Eliseo, the fact that you created this thread is one of the reasons the race is great. Thanks for seeking input and listening to the racers.
I thought the Stella worked well enough. Online tracking seemed to be pretty good although we had to manually refresh a lot. I hope we use it again next year mainly so I don't have to change anything. Dealing with a different tracker every year is tedious. I like that it has an odometer built in to it. It would be nice if we could somehow show up with an online class completion rather than have to send the whole team into that classroom.
Mark Stahl was circulating a petition to give some weight to NORRA veterans when it comes to BOLA hotel rooms. I signed it because I think that those of us who have raced this race for many years should be given priority over first timers. Especially when a computer glitch at signup can cost you big time. At least I was able to be online when registration opened, but as an airline pilot I could be in the middle of a 6 hour flight and not be able to sign up in time to get a room.
The party tent in BOLA is a good idea, but I have to say that most of the other parties aren't something I think we really need to spend time organizing and paying for. For example, at the Mission Hotel in Loreto, if we just told them to be ready for a ton of visitors that night, I think it would be just as good of a party if people just paid for whatever they want out of their pocket. Just announce where the party is going to be and the racers will take care of showing up and partying. Seems like a lot of effort for little return, especially since the majority of teams probably don't have time in the middle of the race to actually party.
I didn't go to the main after-party this year because frankly they have been too painful in the past. Maybe this year is different but I think a party should be a party, not the offroad version of the Oscars award show. Setting up round tables on the sand looks nice but isn't conducive to mingling and partying. Maybe we could move the "party" back to Thursday night after the race and have an awards ceremony on Friday morning. Anyway, just some ideas, like I said I was over halfway home while the party was going on this year so maybe it was different. I do know that every year, a big part of our entry fee goes toward these functions and we rarely get a chance to take part in them. The guys who have enough money to pay other people to prep their cars don't need to have their fun financed by the teams who are too busy working and transporting their stuff around to attend.
I know you guys don't want people prerunning, but its really important for us to have a better plan for pitting with Mag7. These stock UTVs only go a short way when you're on the pipe and its not enough just to have mileage from gas station x to pit y. We have to know where these things are physically going to be so we can look at chase and pit opportunities before the race. I think there is much to cover WRT Stock UTV and Mag7 but that's probably its own separate thread.
One final idea/thought before I end this long post.....is it possible on a day like the start in LaPaz to simply not do the first transit section, and just stage the vehicles at the start of the first special? Seems like a lot of effort to get everybody racked and stacked, just to drive down the highway to the real start of the race.
Again, thanks for everything, the stuff above is nit picking what is always a great race and this year was no exception. Hasta la vista!