Carreras
News
Holiday
Edition 2013
**CHIHUAHUA EXPRESS DEADLINE
Several
racers have already taken advantage of the $250 USD discount on the Chihuahua
Express entry fee by paying their fee in December. The deadline is December 31, but if your
check for $2500 USD is in the mail by then, it will be warmly received. On January 1, the fee goes up $250. The fee for the Express Tour, a regularity
rally, is $1250.
Rooms
at the four-star Soberano Hotel remain $165 USD (tax and service included) a
night for a single (one king bed) or double (two queen beds). Registration, tech, and all driver’s meeting
will all be held at this hotel, located high on a hill in the modern, western
suburbs of Chihuahua City. Most racers
will spend five nights at the Soberano, checking in Wednesday, April 2, and
checking out on Monday, April 7. Registration
and tech begin Sept. 2 at 10:00 AM.
**SCHEDULE FOR THE EXPRESS
Again
this year, on Thursday morning April 3, the cars in full competition will run an
optional “pre-qualification” stage of 12 KM to help determine the starting
order on Friday. This stage is run on
part of the original Pan Am Highway used in 1950-1954 for that historic
race. It is just about the only piece of
the original highway left from Chihuahua City to Ciudad Juarez. The ceremonial start of the race will be that
evening at a plaza near the hotel. A drivers’
meeting will follow.
On
Friday the cars will race northwest over several low mountain ranges to the
city of Madera, stop for lunch and service, and then race the same stages back
toward Chihuahua City. The first stage
in the morning and last stage in the afternoon, a 22 KM run though the first
mountain range, is one of the true challenges of the event for cars and
drivers.
On
Saturday the event heads southwest to the majestic Copper Canyon, a major
tourist attraction in this part of Mexico and the world. The cars will end the morning’s run at the
actual rim of the canyon, where lunch will be served. The stages back down from the canyon are another
test of the cars (brakes) and drivers (patience).
Sunday
takes the cars through the desert 145 miles to Ojinaga, across from Presidio, Texas. It’s a short day, but the stages are very
fast. Several stages will be run up and over
mountain ranges. It is a day that favors
big-bore cars.
**TRANSPORT TO CHIHUAHUA CITY
Chihuahua
City is only 240 miles south of El Paso, Texas and a mere145 miles from
Presidio, Texas. By comparison, it is
around 960 miles from Mexico City. The
roads in the part of Mexico are excellent, primarily because there’s not a lot
of rain. Being sparsely populated, there
are also very few villages in the area with the scourge of Mexican rally
drivers – speed bumps (topes).
On
Tuesday, April 1 a convoy will convene in El Paso and cross the border the next
morning April 2 at Santa Teresa, New Mexico, which is next door to El
Paso. This route bypasses the city of Juarez
completely. From Santa Teresa to
Chihuahua City there is only one town of any size along the entire route.
Chihuahua
City has a modern international airport and excellent, first-class (luxury)
express bus service to Juarez-El Paso.
During
the race the cars in competition and the Tour will be assisted by a virtual
army of state police, local police, and EMT personnel.
Worried
about your safety? Take comfort in the
fact that in 26 years of international rallies in Mexico or longer, including
the Pan Am, Border Challenge, and Express, there has been not one incident of
violence directed at a competitor. Just
keep your eyes on the road and not on the impressive landscapes along the race
route!
For
an entry form or a detailed FAQ about the Express, just hit your reply button. More info is also available at www.chihuahuaexpress.com. The Express is part of the Silver State
Challenge Classic. www.sscc.us
**RESULTS OF LA CARRERA 2013
A
report on how los norteamericanos (Canadians and Americans) did in the
event has been posted on www.panamrace.com. Here is a short version.
Defending LCP Champion Gabriel Perez (MX)
successively defended his title by beating his countryman Emiliano Velazquez in
another Turismo Mayor car by a comfortable 3:34. American favorite Doug Mockett had tire and
mechanical problems on Days 1 and 2, and quickly fell out of contention, ending
in 19th overall.
Congratulations to the class winners from North
America:
1.
Paul Hladky (USA),
driving a smart race, was the highest American finisher in fifth overall and
first in his class, Turismo Production. Adrian Gerrits was his able co-piloto.
2.
Renée
Brinkerhoff (USA), driving probably the neatest looking car in the entire
race finished first in Sports Menor in her Porsche 356. Americans swept all three top places in this
class.
3.
Conrad
Stevenson and Nelson Chan (USA) emerged as the winners of Historic A
Plus. But Martin Lauber (USA) has request a review of the results in
this class.
4.
Carson
Scheller and daughter Lauren (USA) repeated once again as champs of
the Original Pan Am class, finishing 25th overall. It was Carson´s 4th win, with
three second place finishes, and never a DNF in seven tries.
Honorable mentions
Taz Harvey, driving his new Datsun Z car, finished 8th
overall but a disappointing 2d in Historic B, losing to a Porsche 911 from
Mexico.
Rene Rodriquez (MX) and the Vance Stewart boys
(USA), from TBZ Racing, won third place again in Turismo Mayor in their Ford,
“El Jefe,” also significantly improving their overall standing from last year,
too.
Christian Reichardt (USA) had to leave the race
early, but his partner Dan Roche (Canada), and A. J. Schwitenberg
finished in second in Original Pan Am and 54th overall in
their Lincoln.
Neville Sonner
and Dawson Tanner (USA) took second in Sports Menor in their Porsche
356, followed by Rob Curry and Rickey Shaw in third, also in a
356.
Ray Stevenson
and Paul Fruchbom (USA), team driving, put their Porsche 911 in 20th
place overall and 7th in class, a very creditable outcome for
rookies. Walt Sikes and Gordon
Walton (USA), in their beautiful 911, followed in 30th spot
overall, up from 52d last year.
Other class winners included Mexican Xavier Lamadrid
in Historic C (a.k.a., the “Mustang race”) and finished 7th
overall. Jack Rogers and C.J.
Strupp (USA), who suffered nagging mechanical problems, were the highest
American finishers in this class.
The LT Special, a Chevy Chevelle chassis with a
Mexican fiberglass sports-car body, was finally hauled out of storage to win
Sports Mayor again in the hands of piloto Adrian Stephens (GB) and co-piloto
Sam Burg (USA).
Of the 84 cars that actually started the race on Day
1, only 62 were running on the last day, including 21 from the U.S. and Canada
out of 28 entries. There were several
off-road “excursions,” but no serious injuries were reported.
With the exception of the misadventures some tardy racers
and support crews had in entering Mexico
City, most North American competitors seemed highly pleased with the event this
year. The Organizers got high marks for making
improvements in the drivers’ meetings and delivering the timing results.
**PAN
AM CARS AT ROAD AMERICA, 2014
Pan Am cars have been invited to two events at Road
America, the famous track in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, about three hours north
of Chicago. The first event is “The Hawk
with Brian Redman,” July 18-20. Since
this is the 50th anniversary of the Mustang, it will be the featured
car, so while all Carrera cars are invited, Carrera Mustangs have a special
invitation. This may be the greatest
assembly of racing Mustangs in America.
Usually, nearly 500 cars participate in The Hawk. Because Road America is over four miles long,
so there is room there for a big herd of ‘Stangs.
The second event is the “VSCDA Elkhart Lake Vintage
Festival” at Road America September12-14.
VSCDA is a vintage race organization in the Mid-West.
**PIKES
PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILLCLIMB
Registration for this famous event is open on line
until January 31. www.PPIHC.com Because the road up the mountain is all paved
now, the event is over-subscribed, which means some people who will sign up
will receive “regret” notices in February.
Although past vintage champion Doug Mockett does not plan to return to
the event this year, we expect several Pan Am cars to be there, including
Mustangs from Todd Landon’s shop. Todd’s Mustangs are rentable for The Hawk,
Pikes Peak, and even Bonneville in August.
Other rental cars at available from two shops in San Miguel de
Allende, Mexico – Mats Hammarlund Racing
and Euro-Latino Racing. Our Pan Am cars
are very popular in this event.
Happy Holidays to all!
Gerie
Bledsoe
North
American Coordinator
La
Carrera Panamericana and Chihuahua Express
www.panamrace.com+1-650-525-9190
USPS
address:
220
N Zapata Hwy Ste 11 Pmb68B
Laredo,
TX 78043
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