El Mamito USMC
Zorros Racing Team..
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2012
race report:
Saturday- we stop by my friends house in SD to pick up a skidplate for a racer and he gave us some good pointer on overall strategy and help us change the game plan. after that he took us to "El Chicken" 's house to leave the quad for race prep (the best in Baja, and the finish speaks for it self). we got there and start talking to him about it and having some beers (everything in Baja is over beers) , after that we got to the hotel.
we stayed in Hotel Cortez( www.bajainn.com ) and the location is simply the best out there.. the other riders can testify over it.
Sunday- we wake up a lil later(actually everyday we did, taking things relax) and the guys started the prerun from Piedras Gordas(next to Ojos Negros) to Uruapan. the second section of the race. while prerunning on of the guys master link broke, we can explain why, it just did. so while I was waiting at the end of the section they left the bike and came to the truck for the parts needed, they took everything but one very important part(the wrench to loose the carrier) so it took them like 4hrs to change it .. but that was not the main issue.
while doing that section we notice that one of the riders (I wont mention names for professionalism) was to slow and wayyyy out of shape... he defenetly didn't know what he was getting into.. so we got upset and frustration started to surface. because we had a bike and a team capable of a podium or a top placing and that was not going to happen with him.
but hey it might just be a bad day(it happens to all of us). it was getting really late so we took a ride with a local in a old beat down jeep Cherokee to look for the down bike.. he took us to some nice places and we eventually hit the track and we saw a truck coming, I was "El Pin" from RPM in his prerunner and he told us that the quads were coming. so we just stood by for them and then guide them out . after that back to the Hotel. done for the day..
Monday-
TRX450 man needed a skid plate cut to be fitted to his quad. and i told him i know people( they probably thought it was me BSING and selling my self as a know it all Baja guy and that people actually knew me, so i took them to TCM Motorsports shop, The same guys that build the BC cars) and they actually saw that people knew me, LOL... they did a great job on modifying the skid plate and it fitted that a glove(just like the OJ Simpson type)..
Mawest wake up sick as a dog, so he stayed back and we went to ride the Mikes (but not before my wife and mom took care of his medical needs) from the Coast side of Vicente Guerrero to the end of Mikes Sky Ranch(great place to stay if you have the chance) I took mawest quad since he was out. we rode and it was silk all over the place, very fast roads and silk again until close to rancho Coyote. just before that ranch all the way to Mikes it was rocks and rocks and rocks. it would have been a KOH trail for sure.. I manage to put a side hole to the SUN F tires and they still hold air all the way out. I highly recommend them. that Mikes section it defenetly what Baja is all about. we got refueled by my wife and mom at Mikes and then head out to the HWY. while leaving the night catch us and one of the riders (the same one that was not prepared to race Baja) didn't have any lights on his quad (how the **** you go to Baja without lights, I have no f*ck!ng idea) and he almost crashed against cows, a ranchers truck and couldn't see the ditches on the road. but eventually he made it out alive.. back to the hotel
Tuesday- I DIDNT ride since I took a day off to go to TJ and pick up my quad from the race prep. the other riders would have to chime in on this.
Wednesday- i decided to take my quad out and prerun my section from Mikes exit to Laguna del Diablo back to Valle Trinidad. the un prepared team member, got mad at me and "chew my ass" for taking the quad out, because if i brake it the entire trip would be over. i was like are you f*ck! ng kidding me .. first its MY quad, second there were 3 more quads(i wouldn't count his as a race worthy) to part out and rebuild mine if anything went bad. so while the rest of the team went to prerun the other half of the coast i went to my section to wait for them. after 3pm i was like , i need to get out and prerun. so i geared up and guess what, i forgot my boots. i was that pissed at the guy telling me i couldn't use my quad that i forgot them..
any ways i went on and just did it on my sneakers. at the end of the Laguna del Diablo( where CP4 was) i started to feel the quad weird and i could tell that something was wrong... so i took it easy back to the HWY where my chaser was waiting on me. i also notice i was skipping gear to much so i keep it on second and slow rolled it out. when i reach my chaser, i notice the crack was sounding(or that what i thought) so we loaded and fly out back to TJ to drop it to El Chicken. i called him to give him a heads up and he said he had one in stock so i was like ufff
we got there around 9ish and we drop it and when he started it the sound it was not from the crank but from the tranny .. he right there said , don't go lets open up the engine and see whats up. when he check it the entire tranny was empty.. all the oil went to the engine side. the retainer that separated both oils was pinched when the engine was assemble. he opened the engine side and oil just poured out. he inspected the tranny and it was just a lil ware down but still would hold the race. and he said , "i got this, pick it up tomorrow" back to the hotel.
extremely glad that i decided to test the quad because this would have defenetly be the end of the quad on race day.. (ahhh but i couldn't test my own quad, LMAO)
Thursday- another easy day for me , the guys went to do some stuff and i prerunned the start in my wifes jeep Cherokee and then want back to TJ to pick up the quad. once i got it back. 3 riders started to work on it to swap the handle bars. we installed Mawest Flexx bars, and footpegs from the other rider. the 4th rider was nowhere to be found(figures..) after we swap everything we were done..
Friday- contingency day- we got up a lil late.. and went on the back to get the helmets and quad inspected, my wife was riding the quad to the inspection, and that same rider complain to one of the racers, how i was so irresponsible letting my wife ride the race quad(she rides it many times) besides if i let HIM ride it(which was way more riskier) almost anyone could ride it .
after the inpection were coming back to the hotel and one of the racers cousin said why we didn't went on the main line to get inspected and to get up on the stage and be interviewed. i personally didn't care but the other guys were like heck yeah... so we did the main line and got to mingle with the fans (yes, we have fans, a bunch and i got pics to prive it) got on stage, got interviewed, did that and off we go back to the hotel.
Saturday- race day- we all wake up about 3am and started to get ready. i went my my self to the staring point and the other riders left for their sections. i mingle with the other riders until flag droped and off we go..
i got lost twice first i turn right instead of left at an intersection and i lost maybe 3-7 mins. then second time same thing but now it was me and 2 other quads. the pass me going the other way and i was like WTF !!! i thought i skip some course and i jump ahead of them but no... we all got lost on the same section. eventually found the course and off we go, maybe lost 5 mins. got to Piedras Gordas to pass it to the second rider and off he went. after that we called the other guys letting them know he was off. and i went back to the end of mikes to chill for a few hrs.
when the second rider got to his swap in Uruapan(this is been told by the other racers not me, since i wasn't there) he was riding the Baja NOT, racing it, besides he had a flat. they swap the flat and mawest went out to the course( he must give his input on that part) . He gave it to trx450 man and he took off like flash... he was doing a mile per minute.. 30 miles in about 30mins (according to the SPOT tracker)... he defently is a PRO level guy.(he needs to give his input on that part), we waited for him at the end of Mikes and when he got there the kill switch was gone(he pulled it out, don't know why but didn't stand by to ask) the quad starting system was damage again(burned starter and solenoid) so no E-start(don't stop the engine, LOL)
i took off for my section and i was flying since i knew the TT were behind me.. and i was flying , you could follow me buy the smell of the sh!t i was having just thinking about them on my a$$. the first one was Menzies down at CP4, i got a sick video of it.. then i was like Turbooooo and i was only pass by 2 more while going back to the Hwy... on the HWy i was passed by 4 TT only and still flying low.... i made it to the second part of the arroyo and i took a deferent line than them so the 2-3 TT that passed me they were far from me...
i filled up in Baja Pits (highly recommend their services if you guys EVER want to do a Baja race) and took off to give it up in Valle T to the other RIDER (notice i didn't say racer). he took off for the goat trail and we move to the end of the section to wait for him..
it took him over 3hrs to a 1hr section( don't ask since i cant be politically correct to type it) he was going so slow that when he got to our spot for the change , we didn't hear the bike coming until he was there... yeahh that slow...
i installed the extra lights and TRX450 man took off like bat out of he11.. we went to Ojos Negros for the last rider change. when he got there the header was loose and fire was coming out(to the point that ir burned the wrapping) , he kick the headers in and off i went..
i stopped at the next Baja Pits and told Carlos(the owner) that i needed repairs. i spend maybe 15-20 mins there but it was needed. there no way i would risk a race in the last 40miles in 3hrs, just by not sealing the exhaust. they improvised and temporally fix it and off i went... i got lost twice since i didn't prerun that inbound course and it was night time.. i would say i put 20mins on it but still manage to find my way back to the course and slow rolled it in... once i started to see the bong fires of people, i knew i was home.. just asked local the way and they guide me in. and once i hit pavement i was 100 sure ill make it... and i made it to the finish line in 17:16:44.. way sufficient time to ensure a finish.
the END...
M-A Sportsman Quad ATV
1 103A Greg Delgado Chino, CA HON 1 11:23:14.146
*2 109A Juan Dominguez Yuma, AZ HON 1 12:38:11.640
*3 140A Don Higbee Casper, WY POL 1 13:31:31.537
*4 106A Sain Yadala Spring Valley, CA YAM 1 13:34:40.609
*5 107A Richard Epperson Tucson, AZ HON 1 14:26:05.413
*6 112A Oscar Ruiz El Centro, CA HON 1 14:29:16.166
*7 115A Guillermo BerengueMexicali, BC HON 1 14:31:48.724
8 123A Waldemar Ortiz Las Cruces, NM HON 1 17:16:44.380
DNF 111A Fidel Gonzalez Mexicali, BC HON 0 00:00:00.000
DNF 121A Zachary Hayward Lemon Grove, CA HON 0 00:00:00.000
DNF 130A Jorge Martinez HON 0 00:00:00.000
DNF 158A Adam Parks New Lowell, ON SUZ 0 00:00:00.000
DNF 110A Gabriel Valencia San Diego, CA HON 0 00:00:00.000
opinons? questions?
I want to give many thanks to ALL of our sponsors, your parts were KEY to our victory and a special recognition to "El Chicken" from TJ for doing a great race prep and mechanical work on it. definitely without him , we wouldn't have made it to the end...
Saturday- we stop by my friends house in SD to pick up a skidplate for a racer and he gave us some good pointer on overall strategy and help us change the game plan. after that he took us to "El Chicken" 's house to leave the quad for race prep (the best in Baja, and the finish speaks for it self). we got there and start talking to him about it and having some beers (everything in Baja is over beers) , after that we got to the hotel.
we stayed in Hotel Cortez( www.bajainn.com ) and the location is simply the best out there.. the other riders can testify over it.
Sunday- we wake up a lil later(actually everyday we did, taking things relax) and the guys started the prerun from Piedras Gordas(next to Ojos Negros) to Uruapan. the second section of the race. while prerunning on of the guys master link broke, we can explain why, it just did. so while I was waiting at the end of the section they left the bike and came to the truck for the parts needed, they took everything but one very important part(the wrench to loose the carrier) so it took them like 4hrs to change it .. but that was not the main issue.
while doing that section we notice that one of the riders (I wont mention names for professionalism) was to slow and wayyyy out of shape... he defenetly didn't know what he was getting into.. so we got upset and frustration started to surface. because we had a bike and a team capable of a podium or a top placing and that was not going to happen with him.
but hey it might just be a bad day(it happens to all of us). it was getting really late so we took a ride with a local in a old beat down jeep Cherokee to look for the down bike.. he took us to some nice places and we eventually hit the track and we saw a truck coming, I was "El Pin" from RPM in his prerunner and he told us that the quads were coming. so we just stood by for them and then guide them out . after that back to the Hotel. done for the day..
Monday-
TRX450 man needed a skid plate cut to be fitted to his quad. and i told him i know people( they probably thought it was me BSING and selling my self as a know it all Baja guy and that people actually knew me, so i took them to TCM Motorsports shop, The same guys that build the BC cars) and they actually saw that people knew me, LOL... they did a great job on modifying the skid plate and it fitted that a glove(just like the OJ Simpson type)..
Mawest wake up sick as a dog, so he stayed back and we went to ride the Mikes (but not before my wife and mom took care of his medical needs) from the Coast side of Vicente Guerrero to the end of Mikes Sky Ranch(great place to stay if you have the chance) I took mawest quad since he was out. we rode and it was silk all over the place, very fast roads and silk again until close to rancho Coyote. just before that ranch all the way to Mikes it was rocks and rocks and rocks. it would have been a KOH trail for sure.. I manage to put a side hole to the SUN F tires and they still hold air all the way out. I highly recommend them. that Mikes section it defenetly what Baja is all about. we got refueled by my wife and mom at Mikes and then head out to the HWY. while leaving the night catch us and one of the riders (the same one that was not prepared to race Baja) didn't have any lights on his quad (how the **** you go to Baja without lights, I have no f*ck!ng idea) and he almost crashed against cows, a ranchers truck and couldn't see the ditches on the road. but eventually he made it out alive.. back to the hotel
Tuesday- I DIDNT ride since I took a day off to go to TJ and pick up my quad from the race prep. the other riders would have to chime in on this.
Wednesday- i decided to take my quad out and prerun my section from Mikes exit to Laguna del Diablo back to Valle Trinidad. the un prepared team member, got mad at me and "chew my ass" for taking the quad out, because if i brake it the entire trip would be over. i was like are you f*ck! ng kidding me .. first its MY quad, second there were 3 more quads(i wouldn't count his as a race worthy) to part out and rebuild mine if anything went bad. so while the rest of the team went to prerun the other half of the coast i went to my section to wait for them. after 3pm i was like , i need to get out and prerun. so i geared up and guess what, i forgot my boots. i was that pissed at the guy telling me i couldn't use my quad that i forgot them..
any ways i went on and just did it on my sneakers. at the end of the Laguna del Diablo( where CP4 was) i started to feel the quad weird and i could tell that something was wrong... so i took it easy back to the HWY where my chaser was waiting on me. i also notice i was skipping gear to much so i keep it on second and slow rolled it out. when i reach my chaser, i notice the crack was sounding(or that what i thought) so we loaded and fly out back to TJ to drop it to El Chicken. i called him to give him a heads up and he said he had one in stock so i was like ufff
we got there around 9ish and we drop it and when he started it the sound it was not from the crank but from the tranny .. he right there said , don't go lets open up the engine and see whats up. when he check it the entire tranny was empty.. all the oil went to the engine side. the retainer that separated both oils was pinched when the engine was assemble. he opened the engine side and oil just poured out. he inspected the tranny and it was just a lil ware down but still would hold the race. and he said , "i got this, pick it up tomorrow" back to the hotel.
extremely glad that i decided to test the quad because this would have defenetly be the end of the quad on race day.. (ahhh but i couldn't test my own quad, LMAO)
Thursday- another easy day for me , the guys went to do some stuff and i prerunned the start in my wifes jeep Cherokee and then want back to TJ to pick up the quad. once i got it back. 3 riders started to work on it to swap the handle bars. we installed Mawest Flexx bars, and footpegs from the other rider. the 4th rider was nowhere to be found(figures..) after we swap everything we were done..
Friday- contingency day- we got up a lil late.. and went on the back to get the helmets and quad inspected, my wife was riding the quad to the inspection, and that same rider complain to one of the racers, how i was so irresponsible letting my wife ride the race quad(she rides it many times) besides if i let HIM ride it(which was way more riskier) almost anyone could ride it .
after the inpection were coming back to the hotel and one of the racers cousin said why we didn't went on the main line to get inspected and to get up on the stage and be interviewed. i personally didn't care but the other guys were like heck yeah... so we did the main line and got to mingle with the fans (yes, we have fans, a bunch and i got pics to prive it) got on stage, got interviewed, did that and off we go back to the hotel.
Saturday- race day- we all wake up about 3am and started to get ready. i went my my self to the staring point and the other riders left for their sections. i mingle with the other riders until flag droped and off we go..
i got lost twice first i turn right instead of left at an intersection and i lost maybe 3-7 mins. then second time same thing but now it was me and 2 other quads. the pass me going the other way and i was like WTF !!! i thought i skip some course and i jump ahead of them but no... we all got lost on the same section. eventually found the course and off we go, maybe lost 5 mins. got to Piedras Gordas to pass it to the second rider and off he went. after that we called the other guys letting them know he was off. and i went back to the end of mikes to chill for a few hrs.
when the second rider got to his swap in Uruapan(this is been told by the other racers not me, since i wasn't there) he was riding the Baja NOT, racing it, besides he had a flat. they swap the flat and mawest went out to the course( he must give his input on that part) . He gave it to trx450 man and he took off like flash... he was doing a mile per minute.. 30 miles in about 30mins (according to the SPOT tracker)... he defently is a PRO level guy.(he needs to give his input on that part), we waited for him at the end of Mikes and when he got there the kill switch was gone(he pulled it out, don't know why but didn't stand by to ask) the quad starting system was damage again(burned starter and solenoid) so no E-start(don't stop the engine, LOL)
i took off for my section and i was flying since i knew the TT were behind me.. and i was flying , you could follow me buy the smell of the sh!t i was having just thinking about them on my a$$. the first one was Menzies down at CP4, i got a sick video of it.. then i was like Turbooooo and i was only pass by 2 more while going back to the Hwy... on the HWy i was passed by 4 TT only and still flying low.... i made it to the second part of the arroyo and i took a deferent line than them so the 2-3 TT that passed me they were far from me...
i filled up in Baja Pits (highly recommend their services if you guys EVER want to do a Baja race) and took off to give it up in Valle T to the other RIDER (notice i didn't say racer). he took off for the goat trail and we move to the end of the section to wait for him..
it took him over 3hrs to a 1hr section( don't ask since i cant be politically correct to type it) he was going so slow that when he got to our spot for the change , we didn't hear the bike coming until he was there... yeahh that slow...
i installed the extra lights and TRX450 man took off like bat out of he11.. we went to Ojos Negros for the last rider change. when he got there the header was loose and fire was coming out(to the point that ir burned the wrapping) , he kick the headers in and off i went..
i stopped at the next Baja Pits and told Carlos(the owner) that i needed repairs. i spend maybe 15-20 mins there but it was needed. there no way i would risk a race in the last 40miles in 3hrs, just by not sealing the exhaust. they improvised and temporally fix it and off i went... i got lost twice since i didn't prerun that inbound course and it was night time.. i would say i put 20mins on it but still manage to find my way back to the course and slow rolled it in... once i started to see the bong fires of people, i knew i was home.. just asked local the way and they guide me in. and once i hit pavement i was 100 sure ill make it... and i made it to the finish line in 17:16:44.. way sufficient time to ensure a finish.
the END...
M-A Sportsman Quad ATV
1 103A Greg Delgado Chino, CA HON 1 11:23:14.146
*2 109A Juan Dominguez Yuma, AZ HON 1 12:38:11.640
*3 140A Don Higbee Casper, WY POL 1 13:31:31.537
*4 106A Sain Yadala Spring Valley, CA YAM 1 13:34:40.609
*5 107A Richard Epperson Tucson, AZ HON 1 14:26:05.413
*6 112A Oscar Ruiz El Centro, CA HON 1 14:29:16.166
*7 115A Guillermo BerengueMexicali, BC HON 1 14:31:48.724
8 123A Waldemar Ortiz Las Cruces, NM HON 1 17:16:44.380
DNF 111A Fidel Gonzalez Mexicali, BC HON 0 00:00:00.000
DNF 121A Zachary Hayward Lemon Grove, CA HON 0 00:00:00.000
DNF 130A Jorge Martinez HON 0 00:00:00.000
DNF 158A Adam Parks New Lowell, ON SUZ 0 00:00:00.000
DNF 110A Gabriel Valencia San Diego, CA HON 0 00:00:00.000
opinons? questions?
I want to give many thanks to ALL of our sponsors, your parts were KEY to our victory and a special recognition to "El Chicken" from TJ for doing a great race prep and mechanical work on it. definitely without him , we wouldn't have made it to the end...
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