KTMTalk guru DJH goes to Baja as KTM pit support

[safiri]

DJH posted this on KTMTalk: http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?s=51c17ade ... pic=465159

Just back from Baja 1000 working a pit for the KTM factory effort. My first time down there, I was blown away by the magnitude of the effort of any competitive team. Always new the rider had huge effort but the support teams!!!!!!!!! Example, typical team has a rider or driver who has a couple sections, lets say your assigned to mile 200-400 AND 800 to 1000. So you take a bike identical to the race bike, unload at mile 200 and ride a competitive pace to mile 400 over & over while your crew is gassing you every 50 miles chasing you from pit to pit, recording times etc. then driving you back to mile 200 for several days, then move to 800 and repeat. All of this requires lots of tires and race gas which is not purchased locally so huge amounts of supplies hauled in from US. Got to have high ground clearence big soft sidewall tires and big gas tank. Number of motels, trucks & people going up & down kind primitive 2 lane roads with zero shoulder was impossable o comprehend. RE he primitive roads, no shoulder, verticle drop off likly to turn you over if one tire outside of the fog line, with a semi going the other ways, (we witnessed two accidents, one was confirm fatality, the other likely). My Son & I where at race mile 785, replaced both wheels & filled with gas (approx. 3 minutes). The team had a chart showing to the second when the rider should be there if all was on time. As it was dark we had a generator, a tent & flag with a spot light inside glowing Orange in the dark, spent about an hour with shovel & rake making a flat spot to work without rocks that love to roll around as you move about, bike stand, every tool in place layed out on mats, lights arranged to not shine in riders eyes but on out wheel work etc. We also had a scheduled to be there if needed spare rider and Kurt Kaslli arrived if needed as he was flogging down the highway to the next spot he would get on. Four riders overall and one of then due in Las Vegas for the Enduro Cross a day & a half later, lots of logistics!

Race shop: Spent most of a day there, training on quick change axel wheel changes, radio, Mexican Cell phones (work in certain areas) Sat phones (worked where we where) & radio, who was to call who, how to record times, what time zone to use (as the race crosses) and generally spying, yes a I learned a few tricks but can’t share). There is an “off road” race shop with an engine prep shop and about half dozen booths to prep a bike and anything they need! Then there was a SX race shop, Roger “D” overseeing everything, I have wondered how much of a technician he was and as involves as he was I think I confirmed the suspicion that he is! I snuck into the engine shop, got kicked out but learned a bit while there:>). Maybe ever ½ hour I would hear a dyno pull going on over there.

The bike; Fairly stock appearing 2012 450 SXF, has a much bigger alternator, special side case, shift lever had abt an inch more jog to get out around the huge alternator. Daylight it had a almost normal # plate with a small LED light, brake hose was behind the #plate so it would not delay the head light install. Frame had a bracket welded on for head light to go on with two bolts and a plug. Guess the gas tank was 3.5 gallon? Had a quick fill, tires (Dunlop) had moose inserts, spokes safety wired together in case one breaks, fuel tank had a quick fill. The gas consumption was mind boggling, mileage per gallon would be in the teens and the tires we took off, front was hot (an issue with Moose inserts and I assume why we where changing) rear was very hot and pretty ragged with only a couple tanks of gas on it.

On the race, info we got was sketchy, we heard their first rider went to the lead early thru check one, then lost a ½ hour with a fuel problem (I think I know what it was but not going to go there). At our mile 785 Honda came in on time, Kawasaki a few minutes later, then our guy 20 minute behind. It seamed like close to an hour before anyone else came thru, then the less supported privateer teams started coming still very spread out. From the info I have heard it stayed about like that for the next few pits. Somewhere in the Race mile 970 area the Kaw dropped out with a suspected broken piston, our guy Quinn Cody crashed big and broke his femur, assume he called ahead as someone drove Kurt Kaselli back to the bike and he rode on in for 2nd. As I understand it that finish confirmed a SCORE championship for KTM!

We waited at our pit for a couple hours for another bike we where supporting, someone called ahead and told us it had crashed out so we loaded up and drove to a spot we had scouted out overlooking a canyon where the racers where boggying at high speed in a dry riverbed. Trophy trucks came thru abt 2 AM and where worth the wait, the canyons acoustics where awesome and we had great view of about 1/2 mile of full throttle! Side note, you can be miles from anything and there are complete families camped out there, kids begging for a sticker, some wanting to help. One family was setting up camp when we surveyed the spot about 36 hours in advance, the locals are some of the nicest people I have met in my travels, based on the 30 year old pickup they arrived in they don’t have much! I offered cash if they would protect the spot I wanted, they refused, I asked if we can bring groceries out, they refused, when I get there a day later their truck is saving my spot and all evening there was coffee or soup ready, yeah their kids got stickers. Overall a very good time.

[Rusty Jug]

That was a very interesting read. Did not realize all the work.