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Racing the Baja 1000, part 3
There should be a completely different category of life experiences for racing the SCORE Baja 1000. It impacts you on so many different levels: socially, philosophically, mentally, physically and unfortunately financially. When we went down, we stayed at a waterfront resort in Ensenada called Estero Beach . This place was just beautiful and the staff was great. They had actually created a test track next to the campground for the racers, which came in pretty handy.
Most racers take some time to ride the course, trying to learn as much about the section that they are going to ride as they can. It is not at all like racing Motocross, you never know what the course is going to bring you! Pre-running, as it is called, is a big part of the experience down there and very necessary if you want to go fast. It also allows you to take some time and look around the beautiful countryside when you can actually enjoy it. GPS comes in really handy during this stage of preparations, because the course is usually not fully marked at this time and there are certainly not any flaggers out there.
As you ride along you will inevitably come into a town, and then you will understand what I mean by Baja’s social impact. Many of these small towns are places that Americans couldn’t conceive of living in, and most have not seen except on TV. When you see some of the boxes these families live in, you will have a hard time feeling sorry for yourself the next time the air conditioner is out and the repair man can’t make it until tomorrow. The only thing more surprising to me than their living conditions was what great people they were. I know you hear many stories of the bad people in Baja (and I know there are bad people there) but that just wasn’t what I saw and experienced.
Not far from the start in Ensenada, the race course came to a steep, dusty and rocky hill. The top of this hill just happened to be directly into the rising morning sun, so the bright sunlight mixed with the incredible amount of dust and sand in the air combined for near zero visibility. Through my pre-running, I knew that I had to carry a lot of speed to make it up that hill. Even though I couldn’t see, I pinned it. In doing so I ran right into a group of three riders that did not make it up the hill, and broke my clutch lever off in the ensuing crash and tumble. Within seconds I had an impromptu pit crew! About 15 fans along side the course dragged my damaged bike off the hill, and a couple especially mechanically inclined spectators even helped me repair the damaged clutch lever. One of the guys noticed that my right foot was wrapped up (I broke my ankle two weeks before the race) and asked if he could kick start the bike for me. I gladly accepted that offer (If you have ever tried to kick start an XR650 with a broken ankle, you would know why).
I gave all the thanks I could through my broken Spanish, gave out the balance of my stickers (kids down there LOVE stickers), and gave my new mechanic a few Pesos in thanks. I can’t describe how excited and supportive they were when I took back off into the chaos of the race. I crashed again a few hours later and to my surprise: there was my pit crew again (not the same ones). They helped me up, dusted me off, and again kicked my bike for me. There was someone standing on the side of the course rooting me on the whole way, day and night. It was surprisingly inspiring at a time when inspiration was truly welcome, and I have a special appreciation for those people and their culture. I went to the Baja 1000 looking for speed, thrills and adventure and came away with so much more.
Racer Space is a social network for motorsports enthusiasts. Motocross, off-road, desert, TT, flat track, road and snow. If you can ride it, we want to see it!
Most racers take some time to ride the course, trying to learn as much about the section that they are going to ride as they can. It is not at all like racing Motocross, you never know what the course is going to bring you! Pre-running, as it is called, is a big part of the experience down there and very necessary if you want to go fast. It also allows you to take some time and look around the beautiful countryside when you can actually enjoy it. GPS comes in really handy during this stage of preparations, because the course is usually not fully marked at this time and there are certainly not any flaggers out there.
As you ride along you will inevitably come into a town, and then you will understand what I mean by Baja’s social impact. Many of these small towns are places that Americans couldn’t conceive of living in, and most have not seen except on TV. When you see some of the boxes these families live in, you will have a hard time feeling sorry for yourself the next time the air conditioner is out and the repair man can’t make it until tomorrow. The only thing more surprising to me than their living conditions was what great people they were. I know you hear many stories of the bad people in Baja (and I know there are bad people there) but that just wasn’t what I saw and experienced.
Not far from the start in Ensenada, the race course came to a steep, dusty and rocky hill. The top of this hill just happened to be directly into the rising morning sun, so the bright sunlight mixed with the incredible amount of dust and sand in the air combined for near zero visibility. Through my pre-running, I knew that I had to carry a lot of speed to make it up that hill. Even though I couldn’t see, I pinned it. In doing so I ran right into a group of three riders that did not make it up the hill, and broke my clutch lever off in the ensuing crash and tumble. Within seconds I had an impromptu pit crew! About 15 fans along side the course dragged my damaged bike off the hill, and a couple especially mechanically inclined spectators even helped me repair the damaged clutch lever. One of the guys noticed that my right foot was wrapped up (I broke my ankle two weeks before the race) and asked if he could kick start the bike for me. I gladly accepted that offer (If you have ever tried to kick start an XR650 with a broken ankle, you would know why).
I gave all the thanks I could through my broken Spanish, gave out the balance of my stickers (kids down there LOVE stickers), and gave my new mechanic a few Pesos in thanks. I can’t describe how excited and supportive they were when I took back off into the chaos of the race. I crashed again a few hours later and to my surprise: there was my pit crew again (not the same ones). They helped me up, dusted me off, and again kicked my bike for me. There was someone standing on the side of the course rooting me on the whole way, day and night. It was surprisingly inspiring at a time when inspiration was truly welcome, and I have a special appreciation for those people and their culture. I went to the Baja 1000 looking for speed, thrills and adventure and came away with so much more.
Racer Space is a social network for motorsports enthusiasts. Motocross, off-road, desert, TT, flat track, road and snow. If you can ride it, we want to see it!
Add a Comment
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Comment by Jay Sherman on May 18, 2008 at 12:30pm - Good luck to you on your upcoming races. They are certainly lifetime experiences.
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Comment by Cathy Duncan on May 16, 2008 at 1:00pm - what a great explanation of the SCORE races. They do affect you on many levels. After some years of Distict 37 Desert racing, I did some pre-running, then my first SCORE race at the 08 San Felipe 250. It was like being in an alternate Universe for that week! I am looking forward to the 500 and then the 1000.
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