Day Three and the Finish

I have never claimed to be an on-time blogger  but at least I'm an on-time navigator. Here we are -we've been home a week and I'm just getting the post up about the last day of racing. Allow me to relive day 3 of the Chihuahua Express.

The third and final day of racing took us east from Chihuahua City to Ojinaga. This route is a drastic change of scenery from the pine trees and cooler weather from days 1 & 2, but it was still beautiful. Into the high desert we went.

We raced 5 back-to-back sections on the way to servicio and had a little break to walk to the lookout and see this vast view:

It was a fast day of racing meaning the sections were more open than the first two days with more straights so the cars reach higher speeds. We also had a very long section (29.65 kms is a LONG time to be calling turns) that we ran twice - out and on the way back. It was a full day of racing and it was quite warm so we were much relieved to make it back to town and be finished! One piece, the car running well, and having had a fantastic day racing. It was time to celebrate! There was a little celebration in a mall parking lot and then we headed back to the hotel to break open the tequila.

photo by CNRM - Comisión Nacional de Rallies México

Time for some Fortaleza!

Enjoying some crisp tequila with our good amigos Renee Rodriguez, Geezer and Vance Stewart

Time for celebrating! Chacho and the race organizers hosted a lovely dinner and awards ceremony. It is always a fun time because the racers and crews finally get to relax and enjoy their winnings. It is so much fun to cheer for our friends as they are announced day and over all class winners. It's also nice to pick up some hardware for ourselves, too.

Our very good amigos in the Historic C class. Jack Rogers and CJ Strupp were the overall winners (we raced with them in Targa Newfoundland, also), followed by Gerie Bledsoe and Fernando "El Fer" "Zorro" Garcia and the Gregory family - John, Chrislana and Matt. 

Overall results for Original Pan Am: US! followed closely by Jake "The Most Interesting Man in Mexico" Shuttlesworth and The Swede Ralf Christensson. This was extra special for us and for Jake because this was Jake's first time racing his '54 Ford (same year as ours, slightly different model). This was a long-time coming for Jake to race in Original Pan Am and it was so much fun. I'm sure his red '54 and our white '54 Vicky will duel again. 

Aaand...we won our class and placed 17th overall (results here)! It is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment to have raced every day, finished every state, combined with great times for an Original Pan Am car. I am still processing the ups and downs while getting back to reality. I'm in the post-race-depression mode: no police escorts through traffic, no one cheering me on in my daily commute, no smells of exhaust/cigar/fuel (what better to wake up the senses), and no racing amigos to swap stories with at the end of the day.

I'll follow up with another blog with some more thoughts, photo and video. For now, here are a few must-watches:

By Graham Maddock for Chihuahua Express (phenomenal drone footage):

Day 1 (we roll up to A (green flag) at :14)

Day 2 to Copper Canyon

Ruta Norte interviewed Chrislana and me (we didn't know what for at the time). We're at 3:16 here.

MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS to our generous sponsors!

Baja Bound Insurance

Calderon Tire, Santa Maria, California

Tequila Fortaleza 

Race to Copper Canyon

Today was great! As Dad told the race director today, these are world class rally roads, and though I really have no expertise to prove that, I will just have to agree because today kicked ass. I wish I could have all of you in the car with us to experience the rush of racing on closed roads at unlimited speeds with a driver I completely trust. We are taking some in-car GoPro footage but it just doesn't do it justice. I think the videos make it seem slo-mo. Anyway, did I mention how much fun we are having??

More beautiful Chihuahuan countryside. We had a long transit through land like this to the race sections, which were higher elevation and quite wooded. 

Servicio today was in Creel (twice). The crews left much earlier than we to arrive to the service spot before the roads close. Left to right is Jack Roger's Mustang, our Vicky, and Jake Shuttleworth's '54 Ford. 

Racing to the top of Divisadero, the outlook of Cooper Canyon, was a blast. The views didn't stink. 

Gregg is getting a first hand experience of car/mechanic/service crews. He is the best windshield washer around! 

The office:

Aaand...we wind the Original Pan Am class again today! 

One more day of racing - tomorrow east to Ojinaga (or Okinawa as Dad keeps saying). 

Giddy up! 

P.S. I hope this all makes sense. It's 10:45pm here and i don't have much brain power left today. I'll tell better stories later! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Madera in the Sun and the Rain

Today was a whirlwind! The day started beautiful with pretty clouds that turn to storm clouds by the afternoon. Regardless, we raced across some beautiful country in the state of Chihuahua. 

I really don't have many photos from today because it was nonstop. For some reason the transits (sections in between the speed sections) are really tight. Usually, if the sections aren't back to back and have about 30 km or more between, you have time to get out of the car and take a breather and there is especially usually time to take a breather at the servicio stop. Not today. It was hurry up to the next section and servicio was a circus and then it was time to haul ass down the road. I did have time to take one picture before a speed stage:

The Chihuahuan countryside is beautiful. This area was very agricultural with rangeland with cattle, horses, crops and many fruit trees. 

A few rain drops hit our windshields in the afternoon and then the heavens opened and the Chihuahua Deluge of 2016 happened. We, fortunately, we're done with the last speed section before it really came down. Others weren't so lucky. The streets of Chihuahua City were flooded and some of the cars with lower clearance had terrible troubles. We got soaked but found a minute to seek refuge in a car trailer in the hotel parking lot and share some laughs. 

The best news is: we won our class today! We only have three cars in our class and we are all friends so we have some healthy competition going on. Looking forward to Copper Canyon tomorrow! 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Qualifying and Blessings

All went smoothly today. We had the qualification run that not only determines the order of go for tomorrow but also gives everyone a chance to shake off the cobwebs, make sure all the equipment works, get used to the timing system and score cards, and see how the cars are running. It is good to get everyone's nerves out and to have a sort of dry run before diving in for all day tomorrow. 

We qualified well - the middle of the pack. Good place to be for us. The run was smooth and it felt really good to be back in the car. She feels like home! 

Gregg and I made a Walmart trip in the afternoon for some essentials for the servicio truck tomorrow. Gregg and Chislana Greggory are driving our truck with spare parts and snacks tomorrow and will be waiting for is at the servicio (service and lunch stop in the middle of the day). For Gregg's family: he is in excellent hands. Chrislana is an excellent navigator (I learned from her) and they will be with the other service crews. Chrislana's husband John and son Matt are also racing. 

Dad and Gregg putting on the car numbers after passing tech. 

 

Late night important "meeting."

 This evening we took the cars to a park for a blessing from a Tarahumara Indian. They live near the Copper Canyon where we race Saturday. I have video but it won't let me post it here. :( He gave a traditional blessing and song over our helmets for safety. 

Off in a north west direction in the morning to Madera and back. Giddy up! 

 

¡Ay, Chihuahua!

We are back to race in Old Mexico in the '54 Vicky (Ford Victoria). Dad and I last raced the Chihuahua Express in 2008 and we are excited to be back. It is so much fun to see old friends with whom we've raced over the years. My boyfriend Gregg is along to experience this racing business for the first time. He might think we are really nuts by the end of the week! 

This is the route for three days of racing. A benefit to this race is returning to the same hotel in Chihuahua City each night. 

Dad left California Monday morning and, to make a long story short, discovered a leaky fuel cell, found one in Santa Paula, drove to Phoenix, I found a shop and a great fabricator in Phoenix, we spent most of Tuesday fitting the new (slightly different size) fuel cell to the new trunk and refitting brackets for everything else in the truck, and finally got on the road Tuesday afternoon. 

And back on the road! 

We got into El Paso at 2:00am Wednesday morning and got some much-needed sleep. Wednesday morning was the always-dreaded border crossing. It isn't dreaded because of safety, it's dreaded because there is always some sort of snafu with paperwork. A person can only take two vehicles into Mexico in his name at one time. So the truck and car trailer in Dad's name are ok but he has to sign the race car over to me. This worked in the past but due to some minor technicalities, we had an issue. Fortunately, it was resolved by having Mom text a picture of a copy of my birth certificate and an hour and a few hoops later, we were on our way. 

We arrived to Chihuahua City at about 4:00pm and got the car and us through tech inspection. There are two other cars in our class (Original PanAm) which is very exciting to have a "full" class that will run! These old original cars are few but it will be great to have our own class and not be lumped into another. 

 

Off to qualification today to determine starting order for tomorrow. More photos to come! 

 

Finding the Checkered Flag

This is my favorite photo from the whole trip. Satisfaction, accomplishment and love. What a wonderful experience Targa Newfoundland 2015 was for us. The awards gala was a lovely evening of wrapping up the race, congratulation fellow racers on their great finishes, and honoring the winners and volunteers. The most shocking was seeing everyone in dress clothes. I hardly recognized some not in race suits! 

Dad and I were honored to win first place in Grand Touring Unequipped Class. Many thanks to our fellow Grand Touring competitors for the advice and encouragement along the way. Being our first TSD (time, speed, distance) rally, there was a steep learning curve and thanks to the spirit of teamwork, everyone was helpful with advice and tips. That's what racing is all about! Besides the open roads and beasts of machines, the spirit and camaraderie of these races really is what makes them fun. The Spirit of Tagra (the Spirit of Carrera - they're the same) truly is special. In Newfoundland it's the competitors and service crews, communities that welcome us, the crowds that cheer. That's what keeps us coming back to these events.

The gala was Saturday evening and it was nice to have Saturday day to clean out the car and explore St. John's. The weather was finally in our favor!

The view from atop Signal Hill, overlooking St. John's (to the right). Signal Hill was the site of St. John’s harbor defenses from the 17th century to the Second World War and where Guglielmo Marconi received the world’s first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901. The entrance to the harbor, "The Narrows," is only 200 feet at its most narrow and as shallow as 36 feet deep.

It is a strategic location to protect the town and harbor from marauding pirates and enemy vessels. Cannons welcomed those unexpected visitors. St. John's, and all of Newfoundland, has a storied history including fires, fishing, trade, attacks and icebergs. See brief St. John's history here.

We FINALLY saw some Newfoundland dogs! These two 6 year old sisters were sweeties. This nice man was just on a hike and was kind to let us tourists pose for photos. They are massive! And very fluffy. They have the biggest heads and were very slobbery. Sorry mom, I didn't find a puppy to send home.

Cabot Tower 

Next Dad and I paid a visit to the Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. It is beautiful.

We took a few minutes to give thanks for our blessings of a safe race.

View from The Rooms Museum, a neat, modern museum housing the province's archives, art galleries, and exhibits on history, culture, food, and wildlife. Looking at the narrows with Cabot tower on the left hill.

Touristed-out, lunch and a refreshement were found at The Duke of Duckworth - an English pub that was recommended to us by our Newfie friends. It did not disappoint! These were the best fish and chips we've ever had. We also ordered a steak and kidney pie because, why not? A rugby game was on and it was fun to watch the locals cheer. We know no ruby rules but had a blast watching.

The gala was a nice time to say goodbye to our friends, old and new. L-R: Robert Gannou (Targa Newfoundland organization), Steve Strupp, Greg and John (all Jack Roger's top-notch crew), and Dad. We shared many laughs with these guys.

My girl, CJ! They don't come any better than this incredible woman. She's a cancer survivor, world class navigator, great friend, AND walked away from a full rollover just 30 hours before the gala. I admire you so much, CJ! xoxo

That's a wrap for our Targa Newfoundland 2015 experience. Another adventure for the record books. Thank you all for your support, cheers and encouragement. Thank you, Rob and Robson Racing Inc for a safe and fast car and for the good tunes. Thank you, Targa Newfoundland, for the hospitality, for infecting us with the Targa Spirit, and for sharing your beautiful "rock." It feels great to be home and my heart is happy and full from the memories made and new friends gained. Most of all, I am thankful for the opportunity to share it with my dad. It's a special bond we share and I appreciate that we can spend 10 days together, in a car, under extreme pressure, and know we could spend 10 more burning up the roads and still be singing "Cheeseburger in Paradise" together after it all (one of the CDs Rob left us in the car was Jimmy Buffett and we had it on repeat). I'm looking forward to the next adventure. As dad says, ‪Giddy Up‬!

In-car video footage to come!