Who to contact about Honda pits for baja 1000

[beamer]

Hey, My buddy and I are planning to race the 08 Baja 1000 and are wondering who you have to contact for the Honda pits, and how far in advance we might have to reservepay for a spot in them? Also I have read a couple of threads on this subject and opinions seem to vary greatly on which pits are the best. I am wondering if there are any kind of pits for hire for pre running and which may be the best, Thanks for your help

[BajaBoundMoto]

Currently Honda Pits are the very best available and also the most expensive. Of course you must ride a 4T Honda.

By the '08 B.1000 it'll most likely be Honda still with the best pits, but you never know.

Currently you need to contact Bruce Ogilvie to reserve Honda Pits. But come '08 it might be someone else.

Don't even bother them for '08 B.1000 pit support until around mid-June of '08.

[Koko Azuela]

I am wondering if there are any kind of pits for hire for pre running and which may be the best, Thanks for your help

No pits are available for pre running, only for race day, pre run pits are up to you, Honda's are the best, i think they charge about a dollar per mile, so expect to pay 1000 for a 1000 mile race, and for 08, probably even more!! Agree with Baja Bound, don't bother them until june 08

[beamer]

Thanks for the advice, We plan on going down about two weeks before the race to pre-run and hope we can hook up with some experienced Baja racers who might not mind us tagging along.

[mikekay]

2008?

Best thing you can do is go ride down in baja. Lots of time to do so. Heres some ways to get started:

1) There are free baja trips with baja vets every other month or so here on TT. They are usually posted in the 'International Forum' or under the 'california' section.

We have a TT trip going next month--and plans for another free trip late summer. Consider hooking up for a couple of these trips. Plenty of baja racers to go with who can show ya what to expect.

2) An alternative would be to contract with one of the motorcycle 'tours' - theres lots of them--depends on how deep your pockets are. They can do everything from weekend rides to week long treks to full on baja 1000 race bike rental and support...

3) DIY: Dont forget lizard lady who sells GPS coordinates to all the baja routes--with her info you can check out some remote spots. Baja Almanac is the best map---and AAA have an ok map for chase trucks and gasoline stations. Score-international.com lists all the main hotels...why not print out last years baja 1000 map--then take 3 days to ride it? Great practice.

There are 3 main options for pits:

1) Most popular is Mag 7 -- they do trucks, bikes, quads, etc. Its all white dudes who are big fans of the sport. They are very cool in that they will work with ya--need extra tires or want some beef jerky waiting at pit #14? They will hook ya up. They will work on your bike if needed and always stay open till the end of the race. (thats a big deal for newbies)

2) Honda Pits -- very 'professional' -- that both good and bad. Want/need something special? Aint gonna happen. For them its all about supporting Team Honda and their buddies--and the rest of the racers--well its splash some gas and thats about it. I find them way to cold and corporate. By far the most expensive. Biggest problem is they shut down the pits early--meaning if you are slow or had major drama and are up and running again and want to finish---you might find the last 4 pits are closed--packed up and driving back to San Diego...

3) Baja Pits--they are the bad news bears of the pit world. 2 years ago they didnt even have fuel for the last 500 miles of the race! The problem is they contract out to local mexicans--ya pull into the pit and no one even speaks english--not to mention the race gas has been stolen and local mexican gas gets dumped into your race bike...but they are cheap....if you race a Husqvarna they are free! Mostly local mexican nationals use Baja Pits to save money-at least thats my impression.

I've used all three---i like Mag 7.

Just my 2 pesos worth...

[beamer]

Thanks for the info, I know that I have allot planning to do for the race and I am trying to get started on some of the stuff that I might be able to get out of the way now, Like finding the best places to stay, Finding out what we will have to deal with at the border and other stuff I've read about like Mexican insurance?

I live up in northern Ontario, Canada and as much as I would love to go down to ride Baja with you guys, My race partner and I will be limited to going down for a couple of weeks before the race in 08,