Norra 2013

[cross-country]

Originally Posted by crankshaft

I'm hoping to help a few New Englanders
with transport and service but your shipping option sounds great!
Would you also have a service truck to offer?

I might be able to offer space in a couple chase trucks for you guys. I'll know more in late November/early December.

[Baja Dad]

Originally Posted by Maineroot

We have the landing zone secured! Next steps.

1. Transport of Bikes and gear across the border from Calexico to the Hotel/Tech Inspection in Mexicali.
Flatbed trailer?

2. Cabo to USA. (Back to Calexico??)

My Broker buddy can take care of that!!

[Baja Dad]

Originally Posted by crankshaft

I'm hoping to help a few New Englanders
with transport and service but your shipping option sounds great!
Would you also have a service truck to offer?

I could put somthing together , There would have to be a small fee to cover the fuel cost and to take of the support crew.
The rider could SKIP paying for Mag 7 save that fee and put to the ADV Support Truck and crew!!!

here is somthing I have been working on:
This is a ROUGH draft and no cost has been determined yet


It is all in the planning stage. Price would depend on the event and what bike you would want to ride
I hope to do this and be able to support 4-5 bikes ( that means 4-15 riders)
Ironman,Two rider team.Three rider team.

I am thinking of setting up a Main support truck with two crew members to work on the bikes at the
end of each stage so the Rider can relax and have fun.
maybe also a few chase support trucks for Transfer stages
The Support Truck will also have Water & Power aid and some light food snacks on it for the riders

The level of support would start off with:
Stage 1.You ship out Your Race ready Bike .( you only have to pay for Support help
includes Team T-shirt and Race Jersey ( you could also get new Race pants and Rally Jacket for an extra fee)
Stage 2.
includes Team T-shirt and Race Jersey ( you could also get new Race pants and Rally Jacket for an extra fee)
Stage 2.
Fully raced Preped bike.
example: KTM 450,525,640 or Honda 450x 650r ( this could change)
GPR Steering Stabilizer
Supersprox Sprockets
DID O-ring Chain
BRP Chain Block
Full race skid plate
Pro Taper bars with AME Grips
Acerbis Rally Guards
F2R Road Book with thumb switch
1-ICO
Acerbis or IMS LARGE fuel tank depends on the bike
Seat Concepts Rally seat
Twin Air race filters
Fuel for the race bike during the Event ( Depends on the event. someStops at the local Pemix maybe needed)( AS Mad Mike Gaynor did this past race.)
New Tires with HD Tubes ( the brand is still up in the air)
( you could use Bib Moses on the race bike for an extra fee)
The rider can request Items that can be added (extra fee)


The support Truck will have some spare parts and spare Tires ( you would only pay extra for what you used)
The crew members would do all mantaince on the bike each night and change tires if needed
(Sat phones could be also handed out for each bike for an extra fee)


This is somthing I have been wanting to do again since back in the early 90's when i ran my own company called
Baja race Prep. I use to prep Bikes for a lot of riders that came from all over the world to Race the BAJA 1000

Please give me some feed back
Thanks Mark

[Maineroot]

I should sell my bike and get on your program!!

That sounds awesome.

Most everyone I talk to that want to do the race can't seem to get over the logistical part of it.

Start another thread and we can take it from there.

If anyone can make it happen, and do it well- I think that would be you!!

Let me know if I can help organize any of your plan

[crankshaft]

Mike and I hope to support a few guys from the East Coast/New England for the event. Basically the same idea, food, fuel, mechanics, gear hauling so guys with limited time can do the fly and ride. Our Idea is to have one big truck( My Sprinter van) hauling the big stuff to the overnights and Mike doing recovery and remote service in the Element. My Wife would be in charge of hospitality at the overnights.

We're not doing it to make money, just share our costs and make it affordable for everyone to come down and have fun. The logistics was a concern for Mike and I at first but realized it was no big deal I've got three people interested, which would be our bag limit anyway.

Mark, will you come prep my bike

[Racer20]

Originally Posted by toro618

How many total days do most of you end up spending for this race? How many days would you guys recommend for a first timer...specially the number of days before the race? I am a total noob and thinking of entering this race.

Thanks in advance

Last year was our first trip and we arrived Friday night, tech on sat, race Sunday. It would have been nice to be able to scout a little, but we didn't feel rushed and made everything with plenty of time. We stayed for the awards and left thur morning. I would have loved to have stayed a few days in Cabo and hope to this year.

We actually brought a rider from Jersey, what do you have planned for transport?

[Racer20]

Originally Posted by Region Riley

No, I'm not ready yet. Working on a team for 2014.

My Girlfriend is coming along this trip and she keeps telling me she will be doing it in 2014.. This will give her a feel of what Baja is all about and get hooked like I did..

[toro618]

Originally Posted by Racer20

Last year was our first trip and we arrived Friday night, tech on sat, race Sunday. It would have been nice to be able to scout a little, but we didn't feel rushed and made everything with plenty of time. We stayed for the awards and left thur morning. I would have loved to have stayed a few days in Cabo and hope to this year.

We actually brought a rider from Jersey, what do you have planned for transport?

I don't have anything planned for transportation yet. If I can make this race happen, I have a few trailers to use. How is the trailer pitting organzied for a full sized tractor and trailer?

[beechum1]

Originally Posted by toro618

I don't have anything planned for transportation yet. If I can make this race happen, I have a few trailers to use. How is the trailer pitting organzied for a full sized tractor and trailer?

Ask robbie

[Racer20]

Originally Posted by toro618

I don't have anything planned for transportation yet. If I can make this race happen, I have a few trailers to use. How is the trailer pitting organzied for a full sized tractor and trailer?

Using a full size tractor trailer as a chase vehicle may be difficult, some of the roads are tight and dirt etc.

racer20

[Racer20]

Originally Posted by Strong Bad

I hope you booked the Cabo Azul in Cabo. It is where the finish is as well as the awards. Mark Post (Owner and NORRA/SCORE racer) gives all of the entries a HUGE discount and the place is FUCK'n amazing!!!!!!!

How do you get this "HUGE" discount at the Azul.

Racer20

[Strong Bad]

Originally Posted by toro618

I don't have anything planned for transportation yet. If I can make this race happen, I have a few trailers to use. How is the trailer pitting organzied for a full sized tractor and trailer?

As far as pits are concerned there are no particular pit locations assigned by NORRA. Baja pits set up pit locations where they feel fits the needs of the bikes. You are totally on your own for where you choose to do your pitting as there are no areas set up or reserved for you to use. We chose locations where we could find a wide flat spot near the start or end of a special stage, all depending on distances and fuel used. Some times we simply "splashed" enough fuel to get near the start of the next special and then followed the car to a point near the start of the next stage where we did a more detailed "pit" before lining up for the start.

I have been in a tractor trailer going down hwy 1. I did it once and I would NEVER do it again. Waaaay too dangerous. The road is extremely narrow, it is not uncommon for trucks to slap mirrors with the trucks going in the opposite direction. Go on Google maps and look at a street view of hwy 1 (yes there is a street view of the entire length of hwy 1). You'll see that there is ZERO shoulder on the road and most of the time there is a drop at the edge of the pavement. I've been on a large number of big teams who race SCORE in Baja that use Semi's, but all of their drivers have years of experience driving in Baja. NOBODY uses a Semi for support in the NORRA event.

Note the lack of a pilot car!



30 seconds later:

The guy in the white truck was really lucky that there was this one really rare concrete shoulder right when it needed it!!

Oh and BTW, Robby uses his Dakar support truck which doesn't have a trailer and he still has problems. If he brings a trailer, it is the one that he sells Tee shirts and Speed energy drink out of at tech inspection and it goes home after tech. Here is a pic of Robby airing down to get his Dakar support truck unstuck:

[Strong Bad]

Originally Posted by Racer20

How do you get this "HUGE" discount at the Azul.

Racer20

You will have to talk to them about rates. Be forewarned it is a 4 star resort in a resort town and even huge discounts may be pricey for many.

[toro618]

Originally Posted by Strong Bad

As far as pits are concerned there are no particular pit locations assigned by NORRA. Baja pits set up pit locations where they feel fits the needs of the bikes. You are totally on your own for where you choose to do your pitting as there are no areas set up or reserved for you to use. We chose locations where we could find a wide flat spot near the start or end of a special stage, all depending on distances and fuel used. Some times we simply "splashed" enough fuel to get near the start of the next special and then followed the car to a point near the start of the next stage where we did a more detailed "pit" before lining up for the start.

I have been in a tractor trailer going down hwy 1. I did it once and I would NEVER do it again. Waaaay too dangerous. The road is extremely narrow, it is not uncommon for trucks to slap mirrors with the trucks going in the opposite direction. Go on Google maps and look at a street view of hwy 1 (yes there is a street view of the entire length of hwy 1). You'll see that there is ZERO shoulder on the road and most of the time there is a drop at the edge of the pavement. I've been on a large number of big teams who race SCORE in Baja that use Semi's, but all of their drivers have years of experience driving in Baja. NOBODY uses a Semi for support in the NORRA event.

Note the lack of a pilot car!



30 seconds later:

The guy in the white truck was really lucky that there was this one really rare concrete shoulder right when it needed it!!

Oh and BTW, Robby uses his Dakar support truck which doesn't have a trailer and he still has problems. If he brings a trailer, it is the one that he sells Tee shirts and Speed energy drink out of at tech inspection and it goes home after tech. Here is a pic of Robby airing down to get his Dakar support truck unstuck:

That's why I wasn't sure about using my semi even though I have an experienced truck driver....Thank you very much for that info. My next smallest trailer is a 28 footer which I guess will end up using if I make this trip. In the mean time I will keep checking these threads on some of the transport services being offered....I think they're a great idea for noobies like myself.

[skidrow]

hey baja dad great brain storming. the racer support sounds good. i am looking for bike shipping back to california after the race so if others are in need to let me know so we can talk. this is my first mexico 1000 and cant wait.