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KORE PROVES NEW HEMIŽ RACE TRUCK WITH A SECOND PLACE
FINISH IN THE 2007 TECATEŽ SCORE BAJA 500
ENSENADA,
MEXICO -- With overcast
skies and a light breeze,
conditions were perfect for
racing. Over 500 vehicles waited
to pit their skills against the
sand, rocks, whoops and silt
beds that comprised one of the
roughest, most technical Baja
500 courses in history. Racers
who had run the course in
advance reported that not since
the "El Nino" terrain of 1998
had the trail been so
challenging.
"The
Baja 500 has always been one of my favorite races. It's
typically tight and low traction, the kind of course
that favors focused driving and a highly prepared team,"
said Kent Kroeker, owner of KORE.
This was
the race debut for KORE's new Stock Full class race
truck. This truck is a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 powered
by the latest generation 5.7 liter HemiŽ V-8.
"We've
got a lot of experience racing the Cummins-powered Rams.
We know their assets and liabilities. Throwing this
truck into a race as tough as the 500 was somewhat of a
gamble because we had engineered it so differently --
and none of our ideas had been tested in competition. We
had well over a thousand miles on the chassis and we
were still tuning, adjusting and rethinking things the
night before the race," said Kroeker.
Kent
Kroeker and Robin Stover came off the line in the back
of their class and by race mile 125, they had passed
everyone in their class as well as every class 7 truck
and 5/1600 car.
"KORE's
new truck is deceptively fast. The lighter weight of the
HemiŽ motor combined with the traction of four wheel
drive allowed us to maintain an incredible speed average
to our first pit. With half the horsepower but twice the
traction we drove right by numerous Class 1 cars and
Trophy Trucks that were mired in silt -- and out
accelerated everyone in our class and anyone near us,"
said Robin.
But luck
was not on their side. Leading the pack, almost half way
into the race, an electrical problem caused both
radiator fans to malfunction, causing a blown lower
radiator hose. Repairing the electrical glitch and
plumbing wasn't a problem, but finding enough water was.
With a little over a gallon of emergency water on board,
driver Jason Hughes and co-driver Chris Williams were
forced to dig a hole in the sand and extract water from
the earth in order to fill the radiator.
This
malfunction set the team back only an hour -- but it was
enough to put them at the back of the notorious
"log-jam" at race mile 210. Over twenty vehicles were
stranded at a narrow choke-point in the course. Drivers
struggled with their vehicles, trying to negotiate the
sand and silt, but to no avail. Several cars were rolled
over and stacked on top of each other. For over six
hours, team KORE towed and pushed race vehicles out of
the way and back onto the course.
"Vehicles were stuck everywhere. We towed and pushed
them sideways, backwards and upside down. It didn't
matter any more. We didn't even ask; we just hooked on
to them and dragged. It was heinous," said Jason Hughes.
Escaping
the log-jam and reaching KORE pit 3 by midnight
allowed just enough time to tighten lug nuts and refuel.
Marine Corps pilots John Zambie and Jack Ruddy
flawlessly drove from Valley Trinidad to Santo Tomas in
record time, putting a perfect truck into the capable
hands of Rudy Iribe and Keg Parker. Morning fog and
airborne silt reduced visibility, but as the sun rose,
team KORE rolled across the finish line for a second
place finish.
Kent
Kroeker stated, "This was a great Baja 500. We tried so
many new things and everything worked as-advertised.
From the new Fox, five-tube bypass shocks to the trick
in-cab AEM intake system and dry filter, we had perfect
performance. And our standard race-proven parts
performed like they always do: The ten Baja Designs
Soltek HID lights mounted to our HRC light bar turned
night into day and came out unscathed after ramming
numerous competitors too haggard to get out of the way.
Our DOT rated Toyo MT tires gave us our tenth race with
no flats, and the indestructible Weld Racing Commando
P.R.O. beadlock wheels held them in place securely for
the entire race."
"I'm not
disappointed about taking second. Race cars get better
with age because only racing can illuminate weak points.
Just getting to the finish line is a huge accomplishment
and we couldn't have done it without the integrity of
the Dodge Ram 2500 platform. It's one insanely tough
truck. Because it had never been done before, we had no
idea if the OE drivetrain parts like the 545 RFE
transmission or the HemiŽ motor could withstand the
rigors of professional desert racing -- or if the stock
steering components, frame and suspension parts would
fail at the higher speeds and stress loads this new
truck could generate. We had some bad luck due to small
problems but now the rough draft is coming together."
"We've
got some more development to do -- minor tuning like
changing gear ratios, adjusting spring rates and chasing
down a couple of electrical gremlins, but now KORE has
all guns aimed at one thing: winning the 40th annual
TecateŽ SCORE Baja 1000."
# # #
For more information
contact: KORE
P.O. Box 2628
Valley Center CA 92082
760-749-8687
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