Anonymous - 11-24-2004 at 07:28 AM
http://www.racingwest.com/news/story.php3/10192/
LA PAZ, Mexico -- After 16 hours and 24 minutes of negotiating through 1,016 miles of challenging off-road terrain down the Baja, Mexico peninsula,
teammates Mark Miller and Ryan Arciero won the prestigious Trophy Truck division for the second year in a row in their #81 Outdoor Life Network/UMI
Racing Chevrolet on November 17-19.
"This year's course turned out to be faster than I expected," claimed Arciero of Orange County, Calif. "There was no room for error. Thankfully, Mark
and I ran a clean race, not even a single flat with our BFGoodrich tires. Even though we are down about 200 hp from the other Trophy Truck teams, our
#81 Outdoor Life Network/UMI Racing truck ran incredibly."
During the race, short segments of the course run on pubic highways as transitions between off-road sections. Posted speed limits of 60 mph are in
force by SCORE and the Mexican police while on the highway. The Arciero/Miller team found an innovative approach to utilize this speed-limited section
by developing a refueling system similar to what military use to fuel fighter jets in mid-air.
While on the highway, a specially equipped chase vehicle approaches the #81 Trophy Truck from the rear while the race truck maintains its speed at 60
mph. A fueling probe in the front of the chase truck is controlled with a joy stick from a crew member sitting in the passenger seat of the chase
vehicle. Once the probe is inserted into the refueling receptacle in the race truck, a third crew member in the back seat of the chase vehicle
releases the fuel into the race truck. This process takes approximately 20 seconds from start to finish.
"Our refueling system was part of our tactical plan to get an advantage early in the race so we wouldn't have to push the race truck too hard toward
the end," explained Miller of Carefree, Ariz. "Our crew chief, Don Tebbe, came up with an excellent race plan for our pace. The difficult part is
executing the plan.
"Because we saved time by refueling on the highway, we didn't have to take our first pit stop until 330 miles into the race. This gave us a clear
advantage as we were the first vehicle on the road."
The 37th running of the Baja 1000 started in the seaside town of Ensenada, Mexico and finished 1,016 miles later at the bottom of the peninsula at La
Paz. The race will air on NBC on December 11. Check your local listings.
TMW - 11-24-2004 at 09:08 AM
You have to give it to them for being innovative. There has been a lot of concern in the Off-Road racing circles about the safety of doing this,
especially since it is on a public highway. My guess is that Score will put a stop to it for future races.