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Day 13---
10-27, Monday, 3470 miles, Morelia,
Michoacan to Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes
Today's Highlights:
1) We came around a corner and
there were parked 5 old Minis! Including a woody wagon,
a panel truck, a pick-up bed truck, and a racer. The
owner of them all is a Mini maniac named De Roberto Davalos
Valenzuela, a local fanatic who had brought his entire family
up the mountain for a Carrera party. He loved our
brief visit--so did we!
2) When we arrived at the Autodromo
de Aguascalientes (the race track outside of town) we saw
a man running towards us waving his arms. He is Alex
Jimenez Landa, president of the MINI Club of Mexico and
other MINI collector and fanatic. Everywhere we go,
so many MINI lovers!
3) The Mini team from Dallas has
been running great, but they have run into a few mechanical
problems--alternator and drive shaft particularly.
Today, a problem ran into them. Their service vehicle
and trailer was driving slowly on the Mil Cumbres road in
the rain and a spectator car
came around the corner at huge speed and plowed into the
trailer, which had the Ginetta on it at the time.
This was a large enclosed trailer--the trailer was totally
destroyed, and the Ginetta inside was not hurt at all!
They spent the entire night ferrying up and down the mountain
getting their equipment back together.
4) Peter and Duncan with the Ginetta
had an alternator failure and Peter spent the night with
a taxi waking people up trying to find a replacement (with
no luck). Finally, about 4:30 am another MINI team
gave him an alternator and he was able to adapt it (with
Terry´s help) to his engine 5 minutes before the 8am start.
No sleep, no food, at all.
 5)
We have heard that Frank Curries was actually arrested and
jailed after his accident on the first day, and that he
had to leave Mexico, abandoning his car in Chiapas.
We had been talking to Evelyn only moments before the start
of that stage, and lives are really changed--sobering.
6) We are in Aguascalientes tonight,
amid massive confusion. We were lost for at least
an hour trying to find our hotel--this town has no street
signs, very confusing, frustrating.
7) Tito Gallegos and Arturo Ibarra
with their 356 Porsche have been struggling with a fuel
delivery problem for days--replacing pumps, adding extra
electrical pumps, checking hoses--everything they could
think of except their fuel filter, which they had "just
changed". You guessed it--changed the filter,
and the car runs beautifully!!!
Day 14---
10-28, Tuesday,
3550 mi, Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes to Zacatecas, Zacatecas
Late start and short drive for us today; the racers have
several speed sections, starting with the Autodromo racetrack
again. As a Service Crew, we have been directed straight
to Zacatecas, so we don't get to see any of the action.
But, we do get to be tourists! We rode the Teleferico 180
meters over the top of Zacatecas up to the La Bufa Revolutionary
battlefield monuments and museum.
About 4:30, the cars started arriving at the Cathedral in
downtown Zacatecas for one of the biggest celebrations of
the event. Zacatecas is the unofficial finish of the race,
since the drive up to Nuevo Laredo is basically just a long
desert dash. Lots of partying, a great FIESTA goes on  here--Zacatecans
are wonderful.
Doug Mockett has rejoined us after his horrible wreck--he's
in a neck brace and bruised, but he is happy to be here.
We were so happy to see him.
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