Rancho ProBaja Short Course Race.
The 20 and 21st of August held the ProBaja Short course race in La Paz, a short and tight 1.2 kilometer short course.
Both TANOM Racing drivers Sandy & Andrea really enjoy short course racing, however the cars that they are competing in this season, the large Wietzel Trophy Truck and the behemoth Dominator are both definitely heavy desert race cars, and neither are suitable to be in a tight short course, where power to weight ratio and acceleration are of utmost importance. At the start of the season, the team had made the decision that they would NOT race at this race, as the extreme wear and tear for these cars under these conditions was unnecessary, especially not really being competitive.
However, as racers often tend to do, at the last minute, the urge for “yet another quick fix” was just too strong and the team decided to take both the TT and the Class 1 to the event. And as they hadn’t done much testing and wanted to have some more fun, they decided to enter the Class 5 Open and the Class 8 also. It looked like it was going to be a fun Sunday and a great excuse to get the team together, have some great carne asada and just fun racing. Unfortunately, Mr Weather had other ideas in mind. A complete and unexpected downpour the night before the race on a track unprepared with dealing with such colossal water, completely flooded the track. We are not talking about mud, or a few water puddles, we are talking about huge water holes, with so much dirty, muddy water that it got everywhere.. engines, filters, CVs, helmets, visors, ears, nose… everywhere! Unfortunately, it just took the fun out of the racing, and although the team ran the cars just to participate, they battled with the water in all classes, and decided not to risk machinery more than necessary, taking whatever position they could, preparing themselves for a long, dirty and costly race prep after the race.
Put it this way… the company was fantastic, the food incredible however the racing was one of those few racing moments in twenty years of racing experience, that you would rather have lived without!