If there is a singular off-road event that every dirt-loving four-wheeler on the planet (even we magazine groupies) aspires to partake in, it is the Tecate/SCORE Baja 1000. The 1000 is the apex of motorized competition, the pinnacle of human endurance, and the ultimate test of man and machine against... well, man, machine, and Mother Nature. Unmatched in scale and complexity, the Baja 1000 is also the longest nonstop motor race on the planet.
The Donahoe crew (left to...
The Donahoe crew (left to right): Shannon and wife Tammy Campbell, old desert dogs O.J. Shrum and Vernon Roberts (these guys raced with Donahoe Sr. back in the early days), Mike Palmer, Kreg and Paige Donahoe, Bob Bower, and "Wild Bill" Donahoe.
This year marked the 39th running of the 1000. In some years, the race is a loop course from Ensenada and back. For 2006, SCORE went back to the traditional format, traversing the Baja peninsula from Ensenada to La Paz, a full 1,047.8 miles. When we received an invitation to jump in one of Donahoe Racing's rigs and get our kidneys rattled loose, it took all of a quarter-second to respond "let's book that one right now." It was going to be one wild ride, and we thought we'd bring you along for a behind-the-glass view of the Baja 1000.
The 1000 is about total immersion - immersion in swirling dust clouds through the cab, dirt in your ears, suffocating silt beds, sweat, late-night wrenching, 90-weight and racing fuel dripping down your sleeve, sleeping amongst roadside cactus, crazy local drivers, and even crazier chase teams. And if you have to go potty (#1) during the race, just enjoy the pain, because the train is not stopping. Sounds like more fun than watching three monkeys and a football; why would you not want to go? For many, the race is less than 100 miles and terminates at the end of a towstrap back to the road. With a record number of 431 official starters this year, only 234 would find their way to La Paz. That left 197 of us who would break, roll, break and roll, or just flat give up. Experiencing the above-mentioned conditions can form bonds that strengthen and pull race teams together - or it can splinter them like a telephone pole in a tornado.
When Kreg Donahoe asked if...
When Kreg Donahoe asked if we wanted to get our brains rattled loose, he wasn't kidding. Suggestions for prerace health: no dairy products before the race - they curdle in your stomach. Dramamine: It keeps you from throwing up on your driver. Don't drink too much - the truck doesn't stop for potty breaks. Don't forget the diarrhea medicine in case you eat some bad fish tacos the day before the race.
Team owner Kreg Donahoe split duties into four sections. Campbell, Palmer, and I would run the first 299.9 miles to Checkpoint 4 at Coco's Corner near the Sea of Cortez. It would be dark by the time we arrived. Kreg and his wife Paige would then take the wheel, and I'd join the chase team to pull a red-eyed all-nighter on the road to the next pit stop and points farther south.
The original plan was to run the new Donahoe/BFGoodrich Toyota FJ Cruiser (which was on display in the BFG booth at SEMA this year) along with Donahoe's Ford Super Duty F-250, but in racing, stuff happens! A few weeks prior, the Super Duty went up in an auto-flamb, and the FJ Cruiser wasn't delivered to Donahoe in time to have it race-ready. Kicking from the 50-yard line, the team resurrected its 2004 Baja 1000 Class 7S championship car, a Double Cab Toyota Tacoma. Not a bad alternative at all.
When we say "kicking from the 50," what we really mean is that the night before the race, the prep team was up till 1 a.m. checking onboard tools and spare parts and swapping out fuel pumps, filters, and lines in search of a fuel delivery problem. A dirty mass airflow sensor was determined to be the culprit. This was after Kreg Donahoe spent the day at the police station filing a stolen vehicle report. Yep, less than 36 hours to the green flag, Donahoe's Ford Super Duty tow rig, along with our race suits, helmets, and satellite phones, disappeared from the hotel parking lot. We later heard rumors of a half dozen other Super Duty tow rigs that disappeared that night. Stuff happens.