2013 Mexican 1000
Race Day 3 - Tuesday April 30, 2013
Kevin set the alarm for 5, expecting a start
around 6am; however since Baja Sur operates on Mountain time, I found out in the
morning that the start had been switched to 7am (so that we wouldn't be starting
in the dark). Had about a 3 mile transit to the start which would be on the road
between Loreto and San Javier.
We started two at a time again, and the first part of the course was paved - a
long straight away, and then curving uphill into the mountains. Had to be really
careful on the mountain curves as there were a lot of really nasty washouts on
the road - it would be very easy to have a terrible crash here. Sections of the
pavement were completely washed out, leaving loose dirt to deal with. I grabbed
the holeshot over the guy starting with me, and tried to lay down the hammer to
leave him behind. Rode really well over the mountains, and passed a lot of
riders on the pavement section before we hit a long sand wash. Then it was onto
a tight twisty dirt road into San Javier, which is home to a beautiful mission
church.
Made one wrong turn in San Javier that cost me a few minutes, but no big deal.
Most of the rest of the first special was basically dirt road, south and east
heading towards Hwy 53. Other than one wrong turn, I had no problems and felt I
rode pretty good.
Kevin/Cory and Joel were taking Hwy 1 south of Loreto towards Ciudad Insurgentes
(where it intersects with Hwy 53). The plan was for them to hit the intersection
with Hwy 53 and then head north to meet me at the end of the special. However,
if I hit the end of the special before they got there then I would head south on
Hwy 53 and meet them on the liaison section.
Well, I beat them to the end of the special, so start heading south. After a few
miles, I see Joel's truck heading north. I look into my rearview mirror
expecting him to have seen me and turn around but he just keeps heading north.
Oh well, although they're not officially timed and doesn't contribute to the
racing time, the liaisons do have minimum and maximum time limits (with
penalties if you're too early or too late). So I don't have time to chase Joel,
and keep heading south. Then I pass Kevin/Cory heading north. They do turn
around, and we continue south to Ciudad Insurgentes to fill up with gas. Then we
head to the start of the next special just south of Ciudad Constitucion, and top
off with gas again.
This special starts on a long, fairly flat, sand road heading east from Hwy 1.
It's really fast (90+ mph), but every once in a while you hit a concrete vado
(gully). These are definitely "Oh Whoops" moments! They come up so
fast at speed that there's not much to do but scrub just a tiny bit of speed,
hit them straight as possible, and hold on. Then you're flying through the air
hoping you land straight.
The road eventually turns south, more of a typical dirt Baja road in the middle
of nowhere. We pass another mission church out in the boonies, and continue on
dirt roads south, and eventually east and back to cross Hwy 1. Another good
section for me, basically passing riders here and there along the way.
At the intersection with Hwy 1, I meet both support crews and need to top off
gas again to make it to the finish of the special.
The course now heads west towards the coast.
Nothing too technical, fast dirt roads for the most part - some sand and silt
near the coast. Beautiful scenery, just not enough time to enjoy it. The course
finally turns east again and finishes a few miles west of Hwy 1. My support
trucks are meeting me at Hwy 1, but there are some support crews around the
section finish and I bum a gallon of gas, a cold drink, and a cold wet washcloth
from John Volkman's crew.
Then head the few miles out to the intersection with Hwy 1, and fill up my gas
completely for the liaison into La Paz.
The rest of the liaison is all pavement (Hwy
1) into La Paz.
The finish is down at the La Paz malecon - and it's quite a festive atmosphere.
This guy wants me to sign the back of his shirt...
Joel takes some pics of Mark Vanscourt (BajaDad) and I at the finish line...
I was into La Paz before 2pm today - nice. We
head back to the hotel for the night (Grand Plaza), which is a few miles away.
On Special #1 for Race Day 3, I finished 14th overall and 2nd in class. On
Special #2, I finished 17th overall and 3rd in class.
I rode back to the Grand Plaza hotel in La Paz
with Mark Vanscourt (Baja Dad); and then waited just a bit for Cory/Kevin and
Joel to show up in the support trucks.
Knowing that there was a pool waiting for us, the guys went right to work on
getting the bike ready for the final Day 4. New tires installed, oil changed,
air filter changed, and check/tighten all the nuts and bolts. The support crew
was great in keeping me running!
Mark resting, me heading to tell Cory/Kevin where to park...
The support crew hard at work...
After chores, it was pool time!
Mark (Baja Dad) at the pool...
Kevin enjoying the pool...
Joel and Cory...
Most of the motorcycle riders were staying at
other hotels in La Paz, and we beat the car guys by a ways today so they were
showing up much later so we had the hotel almost to ourselves.
We were the only ones eating at dinner time...
Only one more day to go! The next day there was a final roadbook-only section of the course leading into San Jose del Cabo - only problem was I didn't have a roadbook installed on by backup bike. So Joel and I created gps tracks from the waypoints and a faint map that NORRA provided for the support crews. Then we were able to get to bed fairly early once again, and be ready for one more day of racing!
Pre-Race
Race Day 1
Race Day
2 Race Day
3 Race Day 4