Standing near a washed-out corner somewhere near mile 600 of the 692-mile desert off-road race, we were treated to a number of enthusiastic racers roosting through the sand en route to the finish line back in Ensenada.
Approximately 200 miles south of the border in the rugged Baja Peninsula, we were celebrating the upcoming marriage of a good buddy. On Saturday we took a break from our bachelor surf expedition to enjoy the scenes below.
After a couple days of surfing, we were plenty happy to drink some beers, play bocce ball and wait for the next racer to come blasting by. While there are plenty of popular viewing spots (mostly closer to town centers) packed with rabid race fans, we were in the middle of nowhere and these guys were stoked to see us. Our efforts were rewarded with lots of fist-pumps, waves, honks and special flashing lights.
This guy was so psyched to see us, he missed the corner and had to double back.
The overall winner (won by a trophy truck) finished this year's race in 14 hours and 51 minutes. That means averaging about 47 miles per hour over what folks were calling the roughest course in recent memory. And from what we observed of the track, that's damn fast. For the second time in three years, the overall title was sealed by Team BFGoodrich member Andy McMillin and his father Scott McMillin, who swapped off driving duties.
Though the trophy truck class is cool, the motorcycle class is where it's at. Those dudes are crazy. And tough.
Also entertaining was the VW class.
The picture below is the front page of a local paper the day after the race. That's a man on a bike under the truck. He walked away from the incident.
Good timing on the photo, though I bet the victim would have preferred a "heads up" alert.
