Cars, giant fish and tequila

Late night report from Veracruz:

Our two major to-dos today were to finish technical inspection and get the car out to run. We successfully accomplished both. 

Piloto and co-piloto gear inspection of race suits, helmets, shoes, haans devices and fire proof underwear. 

Motor inspection. We passed! They check engines and specs to make sure we legally fit our class specifications. 

Car weight (in kilograms). The Victoria weighs a lot! Interesting to see the weight displacement over each tire. 

After passing all technical inspections we get our official car numbers and ok sticker! Car 433 is ready to go!

After we passed, we needed to take the car out to stretch her legs a bit and to also make sure the rally computer was properly working. We had to change the "factor number" in the computer because we changed tire makes and models this year. Any difference in width and diameter will change the odometer and a navigator without an odometer is an unhappy navigator. We got the factor number dialed in and went for a special lunch at the downtown marina area. 

 The Gran Cafe Parroquia is the place to be! This particular location is the oldest cafe in Veracruz. Over 200 years old! We came for the cafe con leche but enjoyed some bomb [dot] com food also. Above is the cubano sandwich. Anna, I thought of you! 

I can't upload the video but let me tell you about the cafe con leche - they bring you a tall glass with espresso and then you clink your spoon on the glass and another waiter brings a large metal tea pot of hot, steamed milk. He pours in the milk while raising the pot really high while never spilling a drop. I want to take him home and have him make my coffee every morning! 

We had to get back to the hotel for our co-pilotos meeting but made a few stops along the way. 

Veracruz marina. Very stormy today. 

We may have driven up onto the sidewalk and through a fish art display. 

And then time to be serious and astute co-pilotos in out 2.5 hour meeting:

Which I thought was actually really well done. I am very surprised at how many new navigators there are this year. 

AND THEN, off to a very serious dinner with friends.

Sam Burg, ladies and gents, and the best grilled octopus any of us have ever had. 

Chip agrees!

I'm so proud - Everyone ordered beef. REALLY fantastic beef. Chip and Taylor Fudge (father/son from Oklahoma), Adrian from England, Sam Burg from Santa Maria, Ricky and Bobby of Shake 'n' Bake fame with their crew and Dad and me. 

Taylor thought it wise to order "jumbo" tequilas with sangritas. We'll see how wise it is in the morning! 

Speaking of the morning, if it isn't raining we will be having our prequalification run which will determine order of go for Friday morning. 

PS. Jason, is this a 50s concept car? Brought home "one piece at a time?" Thought you would appreciate. 

Veracruz and Tech Day 1

Hola from Veracruz! We arrived late last night after a slightly delayed flight from Houston and hola, humidity! The cars are again staged at the World Trade Center and this is where technical inspections are also taking place. If you have ever gone through tech in other cities tech has been in a parking lot in the hot sun. It really is a treat to be in an enclosed building, with air conditioning(!) and connected to our hotel.

Our car hadn't yet arrived so we took our time today and leisurely went through the part of tech that doesn't require the car. We get our race package that includes route book and cross body bag, race hats and a jacket for each competitor. The best pleasant surprise of all is the jacket we get this year! If you have raced the past 6-7 years you have received a variation of the same quilted navy jacket. This year's is a high-quality attractive red and black zip up and THE SLEEVES ARE LONG! You would think I race for the swag??

The rest of tech for us included getting our racing license, health checkup (blood pressure & heart rate) and time chip.

Tom arrived this evening with the cars and will unload first thing in the morning. Then we will take the car through inspection to get the final ok.

We had two highlights today. Number one is seeing so many racing friends. It is so fun to pick right up where we left off last year or years ago.

Number two highlight is a special shipment we received: a case of tequila!! Tequila Fortaleza is one of our sponsors this year and they've sent us 6 bottles of their nectar of the Mexican Gods. We are looking forward to sharing with our friends and fellow racers. I went on a special mission today to find 200 mini cups for "taste testing."

The Tunnels of Guanajuato

Two years ago I had one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.

It involved our first voyage to the city of Guanajuato, the capital of the state with the same name. Guanajuato is a beautifully colorful and photogenic historic mining town.

And it has tunnels. Numerous dark, underground, winding tunnels. Some of the tunnels come to a fork in the road. Rarely did a fork have a sign. Or maybe it would have a sign saying "Centro" with an arrow pointing in each direction.

On this fateful day we were also battling overheating. And traffic. Imagine yourself in a race car after a long day of hard racing, you've lost your place in the route book, you are stuck in traffic, and you are in a seemingly un-ending maze of dark, exhaust-filled tunnels.

"This is it!" I thought. We're going to die, right here. The locals aren't going to care. They are just going to push the car to the side, our skulls are going to be part of these earth and stone walls. We're never going to see the light of day again. Maybe we'll wander the cavernous wasteland like Smeagol in Lord of the Rings.

We had flashes of hope - a motorcycle cop! He'll lead us out! We followed him for a while and while yes, we emerged into the daylight, we were no where near the finish arch. Back into the tunnels. After 2 hours (2 hours really seems like an eternity when you are high on exhaust fumes, your piloto lost his patience an hour and a half ago, and you can't see the route through tear-soaked eyes), thanks be to the sweet baby Jesus, we FINALLY made it out of the tunnels and close to the finish line. We were so late that I had to go find the officials to turn in my time card and chip - they were having a much better time than I. They were already a few drinks of tequila in. There I was, a blubbering white girl who couldn't navigate her way out of a paper bag that day. I'm sure they still laugh about it.

Fast forward to 2012 - race officials release the official route for the 25th anniversary of La Carrera Panamericana. My eyes skip down the list of cities and there I see it - Guanajuato. My heart skips a beat and panic sets in. No, I think, I can't do that again! I still have nightmares of being lost deep in the labyrinth of those beautiful hills.

My game plan is different this time. It must be or else a homicide might be committed in that dark underground jungle. Dad and I are prepared. I had a flashlight ready, never lifted my eyes from the route book, and we stuck close with a few race cars in front of us. When dad would say, "Wow, look at that!" I had to resist and look only at my odometer and follow closely the directions which would lead us out and to salvation that would be a celebratory tequila in the zocolo.

Thankfully, our trip through the tunnels was MUCH more successful than 2011. No crying, no cussing, no overheating, no panic attacks. Just two happy gringos and a shot of tequila to celebrate.

We did get some in-car footage of the tunnels. I will admit, Guanajuato is quite charming when you don't have to navigate. Please enjoy:


And now 2013. You guessed it - Guanajuato is again on our list of destinations. Night 5. I will be looking forward to the cheese, aka tequila, at the end of the rat maze.

South to Old Mexico

Time to head south of the border for a little car racing adventure. The 2013 La Carrera Panamericana is already upon us. I know I said last year was my last but, well, I lied. Dad talked me into another year because it’s really simple – life is short and this is a tremendous experience so GIDDY UP!

Those of you who’ve followed along with us before know what to expect – the unexpected. If this is your first time following along, hang on – it’s a wild ride!

Dad and I head south tomorrow to Veracruz, meet the cars and our fellow racing friends, the cars go through a technical inspection Tuesday and Wednesday, pre-qualification is Thursday and the official first day of racing is Friday. 7 days and 7 different cities across central Mexico to the finish line in Zacatecas.

Here is our 2013 “hero card.” Each team has these cards made to hand out to the enthusiastic race fans along the way. I’m not joking about being enthusiastic – we sign the cards (or shirts/hats/babies) at each stop. The racers are treated like rockstars and some fans go crazy for an autograph and a photo with a racer. It’s a rough task but someone’s got to do it! When else are we going to be treated like rockstars?

Our goal is the same as last year: run a smooth, safe race, have fun and make it to the party in Zacatecas. I struggle to put into words the experience of La Carrera Panamericana. We will experience ever human emotion from the highest highs to some low lows…each day for 7 days. Racers who were once strangers are now as close as family and we all support one another as we forge on through this marathon together.

Despite facing a few challenges last year (some power steering issues, a lost iPhone, some very bad accidents and one fatal, losing a harmonic balancer) we finished in the top place for our class! We compete in Original PanAm – cars that would have run in the original years of the race (early 1950s). This was quite an accomplishment as we battled back and forth with legendary Dutch F1 driver, Gys Van Lennep.

What is this event? It is NOT the Baja 1000. You can read history of La Carrera Panamericana {aqui}. Racers from across the globe come to Mexico to compete in this historic event. This will be Dad’s 7 time racing and my 4^th time navigating for him. We are again in the ol’ gal – 1954 Ford Victoria. This is the 26^th anniversary of the modern race.

I think everyone brave enough to brave La Carrera is a rockstar in his/her own right but there is an additional truly famous driver this year in Memo Rojas, Jr. He is a professional Mexican race car driver who is 4-time series champion in the Rolex Car Series and a 3-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. Memo was the voice of the latino race car in Cars 2. His car is not in our class but he’s sure to be a top contender.

I will do my best to post here daily but as you know from past years, that sometimes is a tall order. Keep up with other teams:

Kristin Stewart: funksterwtf.blogspot

Marcia’s http://roadrallyrhythms.com/ that will feature photos from Rene Ranchilonga Ortega.
Martin's El Taxi Perdido

We are very grateful to our generous sponsors:

Road and Track Magazine

Baja Bound Insurance

Fortaleza Tequila

Calderon Tires, Santa Maria

Dad and I are dedicating our race this year to the memory of Vannessa Ramirez, the daughter of Jo Ramirez. Jo will not be racing this year but we want to recognize his loss and send him our support. Jo has been a very kind friend to us on our previous Pana years. Jo has many ties to Formula 1 racing, including many years as coorinator of the McLaren team. If you would like to read an insight into Formula 1 racing and this very sweet man, Jo Ramirez: Memoirs of a Racing Man is a wonderful read.

Dad and me with Jo at last year's finish in Zacatecas.

Vaya con dios, amigos. No sleep 'til Zacatecas!

Day 1: Veracruz - Oaxaca

Good day on the roads today. LONG  day from Sea level to 6,000 feet. The Vicky ran great and dad did an excellent job driving. I'm exhausted but here are noteworthy items:

Memo Rojas, a favorite to win, crashed in first (maybe second) stage of day. Word is his crew will have him back in the race. 

First scheduled stage of the day was cancelled due to rain and fog. They weren't joking - we could see much further than the front of the hood. 

Had chapulines with dinner (Google it). Oaxacan delicacy. 

And we won our class today! Here is the obligatory photo with the trophy girls. 

We started 38th overall and will start 37th tomorrow. 

Hasta mañana!

Prequalification

Check! This morning was prequalification, which was a short 5.7 km speed section an hour out of Veracruz. My he car ran great, dad drove great, and we clocked a very decent time of 2:22. This put us at number 36 to start tomorrow (of 88 cars). Not all teams may agree but Dad and I have always thought it important to have a sting qualifying run to set us up for a decent place in the starting order on Day 1. The last thing we want is a vet slow time to put us in the back of the pack. The bottom of the order seems to be more of a cluster as people generally don't understand the rules or the timing procedure. We are in a good spot for tomorrow. 

Thank you, EraMilenio and Pepe Kiophoto for the great shots today! 

Then this afternoon all competitors and cars had to go to partake in a ceremonial start where we will actually start in the morning. For the drivers and navigators this is a huge pain in the ass. 

It was still super windy as we headed down. Here is how much ocean water was slashing on the car. 

Waiting for a bus? John and Chrislana Gregory, Adrian Gerrits and Paul Hladky (of the orange studebaker and five car pile up last year) and Dad. 

Surprisingly, the drivers meeting tonight started on time and was done by 10. We are off in the morning to head to The city of Oaxaca, with a full day of racing all the way. The traveling circus is loaded and all we have is our car, race suit and a small overnight bag. 

Hasta mañana!

La Bufa 2012

Here are two clips of in-car footage from the last day of the 2012 Carrera. La Bufa is the famous last section that we race twice, once each direction. We transit through the city of Zacatecas out to the start of La Bufa, run it out of town, have a service stop, and then run La Bufa back toward town and to the finish arch.

You will see that the road of La Bufa was in pretty bad shape last year. I hope they've patched them for this year.

Day 7: San Luis Potosi - Zacatecas

How is it that all week we anxiously await Day 7's arrival and then when it gets here we think, "Where did the time go?" It is a huge weight off our shoulders to have only the final leg of this marathon to run and then it will be time to celebrate.

Enjoying the some beautiful countryside, at high speeds

We had a short speed section out of San Luis Potosi and then a long (187 km) transit to the next section. This next section is up into the hills out of Aguascalientes, stopping for a short break (servicio) and then running the same section back down the hill and then transitting into Zacatecas for the famed La Bufa. The service between the two speed sections was a little surreal for all. It was in a dusty little town a long ways from anywhere (really, we found a lot of those kinds of places) and pilotos and copilotos congregated in the shade of a brightly colored little restaurant. A group of us - the Gregorys, Robertsons, CJ Strupp and Adrian and Paul of the infamously-crashed-but-resurrected-Studebaker sat on the curb reminiscing and telling stories of the week. Conversation bounced around from the crashes, the man who jumped out the plane to break records and the sound barrier, how Linda and Stewart met (in an airport and he had no wheels on his luggage) to beef. It was really nice to just sit in the shade with some of our closest friends. One could sense the feeling of being completely exhausted but also at ease because we were just 3 speed sections away from the finish.

At the last servicio before La Bufa

We ran La Bufa excellently. I had in-car video from last year to review and to make notes for dad for when to tell him to gas it out of a turn if he had a straight coming up and where the tricky intersections were. La Bufa would have been a lot more fun had the pavement been in better shape, but we still ran really well down and back.

What a feeling of relief to be finished! We still needed to transit the 2.5 kms into town to the finish arch but WOOHOO! We did it!

We loosened our belts and saw Jack Rogers and CJ Strupp pulled over in their Mustang. We pulled up beside them and they told us they blew their engine on the last run. Our first thought was to give them a two to the arch but then Dad remembered that we could be penalized and even eliminated for towing a competitor. So, unfortunately we couldn't give them a ride but they were able to coast down hill and get a push to the arch.

What an incredible feeling of accomplishment! No matter if your car is running perfectly or if you have had mechanical gremlins, this race is is grueling and not for the feint of heart. as we waited in line to cross under the finish arch, a million memories of the week went flashing through my mind.

We left the GoPro running as we went through the finish. It is my favorite clip of the whole race because it shows many cameos of good friends and the celebrations that are starting.



Results and celebrations coming up next!

Day 6: Guanajuato - San Luis Potosi

Holy smokes. Are we in Zacatecas yet? I´m sorry for no post yesterday because of computer malfunctions but we made it all day to Guanajuato, through the tunnels, off this morning all around the countryside on some great sections that were really fun and we are now in San Luis Potosi. One more day and off to Zacatecas tomorrow. 

I can barely form complete sentences, my thoughts are coming out rated in numbers (right 2, left 3...), my boogers are black  and even though I´ve taken a shower I still smell exhaust. However, the last 6 days have been a blur. We´ve been in 7 different cities, almost to 3000 kilometers and have been in more Pemexes (Mexican gas stations) than most Mexicans will in one year.

The car is still running strong. Here's what happened yesterday:

Made it to Guanuajuato! I{m having a really hard time with this old ghetto computer in our hotel so I´ll recap yesterday here. Leaving Morelia yesterday morning to run Mil Cumbres again we heard an awful clanking in the motor after the first stage. We still had power but a major hunk of metal was rattling - turns out it was the harmonic balancer (I call it the harmonica) that had come loose. It he

lps to keep the motor balanced and is attached the the crank shaft at the front of the engine. Where it was it could have damaged the water pump and or pulleys. So we couldn{t do anything there so we conservatively ran the next three sections before a 200 km transit to servicio. We knew Steve Strupp would be waiting at a toll booth to make sure we went by so we found him and Steve and Greg got to work with a cutting saw and just cut the damn thing off. We don´t need no stinkin´ harmonica! Here we were on the side of the freeway and they were set up with there generator and went to town. The ring is a think 6ïsh inch diameter piece of metal and wtih two cuts they had it off and off we went! Had to haul ass to make it to servicio with no penalties but we made it and ran great the rest of the afternoon. Then...the dreaded tunnels...but we conquered the labrynth! Made it into to the beautiful town of Guanajuato with minimal stress, did not get lost AND...were 2nd in class! Off to San Luis Potosi today. Car running well. We´re taking it easy, just need to make it to Zacatecas. All is well and we´re having a great time!

Today was great too. We had some really fun runs and made up some time on the Dutch Porsche. We were second on the podium tonight but only by a few seconds! We have become friendly with the Dutch guys and they are so proper and opposite of us but really a lot of fun. Gys is an incredible driver and I can´t wait to see their in-car video to see how smoothly he drives. 

Seems everyone is very happy to almost be to Zacatecas. We end the day with the big run on the famous section called La Bufa. We will be taking it easy. Looking forward to seeing that donkey in Zacatecas! 

Thank you to Pepe for this shot from yesterday.

Day 4: Queretaro - Morelia

You know what sucks more than loosing your phone in the states? Loosing your phone in Mexico. Yep, shit happens but fortunately worse things can happen and have happened this week. Wait, have we been going a week? I had to ask Mom on the phone today what day it was. I know it´s day 4 and we´re in Morelia but that´s about it! Lost the phone getting out of the car to ask directions to hotel tonight. Super bummed but oh well! Onward. So what that means for all of you trusty followers is that I won´t be able to post any real-time photos the rest of the week.

The great news today is that we were again 2nd in our class! Today´s sections were my favorite of the whole La Carrera and Morelia is my favorite city. The first two stages before servicio were really fast and our time smoked the Finnish porsche (with F1 driver Gijs Van Lennep behind the wheel and Albert Westermann navigating) on the long straits but he had us beat in the twisty sections. Today was the famous Mil Cumbres (1000 turns) and full of turns it is! I don´t know how the faster cars´ navigators keep up because I can barely call the turns fast enough. The Mil Cumbres contains 3 speed sections (I guess the middle one is officially Mil Cumbres at 19ish kms) and they are each twisty and long. We got the GoPro camera in the car today and hopefully got all of the day´s sections and I can´t wait to share!

In the longest section we lost power steering...again...but Dad muscled through the rest of the section and I could barely tell we had even lost it. When he told me he felt the belt pop off I may have spilled some explatives but then 4 turns later had to ask him if he really lost it because he was driving like a champ. The places where it was the toughest for him was in the 3s but we just slid around them to compensate. It was a blast! Video will be fun, especially my audio.

After that section we still had one more section to go, just as windy, so as soon as we pulled through C to get our time, we pulled over and did our Mexican fire drill that we perfected yesterday and I think we even shaved a few seconds off. We both jumped out, I pulled the clamps on the right side, ran around to the back to open the trunk, dad grabbed the spare belt, opened the hood, I jumped in the driver´s seat, threw it in neutral, hit the starter button to just make it barely crank over to turn the power steering pulleys and the belt fell right into place. Car back in gear so we wouldn´t roll down the hill, Dad closes hood and latches, I close trunk and we both dive back and haul ass to the next section and made it in plenty of time. We´re getting good at this! Not that this should be regular practice. They are working on this issue tonight and we should be set tomorrow.

We run Mil Cumbres backwards tomorrow and it will be another fun time.

There were a few casualties (car) today. In the first section Gerie Bledsoe lost his brakes going into a right 3 and ended up over a small wall that the villagers has recently repaired. He is out for the rest of the race and had to pay 350 pesos to have the wall fixed. A porsche totalled in the same section. There were a few other minor bumps and scrapes but no injuries.

We all celebrated with some tequila once we made it through the finishing arch and are ready for tomorrow...and the horrid tunnels of Guanajuato. I am determined to have no issues with the tunnels this year.

Check out the Official La Carrera site: http://lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx/ They are posting photos and stories.

Also, for more updates, see Kristin Stewart´s http://funksterwtf.blogspot.mx/. Her dad (Geezer) and brother Vance III (Stewie) are racing and we´re usually right around the same order as them and we have a great time. We all helped kill a bottle of tequila upon arrival tonight...

Day 0: Prequalification

Today was the day all cars (ok, most cars, some still have mechanical problems or hasn't yet passed tech) run a specified speed stage for a time. The time which we receive is to order is for tomorrow - fastest first. Now this is tricky. You don't want to run real race speed because you don't want to risk error or crash, but you don't want to loligag because you want a good starting order. After pre-running yesterday, we felt confident in our notes and the short, fast stage. We don't see the results immediately, only know what your own time is and can visit with your friends to compare times. Turns out we qualified the fastest in our class (Original Pan Am). Now, this does not mean anything other than we are very happy with our starting place overall for the morning - 37th out of 111. It is better to run on the front of the pack rather than the back because usually the faster cars know and follow the rules. The back of the pack tends to be a logistical, chaotic nightmare. So we are happy.

Dad got the carburetor re-jetted and we are ready to leave sea level in the morning ad head to Oaxaca which I think I remember being 5000-6000 feet.

Here are some shots from today:

You know what I just realized, it looks like all we are doing is partying. Well, work hard play hard and tomorrow gets extra serious (as serious as we can be in an old Ford with a rooster horn).

Stretching Her Legs

Today was long but I feel like I don't have much to share about it. Our goal today was to pre-run tomorrow's prequalification section and that we did. Unlike when the race started in Hualtulco, the pre-qual stage is an hour out of Veracruz. We were spoiled in Huatulco because it was a short 5ish kilometers from town. Three of us cars went out together - Hayden and Charlie, Christian and Dan and us - escorted by Guillermo and the rest of Team 476. Needless to say we had an exciting outing. First we all calibrated the rally computers in the cars (some people have Terratrips, we have an old trusty Timewise but some people don't have any computers to use and solely rely on the book or gps). Once we got to the section for tomorrow we each ran it several times and took notes. It is only 6 kms long and will be a fast, easy section. It was nice to get the car out and see that she was running well.

This afternoon we had a 3 hour co-piloto meeting (yes, way too long) but a good refresher of the timing, penalties, rules and time card. Then Dad had a driver meeting so we weren't out of meetings until after 9 tonight. Time for some shut eye and up early for prequalification tomorrow.

I'm sorry this blogger app on my phone won't let me put captions to the photos but what we have here is a donkey that wanted to join us, the 433 by the breach before calibrating the computer and a few shots from the co-piloto's meeting.

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!

Day 3: Puebla - Queretaro

Unfortunately the Carrera claimed more cars today. There were 6 very bad accidents, 5 of them in the same spot on top of each other. The good news is that there are only minor injuries, a true testament to the stringent safety requirements and well-built cars. My friend Pepe is one of the press for the race and has some incredible photos and below is one of them.

Besides that bad news - we also have good news. We were second in our class today! Because of the crashes in the morning the first two stages were cancelled but we ran very well in the 4 other stages. Here is a photo of us on the podium tonight. Have I mentioned we are running second to an ex-Formula One driver? Not too shabby!

We set a world record in the Ford today - 203 kilometers per hour! That's almost 125. It was a long straight away, we don't have many of those, and dad got her going. Not bad for an old Y block engine. We had fun even though that speed doesn't even come close to the faster classes.

And then, when dad lifted after the stage, the damn power steering belt popped off again! But this time we were prepared. We pulled over, worked as fast as a NASCAR pit stop and ha it back on in 30 seconds flat. Then we jumped back in the car and made it to the next section on time. It's almost like we practiced!

To my favorite sections tomorrow - Mil Cumbres - and into Morelia, my favorite spot we go to. Hasta mañana!