J2 Racing bike 299x on the starting line
Jason Hill is in line for the start of the Baja 1000 when he notices fluid dripping from the race bike. Pulling out of line, he gets off and looks to find out what is happening.
Soon, clouds of steam engulf the bike, which is clearly overheating. Observing, you can feel Jason's spirits sinking with the dread that after coming all this way there will be no Baja 1000 racing for the J2 Racing team today.
Long story short, though, with water added to the cooling system Jason is back in line and off. The race is on!
Through city streets, then down a rutted creek bed and out onto potholed dirt roads, Jason and the Honda XR650R blast along. Dust fills the air from racers ahead of him and spectators line the road, pointing directions to help him keep on course. He stops at a Y-intersection and looks left, then right, then left, then right, seeminly usure which way to go. Then a quad and another bike catch up, go right, and he follows.
The air gets thicker with dust and the morning sun is blinding with its glare and suddenly the world goes upside down. Jason has taken a spill in a rut he couldn't see. He gets back up and is approached by a local asking if he's all right. Yes he is, thanks for checking.
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No, I haven't forgotten that I've promised you coverage of the Jason Hill-John, Lowe J2 Racing experience at this year's Baja 1000. I filled you in right away about John's race-ending crash but there's a lot more story to be told.
That story will be coming soon, and I've urged Jason to get me the rest of the info soon. In the meantime, if you really want to feel what it was like, I urge you to do as I did and go to http://vholdr.com/node/54029 and watch the video clip Jason has put up that he filmed with his helmet cam. No words can give you the kind of understanding that this video clip offers. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this thing is worth at least a million.
Be advised, it runs 31 minutes, 34 seconds, and it starts off slowly, with Jason just waiting in line at the start. But then he notices the drip, and you're hooked from that point on.
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