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Baja 500 Race Reports
TT 51 Race Report
Usual prerunning BS, never made it back to Ensenada before 9pm each night...
My dream is to make it (prerunning) to Borrego by 3:00 p.m. someday...
Raceday..
Start to Ojos moved up a few spots, heavy dust in traffic..
Caught and passed Nunley in the rough after Tres Hermanos
Splashed at K77, and had dust free running up the summit (I think we were 12th or 13th on the road already, broken trucks parked everywhere)
Pierce parked in wash after Summit
Andy pulled out of the weeds and in behind us at the end of the wash (vaporlock?)
Air filters did not like the silt beds near rm 165, motor ran like chit the rest of the way
Andy got by me just before the tight canyon (pushing hard in the rocks)
Went by him 5 miles later with a flat
2 miles later driveshaft let go on the short right hand climb out of the wash about 10 miles before borrego
Andy was flocked as he went up the same route as I did (where we were parked in a blind spot) then had to slowly back down, while other trucks zoomed
by going the straight over route..
25 min driveshaft change (sheared the bolts off at the yoke)
Rough sucker after the Borrego highway crossing and up the San Matias pole line section...
Got out at Mikes turnoff, put Alan in (first time in a TT, and only had about 10 minutes driving the truck a year ago)..
Alan had 1 flat, and lost a brake line on the beach..he cruised..
Now all set for the drawing this fall & 110% chance for multiple days of rain the week before the 1000
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TT15
The # 15 AGM/Jimco X6 Trophy Truck was 20th off the line with 40 vehicles starting in class. Going into the race, the All German Motorsports team put
an extensive amount of work and testing into the Trophy Truck to improve the performance and reliability for the rough terrain that the Baja 500 has
to offer. Taking on the first half of the race in the #15 AGM/Jimco X6 Trophy Truck was Driver Armin Schwarz and Navigator Bryan Lyttle. The truck was
off to a great start and they were able to move up through the field keeping pace with the leaders. But some 50 miles prior to the drivers change a
rock kicked up by the front tire, dented the driveshaft causing a vibration that the team would have to address at their next stop. At the drivers
change, race mile 204, the truck came into pit in 7th place physically. The truck was fueled, tires were changed and rather than chance a possible
failure the team decided to change the driveshaft before handing the Truck to Driver Martin Christensen and Navigator Tyler Irwin. Once the repairs
were made, the duo took off with high hopes of a podium finish but the course had other plans for the truck. At Race Mile 278, while heading towards
the coast, the truck had a suspension failure, ending their day.
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Press Release: BJ Baldwin TT#97
Ensenada, Baja California
Bj Baldwin set out to dominate at the Baja 500 in Ensenada, Mexico. He spent days prerunning the course to learn every bump and turn as well as
humanly possible to give him an edge on race day. The effort paid off when he was forced to make his wounded truck live for almost the entire race. At
just mile 90 of a 450 mile race his transmission began slipping in third gear. BJ was faced with a choice; stop to change the transmission at the next
pit which would have took 50 minutes and get passed by the entire field of Trophy Truck drivers, or back it down and roll the dice. See if he could at
least finish in the top twelve so he would be included in the drawing for starting positions at the Baja 1000. He found that the first two gears were
working fine; it was only top gear that was giving him trouble. With the crew willing and able to make the swap the tough choice was made to continue
the race at a slower less competitive pace.
That's where the hours spent prerunning came in handy. BJ had to carry his momentum, he could not rely on quick acceleration to pull him through the
corners and reaching the trucks top speed of 140mph was impossible. He had run most of the high speed sections three times before raceday. The
information he amassed and the familiarity with the course that he gained allowed him to confidently go through every corner at the highest speed
possible. He quickly fell into a rhythm as he swept through each corner and before he knew it, found himself out front with a twelve minute lead. The
gamble paid off better than anyone had thought but with miles to go several drivers were running strong and would use the more technical sections
heading into the finish to close the gap.
As the miles counted down, word came over the radio that Rob Mac had some problems but that Bryce Menzies was making his way through the pack. BJ was
first on the road which made things even more difficult. The section heading into the finish was a "No Prerun" area before the race for safety
reasons. With no knowledge of that section and no tracks to follow BJ missed a turn in the last few miles and if it wasn't for a helpful fan it would
have cost him dearly. Back on course he made his way to the finish line and the waiting began. Every agonizing second that passed added to the teams
hopes that they might pull off the victory. Bryce came flying into the last turn and in his haste, spun out. He got pointed the right way and crossed
the line stopping the clocks. After a long day of racing that covered every type of terrain that Baja has to offer the win was lost by only 11
seconds.
"I definitely would have liked to win again but we had to play the hand we were dealt" said BJ, "Considering that the transmission has been slipping
and we haven't been able to run 100% for the last 360 miles I think we did pretty good. As agonizing as it was to hold back and make the truck live I
know we did the right thing. If I drove any harder we would be in the desert right now changing a transmission. I'm very happy with our results. We
made the very best out of a tough day and we almost won with a wounded truck. My hat is off to Bryce and his team. Congrats to them. They had an
awesome race."
About "Ballistic" BJ Baldwin
BJ Baldwin is a veteran off road racer that has competed in all different types of off road racing. He holds 4 Championships in the last 6 years with
several race wins including the Baja 500 and a Dakar rally class win. With 15 years experience and having competed in over 100 desert races BJ and his
team are taking off road racing to the next level.
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From race-dezert.com:
Cops Racing Team
http://www.race-dezert.com/home/a-week-of-ups-and-downs-for-...
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