I've competed in more than 100 car rallies over the last 10 years. Many have ended on the podium, some at the side of the road with a broken car, but this one finished off a cliff.
I saw my first rally in 2005, locally during the Sno*Drift Rally in Atlanta, Michigan. On seeing the first car sideways on ice and snow, I knew I had to find my way in a car and compete. During the next season I befriended teams by volunteering to work in service, eventually working my way into a car as a co-driver for the final round of the year. I started co-driving regularly in regional events; by 2012 I had run several years of the Rally America National Championship, the Baja 500, WRC Mexico and, ultimately, Dakar.
2012 was also the year I graduated from Northern Michigan University and opened Beards Brewery. I stepped back from full-time competition, but rally remained a hobby I could go back to a few weekends a year.
This summer I got a call to run the La Carrera Panamericana with Buddy Rice, winner of the 2004 Indianapolis 500 and 2009 24 hours of Daytona, and Don Yount, an IMSA Weathertech prototype competitor. The Pan Am is a vintage event that runs the length of Mexico, starting in the south and finishing eight days later near the U.S. border. It's a throwback to the event of the 1950s that celebrated the opening of the Pan American highway. It was known for being the most dangerous race in the world. I had finished twice previously in a 1968 Porsche 911 that my previous team had sold to Don. With my experience in both the event and car, Don and Buddy hired me to guide them through their first rally.
We arrived in Mexico in mid October for the event. I met with Buddy and Don and laid out the format of the event, ran through stage notes — the alphanumeric code used to guide competitors down the road — and got everyone familiar with myself and the car. Buddy and Don decided they would alternate in the car with each taking two-day stints behind the wheel. I would stay for all eight days navigating and running time controls.
Buddy took the first two days, a shakedown and press run on Thursday followed by the first competition day. We started with a conservative but quick pace, opening up once Buddy gained confidence in the car and format of the event. He attacked with vigor, but showed great car control, a testament to his experience in Indy and endurance racing. By the end of his stint we had moved into 10th overall, fighting with teams in faster classes.
Don started out on the second official rally day, a little slower than Buddy, but still well ahead of competitors in equal class machinery. We fell a few positions, but remained in a healthy position at the sharp end of the pack. During the night's team meeting in Mexico City, Don and Buddy decided to push harder, trading a bit of our safety margin for a little more speed.
When day three began Don opened up quick. The first stage was an eight kilometer run along a mountainous area of central Mexico. The first few klicks went smooth with Don pushing mildly harder than the previous day. After a few minutes of running along the rim of a craggy river valley we dove down into the ravine along the twisty pavement to cross a narrow bridge and race back up the other side of the ravine. Don kept increasing his speed. We pushed upward as the road climbed, speeds increasing as Don grabbed a false confidence in the notes, the car and, ultimately, the ability of our tires to hold on to the road.
As we entered a sharp right near the rim of the valley I could feel Don pushing beyond the tires. I tightened my belts and called the next corner, realizing that we weren't going to be able to exit the one we were in while staying on the road.
I called "We're off" as we crossed the centerline, the rear of the car breaking loose. The last glimpse I caught of the shoulder was a dirt berm followed by sky and tree tops. I closed my eyes hard, pulled my arms into my chest, and braced for the fall. Over the next six and a half seconds we rolled down a steep embankment while breaking through a rock wall, cutting down two mature trees, smashing a water cistern, shearing off the roof and wall of a house tucked into the hillside, and landing in a farmer's field. We stopped 300 feet from the road, 50 feet down grade from where we began. We rolled four times leaving a cut path of broken wood and metal leading to our broken car.
When we came to a rest I checked to ensure Don was OK, climbed out through the side window, and ran up the hill to warn the next competitor of our off. We were left bruised and sore, but otherwise unharmed, the safety gear did its job.
While the car is a total loss, I'm not. I'll find my way back into a rally car again.
Source: www.bing.com
