2017 Race-Dezert NORRA Mexican 1000 Coverage
The second day of the 2017 NORRA Mexican 1000 took competitors along the Sea of Cortez from San Felipe to Bahia de los Angeles (Bay of LA), splitting up what was traditionally a long day from Ensenada to Bay of LA into two days.
The nearing completion of the paving of Mex 3 from San Felipe past Coco’s Corner down to Chapala, where it ties in with Mex 1, made the trip easy for chase crews with trailers who appreciated not having to circle back through Ensenada. “The great thing about this race is that there are five finish lines,” shared Bob Bower when we saw him in Bay of LA.
Cameron Steele leads all vehicles in his Geiser Trophy Truck, and honestly there is no reason he shouldn’t be winning. This is the same guy who was leading the San Felipe 250 last month until just a few miles from the finish line. Perhaps more interesting is that Cam has a slim lead over Mark Post in the Rivera Trophy Truck that truly is “historic” (by NORRA’s definition).
Perhaps our favorite aspect of the Mexican 1000 is the combination of old and new vehicles, and various disciplines such as Ultra4 buggies and rally cars. Behind Steele and Post, but well ahead of most of the field, are the Class 5 Unlimited buggies of Drew Belk and Troy Johnson. These guys are running in the top ten overall and embarrassing some trucks with far more horsepower and suspension travel. Other surprising front runners include Billy Whittington in his Polaris RZR 1000 and King of the Hammers promoter Dave Cole in his Ultra4 car. While these vehicles are not vintage, they certainly raise some eyebrows when they are passing luxury prerunners and Class 1 buggies.
“We had no idea what this race would become,” explained Grand Marshall Eliseo Garcia, who worked with Ed Pearlman and Don Francisco to organize the inaugural Mexican 1000 fifty years ago. Today, a new generation of adventurous souls follow in the footsteps of guys like Parnelli Jones and Mickey Thompson. Sean Danley, for instance, had never even been to Baja before this week. He was born in November of 1967, the same month and year of that first Mexican 1000. Danley flew from Saudi Arabia to race in the Mexican 1000 in a Class 11 VW. Despite frying the clutch on Day One, Danley found someone in San Felipe to repair the car and continued on, running flawlessly on Day Two. “We worked hard to get here,” he noted, “and it will take more than that to end my race.”
The bikes are now split from the cars, ending their day in Guerrero Negro, where they will enjoy a safe cushion in front of the four-wheeled competitors. Day Three steps up the distance for the cars, who have to cover 396 miles on their way to Loreto, 300 of which is timed special stages. That should be plenty of miles for each competitor to make more memories in Baja.
About Method Race Wheels
Method Race Wheels designs, develops and distributes high performance wheels and accessories for race and street applications. These products represent our commitment to quality, driven by the high standards of performance.
As racing enthusiasts and participants, we are driven to look beyond conventional ideas of industry standards. Engineering, rigorous testing, data collection and proven performance redefines what is possible in the creation of our wheels and accessories. The application of our race knowledge separates us from other wheel companies.
Method Race Wheels is committed to bring you the finest quality products with the most complete line-up of off road race wheels for trucks, buggies, rock crawlers, short course, rally, and UTV’s, as well as street wheels for truck, Jeep, and SUV applications. We pride ourselves on providing these products to our customers with fast and friendly service that you can count on.
Look for our banners, listen to our name, and watch our products in action. Method Race Wheels…Lighter. Stronger. Faster.
About Race-Dezert.com
Race-Dezert.com was created by off-road enthusiasts, giving off-roaders a place online to share information about the sport and culture of off-road racing. Based in Southern California, Race-Dezert.com highlights the off-road disciplines of desert racing, short course off-road, stadium truck racing, rally raid, rally racing and rock crawling.
Our goal is to connect the world of off-road racing globally, bringing people together through the common denominator of off-road culture. Whether you are a racer, a promoter, a chase team member, a casual fan, or just interested in learning about off-road, Race-Dezert.com is a place where you can learn about the sport and culture of off-road racing.
The post 2017 NORRA Mexican 1000 Day 2 Recap – San Felipe to Bay of LA appeared first on RockCrawler.com.
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The second day of the 2017 NORRA Mexican 1000 took competitors along the Sea of Cortez from San Felipe to Bahia de los Angeles (Bay of LA), splitting up what was traditionally a long day from Ensenada to Bay of LA into two days.
The nearing completion of the paving of Mex 3 from San Felipe past Coco’s Corner down to Chapala, where it ties in with Mex 1, made the trip easy for chase crews with trailers who appreciated not having to circle back through Ensenada. “The great thing about this race is that there are five finish lines,” shared Bob Bower when we saw him in Bay of LA.
Cameron Steele leads all vehicles in his Geiser Trophy Truck, and honestly there is no reason he shouldn’t be winning. This is the same guy who was leading the San Felipe 250 last month until just a few miles from the finish line. Perhaps more interesting is that Cam has a slim lead over Mark Post in the Rivera Trophy Truck that truly is “historic” (by NORRA’s definition).
Perhaps our favorite aspect of the Mexican 1000 is the combination of old and new vehicles, and various disciplines such as Ultra4 buggies and rally cars. Behind Steele and Post, but well ahead of most of the field, are the Class 5 Unlimited buggies of Drew Belk and Troy Johnson. These guys are running in the top ten overall and embarrassing some trucks with far more horsepower and suspension travel. Other surprising front runners include Billy Whittington in his Polaris RZR 1000 and King of the Hammers promoter Dave Cole in his Ultra4 car. While these vehicles are not vintage, they certainly raise some eyebrows when they are passing luxury prerunners and Class 1 buggies.
“We had no idea what this race would become,” explained Grand Marshall Eliseo Garcia, who worked with Ed Pearlman and Don Francisco to organize the inaugural Mexican 1000 fifty years ago. Today, a new generation of adventurous souls follow in the footsteps of guys like Parnelli Jones and Mickey Thompson. Sean Danley, for instance, had never even been to Baja before this week. He was born in November of 1967, the same month and year of that first Mexican 1000. Danley flew from Saudi Arabia to race in the Mexican 1000 in a Class 11 VW. Despite frying the clutch on Day One, Danley found someone in San Felipe to repair the car and continued on, running flawlessly on Day Two. “We worked hard to get here,” he noted, “and it will take more than that to end my race.”
The bikes are now split from the cars, ending their day in Guerrero Negro, where they will enjoy a safe cushion in front of the four-wheeled competitors. Day Three steps up the distance for the cars, who have to cover 396 miles on their way to Loreto, 300 of which is timed special stages. That should be plenty of miles for each competitor to make more memories in Baja.
About Method Race Wheels
Method Race Wheels designs, develops and distributes high performance wheels and accessories for race and street applications. These products represent our commitment to quality, driven by the high standards of performance.
As racing enthusiasts and participants, we are driven to look beyond conventional ideas of industry standards. Engineering, rigorous testing, data collection and proven performance redefines what is possible in the creation of our wheels and accessories. The application of our race knowledge separates us from other wheel companies.
Method Race Wheels is committed to bring you the finest quality products with the most complete line-up of off road race wheels for trucks, buggies, rock crawlers, short course, rally, and UTV’s, as well as street wheels for truck, Jeep, and SUV applications. We pride ourselves on providing these products to our customers with fast and friendly service that you can count on.
Look for our banners, listen to our name, and watch our products in action. Method Race Wheels…Lighter. Stronger. Faster.
About Race-Dezert.com
Race-Dezert.com was created by off-road enthusiasts, giving off-roaders a place online to share information about the sport and culture of off-road racing. Based in Southern California, Race-Dezert.com highlights the off-road disciplines of desert racing, short course off-road, stadium truck racing, rally raid, rally racing and rock crawling.
Our goal is to connect the world of off-road racing globally, bringing people together through the common denominator of off-road culture. Whether you are a racer, a promoter, a chase team member, a casual fan, or just interested in learning about off-road, Race-Dezert.com is a place where you can learn about the sport and culture of off-road racing.
The post 2017 NORRA Mexican 1000 Day 2 Recap – San Felipe to Bay of LA appeared first on RockCrawler.com.
Continue reading...