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La Carrera Panamericana Race News |
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Day 7: The Good Turtle needs new sparkplugs to finish the raceAustin racer in La Carerra Panamericana finishes 3rd in class, 45th overall
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Friday, November 1, 2002 The final day of the 2002 Carerra Panamericana road race across Mexico brought Austin's sole entry its first engine breakdown. Early Thursday, the 1958 BMW 502 sedan, dubbed the Good Turtle by other racers, flew down the last racing stage on La Bufa mountain near Zacatecas, then sped into the last long trek across the desert with the rest of the pack — about 80 surviving cars of the 100 that started the race last Friday in Chiapas state in southeastern Mexico. "This car keeps getting better and better," said Debbie Stuart, wife of the BMW's owner and driver, Terry Sayther. "Then, as they approached Saltillo, they hit dense fog and had to slow down and creep along. And when they stopped for gas, the engine wouldn't start again." So Sayther and co-driver Brandon Littleton changed the BMW's sparkplugs, restarted the engine and sped away in a mad dash to catch up with the rest of the competitors in what had, by then, become a heavy rain. They managed to pass almost half of the other cars and roared into the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo, on the Texas-Mexico border, by late afternoon. They arrived in time to enjoy cheering crowds at the finish line. When the results were posted, the Good Turtle had finished third in its class and 45th overall. But the drivers and the support crew that Stuart carried along in the family Surburban were elated that the BMW had finished the seven-day, 1,800-mile race on its own wheels, instead of broken down or smashed on a towed trailer. They planned to return to Central Texas this weekend and be back at work next week at Terry Sayther Automotive, a BMW garage in South Austin. "To have finished every day with no significant breakdowns is nothing short of amazing," Stuart said. "We had no real expectations we could be that lucky. We're certainly ready to come home, but we had such a wonderful time. We're already planning to be back racing again next year."
Day Six: The 'Good Turtle' falls behindNew suspension and tires 'rock,' but Austin entry now third in class as the finish line nearsAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, October 31, 2002 Austin's sole entry in the Carrera Panamericana race across Mexico fell back into third place in its class Wednesday, behind two Alfa Romeos, despite repairs to its broken shock absorber. Before the second day of racing on La Bufa mountain outside Zacatecas, South Austin garage owner Terry Sayther and co-driver Brandon Littleon got the shock that broke Tuesday on their 1958 BMW welded back together and reinstalled. They also changed to stickier tires, which seemed to help the handling of the 502 sedan that's been dubbed the Good Turtle. It was a good thing they improved the handling, as they spent Wednesday morning dodging an errant Mercedes on the uphill run on La Bufa. "The Mercedes passed them and went off the road and down into a ravine," said Debbie Stuart, Sayther's wife who is carrying two mechanics in the family Suburban to assist her husband. "Then it drove back up the ravine and passed in front of them. But by then Terry was headed down hill and managed to evade him. The new tires and the suspension rock." Collisions and other accidents, as well as mechanical problems have eliminated almost 20 of the 100 competing antique cars from the 1950s and 1960s which left Chiapas State last Friday on the race's first day. But the improved handling wasn't enough to keep the BMW from losing its second place position in its class and falling into third place. It still is believed to be holding its 32nd place overall, but Stuart said they can't be sure because the official standings were not updated Wednesday. After a planned second night in Zacatecas, the competitors roared out of town this morning on the final stage of the 1,800-mile race: almost a straight, flat shot across the desert to the finish line near Nuevo Laredo. The only immediate problem was a dense fog that slowed everyone down. Day Five: The 'good turtle' loses a shock absorberBut team from Austin made it to Zacatecas and the Panamericana's legendary La Bufa mountain driveAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, October 30, 2002 Austin's entry in La Carerra Panamericana lost hope Tuesday for improving its 32nd place in the race across Mexico. Although Brandon Littleton, co-driver of the 1958 BMW 502 sedan found and fixed a potentially hazardous abrading brake line before Tuesday's start from Aquacalientes, a broken shock absorber soon made steering the car difficult. The shock problem manifested as the BMW was leaving the pit at the Autodrome Raceway near Aquascaliente, an asphalt surface track for timed runs by the competitors at the start of the day. "We heard a loud bang as the car was exiting the pit," said Debbie Stuart, wife of BMW driver and owner Terry Sayther. "The car started handling funny." Sayther drove a zigzag course for a diagnosis, which showed the problem was with the rear suspension. Throughout the timed lap, he was fearful of cornering too aggresively. Back in the pit, he and Littleton found that the left rear shock absorber had broken off its upper mount, leaving the left rear of the BMW at an odd angle. "Class rules forbid removing the original springs," Stuart said. "So they adjusted the car back up to an even-ride height but wiithout the shock absorber. So we said good bye to thoughts of continue to advance our finishing position." Nevertheless, the good turtle — as spectators and participants have dubbed the BMW — continued on to Zacatecas and the Panamericana's legendary La Bufa mountain drive. It proved to be no problem for the car, despite a tire-squealing downhill run. "At least we're still in the race and feeling very fortunate for that," Stuart said. Wednesday's timed runs are to be run back up and down La Bufa again, before competitors leave Thursday morning for the final, easiest stage of all: a mainly straight road race across the flat desert to the finish line near Nuevo Laredo. Day 4: Austin team moves into 32nd placeAfter weekend rains, dense fog greeted drivers in AguacalientesAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Tuesday, October 29, 2002 Austin garage owner Terry Sayther retained his 2nd place in class Monday in the 4th day of La Carrera Panamericana race across Mexico, but he also managed to move his 1958 BMW 502 sedan up to 32nd place overall. "Which is an incredible amount of movement for this big, old car," said Sayther's wife, Debbie Stuart, reporting from Aguacalientes, where the racers spent Monday night. She and two garage mechanics in the family Suburban are supporting the BMW. Sayther's position improvement — on a second day of timed racing on the tight, downhill curves of the Mil Cumbres mountain roads — came despite heavy rain that canceled much of the afternoon competition because of increased danger. "We had hoped to compete in the rain because while wet roads are bad for the high horsepower cars, the low horsepower cars really shine then," Stuart said. The 502 has a V8 engine, but just 160 horsepower in the competition of antique cars made in the 1950s and 1960s. Spectators have dubbed the BMW La Tortuga Bueno (the good turtle), for its pace and its reliability in the gruelling, seven-day race that began Friday with 100 entrants but has seen numerous wrecks since then. Fortunately no one has been injured, although several cars have been totaled. Tuesday's start from Aguacalientes, enroute to two overnights in Zacatecas (with timed, class racing each day in the vicinity) was slowed by dense fog. The race is scheduled to end Thursday outside Nuevo Laredo on the Texas-Mexico border.
Day 3: Carrera Pan-Americana racers wind through Mexico City streetsRacers dub BMW La Tortuga, but Austin driver now second in his classThe streets of Mexico City parted Sunday afternoon for the racers in the Carrera Pan-Americana 2002. Austin's own Terry Sayther, who is racing a 1958 BMW 502 from the Southern tip of Mexico to Nuevo Laredo with dozens of other competitors from around the world, moved up throughout the weekend and is now second in his class. The racers arrived in Mexico City on Sunday morning but were stuck in traffic until race organizers arranged to clear the route. "Driving 70-90 miles per hour through downtown Mexico City, people were lining the streets and waving and honking," said Debbie Stuart, Sayther's wife. She is following the race in the family Suburban. "It was just incredible but very tense." After passing through the country's capital, the racers entered a dangerous leg of the competition in an area known as Mil Cumbres. A Mercedes and an Alpha Romeo were totalled when they rolled off the punishing mountain roads in the windy section north of Mexico City. The race picked up again Monday afternoon. Slow and steady, Sayther's BMW continued to plug along the mountainous section. Some drivers have nicknamed the Austin car La Tortuga, or the Turtle, because it is slower than the others. However, the car appears to be holding it's own, Stuart said. Sayther, who started out 73rd in the overall race when it began Friday, had jumped up to 42nd overall, and second in his class and size of car. "The Turtle always finishes, and so many cars are disappearing due to mechanical difficulties and wrecks that I'm convinced that unless something awful happens, we're going to finish," Stuart said. Monday's stretch was to finish in Aguascalientes. Tuesday involves another grueling mountainous day of racing between there and Zacatecas. The race is scheduled to end Wednesday after a flatter straight-away through the desert from Zacatecas to Nuevo Laredo.
Saturday, October 26, 2002 Day 2: Austin team holds its positionAt least 5 other groups lose their cars Saturday to wrecks, mechanical problemsAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF The second day of La Carrera Panamerica was largely uneventful for the Austin team driving the 1958 BMW 502 sedan, but it was more serious for at least five other teams who lost their vehicles Saturday to wrecks and mechanical problems on the way from Oaxaca to Puebla, said Debbie Stuart, the wife of driver Terry Sayther, on Sunday. The cars involved in the wrecks included a Mercedes 300 SL, which was broadsided and pushed into a department store by a wayward nonparticipant who drove into the race route. Saturday's standings did not change, with South Austin garage owner Sayther and co-driver Brandon Littleton in position No. 52, Stuart said. Today's portion of the race involves mostly highway driving and includes a pass through Mil Cumbres and stops at Morelia, Michoacan. The Austin group's car — not the fastest of the bunch but so far proving very reliable — has been dubbed "La Tortuga Bueno," the good turtle. "We're all healthy and happy and just doing great," Stuart said. Friday, October 25, 2002 Day 1: Austin's entry avoids two wrecks, moves up 19 placesRoaring vehicles greeted by flower-tossing crowds in OaxacaAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Saturday, October 26, 2002 Austin's sole entry in the seven-day, 1,800 mile road race across Mexico arrived in Oaxaca Friday night in position No. 52, after starting the first day of La Carrera Panamerica at position No. 71 near the rear of the 100-car pack. The 1958 BMW 502 sedan driven by South Austin garage owner Terry Sayther, along with co-driver Brandon Littleton, was cheered with the other entrants by crowds lining the shoulders of the race route. In outrunning 19 other cars, Sayther and Littleton successfully avoided two serious accidents. No one was hurt in either mishap, but one of them totaled an antique gullwing Mercedes. "Terry and Brandon were very careful," said Sayther's wife, Debbie Stuart, who is preceding each daily stage of her husband's race to a midway service area in the family Suburban. "But late Friday morning they ran out of gas and had to pull over in the weeds. Terry hitched a ride to the next gas station, got a gas can and caught a ride with a federal highway policeman who also helped push the car back onto the road." The BMW and other competitors, with a police escort, roared into Oaxaca at 80 mph where they were met by crowds of spectators throwing flowers. "It was a spectacular day," Stuart said. "It's a lot of work but it's a tremendous amount of fun." The famed 1950s race, which was revived in 1988, concludes on Halloween near Nuevo Lardeo on the Texas-Mexico border. Thursday, October 24, 2002 Terry & Crew have made it to Tuxtla-Guiterrez and are participating in time trials at 4pm.
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