2008 PanAm: Day 5 Already.....
Hello, sorry, internet has been non-existent for quite a while. El Jefe is running very well, maybe in the 30 somthing place overall and no mechanical troubles. Todd,s boys are running quite well, typically either first, second or third in their class, or some combination thereof. On Day 2 both the Gypsy Wind and the Bag ONails hit a dip in the road during a speed stage and split their sump (that,s British for ripped open their oil pan) but Richard was able to get theirs fixed quickly by a local mechanic and finish the day, missing only 1 speed stage. Martin and Jon had dumped all their oil on the road so we had to put them on the trailer and they didn,t run the next day while the car was being fixed.
There has been quite a bit of carnage but as far as we,ve heard, no one is seriously heard. A gorgeous Sunbeam was totalled on the first day, my friends Jorge and Tomas in the white Volvo went off road but they are okay. We ended up giving them a ride back to Oaxaca because they were riding inside the crashed car on top of a semi car carrier and had about 6 hours to go. We counted 8 cars out of the race the first day, though some cars were able to get back to the race after repairs. A white Mustang fastback smashed their front end on Day 2 and is out of the race.
There have been lots of cars dropping out due to mechanical failures, as always. Yesterday a black Mustang with bright orange stripes went off the road in a curvy downhill section and the car looks pretty trashed, having run over a pile of boulders and them dumping off the side of the road into the small trees. Luckily everyone is okay. Yesterday afternoon the two young men from Canada in the black matte Studebaker missed a turn and went off the road. The car looks pretty bad but we heard that they are okay. Their parents race another Studebaker from Canada and the boys are rookies this year having built the car from scratch recently. We saw them on the road before the crash, they were having mechanical troubles and were stalled out 4 different times.
All in all it has been a blast, very long and incredibly tiring. We,ve had amazing weather and only yesterday did we hit rain during the speed stages. We are in San Luis Potosi today and leave in a few minutes for Aquascalientes. I have mostly been riding in the sweeper truck with Todd and Fernando which means we are at the very back of the pack and we look for any of our 4 cars in case they need assistance or a tow.
As of Day 3 of racing Richard and Simon were 8th overall and 1st in their class (I think) and Mark and Rupert were 9th overall and 2nd in their class with Martin and Jon in the Gypsy Wind close behind.
This is a beautiful country with beautiful people and we have seen so much of it, much of it at high speed. I promise to post pictures and stories later!
There has been quite a bit of carnage but as far as we,ve heard, no one is seriously heard. A gorgeous Sunbeam was totalled on the first day, my friends Jorge and Tomas in the white Volvo went off road but they are okay. We ended up giving them a ride back to Oaxaca because they were riding inside the crashed car on top of a semi car carrier and had about 6 hours to go. We counted 8 cars out of the race the first day, though some cars were able to get back to the race after repairs. A white Mustang fastback smashed their front end on Day 2 and is out of the race.
There have been lots of cars dropping out due to mechanical failures, as always. Yesterday a black Mustang with bright orange stripes went off the road in a curvy downhill section and the car looks pretty trashed, having run over a pile of boulders and them dumping off the side of the road into the small trees. Luckily everyone is okay. Yesterday afternoon the two young men from Canada in the black matte Studebaker missed a turn and went off the road. The car looks pretty bad but we heard that they are okay. Their parents race another Studebaker from Canada and the boys are rookies this year having built the car from scratch recently. We saw them on the road before the crash, they were having mechanical troubles and were stalled out 4 different times.
All in all it has been a blast, very long and incredibly tiring. We,ve had amazing weather and only yesterday did we hit rain during the speed stages. We are in San Luis Potosi today and leave in a few minutes for Aquascalientes. I have mostly been riding in the sweeper truck with Todd and Fernando which means we are at the very back of the pack and we look for any of our 4 cars in case they need assistance or a tow.
As of Day 3 of racing Richard and Simon were 8th overall and 1st in their class (I think) and Mark and Rupert were 9th overall and 2nd in their class with Martin and Jon in the Gypsy Wind close behind.
This is a beautiful country with beautiful people and we have seen so much of it, much of it at high speed. I promise to post pictures and stories later!
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