La Carrera Panamericana in two days

[StudeNorm]

This video is a blast. Nice driving from both parties. I can't imagine being in the drivers seat! Well, after watching this maybe a bit ...

Mockett's Oldsmobile Vs Gabriel Perez Studebaker Keep in mind that Mockett is 77 years old!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KHyVIrb290&t=106s

Javier Villanueva.

[tsenecal]

I enjoyed the video clip, as well. Looks like a nice drive through the countryside, on a pleasant Sunday afternoon. LOL It will be interesting, now to follow this years race.

[Dick Steinkamp]

I swear, Javier knows EVERYONE!

The video Javier posted was from 2015. Angelica Fuentes is the navigator for Doug Mockett in this clip (which she was for several years). Angelica lives in England but participates in high speed rallies around the world. She is one of the best. Last year she switched cars and was the co piloto for Gabriel Perez in his Studebaker. Javier introduced us to Angelica in Guanajuato. Here's Javier and Angelica with Gabriel's car in Guanajuato...



Although Angelica was swamped then by autograph seekers and well wishers, she gave us as much time as we wanted to ask questions and hear her stories. She might just be the best promoter of the Carrera. Here's a short video of her...

While having dinner in Morelia, Javier noticed Doug Mockett and his party sitting at a nearby table. Javier knows Doug (of course) and introduced us to him and his navigator. Like all the participants in the race, Doug was gracious and spent as much time with us as we wanted. His navigator drifted off after a while to attend the drivers' meeting in Doug's place so that Doug could continue to visit with us. Here's Doug, his navigator and my friend Larry in Morelia. Larry is the president of the NorCal Oldsmobile club and owns 4 1950 Oldsmobiles including the coupe with a J2 and Cad/LaSalle stick shift trans he had in high school in 1959. Maybe the high point of Larry's trip was to meet Doug.

[Commander Eddie]

Thanks, Dick. I really enjoy learning about the people who participate in this great event as well as some of the back stories.
Sometimes in conversation I will tell people that if they want to see a super race with some great people and lots of Studebaker action they should log in to this event.
Love the videos.
Thanks for keeping us informed, Dick. And to all of the rest of you who know so much about this race and people who run it.

[javier villanueva ruiz]

It is a great video clip, The lady navigator in Mockett's car is Angelica Fuentes she is a famous navigator and competes in Europe, she navigated for Mockett from 2008 to 2015 and Ironicaly she is now the copilot on Gabriel Perez Studebaker number 122.

Gabriel and Angelica raced together in the past and in 2006 they won the race on a 53 Ford sedan in Turismo Production class, this has been the only time that a car in this class wins the race overall, keep in mind that there is around 200 HP difference bettwen the main Turismo Major class.
this two classes are the only ones that allow suspension modifications, (racing type) the other 7 classes only allow safety modifications Brakes Etc. any other modifications have to be accordingly to the year and model of the car.
The reason they won on this smaller engine Ford was that this race is 7 days long and if the 5 cars ahead of you make mistakes or have a small brake down then every second counts.

Mockett has been competing this race for more than 26 years, he won overall in 2002, he uses a Hendrick motorsports engine and Dick S. talked to his lead mechanic and has more information on his car.

This is also a great Video clip in English, Mockett's Oldsmobile and Angelica Fuentes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbdyJbJaxLM

The race starts today, Friday and ends next Thursday. any questions Dick and I can answer and investigate.

Regards.

Javier Villanueva.

[ralt12]

Day one, both are ok...

https://www.facebook.com/1430243937187756/posts/2204081083137367/

[Dick Steinkamp]

Jim,
Thanks for posting.

Good news that Angelica and Gabriel are both OK. They had a very competitive car last year even experiencing some transmission problems. They would have done well this year.

[Dick Steinkamp]

Javier and I think alike.

Ed's post caused Javier to remember a story. It's all true...some of the names have been left out to protect the guilty. As Javier tells it...


"A few years back at the end of the Carrera I was sharing breakfast with a navigator and at that time he was co pilot for a wealthy driver. He mentioned that the months before the race the driver purchased one of the top Carrera Studebakers, equipped with all the bells and whistles, at least $150,000 USD. The plans were to race it and win. A few months before the race the driver called the navigator and announced that he had sold the Studebaker and used the money to purchase a large diamond ring for his new wife. The copilot was devastated since his passion was to win the Carrera and they now had to race it in the driver's slower car.

A few weeks later my wife Veronica asked me about my trip to the Carrera. She is not into cars and rarely pays any attention to my stories. I also own several Studebakers including a 53 Champion hardtop and a 53 Commander coupe both in beautiful condition. After telling her the story about the driver purchasing this state of the art Studebaker, but then turning it into a big diamond ring for his wife, Veronica did not even blink when I was talking, which is quite rare when I'm talking about cars. After I finished she calmly told me now I know that Studebakers can be turned into Diamond Rings, when will you be selling the first one?"

[javier villanueva ruiz]

Angelica Fuentes explaining today's accident, a failure in the steering. first in Spanish then in English.

https://www.facebook.com/angelica.f.garcia.9/videos/10156725474416575/?hc_ref=ARQnqqvvy18Y18TpmfMyXxsdTrF0BfZsjs8AbdNw16oN66nRWMSC35j3xlKIqfmAebc

[Bob Bryant]

The postings on the race are very interesting...both the cars and the people! Thank you.

[javier villanueva ruiz]

Last year winners Ricardo Cordero and Marco Hernandes had an accident yesterday, both are OK. they were the leaders as of day 3.
as you can see in the video some of the roads are wet, they had a side collision with a Pine tree,
this is why they need a well constructed roll cage, the rules state that weight need to be around the original as new for the car, plus some percentage for safety items, for Studebakers this translates in a minimum weight of 3,306 pounds.

https://www.facebook.com/Control.Dinamico.de.Masas/videos/554185711708544/UzpfSTEzMzU3MDcyOTg6MTAyMTMxMjExMTkzMjYwMzI/

[Dick Steinkamp]

One of my favorite videos from last year. Mainly because it is mostly Studebakers, and I can recognize some of the places.

https://www.facebook.com/Control.Din...3085228570288/

I believe all the cars in this video are from Control Dinamico de Masas (Dynamic Mass Control). A race car builder in Mexico City.

[javier villanueva ruiz]

once again the leader gets off the road Damiron car 115. this happened in mil cumbres as you can see in this video

https://www.facebook.com/PlaySports2/videos/164398694496639/

The mechanics are able to fix the car overnight and they continue racing,

https://www.facebook.com/Control.Dinamico.de.Masas/videos/479725749530685/

[Noxnabaker]

I find this super interesting!
But I have a thought about the facebook postings; if people (like me) have a facebook account it's easy to watch this stuff there, but for those who aint got a facebook account it's impossible to even see them here.
So in the case of it all: wouldn't it be better to post from youtube, if it's there they come from, for everyone to watch?
Just a thought...