J2 Racing on the road to Ensenada

November 15, 11:51 AMMotorcycle ExaminerKen Bingenheimer

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Frank Prince, of Big Magic Racing, during the 2007 Baja 1000. (Photo: Mark Hintsa)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hintsa/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

John Lowe and Jason Hill, riders for the J2 Racing team that will be competing this week in the 2009 Baja 1000, are making the last leg of their trip to Ensenada, Mexico, today. The race begins on Friday.

Jason left Columbus, OH, "at O'dark-thirty" on Thursday headed for headed for Columbus, GA, to meet John and Rod Pegram, the crew chief. The plan was for the team to catch a quick meal, transfer Jason's gear to Rod's truck/trailer, and get on the road for the West Coast Thursday night. Arrival in San Diego was estimated for approximately 27-30 hours later, driving straight through in shifts. They would be staying with a college friend of Jason's in San Diego for a couple days before heading over the border on todya. They have a beach house waiting in Ensenada. Rod's wife, Liz, and Jason's wife, Ashley, will be flying to San Diego on Monday

"With any luck, we'll have one day's worth of pre-running under our belts by the time we collect them at the border on Monday evening," says Jason.

The bike they'll be riding is a 2001 Honda XR650R, dubbed "Grunt." Says John:

I selected this bike out of pure lust. It is the biggest dirt bike made by Honda, and has been crowned the King of Baja by many. All of the standard mods have been made, 'uncorking' the bike, swapping more or less the entire front end and adding a Scott's stabilizer, Baja Designs 8" light, suspension modifications, desert tires (Maxxis and Bridgestone), tubes, seat, foot pegs (IMS), grips, crash bars, huge stator, and much more. I still feel like I should do more.

Unlike many teams, J2 Racing does not have sponsors, although they have received assistance from a few supporters. Here's John again:

BHM Decking & The British Handyman have put in quite a bit of time and money (in preparing the truck and both trailers), hiring a second bike for Jason and John to ride when Jason came down to test ride, donating the race decals for bike and helmets, extra lights for the race bike, vehicle insurances for Mexico, some tools, spares, parts, supplies, safety gear, and a new four-wheeler just in case we have to go out and find the rider. Columbus Mobile Detail cleaned and detailed the race bike for free. So that's a good start.

The team also got a $10 donation from "Frog," a member of the Adventure Rider forum.

J2 has a simple strategy for the race. "Intentionally starting at the back of the Sportsman Motorcycle class, our strategy is to see the competition ahead of us and pick 'em off one by one," says Jason. "We will expect the worst, hope for the best, adapt to the rest. Just finish. Right on."

And when it's all over with, having lived their boyhood dreams, will that be the end?

"John and I, and I'm sure to some degree Rod and John, have talked about figuring out a way to ensure this year's run at the B1K can be the start of many more races to come," says Jason. "We all have day jobs, but we've been tossing around ideas on how to sustain the off-roading habit so we can do it more often."

From now through the race and afterward, John and Jason will be sending me reports and photos and I'll get the updates out as quickly as they can send them. Come race day, Friday, Nov. 20, you will also be able to track the team's progress on Spotadventures.com, where their GPS unit will update the rider's location every 10 minutes.

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