October 13, 2024
Rally Recap:
Day 2 / Ensenada to San Quintín
Day one of racing at the 2024 NORRA 500 was fast, fun and challenging. For the many first time racers in the field, it was a big learning curve, but they made it to the finish line in San Quintin with dirty faces and ear to ear grins. At the front end of the race, it was a fierce battle between some heavy hitters. Even the most experienced racers were met with some challenges along the way. Two time overall winner Dave Mason Jr. got stuck, but was pulled out by the number 2 Geiser Brothers Unlimited truck of Paul and Chad Broughton. Mason went on to finish 5th overall and Broughton came home in the 59th spot. Let’s hope Paul’s karma points in the bank pay off on race day 2. Our own Grand Marshal also had to be pulled out as did Steve Strobel and his son Christian.
One of the most shocking and disappointing developments was that of Craig McCarthy and Kevin Murphy. They were way out front and cruising into the final finish line when they had catastrophic engine failure. The rods decided to punch a hole in the block. It shows how difficult off road racing is and the incredible torture imposed on the machines. Many other teams had issues that were able to be fixed on the way or overcome. The Donut Media team had some alternator issues, but they fixed them and made it to the finish. Their learning curve has been steep, but their Baja baptism is complete and they are hooked! Also in the hooked category are Janey Lee and Kylie Walton. They’ve been involved with motorsports for years and finally able at the NORRA 500 to get behind the wheel in Baja. They were elated and already talking about the Mexican 1000 in 2025.
After setting a record in qualifying, Max Gordon suffered a mechanical issue that took him out of day one. He was disappointed on a personal level, but successful at his underlying job. As a development driver, he’s supposed to be pushing his Speed UTV to the failure point in order to perfect it. Robby also had an issue; he rolled his car in a rut. The ruts in Baja are serious; they can easily swallow a UTV.
With so many diverse vehicles in the field, it’s impossible to predict who will be the fastest on any given day. As usual, we had some surprising results. The unlimited trucks and buggies are expected to run up front, but we saw a class 10 and several UTV’s in the top ten. The rally format at NORRA creates a level playing field for all vehicles. Speed and navigational accuracy are rewarded with top results. Push to pass keeps blocking to a minimum. The fastest drivers rise to the top, track position does not put undue influence on the outcome. During a point to point race, getting stuck behind a slower vehicle can ruin your best efforts. At NORRA you can go all out.
Once all the times were calculated, Kyle Murray was in the overall position in his American Rentals, Geiser 6100 truck. Bill Zemak and Alex Reed are in the second spot in their trick RMR Jackal. Bill commented at the finish line that he and Alex began their racing careers dodging trees in the Carolinas and now they’ve graduated to dodging rocks in Baja. He said they ran their own pace and were the beneficiary of other’s problems. They capitalized on it while running at a 70 percent pace.
Third overall and leading the Pro Turbo class that’s racing for a 20 thousand dollar, winner takes all cash prize is the veteran PJ Jones in his CanAm Maverick R. When it comes to racing, PJ has seen it all and knows what it takes to win. He’ll be tough to beat. Second in the Pro Turbo class is Gilberto Rodriguez; also in a CanAm Maverick. He finished tenth place overall. He will have to push it if he’s going to beat PJ on day two of racing. Third in class is Todd Romano in a Speed UTV Bandit.
The other class racing for big bucks is Evolution Pro 2000 UTV/ class 10. Everyone wants to cash in on the 20 thousand dollar prize, but if a class 10 car wins, they also get a Honda K24 race engine from Lozano Performance. The Yee family has their sights set on big prize. Bruce, Max and Diego Yee are all taking turns driving and navigating their Alumicraft car and have been the car to beat. There are some great racing genes in that family. In second place is Austin “Fish” Farner, Austin Eddy and Phil Casey in a Polaris Pro R. We’ve never seen these guys this serious. They are going for the bucks too, but have a little over 5 minutes to make up. Jeff Terzo is having a great race in third driving a Polaris Pro R as well.
Evolution class 11 is also racing for cash money in addition to bragging rights. Franz Muhr and Ramon Manriquez will settle it on the beach on day two. The overall results are Kyle Murry in P1, then Bill Zemak, PJ Jones and Bruce Yee fourth overall. Rounding out the top five is Zak Langley who said he wished he ran faster in the mountains, but didn’t want to push too hard in the rocks. He’s second in Evolution 6100 trucks.
Austin Farner is sixth overall, Dave Mason Jr. is seventh, Jeff Terzo eighth, Richie Mendez ninth, these Pro 2000 UTV/ class 10 drivers are running hard, and Gilberto Rodriguez is tenth place overall.
Photo credit: Bink Designs
