Baja 1000: Armin Schwarz summary newsletter

All German Motorsports: Our Team
Tyler Irwin

Tyler has been with AGM for a year now and is our crew's automotive technician. I trust Tyler blind. His favourite movie is "Gone in 60 Seconds" - and I reckon that he made this movie title the motto of his work. He prefers to have our Buggy back out in the dust inside a minute. In his spare time Tyler likes things a little calmer: He does road biking.

Baja 1000: Great start but early end - full programme confirmed for 2008

On 13th November we finally got going from the Mexican port of Ensenada, the start of the 40th Baja 1000, which this time stretched over 1300 miles, that's around 2100 kilometres. I took off in 36th out of a 450 competitor field and attacked from the get-go. The route was extremely tough. I seen really rough stages in Kenya, Portugal and Greece and I've even seen tough stuff in the SCORE Offroad Series events. But this year's BAJA was the hardest I've ever experienced.

After almost 80 kilometres I was leading our class and I had even overtaken 15 Trophy Trucks which have 150 hp more. Suddenly my power steering went. We stopped for repairs but everything was so hot we had no chance. So we ploughed on without power steering and I thought to myself how good it is to be physically fit before starting this race.

Then from the left-rear I kept hearing a banging noise but we didn't worry too much about it. Until after a few kilometres our left-rear wheel came off: broken wheel bolt. Luckily we had a replacement with us and could continue. When the wheel came off for the second time after a total of 250 kilometres we had to take one bolt from each of the other wheels and drive on with our makeshift solution.

We hadn't given up by any means, everyone knows that the BAJA is unbelievably long. Fifty kilometres further on we drove through deep mud and I used the clutch a couple of times. Suddenly there was a huge bang and our Buggy stopped dead in its tracks.

After 45 minutes a Chase Truck hooked us up and gave us a tow onto an asphalt section. At four in the morning we arrived back in Escondido - the last place I wanted to be actually at this point in time. Now we will have to find out what happened at our AGM headquarters.

By the way, after 30 hours only 23 cars of the 450 to start had reached the finish line in Cabo San Lucas. Mark Post won the BAJA 1000 and I congratulate him and his team wholeheartedly: an awesome achievement!

With the BAJA, my team and I still have a score to settle. But we will be back - and how! In 2008 we will contest the entire SCORE Offroad Series! The first of six championship rounds takes off late January in Nevada.

But you have the chance to experience my 640 hp Buggy first-hand. From 1st December (media day 30 November) our AGM racer will be at the Essen Motor Show at the stand of our suspension specialist Eibach. There, and at our technology partner REMUS, you get the chance to win a test drive in our Buggy! So, come on over and try your luck!

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    Armin Schwarz

-credit: asm