¡2017 NORRA Mexican 1000!

[garberz]

Still running strong, starting day 3. Bahia De Los Angeles to Loreto. Running 2nd in class. I can only imagine the celebrations every night, after each stage!

Mark

 

[904Bronco]

Still running strong, starting day 3. Bahia De Los Angeles to Loreto. Running 2nd in class. I can only imagine the celebrations every night, after each stage!

Mark

Lots of Hydration going on I am sure! ;D

 

[garberz]

43rd overall, 2nd in class! Well done team Buckineer!

Mark

 

[Jeff10]

Hi Guys,

I want to thank Randy, Mark, Randy (Mark) and Gary for inviting me along.

It was an awesome experience. It was my first time to a race in Baja since 1971. I had a blast.

Randy was on the gas all 5 days!

Take Care,

Jeff

 

[metal1]

baja

I was able to work the tech part of the race ,met a bunch of great people and was able to keep up my taco diet ,wish I could have chased all the way south but life stuff had to be taken care of next year

 

[sprdv1]

43rd overall, 2nd in class! Well done team Buckineer!

Mark

Seen that on facebook. Outstanding job. Congrats Team

 

[garberz]

Seen that on facebook. Outstanding job. Congrats Team

A very impressive race for the "Buckineer" team! Lots of big names with big budgets finishing well behind these guys! And certainly lots of entries that never made it to Cabo without the trailer! The celebration is well deserved! And kinking myself for not being there to be part of it!

Congrats Randy, Mark, Jeff and Gary!

Mark

 

[markw]

This was a great trip. We had a good, cohesive team, everyone helped out as they were able, we all got along, had only one case of gastritis, and no mechanical issues. Never even changed a tire. Randy is an excellent driver, making it through sections which sidelined a lot of racers. Perhaps the most interesting experience was the windstorm at BOLA, literally tore off pieces of the house we stayed in. Would have hated to be out camping that night! The best new things added by NORRA were the extra day and the STELLA unit. Completely changed the nature of the whole deal in my opinion. We had NO problems at the border or security checkpoints, the local people were awesome and the weather was good. Kind of a PIA pulling the trailer through the narrow streets of San Jose del Cabo due to diversions for roadwork but made it through without a scratch.The NORRA staff was on it really well, very few glitches. Very fun to see Jeff experience Baja! Thank all of you for the good wishes and support. And Randy gave me the trophy to bring home!

 

[markatherton]

norra

I posted up some pictures of your truck last Monday in a different thread. Mark

 

[BajaBronco]

Norra was a blast. Had a great time with Randy and Jeff and whole Buckineer crew. We shared a house in Bay of LA and all was great til around 8pm when a crazy windstorm came thru. We awoke to Sand everywhere! Buckineers were asleep outside and got pelted with shingles and chunks o' house! But....we're doing it again next year.
We broke a steering box outside of the start, but otherwise had an awesome run and Baja is amazing and fun as ever. Tearing down soon for next year preps!!
Here are some pickers as everyone loves to see and collect pickers.
Andrew

 

[BajaBronco]

A few more shots.... I would have updated more, but phone went broken on day 2.....

 

[Swerve]

"We broke a steering box outside of the start, but otherwise had an awesome run and Baja is amazing and fun as ever.
Andrew[/QUOTE]"

Glad you all had fun!

What kind of steering box did you break? What part of the box actually broke? What were you doing when it let go?

Thanks, Swerve

 

[markatherton]

Norra

These are the pics I got at the entrance to the race course.

 

[markatherton]

norra

more pics

 

[BajaBronco]

"We broke a steering box outside of the start, but otherwise had an awesome run and Baja is amazing and fun as ever.
Andrew

"

Glad you all had fun!

What kind of steering box did you break? What part of the box actually broke? What were you doing when it let go?

Thanks, Swerve[/QUOTE]

We left the first stage and were cruising along nicely as seen in pics MarkAtherton posted. We passed a truck and then got passed by the GMC (class8?) of Westham. We let him by and held back for the dust to settle. Then back on it, down into a small valley where the road Ys and we stay right...well it's got overhanging trees and when I got down in there, Westham and another truck were confused and had slowed down. I jammed on the brakes, and let them go ahead. But I was afraid folks behind me were going to catch up so I didn't get out of their dust and in doing so hit a cut out with RH wheel, broke wheel, and nearly tore sector shaft. Bent it too. Kept going a while then changed wheel(air came out), and 2 miles later tried to make a left and went straight... pulled over and changed box.

It's a Stroppe ps box. Based on a Saginaw 800 I believe. Getting some better internals for it. But we've gone 5 races with no problems from the box....so not going to upgrade...plus, we run NORRA Pioneer because our whole truck is vintage and not just because our grill is vintage!

 

[Bukin 67]

Great pics Andrew and Mark. I heard the white Unicorn Bronco had mechanical issues and the brown and black Donko lost their motor the first day.

As for out trip, we literally had no real mechanical issues and no flats on any of our vehicles or the trailer. We had such a great time and the extra day NORRA added this year was perfect. I couldn'the be any happier with our team or the Bronco. The Bronco ran fast and strong but is just no match to 1st place Lovell's professional race team. I did manage to beat them on the 174 mile leg the 4th day, but their torque beast 427ci engine and 37" tires proved once again to be the winning combination.

A quick recap:
I drove the whole race. Day 1, Ensenada to San Felipe, 200 miles. Randy "Skid" Mark was in the first day. As usual there was plenty of initial carnage the first 2 days as some drivers get over excited and end up blowing a turn or a motor or break something. We ran pretty conservative the first 2 days. Randy's pretty good with the rally book and we went through the day with few issues. The terrain was rocky going over the mountains then smoother as we got in the valleys. The dry lake on the east side was zero visibility in some spots with the strong winds whipping up the silt so we had to stop and wait for it to clear up to make sure we didn't run into a ditch or another vehicle. The whoops going into San Felipe were the worst of the whole race besides maybe the long stretch the end of the 1st leg on the second day. The party that night was great. We played pide piper that evening going down the malecon throwing stickers to fans from the top of Mark's truck. That was awesome.

Day 2. San Felipe to Bahia de Los Angeles, 221 miles. Jeff "Baja" Bennett was in the Bronco for the first time. Jeff did great learning the rally format. Day 2 had some long transit stages so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity for Jeff to get acclimated. We only missed 1 turn and that was literally by a few feet. Jeff and I really did well together and I'm sure he had a good time. The day went very smooth with no issues I can recall. The windstorm in BoLA was fun.%) I finally got the sand out of my body, and that was from INSIDE the house. We had a great time with Andrew and Todd Zs team that night swapping stories over some ice cold cervezas. They also had a chef on their team who cooked up some awesome tacos for everyone. Thanks again guys!

Day 3, BoLA to Loreto. This was the longest day with 397 miles. Mark "Doc" Womack was in the Bronco and was a kick to ride with as usual. It was nice to have Mark in the Bronco for this day. Mark just has a knack for knowing the information the driver needs and how to convey it so it's easy to understand. We did really well the whole day and picked up quite a few spots. We got to some haul ass sections and really got the adrenaline pumping. Mark is a little big for the co-driver'so side but he managed without his knee pads We slept under the stars that night after some cold ones and some tasty food from the buffet.

Day 4, Loretto to La Paz, 293 miles. "Go-Go" Gary Bowden was supposed to be in the car but had a little Montezuma's going on so Jeff got back in the first leg. Jeff and I were really clicking now. We did a pretty much flawless run. Randy finished into La Paz where we were greeted by the Baja Sur Early Ford Bronco Club. What a great bunch of people. They honored me by presenting me with a 50th anniversary plaque. I'm on my tablet, so I'll post pics later. Randy and I really battled the the Lovell brothers that long 2nd leg. We traded positions a few times. I initially came upon them by a silt bed area where they had stopped to assess the situation and pick the best route through it. They apparently heard a car coming up and took off. When I got there I couldn't see who it was in front of me, just dust, so I barreled through. We missed a turn in the chaos and as it turned out, so did they so we both brought it around and they ended up in front. They had to make a quick fuel stop a few miles up so I got around them. We got stuck behind a small wreck down the road, and about an hour later they were on my tailgate again so I let them pass. The steep mountains with the beautiful view of the Sea of Cortez can be really treacherous as we found out. While in the dust on Lovell's tail going down a steep sharp left, I lost the road and went over the edge into some boulders. Luckily I drive more conservatively or we could have been in real trouble. Locking up the hubs and 4 low got us out and no damage. The hotel was very sanitary looking and had security, so after a good night's sleep we were ready to finish this adventure.

Day 5, LA Paz to San Jose del Cabo, 153 miles. With Gary not having any seat time yet, we had to have a pow wow in the morning to determjne who was going into the finish line in Cabo. I originally thought Mark should with all his help and generosity, but he wanted Jeff for the experience. Jeff was a good sport as usual and was good with Gary going in. The terrain was easy until you got the the southern coast on the cliffs, where it's extremely rocky and treacherous. Slow going through that section opens up to some wide open curvy sedan roads then through the deep sandy beaches where 4x4 comes in very handy! I hope there's some video floating around on the web somewhere of us hitting the pavement coming into Cabo. I really lit em up and went sideways. The crowd was cheering away as we smoked on to the podium.

This was a great experience, and I hope anyone who has the dream of doing it can see it fulfilled one day. Thanks again to everyone on our team, and all the support from the Bronco brotherhood. It couldn't be possible without you.

Salud!
"Rapido" Randy Ludwig #49

 

[Bukin 67]

A few pics I have accumulated so far:

The 2nd is the plaque from The Baja Sur Bronco Club in La Paz

 

[markw]

Excellent recap Amigo! It was a fun trip made more so by NORRA adding the extra day. What a difference that made. Not only gave us the opportunity to do a Mardi Gras run into San Felipe that night but made the whole experience more relaxed. Yes, the windstorm in BOLA was pretty epic. Had sand in places I hadn't experienced since I was five, rolling around in the surf. Glad Skid finally came out and talked me into coming inside. Really fun hanging with Andrew, Todd, Eric, Chip and Sue. Thank you guys for the great food and cold beer. Jeff just sent a whole file of pics, I think he'll be posting some up soon.

 

[enesset]

Fantastic breakdown Randy, your guys were all a bunch of fun to hang out with, I really enjoyed it.

Such a cool turnout with all the different Bronco teams. My experience was rounded out with having a great time talking with Mike Higby's wife while we waited in Chapala and of course all the Manx guys that also ran the course.

This year I gave out matchbox and stuffed animals to the kids along the way. We definitely got a "hero's welcome" when the little boys hollared for the "carritos"!

Extremely grateful for the time with our Baja Broncos/Kaysinger Racing team....43 years old with 2 babies under 3 makes my life hectic and I have ZERO personal time so I valued the week "off the grid" down in baja....one of the best places on earth!

 

[Swerve]

"

Glad you all had fun!

What kind of steering box did you break? What part of the box actually broke? What were you doing when it let go?

Thanks, Swerve

We left the first stage and were cruising along nicely as seen in pics MarkAtherton posted. We passed a truck and then got passed by the GMC (class8?) of Westham. We let him by and held back for the dust to settle. Then back on it, down into a small valley where the road Ys and we stay right...well it's got overhanging trees and when I got down in there, Westham and another truck were confused and had slowed down. I jammed on the brakes, and let them go ahead. But I was afraid folks behind me were going to catch up so I didn't get out of their dust and in doing so hit a cut out with RH wheel, broke wheel, and nearly tore sector shaft. Bent it too. Kept going a while then changed wheel(air came out), and 2 miles later tried to make a left and went straight... pulled over and changed box.

It's a Stroppe ps box. Based on a Saginaw 800 I believe. Getting some better internals for it. But we've gone 5 races with no problems from the box....so not going to upgrade...plus, we run NORRA Pioneer because our whole truck is vintage and not just because our grill is vintage! [/QUOTE]


Thanks for the info! A broken steering box is one of my nightmares....I don't know if I will be able to bring a replacement box with me in my race truck, there is only so much room! I'm running BC's 4x4x2 box...Swerve