To Be Called “Racer”: It’s the highest honor, and the Baja 1000 finds them.
ESPN Magazine online, November 25, 2008
In motorsports, there is one word above all others that exemplifies what our twisted metal, burning rubber, death-defying pursuit is all about. The term is never used lightly and bestowed upon only those have earned the right to wear it.
Racer.
Time to set your clock, friends and fans. The race starts Friday, November 21 @ 5 AM. Class 11 shoots out the gate around noon. Teams will have 31 hours from their designated start time to complete the course.
Folks at home have a couple of options to track the race. Hardcore supporters can listen to the online audio stream of Rob “The Weatherman” Steinberger, a man who’s practically as legendary as the race. The Weatherman volunteers each year, setting up a radio outpost on top of a windy mountaintop slightly southwest of Mikes Sky ranch at about 9500 feet elevation. He’s like the air traffic controller, reporting injuries, repair needs, checkpoint information, and so on. Bookmark his channel (http://www.race-dezert.com/radio/) but be aware that this is not entertainment. Accidents do happen, and an important part of the Weatherman’s job is to report them and help coodinate emergency services.
IRC is supposed to have all entries tracking on GPS at http://www.racetheworld.net.
Score will provide GPS tracking of five classes (SCORE Trophy Trucks, Class 1, Class 5-1600, Stock Mini and Class 8 ) live at http://www.2008scorebaja1000.com/. Unfortunately no Class 11 coverage.
Desert Dingos provide hands-on diabetes lesson to school children
Desert Dingo Racing, the team who have entered the official World Diabetes Day race car in the Baja 1000 off-road race later this month, recently took the car to Holly Oak Elementary School in San Jose, California to give the children a hands-on lesson in desert racing. Students in Ms. Battistella’s fourth grade class got the opportunity to add a little colour to the car, dipping their hands in red, blue or gold paint and pressing them to the car’s fenders.
Ok, it’s only one quote in a tremendously cool article written by Judy Smith, a veteran Baja racer and longtime writer for Hot VWs. A good number of the photos were shot by Trackside Photo, which got the great shot of us catching air at last year’s Baja 1000. They even mentioned our fundraising for World Diabetes Day. Click here or on the image to download a PDF of the article.
BRUSSELS, Belgium, October 31, 2008/ — Whether your tastes tend toward bright lights and big cities, quiet contemplation or off-road racing, groups around the U.S. are gearing up to celebrate World Diabetes Day and raise awareness of the growing threat of diabetes.
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), which led the effort to get the United Nations to recognize the existing World Diabetes Day (November 14) as an official UN world day, announced that this year’s campaign theme is “Diabetes in Children and Adolescents.”
Over 200 children a day are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and over 500,000 children under the age of 15 live with diabetes worldwide. In the U.S. 40 children a day develop type 1 diabetes, roughly 15,000 children each year.
“People around the globe have embraced the effort to raise awareness of the growing threat of diabetes,” said World Diabetes Day Campaign Director Phil Riley. “All diabetes is increasing and children are not spared. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that 75,000 children with type 1 diabetes worldwide cannot access the medication, monitoring and education they need to survive. This story goes largely ignored and these children remain in the shadows to face an uncertain future. We aim to bring diabetes to light.”