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By Terry Sayther

Thu, Oct 21, 04

     More final prep work was done during the morning and navigator schools were attended in the early afternoon. Time started flowing at a noticeably faster rate during these two days. By Thursday afternoon, it was starting to get difficult to find time to eat. Late in the afternoon there was a practice and prequalifying session in which each car got to go out and run the nearby first speed section. Everyone was pretty nervous but the session was largely without mishap. One Volvo caught fire directly in front of us in the staging lanes and Mario got to jump out of our car with our fire extinguisher and put out the fire. Lucky we had that extra extinguisher---normally we would only have had our on-board extinguishing system, but a rules change had suggested that we might need a different type of dry chemical instead.
      The practice session was a curvy road about 8km long that was blocked off from outside traffic just for our use. We drove the road as fast as we dared and got our first taste of competition. I was not very happy with my driving, as usual with the beginning of competition, but I only scared myself a little bit twice, so it wasn't too bad. Beavis had handling problems due to unchecked and dissimilar air pressures, but he still felt that he had been pretty quick. At the mandatory driver's meeting we were shocked to find that we were both in first place in our classes---Beavis by nearly 20 seconds!! What a way to start! In 2002 I had felt ok qualifying 71st, but this time we started in 40th. Beavis qualified 29th. Wow!

Fri, Oct 22, 04

     Race morning, oh whatta feeling. Anxiety, coupled with nervousness. Terry started the morning with a gigantic abcessed tooth to keep his mind busy. Both cars headed downtown for the start of the race. The race began with the fastest cars leaving at 30 second intervals through the starting arches, heading north. Just out of Tuxtla was our first speed stage, where the traffic was blocked and the roads were emptied for the racers. They say that 50% of the accidents in the race happen in the first 4 hours, so they warned us to be very careful. This morning's race included 3 speed sections, totaling about 6% of the entire race event. But I think this was a cautious year, as there were no major incidents.
     Terry started slow, but quickly got into the racing rhythm and was very pleased with the way the car was handling. Beavis was really happy about participating in the race, and was REALLY excited that the car was so much fun to drive. What a blast! Beavis And Butthead changed a tire during a morning transit section in less than 5 minutes and then proceeded to pass all the people who had scooted by them. ARRGHH!
     Debbie and the crew were waiting for us at the noon-time service stop with sandwiches, drinks, and Windex. They were overjoyed that we had survived this most dangerous morning. We learned that a Mercedes Gullwing, a previous 3 time winner and probably the fastest car here, had blown it's engine. A few other cars were also experiencing mechanical difficulties and attrition would continue to play a strong role.
     The afternoon was a really long drive up to Oaxaca on a very curvy mountain road with several speed sections and the first major wrecks of the day. Two Studebakers were totaled, both rolled several times, one end-over-end down a cliff. No one was hurt, a miracle. Another Volvo left the road and impacted a bank of dirt with substantial body damage. Our BMWs raced onwards almost perfectly, both were faster than we ever imagined.
     The crew had an exciting day all their own, winding their way through lots of spectators and regular traffic through the mountains. Duncan drove the truck for us with Edgar navigating, and Marty and Debbie back-seat driving. At one point while driving in the beautiful mountains, they had a momentary thrill coming at them around a downhill curve….a giant orange Dina bus, coming uphill, passing TWO semis, in their lane! A new meaning for ARRGGH!! With Duncan's quick action everything worked, our brakes and horns and heartbeats withstanding the test. We have now dubbed the truck Pancho, a good moniker for such a strong hearted, dependable vehicle.
At the Driver's Meeting that night, we learned that both cars were in second place in their classes, and that Terry and Mario had moved up from 40th to 31st. Beavis and Butthead had moved from 29th to 22nd, AARRGH! The crew worked late into the night taking care of details and adjusting the sedan's suspension to make it even better.

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