Desert Dingo Racing

Category: The Team

  • Workin’ at the car wash



    Sometimes, just because you can video something, doesn’t mean you need to make other people watch it.

    Anyone who thinks racing is exciting should really watch this video because it encompasses all that racing is about. For every high speed pass, for every desert vista, for every rollover, there’s this. An hour spent power washing the new body. Also this weekend, because a truck had a flat, then the engine wouldn’t start, then the forklift clutch was shot, we didn’t get the body off 1107, putting us further behind schedule.

    Here’s some photos from this weekend’s work.

  • Bob Beales & his 1958 rally Bug


    And people tell us we’re nuts for racing a VW off road.

    Hot on the heels of connecting with Carlos Dal Pont and his off road VW Beetle in Brasil, I’m contacted by Bob Beales in the UK, who rally races a VW. Not just any VW Beetle, but a 1958 1958 Oettinger GT, which British racer Bill Bengry drove to win the British Rally Championship in 1960 and 1961.

    Beales owned the car since 1965, used it for rallies (Paul Hartl I’m looking at you) and autocross, and won the Welsh Historic Championship in the early ’90s. The car’s never been rebuilt, runs a 1300cc Oettinger engine producing 75 BHP redlining at 8,000 RPM. It’s been sitting in a shed on his property for a couple of years, but I have a sneaking suspicion it’ll be hitting the road soon. He also turned me on to the awesome RallyBugs website. How on Earth did I not know about this?

    Here’s Crusty single-handedly rolling our new car at lunch today.

  • Desert Dingo Racing goes international


    Shortly after this awesome photo was taken, Paul broke down, hit a tree or was overcome with ennui and DNF’d.

    Update: Paul has his own take on how we met.

    We’ve added Canadian rally racer Paul Hartl to the team for 2011.

    Paul and I met at the Yerington 300 (which we won, by the way), back in May. He was going to be racing with another Class 11 team, but their car broke down before he got any seat time.

    Paul tolerated me repeatedly referring to Canada as “America’s hat” and he constantly pointed out what a lousy Olympic hockey team we have. What’s not to like?

    Paul will fly out from snowy Toronto for a couple of our VORRA races and also do a leg at the Baja 1000 next November. We’re probably going to have to cut a hole in the roof because the guy’s like 6 foot, 15 inches tall.

    He swears this is not a mug shot.

  • What I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving


    A much younger Dingo and Scott Anderson.

    Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2010.

    Thanks to everyone involved in VORRA, for tolerating us Class 11s, stinking up the joint.

    To everyone involved in VORRA Class 11, for the food, snagging the good camping sites, and for Sharpies.

    To Eric Solorzano, for taking my very first phone call.

    To the International Diabetes Federation, for mistakenly thinking we were some big shot racing team.

    Thanks to Joel Ward, for giving me advice in the parking lot of a Home Depot in Ensenada, which I took to heart.

    To Paul Lukey at TrailGlow, for more than can be written in a single sentence.

    To all of our sponsors, for having faith in us.

    To Jason Mace for his electric kool aid acid test VW.

    To Rob Messer, for being the most courteous driver in Class 11 history.

    Thanks to Fidel, for giving us a forum to BS and exaggerate.

    Thanks to every Class 11 driver, co-driver and team member I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with over the years.

    Thanks to the team – Desert Dingo happens because of you all.

    And, lastly, thanks to Roxanne. Words cannot express…

  • We’re red-shirting the Baja 1000 this year

    Take a meeting
    Shawn and Scott confab on Bob’s futon/sofa during the team meeting.

    We decided Wednesday night to skip the Baja 1000 this year, focus on beating our arch rivals Two Larry’s and a Megan Racing for the Stock Bug season points championship in VORRA and spend the off season doing a body-off rebuild of 1107.

    The issue was financial. The 1000 is our most expensive race, costing close to $8,000 to run in a good year. Because the course this year is a straight shot from Ensenada to La Paz, our fuel bill – always our biggest line item – automatically doubled.

    So the plan is to race the last two VORRA short course races at Prairie City the weekends of Oct. 9 and Oct. 31 and then cut what’s left of 1107’s body away and begin a ground up rebuild. This gives us the time and access we need to make tweaks you can’t otherwise do with the car body on. We’ll replace 1107’s current body with that of a 1970 Bug body now covered in pine needles in the front yard.

    It’s a bummer knowing we won’t be in Ensenada in November, but we’ll be back at it next year and giving nine-time Baja 1000 winner (and good friend) Eric Solorzano a run for his money.

    The wait is almost over