Having spoken to most of the team to participate in this race effort, it sounds like this was perhaps the most difficult race for a Porsche chassis in decades. You’ll recall that we covered the team’s efforts to prepare the cars, and reported on their ability to complete the race against all odds. A Porsche hadn’t ever finished the NORRA event before, and this two car team from Oregon managed to get both of their cars to finish the race, or “conquer the inhospitable terrain over five days of off-road racing down the entire length of the Baja Peninsula” as they put it. No, they didn’t win the race overall, or even win their class, but Porsche fans should clap them on the back anyway, because they finished all 1000 miles under their own power.
This little mini-doc is definitely worth watching, as it shows some of the trials and tribulations of running in the NORRA. For one thing, the engine in the “Red Sled” blew up at the end of the second day, thanks to an oil line going adrift and dropping the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez on the desert. That car did finish the stage, but the spare motor was called in as a replacement. Unfortunately, the engine had to be replaced in the middle of a high wind advisory with an associated sand storm. How the team managed to get that engine swapped into the car with sand stinging their faces all night is a question we’ll never know the answer to.
The team have commented to us that they’ll be returning to the NORRA Mexican 1000 in 2018, and this time they’ll be running the Carrera 4 bits to make their cars all wheel drive, and adding in a bit more ride height. Good luck Rothsport, we’re rooting for you!