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The El Martillo Durango of Calgary’s Matt Campbell round a corning in the first stage
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Several changes have been made on the Durango after lessons learned on the Dakar Rally
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El Martillo Racing coming hot into a final checkpoint
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David Bensadoun getting the most out of the Toyota Tacoma. Dakar number plates were used for the pre-event shakedown
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Prepping the Toyota for competition
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Bensadoun launches off a sand dune preparing for the Mexican 1000
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El Martillo Racing celebrating on the podium, finishing 3rd in Unlimited
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Team Aldo celebrating on the podium winning the Rally Raid class and 4th overall
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Story by Budd Stanley, photos courtesy of El Martillo Racing and Aldo Racing
Matthew Campbell and David Bensadoun both score podiums on NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally.
No, this is not the Baja 1000, but there is another famous 1000 that also tears up the desert of the Baja California peninsula. The 2014 NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally is a 2,110 km rally-raid event that is part of the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA). Instead of a daylong marathon run down Baja and back, the Mexican 1000 is stretched over four-days with nightly bivouac stops. It has a distinctly Dakar flavour that attracts Vintage class trucks, Unlimited and Open class desert warriors, as well as the RAWD (Rally All-Wheel-Drive) class set up for FIA-approved type vehicles that you would see in the iconic Dakar.
While the rally is a distinctly American and Mexican affair, this year saw two prominent Canadian teams take to the starting line, both with aspirations for victory, and vital testing data for the upcoming 2015 Dakar Rally.
One team we know well is El Martillo Racing. Led by Calgarian Matthew Campbell, the team returned to competition with the Jimco built Durango that saw the team through to finish their first Dakar rally. Day one went off with no real issues; along with day two that saw the team only lose a couple minutes in stage with high oil temperatures. Using the new hydraulic jacks, the team checked over vital hoses and connections to ensure all was well, only passed by two competitors thanks to the new system. After a good fight with the Terrible Herbst machine, El Martillo found themselves in fourth position after a successful day two.
The third day saw co-driver Fito Ramirez take the wheel of the three-seater for the entire day. His local knowledge allowed the team to put in a fast time on what proved to be very fast stages. The Durango was clocked at over 193 kmh (120 mph) along the desert floor.
On the fourth day, during the beginning the first special section, the team suffered a setback as they hit the side of a concrete bridge due to a steep hill that blocked Campbell’s vision. The impact bent the right front rim, wrapping it around the brake caliper and disc. Navigator Nico Ambriz and the team’s media man, Luis Medina, the 3rd seat passenger guest, fought for ten minutes to make repairs, losing places to seven cars in the process. Nevertheless, the Durango pulled back five positions before reaching the checkered flag at San Jose.
At a delayed awards party, El Martillo Racing found itself winning third place in the Unlimited Class and 7th place overall among the 147 starters in this the 5th anniversary of the NORRA 1000.
Fellow Canucks, the Aldo Racing Team, led by Montrealers David Bensadoun and co-driver Patrick Beaulé, were also in Baja to shake down their latest competition machine in preparation for the upcoming 2015 Dakar Rally. Following the disappointing mechanical DNF at the 2014 Dakar Rally Raid held last January in South America, the team made a major change, trading their Desert Warrior 3 prototype for a more reliable rally-built Toyota Hilux/Tacoma truck.
Designed around a FIA-approved tubular chassis built by South Africa-based Hallspeed Racing, the double cab Tacoma was refitted with a Kevlar-Carbon bodywork and all the off-road rally-raid trimmings by Overdrive Racing in Belgium.
Despite starting 122nd out of 145 entries, the ALDO Racing team took very little time to eat away at the massive pack in front of them. By the end of the first day, Bensadoun sat atop the RAWD standings and 14th overall.
The second day proved to be not as smooth as the first as the Toyota lost electrical power twice, and twice it required a boost to get back on course. The team was able to keep the Toyota on course and cross the finish line for the day. That night, the team worked feverishly into the wee hours of the morning to fix the ailing Toyota. However, the drama did not stop there as the team was placed back to the tenth place starting position to make way for six so-called “Legend teams” that organizers wanted lined up front when leaving the start line on the final day.
“It could not have happened at a worst time,” said Patrick Beaulé regarding the insertions. “Coming out of La Paz, we were right into our first special stage of the day. The road was dusty, and with no wind, it stayed up and we were facing a wall of dust. We could not see very far ahead, let alone take a chance to move by them. The convoy was a dust train, and we ran at 70 to 80% of our capacity.”
Despite the drama, Bensadoun pushed right from the start and was rewarded with a fastest time overall in the first Special Section stage. Aldo Racing would bring their Toyota home as class champion in the Rally Raid class, as well as a very respectable 4th in the overall classifications, just missing out on a podium their first time out in the Toyota.
“When we planned to enter in the Mexican 1000, we really didn’t know what to expect,” said David Bensadoun. “We had never raced the Baja and the vehicles they use are scary! They’re like machines from the apocalypse! Three feet of suspension travel, 800 hp coming out of 8-litre engines, 42-inch tires – they’re very impressive and certainly the classic American approach.”
“We showed up with our “small” Toyota. Nine inches of suspension, 400 hp and 31” tires and felt a bit outclassed,” continued Bensadoun. “But the fact is that on these twisty, technical roads, our vehicle was just amazing – tight, very quick, with great braking and turning abilities. The result is that in our first outing with the car we were able to win one stage and finish second in another one against some real Baja legends, as well as fourth place overall and first in our class.”
With a successful finish to the event from both Canadian teams, the future is looking promising. While the two teams have vastly different machines, both will contend the 2015 Dakar rally in these vehicles and have admitted that this is a tune up for that event. What will January 2015 hold? El Martillo want to improve on their 2014 finish, while Aldo have confirmed that they are gunning for a top 30 finish. With the Toyota under them, they are not simply racing just to finish anymore, they are going after results.
Unlimited Class results:
(Position / Number / Name / Vehicle / Time)
1. 35 Rich Voss, Protruck Ford, 15:45:58
2. 804 Gary Williams, Protruck Chevrolet, 16:37:26
3. 153 Matthew Campbell, 3 Seater Jimco, 16:41:55
4. 20 Walker Evans, Alumicraft Grande, 16:43:42
5. 1834 Kenneth Losch, Geyser Prerunner, 17:11:10
RAWD Class results:
1. 405 David Bensadoun, Toyota Hilux, 16:17:29
2. 401 Pedro De Uriarte, Ford Raptor, 19:44:42
3. 12 Paul Fournier, Subaru Outback, 33:13:14
4. 674 Jeff Rados, Ford Ranger, 33:35:26
5. 603 Dan Spalinger, Nissan Frontier, DNF