Baja?

[Sportin' Wood]

I just was asked to consider attending the Baja 1000 next month. My Rockbuggy might be handy in the silt beds.
Do you need a passport these days to travel in Baja?
Out side of Ins. any other advice? I will be traveling with a group. Two 4x4 F350's with Campers and trailers hauling RockBuggy's. I have not been to Mexico since 1990.
Thanks to the all knowing ***boat board for advice on this matter :D

[faster]

I just was asked to consider attending the Baja 1000 next month. My Rockbuggy might be handy in the silt beds.
Do you need a passport these days to travel in Baja?
Out side of Ins. any other advice? I will be traveling with a group. Two 4x4 F350's with Campers and trailers hauling RockBuggy's. I have not been to Mexico since 1990.
Thanks to the all knowing ***boat board for advice on this matter :D
Have Fun down there!! I wish I was going

[Lightning]

Mandelon and I were talking about going down there to check it out. . . should be a good time.

[Outnumbered]

I just was asked to consider attending the Baja 1000 next month. My Rockbuggy might be handy in the silt beds.
Do you need a passport these days to travel in Baja?
Out side of Ins. any other advice? I will be traveling with a group. Two 4x4 F350's with Campers and trailers hauling RockBuggy's. I have not been to Mexico since 1990.
Thanks to the all knowing ***boat board for advice on this matter :D
I just read somewhere that if you are in Mex for more than 3 days you are supposed to have a visa or something. You may want to check is out.

[Outnumbered]

Didn't realize they were different. Thanks

[Ivan Dan]

I just read somewhere that if you are in Mex for more than 3 days you are supposed to have a visa or something. You may want to check is out.
Nobody ever checks this. I've been racing in Baja for many years now and have never had any issues. We take the race truck down on a flat bed trailer and they never stop us at the border either way in or out.
We are racing this year too so keep an eye out for the Fabtech class 7 truck and come say hi.

[Man-de-lone]

If you go much south of Ensendada you are supposed to get a visitor pass of some sort. They never check anyway. You don't need anything to go to Ensenada. I think we are going.
IF you go regularly join Vagabundos Del Mar, a gringo tourist club that gets you good insurance. If not, there are a couple of drive through places at Dairy Mart road and the offramp before it to buy insurance. If you get in an accident you are presumed at fault. The insurance is well worth the $$.
We're taking my camper and towing the Wrangler behind.

[WUTWZAT]

Nobody ever checks this. I've been racing in Baja for many years now and have never had any issues. We take the race truck down on a flat bed trailer and they never stop us at the border either way in or out.
We are racing this year too so keep an eye out for the Fabtech class 7 truck and come say hi.
Same here, when we raced SCORE, we never had a problem until we were sponsored by TECATE BEER. When that was across every truck that was a direct trip to secondary inspection everytime on the way back across the border.
Suggestions for watching the race:
1 try and get to a point in the race course long before the race starts and plan to stay there for the duration unless your chasing for someone.
2 in choosing a place to watch from a good idea is a place where the race course loops and comes together at a check point twice or some place that has a crossing or jump: example. ojos negros is a good place to see veh serviced and refueled and when they leave they have the option of taking a jump, hence the name (black eyes)
3 be safe, I never had any problems myself (except 1 stolen truck, which we got back a few days later) but be safe and sane, and always keep an eye out for what the other guy is doing.
I haven't been to Baja since I raced last and I haven't raced in the last 5 years. Visit http://www.score-international.com and view race course maps and notes on the race course. Look for areas pits will be and thats where you'll find the action. And something else I have learned, if you come across a group of people in the middle of no-where all smiling, becareful..... They love to set boobie traps to see how the cars and trucks over come the obstacles.
Jason

[Ivan Dan]

Same here, when we raced SCORE, we never had a problem until we were sponsored by TECATE BEER. When that was across every truck that was a direct trip to secondary inspection everytime on the way back across the border.
Suggestions for watching the race:
1 try and get to a point in the race course long before the race starts and plan to stay there for the duration unless your chasing for someone.
2 in choosing a place to watch from a good idea is a place where the race course loops and comes together at a check point twice or some place that has a crossing or jump: example. ojos negros is a good place to see veh serviced and refueled and when they leave they have the option of taking a jump, hence the name (black eyes)
3 be safe, I never had any problems myself (except 1 stolen truck, which we got back a few days later) but be safe and sane, and always keep an eye out for what the other guy is doing.
I haven't been to Baja since I raced last and I haven't raced in the last 5 years. Visit http://www.score-international.com and view race course maps and notes on the race course. Look for areas pits will be and thats where you'll find the action. And something else I have learned, if you come across a group of people in the middle of no-where all smiling, becareful..... They love to set boobie traps to see how the cars and trucks over come the obstacles.
Jason
Good advice! What class did you race in?

[SixDays]

Sportin' Wood,
what kind of buggy do you have? Running gear? We're leavin for truckhaven first thing tomorrow. Should be the last trip until I put the full widths on!

[Sportin' Wood]

Thanks all for the advice, My friend and I will most likely skip the contingency at Ensenada and head right for San Felipe on Thursday. I don't know all the details yet or if I am even going to accept the offer( work might dictate other wise) I do know that we will be going down to work so play will have to wait till Friday after they go past our 35 mile stretch and we can get back to Ensenada for what I would hope will be a "Victory Celebration". Turns out it's not the silt they fear but a canyon of rocks. Like I said I am not sure of what to expect at this point but my interest is peaked as this is a real compeitive team effort with a fat budget and the ability to take an over all win.
I guess Offroad Expo was good to me this year as my participation in the Rock crawling Demo is what created the interest by this team. Pretty cool that a rock crawler is needed for the baddest offroad race in the world.
Ivan Dan, Do you know anything about a rock canyon down near San Felipe that is giving the prerunners hell?

[Sportin' Wood]

Sportin' Wood,
what kind of buggy do you have? Running gear? We're leavin for truckhaven first thing tomorrow. Should be the last trip until I put the full widths on!
Here ya go.
http://www.rockbuggysupply.com/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=677
Pretty much just a hole in the dirt I pour money into :D
Enjoy T haven, I'll be down there Thanksgiving.

[Ivan Dan]

Thanks all for the advice, My friend and I will most likely skip the contingency at Ensenada and head right for San Felipe on Thursday. I don't know all the details yet or if I am even going to accept the offer( work might dictate other wise) I do know that we will be going down to work so play will have to wait till Friday after they go past our 35 mile stretch and we can get back to Ensenada for what I would hope will be a "Victory Celebration". Turns out it's not the silt they fear but a canyon of rocks. Like I said I am not sure of what to expect at this point but my interest is peaked as this is a real compeitive team effort with a fat budget and the ability to take an over all win.
I guess Offroad Expo was good to me this year as my participation in the Rock crawling Demo is what created the interest by this team. Pretty cool that a rock crawler is needed for the baddest offroad race in the world.
Ivan Dan, Do you know anything about a rock canyon down near San Felipe that is giving the prerunners hell?
Ya that is Matomi Wash....it is a VERY nasty and technical section. I get the pleasure of doing that section for this race. I am starting the race and going all the way to about race mile 400ish before we get on the highway headed towards Mikes Sky Ranch. Then the driver Craig Turner and I will get out of the truck and 2 other guys get in to try and bring us home a victory. I would highly recommend for you to go down and check it out. Its a very intense race and for most people a once in a lifetime experience.
What team are you going down to help? More than likely a Class 1 or Trophy Truck team I would assume.

[cracker]

Just got back last week from Baja, rode 600 miles on bikes. Matomi wash was crazy, 12 to 14 inch deep sand with some pretty killer woopties. I cant imagine what that section will look like after the cars tear it up the poor class 11's are going to get burried!

[2Driver]

Nobody ever checks this. I've been racing in Baja for many years now and have never had any issues. We take the race truck down on a flat bed trailer and they never stop us at the border either way in or out.
We are racing this year too so keep an eye out for the Fabtech class 7 truck and come say hi.
I have some great footage of you in the big whoops outside Bouse from last years 425 if you would like them. It is awesome. Got goose bumps all over again writing this.

[Ivan Dan]

I have some great footage of you in the big whoops outside Bouse from last years 425 if you would like them. It is awesome. Got goose bumps all over again writing this.
Send it on over....ivandan@aol.com

[WUTWZAT]

Good advice! What class did you race in?
I started off in a Porche powered 10 car which I out grew beforethe first season was over and jumped into a Class 1 unlimited car just as the TrophyTrucks were leaving class 1. I was in the process of building a 7unlimited truck when I aburptly left the sport. I ran an Acura powered Chenowth that AEM built with the help of North American Honda, sponsored by Tecate Beer and Quaker State oil just like Adrian Fernandez Indy car. :D
Jason

[WUTWZAT]

Ya that is Matomi Wash....it is a VERY nasty and technical section. I get the pleasure of doing that section for this race. I am starting the race and going all the way to about race mile 400ish before we get on the highway headed towards Mikes Sky Ranch. Then the driver Craig Turner and I will get out of the truck and 2 other guys get in to try and bring us home a victory. I would highly recommend for you to go down and check it out. Its a very intense race and for most people a once in a lifetime experience.
What team are you going down to help? More than likely a Class 1 or Trophy Truck team I would assume.
Here is some more advice for the rock section or "Rock Garden" as we called it, if your car is lite enough.... slather the sidewalss in Vaseline and take it like a whoop section keeping the thread on top and the sidewalls as far from edges as you can, the side walls making contact is what will kill nearly every tire eventually. Always worked for me.....

[Debbolas]

Have fun Jeff, be carefull and take some pics for us to see :rollside:

[Riverkid]

I've chased down there a bunch of times, but not lately. Started chasing PCI Scott in a Minimag... Go! It's an experience you'll never regret... I wish I could make the time again. If you can, you should.
Oh, and make sure you aren't sitting on your mike. That makes the Weatherman REALLY pissy... :D

[2Driver]

Send it on over....ivandan@aol.com
I'll edit out the piece of the Fabtech truck and e-mail it. It might get too big so if you like it I can cut a dvd for the whole thing. Hearing you in the trees then suddenly pop out and run the whoops then the smal jump at the end is pretty cool.

[Ivan Dan]

I'll edit out the piece of the Fabtech truck and e-mail it. It might get too big so if you like it I can cut a dvd for the whole thing. Hearing you in the trees then suddenly pop out and run the whoops then the smal jump at the end is pretty cool.
I definitely wouldn't mind seeing the whole thing but whichever way you prefer is fine. I'll look forward to seeing it! Thanks
DAN

[Brooski]

Hey Jeff,
Kim and I will be racing down to Ensenada in Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas ship December 18th. Does that count? Last one to Pappas and Beer has to buy. :wink: Nice rock crawler by the way.

[WUTWZAT]

Hey Jeff,
Kim and I will be racing down to Ensenada in Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas ship December 18th. Does that count? Last one to Pappas and Beer has to buy. :wink: Nice rock crawler by the way.
LMAO, Roger I didn't know you were into OffShore Racing! :hammerhea
Jason

[Sportin' Wood]

Well I'm going. Headed down Weds night to San Felipe. Pre run Thursday and chase Alan Pflueger from San Felipe to the winners circle Friday. Gonna be a total blast. What a great group of people. Cars gonna be sportin' a new color this year, We are painting the Rock Crawler to match the new paint :D
See ya in Ensenada.

[AZKC]

Sounds like a great trip :D Didn't you just paint the Crawler :idea: :D

[Ivan Dan]

Well I'm going. Headed down Weds night to San Felipe. Pre run Thursday and chase Alan Pflueger from San Felipe to the winners circle Friday. Gonna be a total blast. What a great group of people. Cars gonna be sportin' a new color this year, We are painting the Rock Crawler to match the new paint :D
See ya in Ensenada.
Gonna go black and flourescent green huh?!?!

[Riverkid]

He's not going to paint his TT in Monster colors is he???

[Ivan Dan]

He's not going to paint his TT in Monster colors is he???
YUP....he landed a nice sponsorship from them

[Riverkid]

LOTS of good things happening for the sport then, lately. I sure liked his last paint job though... And the semi's... :cool:

[Ivan Dan]

LOTS of good things happening for the sport then, lately. I sure liked his last paint job though... And the semi's... :cool:
YA he paid BIG $$$$ to have Troy Lee Designs do that. I'm sure Monster is paying this time though.
Lots of car/truck buying and selling lately but it sure makes the sport more interesting huh?!?!

[Riverkid]

You got it. Between the Mc/RG dealio, Huffman's TT becoming Andy's prerunner, plus some stuff coming out of SPD and others, there's a bunch of craziness going on. Desert boards are always fun with all the rumors flying around. Sports always been so strongly funded by personal/individual $$$, it's nice to see some serious sponsor interest.
At least the new Jimco truck will run some familiar color to it... When you guys making the jump up from 7?

[Ivan Dan]

You got it. Between the Mc/RG dealio, Huffman's TT becoming Andy's prerunner, plus some stuff coming out of SPD and others, there's a bunch of craziness going on. Desert boards are always fun with all the rumors flying around. Sports always been so strongly funded by personal/individual $$$, it's nice to see some serious sponsor interest.
At least the new Jimco truck will run some familiar color to it... When you guys making the jump up from 7?
VERY nice to see some corporate $$ coming back. I wish the automakers would come back too because that could push the sport over the edge as far as becoming nationally recognized with TV coverage and everything.
Stay tuned! We are considering a class 8 truck which would be lots o fun. :D

[Riverkid]

Either an 8 or a Pro Truck... All that extra travel and HP would be huge! That would be a lot of fun. Nobody fast seems to stay in 7's for too long. Damn bug bites... :D
You get bitten and pretty soon nothing's fast enough.

[Ivan Dan]

Either an 8 or a Pro Truck... All that extra travel and HP would be huge! That would be a lot of fun. Nobody fast seems to stay in 7's for too long. Damn bug bites... :D
You get bitten and pretty soon nothing's fast enough.
We don't have the resources at this point to race TT (and be competitve) so 8 is our next best option. The extra wheel travel would be SOOO nice. Our truck now only has about 13" in the front. The guys we race against like Roeseler, Salazar, Herrera, Jernigan, BK Fab, all of those guys have 18-20". Our advantage used to be our motor because no one in our class really had the HP we did. But now guys like Roeseler and Herrera have very comparable motors and an extra 5-7" of wheel travel which goes a long way. We are in the process of building a new 7 truck but GT ran into some issues and thats been put on hold for now.
We'll see what happens....I'm hoping class 8 in the near future.

[Riverkid]

Good luck with it! I was checking out some of the 7's at the Vegas SCORE race. Roeseler definitely had a nice truck, and the BK Toy had some nice fab work on the suspension too. It's scary you guys run that fast with 13" of wheel travel. You must know your chiropractor REAL well. :eek:

[Ivan Dan]

Good luck with it! I was checking out some of the 7's at the Vegas SCORE race. Roeseler definitely had a nice truck, and the BK Toy had some nice fab work on the suspension too. It's scary you guys run that fast with 13" of wheel travel. You must know your chiropractor REAL well. :eek:
Our truck isn't that bad we've spent A LOT of time dialing in the suspension. Now the 1/2 1600 cars on the other hand....those guys are nuts and get the crap beat out of them but are pretty damn fast for what they are.

[Riverkid]

What's that make the 9 and 11 guys? :hammerhea

[Ivan Dan]

What's that make the 9 and 11 guys? :hammerhea
Those guys are even more nuts...they just don't go nearly as fast though. :D You couldn't pay me enough money to race a 9 or an 11 at the Baja 1000.

[Sportin' Wood]

Sounds like a great trip :D Didn't you just paint the Crawler :idea: :D
Its just paint, with a crawler you can't fall in love with paint. :rollside:
I'm not using the Stonecrawler for this AZKC, we are using an older one with rear steer. Mine is faster and handles the jumps and whoopps better but I think it might be too light to assist a TT.

[Sportin' Wood]

Gonna go black and flourescent green huh?!?!
Something like that :crossx: