Tech Inspection y Tequila

We made it safely into Veracruz last night. It was fun to see our amigos at the DFW airport - the Gregorys and Robertsons from Vancouver, Paul and Sue Wendt from New York and a surprise arrival from Hayden Groendyke and Charlie Samples from Oklahoma.

Tech inspection opened this morning at 10 and we were #22 in line to start registration. I am really impressed with this year's registration and tech process - I keep thinking, is this really La Carrera? It's so organized! The cars are parked in organized, personalized spots in the Convention center of the World Trade Center. Unlike any staging area in years past - we are in a clean building, in air conditioning, organized and with bathrooms with toilet paper and soap! Quite the royal treatment.

The first step of tech/registration is showing your ID and receiving our race ID, paying for our Mexican rally license, passing a health inspection and then getting the car through a stringent technical inspection. They look at our suits, shoes, helmets, Haans devices ( neck protection) and gloves. Then they check turn signals, headlights, brake lights, roll cage (in a few tense moments we almost had to modify the over head bars on the roll cage but upon further inspection were allowed to pass), seatbelts, seats, fire suppression system, fuel cell, tires and wheels, carburetor size (600 cfm), weigh the car and then finally put all sponsor sticker, official number and the all-important green OK sticker.

Ok, game time: whoever guesses closest to how much the car weighs, you win a La Carrera gift!

What a relief to get through the with no issues. You never know how the inspecters will interpret the rules or if they will institute a new rule without anyone knowing. Only 35 cars went through tech today and 13 of them had issues to correct - mostly additions to roll cages or fire suppression system.

We were finished by 1:30 and ventured to find a much-needed cerveza and lunch. We met Guillermo, Hayden, Charlie and the rest of Team 476 -Jason, Keith and Dustin (usa476.com) at the Hotel Beach Club. Dad and I loaded in the hotel's safari-mobile (didn't get a photo but will try mañana!) and headed to the beach. Lunch was a fabulous main course of tequila and Modela with side dishes of shrimp and fish ceviche.

After some good laughs we all piled back into the safari chariot and back to the hotel were a mission to find cigars and espresso ensued.

The good Americans were are all packed into a hotel room and watched the debate intently and once we were sufficiently fired up, headed to the best Italian dinner in all of Veracruz.

Plans for tomorrow are to take the car out to stretch her legs and pre-run the pre qualification stage and to calibrate the terratrip (the computer system in the car that I use to track distance). Then we are touring the old part of town.

Hasta mañana!