Day 3 - Puebla to Queretaro

Today was a very long day. Last night we discovered that a rocker arm was cracked on the Bag of Nails. Five hours later we had the car fixed and ready to run another day. Unfortunatley that was at 3:30 am and we had to leave for the mid-day service stop at 5:30 am.

Jason, Todd and Shaemus left early and took a back route up to Queretaro that avoided Mexico City and the killer bee traffic cops. Bobbie and Fernando had to sweep behind the drivers and were escorted through Mexico City by the local Mustang Club. Unfortuanately the got pinched twice today for a total of $500 US. The first time was in Puebla for supposed making a right hand turn on a red light without coming to a complete stop, that shakedown cost us $300. The second pinch came in Mexico City while they waited for the escort. They were on the correct "truck" road but were in the wrong lane, that one cost the remaining $200.

The racers had a great day overall. The cars are running really well and we hopefully gained some ground on the top racers. The day started with a long transit section into Mexico City. They Federal Police shut down the main highway through the city for the race. Imagine closing a road that carriers hundred of thousands of cars per day . . . There was a speed section right through the heart of downtown and then another long transit to just south of Queretaro to service. The day ended with three more speed sections in the mountains by Queretaro and six laps around the local race track. To view the route click here: http://www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx/ruta/nvo/4_PUEBLA_QUERETARO.pdf

The Bag of Nails is currently running 5th overall and 1st in their class with over a 1 minute lead. The Gypsy Wind is running 30th overall and 5th in their class.

During service we saw a corovette that crashed yesterday and caught fire. As you can see below there is very little left. The fire was so hot it melted the transmission case, valve covers and completed melted all the fiberglass. The car went off the road during a speed section and punctured their fuel cell. The drivers escaped with minor burns. We supposedly lost 5 more cars yesterday due to crashes and breakdowns.

This is a race of endurance and consistency as much as it is about speed.

Tomorrow we race to Morelia and the famous Mil Cumbre route. This is one of the hairiest sections in the race, sharp curves, steep drop offs and heavy jungle if you go off the road. Check out the race section here: http://www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx/ruta/nvo/5_QUERETARO_MORELIA.pdf
More pictures can be found here: http://www.lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx/galeria07_preclasificacion.asp
Visit our TBZ friends La Carrera blog at http://funksterwtf.blogspot.com/ for more stories and pictures.

Picture 1 - Burnt Corovette

Picture 2 - Richard and Simon

Picture 3 - Todd and Sheamus