Erg Chebbi

I am finally back home in Crested Butte, Colorado.  This little village high up in the Rockies is my slice of heaven.  It’s been way too long since I’ve been here and I realize how ungrounded I feel when removed from these mountains.

I’ve been put to task by a very interesting person, Michael, who has shown a keen interest toward the rally.  He has asked me to make a list on why I keep returning to it.  Of course, I immediately think about the competition, my personal quest to win.  But needless to say it goes well beyond that.  I am consumed by Morocco.  I dream about it.  And I don’t dream of trophies.  In my dreams I see the people, the women and children in villages, the culture, the terrain.  The places we travel through are a world away from daily life in the US.  I am drawn, I am pulled there.   I know my racing is a portal for something bigger.  Bigger than a sporting competition.  What is it?   I am not sure the exact answer, but life is an incredible journey and some of the answers lie along the path. But the present journey Michael has sent me on is making me vocalize the things I believe in, think about, dream about and hope to help in the quest to make the world a little bit better.

So here is one thing on my list - and it is very personal.  A part of me would like to stuff it inside and keep it to myself.  But here it goes…

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Racing the Xo250

For those of you competitive types…this post is for you.  And me.  A few weeks ago, my race boss, Rod Hall, generously entered me into the XO 250 off-road race.  It was an amazing course, definitely the steepest, hairiest track I have ever raced on.  And boy was it beautiful!  Like Rod always says, we compete on the most beautiful race courses in the world.  I went into the race completely exhausted and overworked but I am always up for driving our awesome little blue race truck.

I was honored that Damien Michelin would fly out to join me for at least a few laps of the 63-mile course.  The day before the race, we pre-ran in Damien’s pre-runner.  It was a strange day…The truck’s suspension was in serious need of a good tune along with a disabling of the ABS.  But more strangely was that the race course was a work in progress but we thought we were running the whole course.  But due to landowner issues, the track was literally changing by the hour and we didn’t have the correct course until we drove to the starting line and the GPS data was inputed into our Lowrance.  Shockingly, the course took a turn around RM40 and the track literally turned into long stretches of straight up, followed by straight down - vertically speaking.  There were hills where the strategy for the trucks literally consisted of - get a running start, pin it to the floor and pray.

So what does “what is two seconds?” mean?  Well, after repairing a flat tire with no impact gun, losing the brakes for 60+ miles on those crazy hills, but having an amazing run overall, we came across the line and declared the Class 7 winner!  Wow…that felt good! Arturo met us at the finish line with toast of Los Valientes Tequila (yes, I am a fan of agave!) which we were happy to toast the last 8  Read more »

XO250 - June 18th

Rod Hall Racing Extreme Outlaws 250 Recap

June 21, 2010 (Reno, NV) - The Xtreme Outlaws took over Reno, Nevada and the Grand Sierra Resort for a weekend of motorsports ranging from Freestyle Moto, Supermoto and a hair-raising 250-mile off-road race designed by Northern Nevada local and racing legend Rod Hall.  The course covered four sixty-mile laps in the mountains east of the city.  Last minute course changes took the racers through severe climbs and descents with spectacular views of the Sierra Mountain Range.

Rod Hall Racing fielded two teams for the first year event.  Hall drove a vintage 1970 442 Olds formerly owned and raced by television star James Garner,  most famously known as “Rockford.”  Hall and the car were a highlight of the event as he led the field with police escort from the Grand Sierra Resort to the official start at the famous Mustang Ranch.  Hall raced the car until he lost an alternator.  A committed fan raced to a local parts store and bought a replacement.  The fix was made and he continued on course to showcase and shakedown the vehicle with media and sponsors taking the co-driver seat.

Dan Campbell-lloyd

This year, we were fortunate to have Dan Campbell-Lloyd join us.  He provided the US media with amazing imagery, giving not only a glimpse inside the rally, but of the amazing landscape and culture.  He is an artist with both a still and video camera.

http://dancampbelllloyd.zenfolio.com/

For those of you who don’t know Dan, I can hardly do a profile justice in a couple paragraphs.  Campbell-Lloyd grew up in a tree house in the Australian Outback, has traveled the world not only as a photographer and videographer but also as a professional kayaker.  Until recently, he held the world record for the launching the biggest waterfall decent.  But Dan doesn’t just roll with the flow, he cartwheels, flips and throws in a broken bone or two.

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