Baja 2000
Photo by Cindy Monroe near Ibarra
1726 miles of Heaven
and Hell-GPS goes along for the ride
SCORE International
goes for history with the longest race ever. After 32 years of racing
down the Baja peninsula, El Presidente Sal Fish creates the mother of
all off road races for 2000. Most of the 261 teams that entered used
GPS to help navigate the grueling and exotic 1726 miles of the peninsula.
“GPS gives you confidence and helps you drive faster by knowing where
the hazards are,” stated Jay Vreeland, co-driver of Vildosola Racing.
By
Jack W. Peters
Cabo
San Lucas, Baja California Sur November 2000. The finish line and
party central after a little breakfast and sleep for those fortunate
enough to complete the 1726 mile race. Starting in Ensenada, zig-zaging
down the peninsula through such towns as Santo Tomas, San Quintin, Santa
Rosalilita, Bahia de LA, San Ignacio, La Paz, Totos Santos, then finishing
in Cabo. The 261 entries include 181 trucks and buggies and 80 motorcycles
and quads in one of 24 pro classes and 6 sportsman classes. Race teams
entered from 30 U.S. states and various countries including Australia,
Canada, England, Japan, New Zealand, and Switzerland. This is off- road’s
richest race totaling over $500,000 in cash and contingency prizes.
MacPherson Chevrolet’s Class 7 S-10 blasting to the finish
Benefits
of GPS
So you
may be wondering how these racers successfully navigate over hundreds
of miles of desert where one dirt road that looks just like another
without getting lost? Most of the teams obviously use GPS, but he question
is how? In addition to GPS, racers also use 50 watt VHF FM radios and
satellite phones to keep in contact with their crews.
Receivers
could be spotted of all brands, shapes and sizes, but the most common
seen was the larger screen styles such as the Lowrance GlobalMap
1600. Small screens are difficult enough to read in a bouncing
car, so the larger four inch screen models are the best choice for good
visibility without taking up too much dash space.
This first
step is to get the race course and its checkpoints programmed as waypoints
(WP) into the receiver’s memory. There is a basically three ways of
doing so. The first way is to pre-run the course and manually save
every point of interest (POI) as a waypoint into the receiver. This
would be a fun and actuate way to do if you have a week or two to kill.
Another option is to take the coordinates off a map by making longitude
and latitude or UTM measurements and convert them to waypoints. Points
of interest maybe marked already, or a map ruler is used to determine
the coordinates. This is not the most accurate way, but it covers the
basics without much cost or time.
The third
and slickest way is to down load a map already prepared by BF Goodrich.
These folks were nice enough to already map out the course down the
1/10th mile, and mark the start, finish, and the 24 checkpoints
in between. These electronic maps also include hazard areas and pit
locations. Using a PC cable, the map can be downloaded right into the
GPS unit. Sounds too good to be true? Well it is. With a race of
this distance, GPS receivers do not have enough memory to store all
of the detail needed. Their original bread-crumb trial included 17,000
points. In the interest of memory, these points were reduced to 3,000
and the course split into two sections.
Plot trial one is the start
to San Ignacio, Plot trial two is San Ignacio to finish. The
problem is both sections use too much memory to be downloaded together.
A possible solution is load them into different units that could be
traded out at the half way driver’s change. Luckily off-road races
are not usually this long so receiver memory is not as crucial of a
problem.
BF Goodrich will email
the mapping information to you if you race with their tires and agree
to their copyright agreement. They do provide excellent pit support
anyway, and this GPS mapping support service is an added bonus. For
more information check out their web site at: www.rlhcom.com.
The entered
waypoints provide an outline of the course for critical distance information.
This includes exactly how far traveled, how far to go, and the distance
between each checkpoint and other points of interest. Other desert
race car luxuries provided through GPS include a speedometer and altimeter.
Receivers can also be programmed to provide units of fuel consumption
per hour. Before GPS, obtaining this information in any degree of accuracy
was a brain numbing exercise in fuzzy math. Waypoints are made easier
to read by customizing them with icons. Pit stops can get the fuel
pump symbol, and danger areas can get the skull and cross bones.
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Baja
2000 by the numbers
·
1726 miles thought eight cities & towns
·
Longest race in Baja’s 23 year race history
·
261 entries in 30 race classes that include
trucks, buggies, motorcycles & quads
·
181 trucks & buggies, 80 bike &
ATV
·
179 finishers within an 80 hour time limit
·
First place over all is Johnny Campbell
- Tim Staab on a Honda motorcycle. Finished in 30:54
hours at an average speed of 54.3 MPH.
·
First place for four wheeled vehicles was
Dan Smith - David Ashley in the Duralast Ford Trophy truck.
Finished in 32:15 hours, at an average speed of 52 MPH.
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Equipment
used and setup
The most
widely used receiver of the race was the Lowrance GlobalMap 1600. Its
four inch screen and 2 megabytes of memory made it an ideal choice.
The unit’s base map of Mexico is better than expected and it is tough
enough to withstand the brain-jarring vibration of off-road racing.
But who wants to use stuff right out of the box without tweaking it
first? Some common modifications include rock shields, button covers,
and external speakers.
The guys
at Vildosola Racing take the challenge seriously. They spend eleven
days pre-running the course, many areas twice. They entered their pit
locations and 300 hazard waypoints. Co-driver Jay Vreeland of San Diego
explains that he wanted to keep the screen simple. He was not so concerned
about the coarse map as he was the hazards. As one of the main responsibilities
of a co-driver, his job is to warn the driver of upcoming problem areas.
300 hazard locations were programmed that set off the receivers audible
alarm.
This team
was also one of the more innovative when it comes to setting up the
equipment. Waypoints recorded during pre-running were saved in laptop
computer and then later loaded into the race car’s receiver. Roads
and other mapping details were eliminated to reduce memory problems
and confusion while trying to read the screen in a bouncing race car.
A special button flap was constructed to cover buttons that did not
require being pressed, leaving primarily the “exit” button exposed.
This allowed easier control is shutting of the alarm while wearing gloves.
This cover was held down by velcro and flips up to access all buttons,
(shown on upper left). A rock shield was fabricated to protect the
electronics. From the look of the impact marks from rocks and dirt
(as shown on upper right), it appears it was a very good investment.
Through the use of a microphone on the receiver’s external speaker,
the alarm could be re-amplified and to be heard inside the helmet.
Unfortunately this modification did not work once the race began.
Vreeland
said that you just can’t remember where all of the hazards and big ditches
are. The equipment increases confidence by notifying you of these problem
areas allowing you to drive much faster. “I’ve raced many years with
and without GPS, there is no way I would be without it.” Team Vildosola
finished 5th in Class 1 unlimited buggy, and 8th
overall.
A
techies dream come true
This
cockpit is a good example of off-road racing’s growing
high tech trend. Large screen GPS like this Garmin Map
162.
A
50 watt VHF FM radio system where helmets are wired for
communication with the radio as well as an intercom system
between the driver and co-driver.
A
TerraTrip rally computer provides additional timing information.
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MacPherson’s
Class 7 also contained some interesting electronics. Besides using
GPS, they also incorporate a new satellite email communication system
allowing text messages to be sent and received worldwide. Two vehicle-tracking
systems including ORBCOMM were installed added dependability.
GM Engineers from the Desert Proving Ground in Phoenix, AZ set up the
systems to maintain contact with the race truck and chase rigs.
 
With an
onboard computer, email is sent and received through a base relay system
utilizing satellite communication. Vehicles are also tracked on a computer
screen with five-minute updates. Another advantage to the system is
the ability to monitor onboard electronic systems. For example, six
imputes in the ORBCOMM system provide the opportunity for a tracking
station to see if the engine is running or if the lights are on. Like
most new technology, it works but no without some bugs. Messages were
not always received immediately, sometimes taking hours due to possible
interference with satellite signals.
The winning
Duralast Ford Trophy truck team of Dave Ashley also used satellite communication
to their advantage. Data-ports from the back of their Lowrance GPS
receivers fed their whereabouts through satellite communication gear
courtesy of TMI Communication of Canada. This allowed the truck’s location
to be tracked in real time on a lap top computer. Satellite communication
and tracking is still very new technology with mucho room for improvement.
Fortunately even in its infancy, this technology is still useful. With
equipment constantly being tested and upgraded we should see continual
tangible improvements in the technology and its application. We will
be watching closely. Look for upcoming articles on satellite communication
and tracking soon.
Ashes
to Ashes – Dust to Dust
SCORE officials
kneel over the ashes of the late John Kealey.
Best friend
Jim Brannon of Douglasville, Georgia approached the finish
line with a zip lock back of gray powder marked “John.”
In an emotional tribute to his friend, he scattered ashes
on the finish line.
John Kealey
was a fellow racer who recently died of cancer. In a
choked up voice Brannon stated, “He would have wanted
it that way.”
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Be sure to check out our article Real
Mexico Travel Tips.
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