Ensenada to San Quintín · October 9
Race Day 1 delivered the adrenaline and action we had all hoped for. Car #355 left Ensenada, crossed mountains and beach, swallowed rocks and silt, changed driver teams in the dust, and charged beneath the San Quintín finish arch third in class. This was Baja in full color—and High Altitude Racing was right in the middle of it.
The Flag Drops in Ensenada
Into the wash—and straight into the show.
The day began at the Riviera Cultural Center in Ensenada. From the start, we dropped into the wash and put on a show for the residents lining the route. The engine came alive between the walls, the suspension started working, and months of preparation instantly became race miles.
Our first result of the morning was not quite as glamorous: a two-minute penalty for a late start after we could not find the entrance to the staging area. From there came a painfully slow transfer south through traffic and construction toward Santo Tomás, where the real racing waited.
Day 1 Route
Ensenada to San Quintín—the Baja way.
At Santo Tomás, our top-notch crew topped us off with a splash of fuel and sent Mike and Josh into the mountains. The course climbed away from the highway, swept back toward the Pacific, and connected three special stages through some of northern Baja’s most varied terrain.
It looked straightforward on the map. On the ground, every line had teeth.
Special Stage 1
Mountains down to Pebble Beach.
With Mike driving and Josh navigating, #355 fired into the mountains before dropping toward the coast. Pebble Beach was as entertaining as ever—fast, loose, beautiful, and just unpredictable enough that the steering occasionally seemed to have its own opinion about our preferred direction.
The car stayed composed, the drivers kept it moving, and the Pacific flashed beside us as the course carried the team toward La Calentura and the end of the first special stage.
La Calentura to Jaramillo
Rock, silt, whoops—repeat.
At La Calentura we took on fuel from MAG 7 Desert Pit Services, then attacked the run from Colonet to Jaramillo. It was mountainous and brutally rocky, with silt and whoops added to make sure neither car nor crew could settle into a rhythm.
Mike and Josh completed the first two special stages before bringing #355 into the MAG 7 stop at Jaramillo. There, the team moved quickly through the driver change: Brian climbed behind the wheel, Tyler took over navigation, belts tightened, doors closed, and the next pairing took charge of the race.
Vicente Guerrero to San Quintín
One final special. One finish arch. Third in class.
Brian and Tyler transferred the car to Vicente Guerrero and launched into the final special stage toward San Quintín. Along the way, we caught #355 charging through the wash beneath Mexico Highway 1—a fleeting glimpse of the car still hard on the race course and headed for home.
Our crew was waiting in San Quintín to bring the car beneath the finish arch and into the celebration. After a day of ruts, whoops, silt, rocks, beach, and mountains, #355 entered the finish third in class.
The Car Delivered
Power, cooling, clutch, suspension—on point.
The Stella 6 was the day’s main disappointment. It did not provide the audible warnings and beeps we expected, particularly for push-to-pass and restricted-speed zones where penalties can accumulate far too quickly without clear notifications. The navigator had to work around the silence and keep the information flowing.
Everything mechanical told a much happier story. The engine made strong power. Belt temperatures stayed under control thanks to the forced-air blower we installed during Prep Day 2, and the upgraded clutch performed extremely well. The car felt planted, while our suspension and tire settings proved right for the constantly changing terrain.
Read more about the development behind that performance in our clutch upgrade story.
The Night Shift
Clean it, inspect it, feed it oil, race it again.
After the finish celebration, the team moved to the hotel and transformed the parking area into an evening service bay. #355 needed remarkably little after the punishment of the day: some Red Line oil, a thorough inspection, and attention to the filters that had swallowed Baja dust for hours.
We cleaned the engine and CVT intake pre-filters, replaced the K&N engine air filter, then worked through the suspension, engine, frame, wheels, and tires. No drama, no unpleasant discoveries—just careful maintenance and a race car ready to answer the call again tomorrow.
The Livestream That Wasn’t
Baja found the weak links in our camera system.
The day was successful, but our livestream had a rougher race than the car. The streaming computer restarted when we first cranked the engine that morning and took the live feed down with it. Our second GoPro suffered a loose cable and stopped recording before we even reached Santo Tomás.
That is racing technology in the real world: vibration, power transients, dust, hurried starts, and no gentle laboratory conditions. We will take those lessons, improve the system, and come back with a tougher solution.
A Great Day Racing
Third in class—and ready for Day 2.
All in all, it was a successful day for High Altitude Racing, Apple Town Posse, and everyone behind team #355. We raced hard, protected the car, adapted when technology let us down, and finished with a machine ready to go again.
What a great day racing. Now it is time to do it all again.