed for a while, and then pulled to the side and out of line to figure out what was keeping the truck from starting. Realized the main MSD 6AL box just quit working, for no apparant reason other than it felt like dieing. Hooked up to the backup MSD box and got back in line. Ran all around Ensenada and found a spare MSD box to replace the bad one.
Got through Contingency and on to race day. Seemed like the marshalling for the start was not as coordinated as years past. Lots of honking trucks and buggies, trying to get by to make it to the start on time. Got to say hello to Moss, and met the Necessary's with their new FJ40. Talked with Jason and Chuck and finally strapped into the passenger seat for the start. We were second off the line, right behind Moss.
Big John got us off the line and into the ravine. Two years ago, our rear suspension was not dialed in and we had axle to frame contact on every jump, making for an awful ride. Hit the Red Bull jump this year, and had my teeth clenched for the landing, but it was smooth!!!
Got to race mile 5 which was an uphill silt climb. #349 had just passed us and we slowed to let the dust clear as there were several vehicles stuck on the hill. We were only running about 10 mph, when it felt like the backend dropped into a hole and heard a bang. A local came to the door and said our driveshaft was broken. I unstrapped to check it out, and saw that not only had we broken the front CV joint ears at the transfer case--the rear 9" yoke had snapped, so it was broke on both ends. I climbed underneath and unbolted the carrier bearing which allowed me to remove the entire driveshaft.
Limped it onto level ground with front wheel drive only, and waited for the spare rear third member to arrive. Once the chase truck arrived, we realized we did not have a replacment CV, as it had nt arrived in time for the race. So Chuck, Tim, and Hoover got to work and cobbled together a rear driveshaft from broken parts and a front driveshaft. Had to locate some longer bolts once the new driveshaft was built.
Got back in the truck and racing again. By this time, only the broken racers were still on the course and all the local kids had scavanged the trail markers. We had a GPS blip, but got back on track. It is very sketchy in the populated areas with kids in the trails, and popping out from behind walls when they hear a truck coming, so we took it easy heading out of civilization.
Once we got away from civilization, Big John opened it up and we were making good time. The truck was handling great and seemed to be getting better as the race progressed? We burned up a lot of daylight with the repairat RM 5, which equates to speed, and it got dark fast. We were driving hard to make it to checkpoint #1 before it closed.
I was watching the GPS, and taold John to watch it near RM 86, as there was a skull and crossbone marking indicating an obstacle. About that time I saw someone frantically waving a flashlight for us to slow it down. We slowed, turned the corner, and I saw it was #301 on its side in the ditch. A chase bronco was there and they were in the early process of extraction. Made sure everyone was OK, and continued on.
Right after a MAG 7 pit, around RM 98, I noticed that when I keyed up the ICOM radio, it would shut off and restart. Checked the handheld mic and Big John's push to talk button and it was the same. Then the tachometer maxed out and started acting crazy. I looked down and saw the voltage was dropping quickly, and John and I noticed the lights were going dim around the same time. 20 feet later, the truck was dead. No lights, no radio, no nothing. We happened to die at RM 100 where there were a couple Americans camped out. They brought over a latern and we went to work, thinking we had lost the alternator. A cuple of locals stopped by trying to find there dead buggy at RM 114. Luckily one of the passengers happened to be the guy who wires all the race cars for the Tijuana teams!!!! He had a voltage meter and after a jump start we realized we were not getting any power to the new alternator. Traced back through the truck, pulled out the passenger seat and found the isolator box was the culprit--not the alternator. Had some issues with the 3g hookups, but a couple of sat phone calls later (thank you Paul C.!) we were back up and running, although the alternator smelled like it was burning up and was running hot.
The next 20 miles or so was the worst terrain I have ever experienced in baja. It was more suitable for rockcrawling than racing. Passed a bunch of broken buggies and trucks that were broken and stuck--no way a regular vehicle could make it in to extract them, especially at night.
Made it through the rough stuff, and got into some whoops. Truck handled far better than in years past and we made good time. Finally made it to the dry lake bed and got to really check out the truck at speed. I think we got up into the mid 80's at which time the short wheelbase made for a tight sphincter! The racer generally points in the direction you are steering, but wanders about 10 feet to the left and 10 feet to the right with zero steering input.....it just wants to wander.
After the lake bed, we hit the silt. Wow. This was the first time in the silt beds for me. I was like driving through talcum powder, and we would hit a pile with the front end and it would explode into the cab. Steering input is decreased, and the racer went where it felt like, to include killing a couple cactus.
At one point in the silt, we passed a chase truck out in the middle of nowhere. Looked out the net and clearly saw a very dusty Pistol Pete standing on the side of the truck, watching our progress through the beds!!
Just after the silt, near RM 170 it sounded like the truck was revving high and not moving forward. Suddenly I felt a bang near my feet and black smoke came up from the floorboard. The engine was running rough and back firing, and woulkd not move forward under load. After a quick diagnosis, we thought the timing belt might have jumped a tooth. Tried to adjust the timing to get closer to the chase truck to get some help, but it did not help. During this time, I saw the FJ40 pass us, and it appeared they were limping along as well.
The chase truck got out to us, and came to the conclusion the engine had given up the ghost and swallowed a valve or rocker on the left bank. Limped it back to the trailer and called it.
Overall, I had a blast. Despite the breakage, the truck performed better than ever. I cannot wait for future races, and hope I can assist with the team next year!
