was running in a great position to get a Podium finish, broke his rear suspension and needed some work and welding and basically needed the crews attention, and Planet Chopper nobly bowed out of the race as they had significant time delays which then allowed the crew to concentrate on the Podium efforts for the last stage. Meanwhile, James Sejd, in Truck #79, our full-size Bronco Pre-runner in prerunner class and myself. In the borrowed Full Size bronco from team Tjeenk Racing from Holland, running in Vintage Open, had virtually no issues. Actually…in my history of racing, this is the first time that in 1,400 miles 

(about 2,000 kms) and 5 days of racing, we only had to stop ONCE whilst racing, exactly 2.2 miles from the finish where some aggressive driving overtaking some trucks in the final wash lead me to hit the tire against an embedded rock and get a flat! That was it! 1,400 miles of racing! However, what most stands out was on our last day, on the 2-mile drive from our shop in La Paz to the start line, out of nowhere, we start hearing a clunking from the engine. A serious clunking! Just as we are on a steep downhill coming up to the Malecon, we pulled over and called our crew chief Pio to come and check it out. A chase truck seems to miraculously appeared as beamed down from the Enterprise and before we have time to blink they have the head taken off and confirm that we have a broken rocker arm. Tamara, Juan and I prepare ourselves to accept yet another one of those racing statements, “ We were doing SO WELL, and then.. we weren’t…!” as we are seeing the other race cars driving past us to the start and we are counting off minutes to our start time. Within a blink of an eye, our crew has a small race shop set up in front of the race truck in the street, with all sockets, spanners etc. laid out by size and our engine builder Layo also shows up to help and within 45 minutes, they have us repaired, strapped in and heading towards the starting line just in time to make it without a penalty. Just like that… What should have been a huge obstacle for our finish just became one of those great race stories, as Layo and Pio both look at me after having replaced the rocker arm with one that they found laying around in the shop, by nodding their heads in agreement and saying :” Yeap, that will make it to San Jose and it will make it at 5,500RPM just as well as at 3,000RPM so you go and give her some!”

Thank you to my amazing wife, Tamara. Although she was co-driver for me in Tatiana in 2019, a much slower Bronco which got put together in record time, she knew what to expect. However, in Ensenada, as we get into the truck, for some reason we can only just about hear a murmur from our iPad Leadnav that usually helps us with our calls, even at maximum volume. All of a sudden, the entire onus of making calls and looking for dangers fall upon her, as she governs the NORRA Road book, the GPS and STELLA unit. And this year’s Dutch Bronco, 4-linked and powered by a 408 stroker

motor, is moving at a very different pace from our sweetheart Tatiana, who this year participated as our chase truck under Pio’s reign. To have to come to terms with basically being solely responsible for the trucks safety as well as keeping it on course is a tough role to take on, and I can feel that Tam is rather apprehensive on the first day, although she is getting her head around the new Roadbook annotations and my suggested race lingo “Right 3 into a sweeping Left 4 with blind crest ahead…”. We have a great first day with only a few, minor confusions however I can see that, the perfectionist that she is, as she lays her head down on the pillow in San Felipe, she is not happy with her performance. Day 2: she comes out on fire! Having decided that this is just one more of those things you master, she totally owns her role, has figured out a better system to link the almost unreadable waypoints on the GPS with the road book and doesn’t miss a beat! And stays in the car as one of the best navigators that you could wish for, for 1,400 miles. Having to listen to your wife to give you directions to a dinner party 10 miles from home is generally a terrorizing thought, however sharing this experience with a navigator giving 100% focus and giving clear and concise directions makes this journey an amazing and enjoyable adventure as racers and as a couple!

Thank you to Juan, riding shotgun in our third seat in the Bronco, for always being ready with a smile and a great attitude. Although our stead didn’t give him much work during our race stages, a lot of that had to do with his detailed inspection of the truck each night and picking up on the minor to bigger issues that could cause a problem the next day.

Thank you to our new Off Road driver and team member James Sejd, driving our prerunner Bronco. With a bunch of driving and racing experiences under his belt, James hadn’t really raced off road before,

however having spent time with him running through the desert in a off road car, I had been very impressed by his calm demeanor and his ability to run at a great pace whilst looking after the car. So much so that we invited James to become part of our team in La Paz and he set up “Dirty Habits Racing” (www.dirtyhabits.com) which he will represent in the local Baja California Sur series in a Trophy truck / Class 1 car. We coupled James with a good friend of the team, Enrique Marquez, son of the famous CHECKOS restaurant on Highway 19 km24, between Todos Santos and La Paz. Enrique tackled his job as co-driver with fierce zest and commitment and they worked together fantastically for the entire 1,400 miles, both of them staying in their seat for the entire race. Not bad for getting some seat time, for your first off road race. Coming in 4th in the Evolution pre-runner Class where there were some very big hitters, a time that would have been greatly improved had he not gotten stuck behind some other vehicles in some pretty nasty silt, what most impressed us was that biggest damage on the truck after the whole race was a broken door handle! And, another truck with a 408 stroker motor putting out some pretty decent HP to the tires that raced the entire race on the same 4 YOKOHAMA tires that he started with! We are very much looking forward seeing James at more of these events and working with him to take Dirty Habits to various Baja Podiums!

Thank you to Tony Wille and his wife Dusti who also played the part of Navigator with smiles and hugs being the main dish at the end of the race. Marty and Aideen Seefried brought their Baja knowledge to the challenge as part of the crew, as well as Jorge Lopez and Josh Gillian as chase crew. The Chevy Class 8 known as “La Ruca” was prepped by No Limits Baja in La paz and was ready to rumble. The #812 raced in the same class as our Bronco #8 in Vintage Open and we knew that they would be one of the main contenders to win the class, and thus, one of our main competitors. Tony and Marty shared driving duties whilst George, Josh and Dusti traded navigating duties. However, young Aiden, Marty’s son who has been brought up amongst off road racing and off-road racers of such caliber as Mike Lund, for example, who vouched for the young man’s commitment, hard work and skills, did an outstanding job in the co-driver seat, even when his father decided that it was time for him to get real close and personal with the concept of Baja Silt. The team did an amazing effort, did some remarkably quick stages and they managed to secure third even though they had a couple of events that slowed them down, including deciding to make the truck lighter by getting rid of unnecessary fiberglass…

Thank you to our dear friends and always smiling team from Planet Chopper of New Zealand, Mark and Ben Van Leewarden. Finally, after the long-awaited lift of the New Zealand travel ban, they were able to come to Mexico and get ready for the NORRA. However, this ended up being a real test of persistence, dedication and just, put simply, grabbing life by the balls! Both father and son were dealing with some health issues for almost the entire month that they came to spend in Baja prior to the race, leading to lots of down time and recovery, making it touch and go whether they would be able to actually race. Determined to partake in the adventure, they showed up to Ensenada, fired up to chase yet another victory in their Class. As mentioned, although day 1 started showing them what the truck was capable of with her suspension much improved and her power seemingly having been upped a few notches, it looked like it was going to be another year of carefully and cleverly navigating the beast through the Baja terrain amidst smiles and “woohoos” to a first place finish. However, as previously mentioned, some electrical issues affected the cooling system, which lead to engine over heating which in turn lead to two pistons blowing out on day 2. Rather than giving up and putting the truck on the trailer, the Van Lee Warden in true Baja spirit, with the tireless help of co-driver Gary Camacho, refused to give up. With the full support of the crew, they kept fighting through each issue that would arise, and, these issues, mostly unrelated, just kept appearing as though some bewitched mist was occupying its entity. The motor, the cooling, the fuel pumps, the wiring, the transmission, the transfer case… The problems just kept coming to slap us all in the face and reminding us why racing in Baja is one of the greatest tests of man and machinery and how, sometimes, even when you pour in every ounce of effort, every ounce of faith and every ounce of hard work and sweat, even then, sometimes Baja wins. However, for some particularly crazy and strange reason, when she does win and leaves us broken, disheartened and, just simply exhausted, she also fuels our desire from deep within, to get ready once again to tackle her, and to show her that next time around she’d better getting ready for an ass whooping!

A huge thank you goes out to our great sponsors, without whom we wouldn’t be here. Thank you for your faith, for believing in us, for sharing this road and adventure with us but most of all, thank you for some of the best products in the industry! Thank you to Paul Algarin and great to meet Candice who is a new integrant to YOKOHAMA TIRES: One flat, 2 miles from the finish, out of three 500HP powered Broncos, who otherwise all had the same tires that they started on is a massively impressive result, as is YOKOHAMA’s support of our effort but also of Off Road in general, by supporting NORRA itself. A huge thank you to Daniel and Rene Ruiz of QUAKER STATE La Paz for their support that now spans almost two decades, thank you for their smiles and friendship, for always trying to help us in the best way that they can. Thank you to Juan Jose Rebasa and Kevin Fitzgerald of RED HORSE PERFORMANCE products, again for the top-grade racing products that are a step above the competition.

Thank you to all the media, film and photography crews out there following the race. The more publicity and stories that we can spread about these events, the more the industries will get interested, the more the sponsors will see the value in supporting off road racing and the more teams will be able to participate from all corners of the world. In particular, thank you to BAJAFILMSMEDIA for shadowing us for a week, for the great photos and the videos: look out for them as they will be coming soon. And a special shout out to Alejandro Soltero of FOTOSOL, not only for having photographers placed all around the Peninsula, but also for personally dropping off a recovered wheel from our 812 truck directly to our shop in La Paz!

Thank you to all of Baja and its great fans. It is such a motivator to see the hundreds and thousands of people of all walks of life, up and down the entire Peninsula, cheering us on and being willing to help the teams in any way that they can. You will be surprised, when you are dusty and tired, feel like you are on your last leg, how much a smiling face and a cheer will refuel your energy to make it to the finish.

Thank you to all of our families and friends for their support and understanding, for your good wishes and prayers, for following the live tracking and keeping our team informed of what is going on when we are cut off internet and mobile service. Thank you to Ana Alvarez and Luisa Alvarez for watching over us from afar. Thank you to our dear Jan for always allowing us to indulge in these races whilst knowing that our little puppy Tortilla is in safe and joyous hands, even though we are sure that after spending time with her Auntie, coming home doesn’t seem like such a hot idea anymore!

And, as they say, last but not least, thank G-d for watching over us all, for bringing us together as the amazing, unique and incredible family that this is, for keeping us safe and for rewarding us with health and safety throughout the race, and for instilling in us our desire, the second we crossed the finish line in San Jose del Cabo, smiling though a crusty, dirty face, a cold beer in our hand, taking in the beautifully laid out scene at the finish and the competitors, the trucks and the fans, to simply think: “When do we get to do this again?”

RESULTS:

Andrea Tomba #8
• Stages Time: 22:28:08

• 32nd Overall (fastest Bronco in all categories)

• 2nd in Vintage Open Class

James Sejd #79
• Stages Time: 26:04:22

• 64th Overall

• 5th in Evolution Prerunner Class

Tony Wille #812
• Stages Time: 27:38:10

• 72nd Overall

• 3rd in Vintage Open Class