For Immediate Release

The longest journey is from the race shop to the Baja 1000: John Hoffman's Autoweek blog

Singapore, 24 October 2014 - Read about John Hoffman’s Autoweek Blog on the up-coming Baja 1000 race. http://autoweek.com/article/racing/longest-journey-race-shop-baja-1000-john-hoffmans-autoweek- blog

Buffing the is just part of the preparation that goes into getting a vehicle ready for the Baja 1000.

Crew chief shares what it takes to get ready for one of racing's biggest tests

As November approaches, Bronson Motorsports is in full swing preparing for both the Las Vegas SEMA Show and the SCORE International Baja 1000. We’re taking our Class 10 Buggy to Las Vegas for display in the booth of Omni United, the parent company of Radar Tires, and then immediately to the race. Before that, there are so many things that have to be finalized before the biggest race of our season. The Baja 1000 is the ultimate off-road race. This year we’re racing from Ensenada to La Paz and traveling nearly 1,200 miles.

The Baja 1000 all starts in the race shop. We’ve inspected and rebuilt the Radar Tires Class 10 buggy to ensure everything -- especially the motor, transmission and suspension -- gets pulled apart, inspected,

replaced if needed and re-assembled. No part can be overlooked. From the roof to the Radar tires, the buggy is fully inspected.

In order to conquer the desert terrain, we prep our Radar tires since they are the first things to hit the desert, literally. Our expert, Moe Mauhili of Mauhili Motorsports, does all the prep work for us. For the last two years, we’ve used Radar Renegade R5 race tires and we will do so again this year. The prep work on the tires begins with the race sets where we’ll buff them to racing tread depth to reduce its . Moe will then mount the tires on the Method race and inflate them with nitrogen. For the race, we’ll prepare at least four sets of tires plus have spares in each support vehicle.

On the race buggy, the motor is leaked down and run on the dyno. The transmission is completely disassembled, and any worn out or damaged parts are replaced. All the suspension components are sandblasted and sent out for crack checking. New spherical rod ends are installed before bolting the suspension components back on the . The chassis is cleaned and inspected for any cracks or damage.

The Baja 1000 is actually a 1,200-mile marathon from Ensenada to La Paz.

One of the most important things on an off-road buggy is the shocks. Each shock is carefully pulled apart and inspected for any unusual issues. After inspection, each shock gets a new seal and oil before re- assembly and mounting on the buggy.

As for the pre-runner buggies, these are the workhorses, and they get the same treatment as the race buggy. The main pre-runner will get a more detailed inspection because it is used throughout the race week. We will log more miles on the pre-runner because we expect to go around the race course five or six times, maybe more. We’ll use the pre-runners for reconnaissance before the race and as a support vehicle during the race. That means they clock more than 5,000 miles during race week. The lead mechanics will use the pre-runner to get to the race buggy quickly should there be problem during the event.

Once we know the race buggy and pre-runners are ready to go, we turn our attention to the logistics and strategy – that’s a whole other monster. We will set up seven pit stops for fuel and Radar tire changes during the race. Each pit stop location has five crew members. We will have four chase trucks running down the highway helping the pit crews and lead mechanics. The chase trucks carry spare parts, extra Radar tires, fuel, welders and just about anything we can load into the truck if we need to fix the race buggy. We’ll use three pre-runners to support the race buggy during the event.

Communication is one of the biggest challenges for one race buggy with three co-drivers, four chase trucks, three pre-runners and a crew of 45. We will use radios and satellite phones to keep in touch while in the Mexican desert. Plus we’ll have one person in San Diego that watches the race via the satellite tracker, and he will call or text updates to the team during the race. If we have any issue, our stateside crew member is instrumental in getting information to me so that I can develop a plan.

Each pit and chase team will have a pit book which gives all the information needed for the race. The pit book outlines the distance from each pit stop, a map and contact information for the entire team. We’ll also include the pit stop and fueling locations because the gas stations down there are few and far between. The last thing we want to do is run a support vehicle out of fuel in the middle of the night in the Mexican desert!

This is really a very brief summary of all that it takes to go down and race the Baja 1000. There are countless man-hours and so much blood, sweat and tears to make it all happen. In the end, there is nothing like seeing all your hard work pay off and watching that buggy cross the Baja 1000 finish line. It is even better to be on that top step of the podium.

Editor's note: John Hoffman has more than 30 years of off-road racing experience, working for numerous factory- sponsored teams. In addition to serving as crew chief for Bronson Motorsports in SCORE International competition, Hoffman is the owner/operator of Hoffman Motorsports in Murrieta, Calif.

By John Hoffman

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ABOUT OMNI UNITED / RADAR TIRES Omni United was founded in 2003 by Singapore-based entrepreneur G. S. Sareen. From its headquarters in Singapore, Omni United provides the full spectrum of supply, distribution and sales services to over 80 countries around the world. The USA, Omni United’s largest market, accounts for 70% of the company’s business. Omni United has 10 offices throughout the USA, including Florida, California, Michigan and Colorado. Other important fast growing markets are the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Middle East, South East Asia, Australia and Japan.

Omni United has been rated as the fastest growing company in Singapore. A major percentage of Omni United’s products (including Radar Tires) are designed in Singapore and manufactured in modern, high- tech, state-of-the-art production facilities in Indonesia, Thailand, India and China. All products are compliant with all the most stringent USA and EU tire regulations.

Radar Tires is the flagship tire brand of Omni United (Singapore) – an established global tire designer and manufacturer. It offers a complete range of passenger , SUV, truck, bus, and farm tires that are marketed under its own four brand names: Radar, Goodride, Roadlux and Corsa. Besides designing and manufacturing tires, Omni United provides unparalleled customer service and its state-of-the-art logistics and supply chain management systems, which are the cornerstones of their success.

Radar Tires is proud to declare carbon neutral as of October 2013.

For further information about Omni United and Radar Tires, please visit www.omni- united.com and www.radartires.com

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