Official 2009 SCORE Baja 1000 Info Thread

another angle


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkkMm1-YaYA&feature=player_embedded]YouTube - Robby Gordon primera curva[/ame]
 
Check this out!!

OVERALL SPT UTV (660cc, 4-wheel utility vehicle)— Reid Nordin, Lake Elsinore, Calif./Hans Waage, Scottsdale, Ariz./Todd Romano, Park City, Utah/Larry Roeseler, Boulevard, Calif., Kawasaki Teryx, 24:32:37 (27.41 mph).


That time above was faster than:

OVERALL SPT TRUCK

CLASS 26 (Limited, Utility)

CLASS 7-2 (Unlimited 2.2/2.4-Liter Truck)—

CLASS 4 (Unlimited, 2.2 Liter open-wheel car)—

CLASS 2 (Limited, 2.2 Liter open-wheel car)—

BAJA CHALLENGE (Subaru-powered, identically-equipped Baja touring cars)--Beat 3 of these guys and the fatsest only finished an hour faster!

CLASS 17 (Class 3, Modified Jeeps)—

PROTRUCK (Limited, production trucks)--Beat 2 of these guys!

STOCK MINI (Stock, Mini-sized trucks)—

STOCK FULL (Stock, Full-sized trucks)--5 starters NO FINISHERS

CLASS 9 (VW-powered, Short wheelbase, single or two-seaters)—

CLASS 7SX (Modified, open mini trucks)—


And the list goes on! Point is, the UTV's are for real and the DragonFire Racing / Kawasaki Teryx team just proved that we are here and we are for real!!!
 
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I was just looking at that one the official result page. We even came close to the times of Class 10, Class 5, Class 5-16 and Class 3. Not really apples to apples but is certainly isn't apples to oranges!

We can't beat that RG video footage but hopefully Lasher can post up some our in-car video from both the ITP car and the Monster Energy Dragonfire Nessy Teryx soon.
 
You guys did an amazing job Reid!

Reid do you have any of Mike's Photos yet? I cant dial him up and was hoping to get something up tonight?
 
Hey Joey,
Here is my version of the race as we raced and chased around the Track.We started the day by doing some last minute testing and tuning on the motor because we dicovered a motor issue thursday afternoon and had to change the heads on the car.
We rolled to the line and Reid said the car was running great.Headed out to Ojos Negros and reid was already from 3rd to 1st so we headed up to mile 80 and waited for him to hit the road and fill with fuel.Reid showed up and was still in first even after changing a flat,We put a new tire on the rack and sent him over the summit.
We next thing we heard was Reid was not moving at RM160 and found out he was stuck after hitting the silt and driving up on top of a bush and high centering.Lucky for us there were people right ther and he quickly got out got fuel and was on his way to Borego.There is a narly silt bed at the end of the lake bed and even though there were several people stuck in it the Teryx motored right through.
Reid handed the car to me at mile 260 and I was off to the south.The first ten miles of track was shared with people coming back around from the loop and was all whoops.I got past them and was off to the dry lake bed for about ten miles of cruising at half throttle at 60-65 mph.The lake was covered with what looked like fog but was just hanging dust and the led lights worked good and I could see the road sides but not very far ahead.
After the lake bed was some four foot holes filled with silt and it looked like a wave coming over the car,Next was a fuel Stop at RM 240 some sand wash and about 5 miles of good road before more gigantic silt holes that you just had to moto through with no vision and try not to get stuck.The next 100 miles were either real rocky roads or sand washes with giant rocks and whoops.
Got out of the car at RM 350 and handed the car to Todd still working awesome and off he went back to Borego were we met him at RM 400 for fuel and a scheduled belt change.Todd was up over the Mikes Sky Ranch loop only to run into people stuck in the mud and silt causing to half hour delays due to the track being blocked.After clearing the blockages he brought us the car at RM 500 and Reid got back in the car for 30 miles on the crossover road.
At RM 530 Larry Roeseler got in the car and headed for the beach section with Reid following him in Larrys prerunner truck.Got through the beach section with out a hitch and down the pavement to Santo Tomas and 40 miles of silt hills and nasty terain.We met Larry at RM635 for fuel and he was off to the finish line and we were off to try to beat him there.We got there just in time to see him come across the line and win the Baja 1000.It was definetly won of the coolest times in my life and Nessy ran flawless with no issues other than a couple of flat tires that didnt actually go flat due to the tire balls with 15psi in them.
Big thanks to Todd,Reid,Larry and Dragonfire crew.Also Mike Lasher for all the pit help and his phone worked so his dad was texting us updates almost the hole 24hrs which was a huge help.
 
I just reread my post and meant to say Reid handed my the car at RM 200.
 
Joey,

You can get race updates from Mike in the middle of nowhere in Mexico but you can't dial him up now?

I haven't talked to him today (he's probably still catching up on sleep).

I'm sure between he and Todd we can get you something soon.

By the way, how come I can post this but its kicked back my Baja story twice?
 
that is so awesome Hans!!! great work guys!!!! I cant say it enough it was awesome to follow along and watch you guys win the biggest race in Off Road!!!!
 
Joey,

You can get race updates from Mike in the middle of nowhere in Mexico but you can't dial him up now?

I haven't talked to him today (he's probably still catching up on sleep).

I'm sure between he and Todd we can get you something soon.

By the way, how come I can post this but its kicked back my Baja story twice?

Maybe it doesnt like your baja post? LMAO Usually if its too long it will tell you to shorten it but I have like a 20K charecter limit set which is huge. Hans just wrote a short novel and it posted? Try typing it in Word and then copying it in the post box and do it that way? We want to hear what the Driver Of Record experienced!


Mike is probably enjoying the comfort of his bed. He wont reply to my texts....it took me 3 days to recover from the 1000 last year...37hrs strait with no sleep and 15 red bulls! LOL
 
OK, I'll re-write it a third time tomorrow at work and try it again.

I figured that because it took me so long to type it that I timed out or something.
 
Hans,
Change your title to Baja 1000 Champion!

Thanks for your help making it happen!

It was my pleasure Reid,if you would have told me before the 500 we would win both races is year I wouldnt have believed it.I have been coming down to these races since 2005 and know how hard it is just to finish and am still flying high from this win.
 
My wife was actually making fun of me because I was so excited we won. She said I don't know why your so excited when you have won races down there before. She is partially right. As a part of Kawasaki's effort from 1987 to 1997 we won at least one class in every race we did in Mexico during that period. Then with my years on the Ultra Wheels, Rob Mac and then finally the last 13 years with the Herbst. It is just a different feeling when you do it yourself.

Plus it was cool to help LR get his 18th career Baja 1000 win!
 
My wife was actually making fun of me because I was so excited we won. She said I don't know why your so excited when you have won races down there before. She is partially right. As a part of Kawasaki's effort from 1987 to 1997 we won at least one class in every race we did in Mexico during that period. Then with my years on the Ultra Wheels, Rob Mac and then finally the last 13 years with the Herbst. It is just a different feeling when you do it yourself.

Plus it was cool to help LR get his 18th career Baja 1000 win!

LR is so cool.1st in utv and second in trophy truck!
 
Ok guys, So i'm home and alive... my bed has never felt so good!!! it was nice to be home and spend the day with my wife. I haven't seen much of her lately with all the road trips i've been on! i left before Halloween and it's already Thanksgiving.

I had an absolute blast in Mexico, the whole Kawasaki Team Green Dragon Fire Team was amazing... Todd knows how to run a first class show. It was hard being part of a race team and not being in control but i tried to lend a hand where i could. it was amazing how well my phone worked down there. We had race updates anytime we needed them. My dad and joey D were on it like it was one of my races! Thanks for the support guys! I have a ton of photos from the week that i still need to go through. I'll send you a couple tonight Joey for the site!

Thanks again Todd, Reid and the whole Dragon Fire Crew!!!
 
Baja 1000 Champions: DragonFire racing has had the opportunity to race for Team Green Kawasaki in DragonFire Built Kawasaki Teryx and win Both the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 this year. Documenting this process needs to start by thanking everyone.
Team Green Kawasaki for the unconditional support in vehicles, parts and patience to make sure we brought them another title. Reid Nordin and Larry Roeseler for being a part of this winning team, their input, testing, pre running and planning added both confidence and experience to our team. Hans Wagge for taking the time off twice a year to be part of this team, working countless hours to ensure everything is ready. Darren, Seth, Danny, and Goo for spending the last three months getting the pre runner, race cars, and race bikes ready. Their dedication and attention to detail surpassed any and all expectation. Jack, Kevin, Fugi, Jim Creegan and the entire Bi Polar crew for chasing our two race cars for over 30 hours, cold nights and dangerous roads.
My Sponsors: Team Green KAWASAKI, ITP Tires and Wheels, Fox Racing, Redline Webber, Jack Daniels, Lowrance, Ogio, Makita, Monster Energy, and DragonFire Racing.
The testing we did prior to racing and the support from our sponsors made this victory possible.
We showed up with over 40 people to support this race, 7 trucks and trailers, two teams, 6 pre runners, and several dirt bikes. All made it home, some a little banged up and broken but all home and all excited to take home another victory.
Baja 1000 Highlights:
The KAWASAKI Teryx Motors and Differentials ran no stop for over 24 hours, without an issue and zero down time. We were fortunate we caught a spring retainer failure while testing during the week and made the appropriate changes to make sure the motor would last running over 7500 RPM for the duration of the race.
DragonFire Nessie: this vehicle surpassed all expectations. We started almost dead last, and passed every vehicle and class both broken and moving. Our overall time has us beating Trophy Truck and Class 1 cars. But a bigger accomplishment is our time would have won or taken a podium in every other 4 wheel Vehicle Class. Here is the list we would have Podiums in: Class 3, Class 5, Class 5/1600, Class 6, Class 7, Class 7sx, Class 8, Class 9, CLASS 10, Class 11, Stock Full, Stock Mini, Pro Truck, Class 17. 4<SUP>th</SUP> in Baja Challenge, Class 2 Predator X18 and Class 7-2.
Both Nessie1 and Nessie2 Completed every mile Baja had to offer. All our pre run DragonFire Teryx’s ran flawlessly for almost 2000 miles.
The ability to have 4 wheel drive, 19 inches of travel, be small and nimble, made this the perfect car for the Baja 1000.
ITP for building the best Tires in the business, 2 Races now Won on the ITP BAJA Cross, and special thanks to ITP for the new race wheel they developed for us to race on. Nessie 2 finished the race on the wheels and tires it started on. Nessie 1 took out three wheels at the Borego Road Crossing, but beyond that had only one flat the entire race.
Fox for working with us on the new internal Bypass shocks that allowed us to pass Class 8 Truck in the whoops of San Felipe.
Our motor department for both designing and building motors in both our race cars that lasted the entire race.
Baja 1000 Challenges:
Valve Spring Retainers failing and costing us two motors
COLD COLD nights
Bottle necks that cost us about 2 hours of down time
Three of my good friends, acting like idiots and crashing while pre running. They all crashed in the same corner. Several Broken Bones and Dunlap tire marks left on all involved.
Many people only go to Baja to say they were able to finish the race, and to see the excitement the people have when their vehicle crosses the line is amazing. Only a few people start the day with a plan to win. We went to Mexico with only one intention and that was to win the Baja 1000. We came prepared and the preparation worked. We understood the limitation of the car and drove within them, we understood the challenges the course would provide and drove around them. We were strategic in our race and chase strategies and ran without challenge or Challenger. Baja is a love hate realationship, and I love hating the Baja.
Todd
 

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Congrats to DFR!! Being that only 50% of all racers even finished, just getting back to Ensenada is an accomplishment!!!
 

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