Every day of NORRA’s Baja Mexican 1000 is an opportunity for teams to make a move. The overnight pause after each day allows crews to perform any needed adjustments to the vehicle in order to be 100 percent at the starting line in the morning. Typically the drivers get all the glory, but NORRA’s Baja is unique in that the crews get a chance to shine and have a huge hand in the outcome. For some teams, the drivers are the mechanics, so the rewards are even greater. One day struggling with mechanical issues does not mean the end of your race. This is especially true of the more limited vehicles. Take the team of Rick Hurricane Johnson, Andrea Tomba, Jesse Newton, Mark Lopresti, Matt Dowland and Mike Taylor in their 95 Stewart RaceWorks Ford Bronco pre-runner. They had brake issues on the way to the start of stage one on day one in Ensenada. They figured it out, started making time and had a great day of racing on day two. The results they saw on day one where not a prediction of the days to come. They were not alone. Day two saw a lot of position changes throughout the field.
The motos ran 473.2 kilometers between El Rosario and Guerrero Negro for the night. During the stage, the old guys put a move on the pros. Robert Creemers and Larry Engwald, both racing in the 60 years old plus class, moved into first and second overall. They lead Justin Moore, Alex Ritz and Scott Purcell, all racing in the Pro Rally class. Abbott Cowen is the top amateur in sixth place overall. Steve Montana leads the Vintage Motos class in seventh overall. Eighth overall and second in Amateur Rally class is Michael Frederick on his Kove. Ninth place is Pro Rally class racer Kevin Archer and the top ten overall position is currently held by Amateur Rally class rider Max Kramers. The bikes are navigating by roadbook only so staying on course is a mental game as well as physical. Any rider who takes a turn out front has earned that position.
Some of the many who were making moves in the four wheeled vehicle classes were the 6100 trucks and the Evolution Unlimited Truck of Scott Bailey. Scott and his team members Jason Dudley, Larry Job, Don Schulz, grandson Madix Bailey, Matt Salgado, and Greg Deines made a huge turnaround after day one. They were shown in 34th place overall and charged all the way up to twelfth place overall at the end of the day. Despite having solid finishes, which included the win on stage three, Scott’s time put him down around 30 minutes to overall leader Brent Fox. On day two he clawed back a lot of that time.
In the Evolution era 6100 truck class Brent Fox continued his dominance out front while the trucks of James Griffith, Matt Cullen, Matt Legg and Zak Langley battled all day. In Matt Cullen’s truck was Chuck and daughter Ericka Sacks. Ericka has become one of the top rally navigators with international experience. She was teaching Chuck the rally style and according to her, he picked it up quickly. After day two, Zak Langley, who has veteran Steve Hengeveld driving with him, sits in the fifth overall position. Matt Legg is seventh and James Griffith tenth.
Dave Mason made a move from fourth place overall to second which dropped Bob Briggs from second to third. Greg Distefano is fourth overall in his Jimco 2000 racing in the Evolution Unlimited Buggy class. Larry Ragland was driving Mark Post’s Black Diamond and jumped up to sixth place overall. Bill Zemak is in eighth overall and second in the Evolution Unlimited Buggy class. In ninth place overall is the highest placing UTV so far, PJ Jones.
In class races there is none more competitive than the class 11’s. In Evolution Class 11 Oliver Flemate leads Hector Sarabia. Blake Wilkey is third and trailing Sarabia by only three minutes. In the Evolution Prerun Buggies class Randy Minnier is interrupting a Duran family train. He is second to leader Hiram Duran with Eric Duran and Evan Duran in third and fourth place. In the Evolution Pro UTV/Class 10 the Pro R’s take the top three places (Travis Clarke, Cesar Cuevas, Tommaso Maggiore) with the leading class 10 car of Tom Watson in fourth.
Jim Greenway leads Mack Johnson and Gordon Lewis in Legend Buggies class. Boyd Jaynes is out front in Legends 4×4 class, as usual, but Alex Earle is only minutes behind. Eric Olsen is running third. In the Pioneer Buggies class Ramon Castro has a lead over the pack in the Funco SS1. Timothy Martin has the Funco Wampuskitty in second and the Smith family is currently third in the Sandmaster Panzer. Jon Steinhilber is running fourth.
Battles rage all the way through the field. Everyone is focused on the number one challenge, the Baja terrain, but whenever there is dust ahead, whoever is driving gets a little more aggressive. There’s still a long way to go so some restraint is necessary. Day two had some rough whoops on the way out of San Felipe, but then opened up on some fast roads during stage two. The course had just enough pitfalls along the way to make sure everyone was paying attention. For those of you who watched the live stream on NORRA TV, navigation was challenging to some. There is no prerunning at NORRA’s Baja so drivers and navigators have to stay focused on the road book notes. Day three has its own challenges ahead so we’ll have to see how things pan out.
No matter what your favorite brand of race vehicle is, you can find it at NORRA’s Baja. Stay tuned for all the action to come. You can be a part of Baja racing history too. After experiencing NORRA’s Baja Mexican 1000 just once, you too will be hooked. Everything you need to know about NORRA’s Baja Mexican 1000 and NORRA 500 can be found at www.norra.com. Go to the site and find out for yourself why NORRA has exploded in popularity. You can experience the same competition and adventure those pioneering thrill seekers sought in 1967 when you join NORRA in Baja. NORRA events honor the past, while forging the future. Don’t miss out on the fun and thrills.