DragonFire Racing / Team Green Kawasaki WIN 2009 Baja 1000

[JoeyD23]

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From left to right Larry Roeseler, Reid Nordin, Todd Romano, Hans Waage. Winners of the 2009 Baja 1000 Sportsman UTV class in the 1803 DragonFire Racing / Kawasaki Teryx. Congrats from all of us at UTVUnderground.com & Race-Dezert.com


Baja 1000 from the drivers seat of a Teryx

By Reid Nordin - Team Green Kawasaki & Driver Of Record 1803 DragonFire Racing Kawasaki Teryx

I’m finally home from the 27th annual Baja 1000 after nearly 10 days south of the border and boy does it feel good to be home. This year’s event would be one of the toughest Baja 1000’s ever. When the elite Trophy Truck class can only muster a 46MPH average you know it must have been tough. Just like any trip south of the border I have endless stories to tell from the trip down and back to the pre run let alone what happened during the race.

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Let me start off by saying thank you to those who made this such a memorable trip this year. The entire Dragonfire crew of Todd, Jack, Seth and Darren put together and outstanding program, Todd and Ross at Fox for a great suspension setting. Everyone at ITP for the bullet proof wheels and tires, Mike Lasher for being a great pre run partner and our communications expert and to my teammates, Hans Waage, Todd Ramano, And the Baja Legend, Larry Roeseler. Thank you all for making it happen!

The pre race activities and prep were running along smoothly when we developed an issue with the ITP car during our final tuning session. The Nessy 1 was already tuned and ready to go but now we needed to change our attention to fixing the issues with second car before we did any more prep or pre running. Luckily the team was fully prepared and we installed a new bullet in the 1801 ITP car and set off to tune the car a final time. Just when we thought the tuning was finished a second problem occurred. This meant another rebuild and another day lost to prep.

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The ITP car was finally up and running and we ran the start section in the 1803 car as a final shake down. We decided that night to do a visual on the valves just to make sure and we found the problem that caused the failure on the ITP car before it ruined our day. The valve spring retainer developed a crack and would have failed for sure had we left it alone. I wasn’t too worried as we still had about 18 hours before the start of the race.

Darren and Seth did a great job of swapping out some engine parts and we were back up and running the first thing the next morning. During the final assembly we didn’t fully tighten an oil line and when we ran the car down the highway she sprung a leak. Good news and bad. Good news, we found it before the race and bad news because staging was a mere 30 minutes away. How much more could go wrong before the race? That thought entered my mind for sure but I stayed calm and knew we could make it all work in the end. As it turned out we made the start with plenty of time to spare and my blood pressure and heart rate could return to normal in time to take the green flag.

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To say this race was brutal would be a gross understatement. The dust was so bad at one point I was forced to make forward progress only using my GPS to guide me. It sucked to be limited on Laguna Salada to a mere 30-40 MPH but when visibility was zero that was the best I could do. I drove the first 200 miles and I passed more broken and stuck cars ten you could imagine. Other then severe dusty conditions things seemed to be going smoothly for the Monster Energy Dragonfire Teryx Nessy. Both Todd and I got stuck in a bottle neck but he really got the short end of the stick as he had to sit motionless for over 30 minutes at RM573. My bottleneck was early and only lasted 5 minutes tops although it did seem like an eternity.

Hans drove the second section flawlessly and gave the car to Todd in perfect condition. We had already decided to do an air cleaner swap and a belt change at RM395 but as it turned out we did not need to do either but we did just to make sure. Todd finished the Mike’s section just as the sun was coming up and gave the car back to me. Lasher installed a new GoPro camera while I changed the pedal location (its hell being short). I handed the Teryx over to my hero, Larry Roeseler, who had already finished the race in his Norman Motorsports Trophy Truck. LR had his pre runner down there and needed to get it back to Ensenada so I jumped at the opportunity to get behind the wheel. We jointly decided that I should follow him up the course in case he ran into any trouble so I followed him to Santo Thomas before he headed east back to Ojos Negros and our final pit.

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LR ran a solid anchor leg with zero troubles and brought the car home for a class win and a finishing time that puts us in a great overall position. Not only did we finish well but we were faster then many classes that started before us. As it goes in Mexico, anything can happen and it is never over until you take the checkered flag. It could have been a disastrous event if we weren’t as prepared as we were. The Nessy has again proved her toughness and agility in the worst Baja could throw at her.

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This could not have been possible with out the following supporting cast: Dragonfire, Monster Energy Kawasaki Team Green, ITP tires and wheels, Fox Shox and the entire hard working crew that put it all together.

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[JoeyD23]

Race Recap By Hans Waage Co-Driver of the 1803 DragonFire Racing / Team Green Kawasaki Teryx


Hey Joey,
Here is my version of the race as we raced and chased around the Track.We started the day by doing some last minute testing and tuning on the motor because we dicovered a motor issue thursday afternoon and had to change the heads on the car.
We rolled to the line and Reid said the car was running great.Headed out to Ojos Negros and reid was already from 3rd to 1st so we headed up to mile 80 and waited for him to hit the road and fill with fuel.Reid showed up and was still in first even after changing a flat,We put a new tire on the rack and sent him over the summit.
We next thing we heard was Reid was not moving at RM160 and found out he was stuck after hitting the silt and driving up on top of a bush and high centering.Lucky for us there were people right ther and he quickly got out got fuel and was on his way to Borego.There is a narly silt bed at the end of the lake bed and even though there were several people stuck in it the Teryx motored right through.
Reid handed the car to me at mile 260 and I was off to the south.The first ten miles of track was shared with people coming back around from the loop and was all whoops.I got past them and was off to the dry lake bed for about ten miles of cruising at half throttle at 60-65 mph.The lake was covered with what looked like fog but was just hanging dust and the led lights worked good and I could see the road sides but not very far ahead.
After the lake bed was some four foot holes filled with silt and it looked like a wave coming over the car,Next was a fuel Stop at RM 240 some sand wash and about 5 miles of good road before more gigantic silt holes that you just had to moto through with no vision and try not to get stuck.The next 100 miles were either real rocky roads or sand washes with giant rocks and whoops.
Got out of the car at RM 350 and handed the car to Todd still working awesome and off he went back to Borego were we met him at RM 400 for fuel and a scheduled belt change.Todd was up over the Mikes Sky Ranch loop only to run into people stuck in the mud and silt causing to half hour delays due to the track being blocked.After clearing the blockages he brought us the car at RM 500 and Reid got back in the car for 30 miles on the crossover road.
At RM 530 Larry Roeseler got in the car and headed for the beach section with Reid following him in Larrys prerunner truck.Got through the beach section with out a hitch and down the pavement to Santo Tomas and 40 miles of silt hills and nasty terain.We met Larry at RM635 for fuel and he was off to the finish line and we were off to try to beat him there.We got there just in time to see him come across the line and win the Baja 1000.It was definetly won of the coolest times in my life and Nessy ran flawless with no issues other than a couple of flat tires that didnt actually go flat due to the tire balls with 15psi in them.
Big thanks to Todd,Reid,Larry and Dragonfire crew.Also Mike Lasher for all the pit help and his phone worked so his dad was texting us updates almost the hole 24hrs which was a huge help.

[JoeyD23]

Baja 1000 Champions

By Todd Romano DragonFire Racing Team Manager and Co-Driver 1803 DragonFire Racing / Team Green Kawasaki Teryx


Baja 1000 Champions: DragonFire racing has had the opportunity to race for Team Green Kawasaki in DragonFire Built Kawasaki Teryx and win Both the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 this year. Documenting this process needs to start by thanking everyone.
Team Green Kawasaki for the unconditional support in vehicles, parts and patience to make sure we brought them another title. Reid Nordin and Larry Roeseler for being a part of this winning team, their input, testing, pre running and planning added both confidence and experience to our team. Hans Wagge for taking the time off twice a year to be part of this team, working countless hours to ensure everything is ready. Darren, Seth, Danny, and Goo for spending the last three months getting the pre runner, race cars, and race bikes ready. Their dedication and attention to detail surpassed any and all expectation. Jack, Kevin, Fugi, Jim Creegan and the entire Bi Polar crew for chasing our two race cars for over 30 hours, cold nights and dangerous roads.
My Sponsors: Team Green KAWASAKI, ITP Tires and Wheels, Fox Racing, Redline Webber, Jack Daniels, Lowrance, Ogio, Makita, Monster Energy, and DragonFire Racing.
The testing we did prior to racing and the support from our sponsors made this victory possible.
We showed up with over 40 people to support this race, 7 trucks and trailers, two teams, 6 pre runners, and several dirt bikes. All made it home, some a little banged up and broken but all home and all excited to take home another victory.
Baja 1000 Highlights:
The KAWASAKI Teryx Motors and Differentials ran no stop for over 24 hours, without an issue and zero down time. We were fortunate we caught a spring retainer failure while testing during the week and made the appropriate changes to make sure the motor would last running over 7500 RPM for the duration of the race.
DragonFire Nessie: this vehicle surpassed all expectations. We started almost dead last, and passed every vehicle and class both broken and moving. Our overall time has us beating Trophy Truck and Class 1 cars. But a bigger accomplishment is our time would have won or taken a podium in every other 4 wheel Vehicle Class. Here is the list we would have Podiums in: Class 3, Class 5, Class 5/1600, Class 6, Class 7, Class 7sx, Class 8, Class 9, CLASS 10, Class 11, Stock Full, Stock Mini, Pro Truck, Class 17. 4<SUP>th</SUP> in Baja Challenge, Class 2 Predator X18 and Class 7-2.
Both Nessie1 and Nessie2 Completed every mile Baja had to offer. All our pre run DragonFire Teryx’s ran flawlessly for almost 2000 miles.
The ability to have 4 wheel drive, 19 inches of travel, be small and nimble, made this the perfect car for the Baja 1000.
ITP for building the best Tires in the business, 2 Races now Won on the ITP BAJA Cross, and special thanks to ITP for the new race wheel they developed for us to race on. Nessie 2 finished the race on the wheels and tires it started on. Nessie 1 took out three wheels at the Borego Road Crossing, but beyond that had only one flat the entire race.
Fox for working with us on the new internal Bypass shocks that allowed us to pass Class 8 Truck in the whoops of San Felipe.
Our motor department for both designing and building motors in both our race cars that lasted the entire race.
Baja 1000 Challenges:
Valve Spring Retainers failing and costing us two motors
COLD COLD nights
Bottle necks that cost us about 2 hours of down time
Three of my good friends, acting like idiots and crashing while pre running. They all crashed in the same corner. Several Broken Bones and Dunlap tire marks left on all involved.
Many people only go to Baja to say they were able to finish the race, and to see the excitement the people have when their vehicle crosses the line is amazing. Only a few people start the day with a plan to win. We went to Mexico with only one intention and that was to win the Baja 1000. We came prepared and the preparation worked. We understood the limitation of the car and drove within them, we understood the challenges the course would provide and drove around them. We were strategic in our race and chase strategies and ran without challenge or Challenger. Baja is a love hate realationship, and I love hating the Baja.
Todd