Daty 4: Mockett Wins But Blomqvist Still Leader

San Luis Potosi, October 26th.- The 22 edition of La Carrera Panamericana left behind the first half of competition and Swede Stig Blomqvist still doesn´t make mistakes, reaching for his global brand experience to consolidate in the absolute top. The former world rally champion, sailed by the Venezuelan Ana Goni Boracco, demonstrated once again its international quality management to keep the third place in the fourth stage of the Panamericana, ran between Queretaro and San Luis Potosi, which was won by American Doug Mockett, with Mexican Angelica Fuentes. Mexicans Alejandro and Mauricio Pimentel recovered from Sunday's problems, as they didn´t finish the final speed sections, crossing in second place in the day, made of 424 kilometers, which 107 were timed and the remaining traffic. However, attempts of Doug Mockett and brothers Pimentel do not seem to disturb Stig Blomqvist, who has a perfect race and every day looks like being the great favorite for heading as a winner to Nuevo Laredo, on Thursday. In an Oldsmobile registered on the Tourism Mayor, Mockett covered the distance in 58:42.1 minutes in the timed unofficially.
The brothers Pimentel, aboard a Dodge, crossed in second place with a record of 59:29.3 minutes. Blomqvist and Boracco arrived third in 1:00.04.3 hours in a Studebaker. The fourth place went to Karl Scheible and Dyana Marlett, a Major Tourist Volvo, with a time of 1:01.34.4, and Swedish Lars Stugemo and Jonny Oloffson in a Major Tourist Studebaker returned to the top, ranking in fifth overall with 1:01.36.9 hours. The day was white in removals from Queretaro to San Luis Potosi for approximately 75 cars started the race, but the crews of the Jaguar of Mike Harris and Larry Ligas, in addition to the Porsche of Jack Lewis and Kim Watkins suffered a tough encounter, far only a few meters in the last section of speed before the noon service in the town Jalpan, Queretaro. The Pan American convoy left at eight in the morning downtown Queretaro, to arrive shortly after four o'clock in the evening at the Historic Center of San Luis Potosi, where hundreds of young fans welcomed them in forming a human wall the last meters to the arch of arrival. On Tuesday, La Carrera is having a very emotional day, because will return to Guadalajara for the first time in nine years, on the way to Tequila, where it will reside output arc.
The caravan multicolor will reach the picturesque town of Tequila at 15:00, but spend the night in Guadalajara, to exit the Glorieta de la Minerva at 8:00 pm.

If you know Doug and Angelica as well as I do then you know they have got to be hurting but knowing them as well as I do I also know they will be the first to accept the fact that that's just racing and make no excuses.

To Give Is Better Than To Recieve LCP Style

If there is one thing I enjoy even more than racing it is giving or doing for others and there seems to be a lot of that going on within the La Carrera Panamericana fraternity. I have been most fortunate to have witnessed this numerous times and one fine example of what I'm talking about is one I found written by Doug Mockett and how one man made a difference in so many other's lives.


Electricity and a Refrigerator Come to a Mexican Village. (Taken from Doug's News.)

Every year that the Carrera Panamericana starts in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the southernmost, and poorest, Mexican state of Chiapas, we have always helped Prof. Jorge Morales Ramos, a good guy who runs a charity named "Enviame a Mi" ("Save Me"), dedicated to the "Education, Food, Health and Housing" of the poor of Chiapas. So last month when we arrived there was Prof. Ramos - with his big smile and with a special request - would we donate a refrigerator to Enviame a Mi?

Of course we would. He went on to explain how a village they serve had just received electricity. The refrigerator would be a huge hit for a village that never had one. I guess when we are used to virtually every convenience, this concept is a shock. A small donation that has made a big difference. The pictures explain better than any words.


Our own Oscar Carrillo loading the refrigerator in Tuxla.












The road to the village a 2-hour drive over a mountain range to a far valley.












Oscar fell off the truck! Deep into the mud!












Unloading the refrigerator.












Happy kids with the village’s first refrigerator.

Back To Defend His (Their) Title

Anyone who has ever raced with Doug Mockett will say the same thing... A fierce adversary, super personality, very smart and someone you'd be proud to call your friend. The same can be said about Angelica Fuentes with one exception... She's far better looking than Doug.

Doug and Angelica with 2008 overall winner Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima


Doug and Angelica in his 1954 Oldsmobile Super88 are returning to Pikes Peak to defend their title.




Colorado Springs, June 26----- Fans at the 2009 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb can enjoy a sort of “Time Travel” experience again this summer when they watch the entries in the Vintage Race Car field.

Defending champ Doug Mockett of Chistiansed, St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands is set to seek another title with his co-driver, Angelica Fuentes, and they’ll be aboard their 1954 Oldsmobile Super 88 again. They won it all last year on the Hill with a clocking of 14:26.034 to nudge out runnerup Keith Davidson of Golden, Colorado, in his 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint, also coming back to race again.

The Vintage drivers will be at the wheel of autos including 1965, 1966 and 1968 Ford Mustangs, a 1952 DeSoto, a 1955 Chevy Corvette and a 1971 Plymouth Barracuda.

Mockett was a Rookie on the Hill last summer when he won the crown, but he’s had decades of experience across the globe. In 2002 he won the fabled Carrera Panamericana, viewed by experts as perhaps the most dangerous race in the world.



He began his career in road racing in 1961-62 as a crewman for late Road Racing Drivers Club President Mark Donohue, and then went into racing broadcasting before becoming a promoter of motorcycle races. He has been a successful racer of Vintage cars from New Zealand to Monaco to the Monterey Historics, provides his stable of vintage Formula One cars to young American drivers to showcase their skills to a new audience of potential sponsors, and has been a significant supporter of the development of young American road racers.

Raised in Short Hills, New Jersey (25 miles west of New York City), he attended his first race at nine years old, when his father took him to a race at a board track. "I couldn't believe it, it was just out of sight. It was unreal. They were racing midgets and what you would call jalopies." In his teens and twenties, Mockett helped out local amateur racers, one of whom was Mark Donohue. "Mark Donohue grew up in the town next to mine. I crewed for him over a couple of seasons in SCCA and really got into it. We had a great time, obviously. He was just a real character. Really great. Just a good guy."

Mockett obtained his BA in English from Hobart College in Geneva, New York -- conveniently on the other side of Lake Seneca from Watkins Glen. Hitchhiking down Route 14, Mockett saw his first race at the legendary track in the Fall of 1958. "Joe Bonnier won in a Maserati 250F and I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It was just unbelievable. It was a Formula Libre race, so mainly, it was a run what you brung. I remember he had a big dice with Peter Ryan from Canada, who was driving a sports car of some sort. But Bonnier was clearly the class of the field."

Growing restless in the Spring of 1968, while he was finishing up his MBA at N.Y.U. and doing advertising and public relations for a brokerage house on Wall Street, Mockett decided to take time off. His two choices were sailing the Caribbean or attending all the Grand Prix races that season. "One night after a few beers, I flipped a coin and the Grand Prix races came up. I've often looked back and wondered what would have happened if the sailing had come up."


On the scene will be the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales, a chance to meet the drivers and racers, view their cars and motorcycles, music with live local bands, a Firefighters Chili Cook-Off, food and refreshments, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb’s Mobile Museum, a merchandise and race ticket booth, displays of custom cars and motorcycles, and stuff for kids like Freestyle Motocross Jumping exhibitions.



Tickets: www.ticketswest.com (866) 464-2626

A Little La Carrera Fun

I sure regret not having been able to compete in last years Pikes Peak International Hill Climb but fortunately one thing I will never regret is the great friends I have been blessed with as a result of La Carrera Panamericana and already some other competitors from the PPIHC that have been so helpful even before we meet and there are many.

Personally, besides all the friends that form a racing community and a bond of sorts (and dont forget those awesome race fans) another very important reason to take part in PPIHC is two fold. One is simply the excitement and significance of being part of the historical value os this race. Secondly is simply because I'm a racer that loves an exciting and challenging race and if you can think of race more exciting than this one I sure would like to hear about it.

One thing I really enjoy about this specific race is that all the vintage cars run against each other no matter if they have a 6 cylinder, a big V-8 or even a bigger V-8. At the end of the day the last thing I want to hear is "I would have won but John Smith had a bigger motor than me." The truth is, in the good ole days of the PPIHC drivers "run what they brung" with every one of them doing every thing in their power (and budget) to build what they thought would run the best.

It's very important to remember that the car isn't worth a plug nickle if it isn't driven by a great driver. Pikes Peak by its self can be very intimidating and unforgiving and with so little margin for error, no guard rails and the Devil himself trying to take you back down the hill the wrong way, it really doesn't matter what size engine you have.

I cant wait to test and then race the mountain because this race is not about beating any other driver and God knows it sure as hell isn't about beating the mountain... It's all about the experience, the friendship, the camaraderie and the love of racing.

That said, I hope to hell I kick Doug Mockett's butt and after this years PPIHC is over I am hoping this photo will reassemble how Doug felt with me chasing him up the hill. LOL. (Anyone who doesn't know Doug, don't worry about the abuse. Doug is an exceptional gentleman racer with a great sense of humor and I am delighted to call him my friend.)

Taking a Moment To Congratulate A Good Friend

I would like to take a moment to congratulate our very good friend Doug Mockett on his most recent and very impressive showing at Zwartkops International Raceway in South Africa. If you've never been Zwartkops is near Pretoria which is one of the most beautiful cities in South Africa especially if you are lucky enough to be there when the purple Jackoranda trees are in bloom. Doug drove his beautiful 1961 Cooper T-56, ex-factory FJ car in the Springbok Series which is made up of historic single seaters and had six international entries headed by Doug. The historic single seaters drew a field of over 28 cars for the period up to end 1972.



The six race Springbok Series was to finish off last few events of 50th anniversary celebration of F Junior and Doug made an outstanding showing indeed with two 4ths and four 3rds from six starts ending up 2nd overall!

As you may or may not know, Doug's beautiful Cooper T-56 is the very same model driven by none other than Steve McQueen as seen here by McQueen making the exhilarating high speed drop down through the world famous corkscrew at Laguna Seca.





















When talking about Doug's Cooper T-56 he has been overheard numerous times saying, "It's my favorite car in the whole world." For those of us who have raced with Doug in La Carrera Panamericana and Pikes Peak it's hard to imagine Doug even looking at another car. Remembering that old saying, "It's ok to look but don't touch" obviously doesn't apply to Doug and understandably so. Hell I'd do more than touch it too if I had the chance.


While I'm on the subject of Doug and his "little" car. (Don't laugh... Have you seen his battleship?) here is a photo of Doug being honored with the Koni Heritage Award which was presented by our good friend Mario Andretti right here at our local Infineon International Raceway.

Too Excited To Be Tired

1st Place Overall #108 Bill Beilharz and Jorge Ceballos















2nd Place Overall #10 Jorge Pedrero and Marco Antonio















3rd Place Overall #133 Doug Mockett and Angelica Fuentes

Photos Courtesy Of Go Fast

IT'S OFFICIAL LA CARRERA FANS

The official word has just been sent by the Officials at La Carrera Panamericana headquarters.

Bill Beiharz and Jorge Ceballos are the winners of La Carrera Panamericana!

PHOTO COURTESY OF OUR NEW FRIEND JORGE ARELLANO VITAL

In second place is Jorge Roberto Pedrero Zardain and Marco Antonio Hernandez.

Photo Courtesy Of Go Fast Energy Drink

In third place is Doug Mockett and Angelica Ramirez.

Photo Courtesy of Go Fast Energy Drink


Thousands of people in Nuevo Laredo received the winners in a true popular celebration. The great and legendary Carrera Panamericana has finished it’s XXI edition.





As soon as I have the rest of the daily and overall results I will have them posted so we can all see how the rest of the competitors did. Congratulations to all of the teams.

PS; This confirms several of the previous conclusions regarding other teams being broken down are mostly incorrect. Had those results been correct Doug Mockett would not have finished 3rd.

Using A Crystall Ball Sucks

Photo courtesy of John Coyle, Community Editor CarDomain.

The live broadcast did not work for me so I am using a combination of reports and mental telepathy to get what I believe to be semi-accurate.

At this time, I believe Doug Mockett and Angelica Fuentes have won the Vintage Class!!! Congratulations. It's interesting to point out that car #66, a 1966 Mustang, had some fast times posted in practice all except for a DNS on his last run on the last day of practice. Hmmm. So far today there have been no times posted for his car so all I can assume is he broke???

Chip Johns, Todd Landon and Ralph Carungi have also finished 10, 11, and 12. Not knowing the rules as to qualification I was surprised to see fellow La Carrera driver Dean Smith completed the race as well since he had no practice times posted for the last three days. On the other hand I was glad to see they let him run. I will be curious why he didn't have any practice days posted.

All in all it looks like La Carrera Panamericana teams had a very successful showing and have made us all very proud. Considering this race is not what these cars were originally set up for and since they are all rookies to this event they all deserve a huge pat on the back.

Now lets all keep our fingers crossed for our Man Kevin. Do us proud Kevin!!!!


Division: Vintage FINAL RESULTS

Driver Name Number Vehicle Halfway Picnic Ground Glen Cove Sixteen Mile Finish Line
Angelica Garcia/Douglas Mockett 133 1954 Oldsmobile Super 88 02:13.547 05:58.464 09:38.997 14:26.034
Keith Davidson 163 1963 Ford Falcon 02:15.572 06:07.233 09:44.986 14:33.770
Joel Jantzen 656 1965 Ford Mustang 02:20.102 06:13.496 10:03.940 14:57.720
Mike Jones/Doug Coffey 220 1966 Ford Mustang 02:25.169 06:27.792 10:15.266 14:58.587
Jess Neal 42 1971 Plymouth Cuda 02:28.040 06:48.706 10:18.013 15:00.920
John Daniels/Bob Youngdahl 145 1949 Cadillac Sedanette 02:32.921 06:37.473 10:24.022 15:21.600
Douglas Allen 369 1965 Ford Mustang 02:24.124 06:30.445 10:22.373 15:23.877
David Cooper 403 1951 Chrysler New Yorker 02:29.578 06:40.037 10:46.300 15:42.810
Jim Linton 816 1969 Ford Mustang 02:36.427 06:53.997 10:44.694 15:44.471
Chip Johns 385 1964 Ford Rally Falcon 02:33.366 No Time 11:04.861 16:01.237
Todd Landon 399 1967 Ford Mustang 02:47.835 No Time 11:15.923 16:20.282
Ralph Carungi/Bill Richert 101 1954 Lincoln Capri 02:29.015 07:05.504 11:03.556 16:39.580
Richard Hamlin/Richard Morrison 422 1958 Mercedes 220S Coupe 02:52.615 07:34.514 12:24.229 18:02.513
Dean Smith/Ashley Akey 357 1961 Chrysler 300R 03:05.919 08:01.665 13:31.111 19:29.093
Carlile Wiley/Christopher Salyer 203 1954 Chevy Corvette 02:43.742 07:10.475 13:13.726 21:15.830

La Carrera Humor

Since Doug Mockett is busy with his team at the Monaco Historics I thought now would be a good time to poke some fun at his expense. Besides it does look like Doug behind the wheel don't it? (All in fun Doug.)


So much for humor. Now let's get on to more serious matters. Team California's Best would like to congratulate our good friend and fellow competitor, Doug Mockett on his very impressive historical victory last week in Monaco. Victory could not have gone to a finer gentleman. Doug's driver Paul Edwards became the first Team USA Scholarship winner to win a Formula 1 race at Monaco on Sunday. OK, it wasn’t a round of the World Championship, but it was still an impressive performance from the 30-year-old Edwards, who now lives in Ft. Collins, Colo.


Paul Edwards drove a 1975 Penske PC3 to victory on the streets of Monaco.

Edwards qualified Team USA Scholarship prime supporter Doug Mockett’s pristine 1975 Penske PC3 on the pole for last weekend’s Monaco GP Historique Group G event, featuring F1 cars from 1975-'78, and romped away to an accomplished victory on the famed street circuit.

“My main aspiration in motorsport was always to make it to F1 but came up a bit short until Doug Mockett invited me to drive his Penske PC3 in 2006 where we had a last lap incident with Martin Stretton which took us out of the race while going for the lead,” recounts Edwards. “It has been a long two years waiting to get another unforgettable opportunity – the chance of a lifetime #2 – for a shot at victory in Monaco. It was a perfect week both on and off the track – an experience that most of us can only dream about.

“The car ran flawlessly, thanks to the world-class preparation by Phil Reilly’s team, and we led practice, took the pole,and topped it off with a win in a Formula 1 car at Monaco. To stand on the top step of the podium with Prince Albert shaking my hand and handing the trophy to me was just unbelievable! I am so honored to be apart of this event and to have shared this moment with everyone involved and my long time supporter and friend Doug Mockett.”

Edwards won both the 1998 Formula Opel Winter Series and the following season’s Formula Palmer Audi Winter Series carrying the colors of the Team USA Scholarship.


Edwards accepts his winner's laurels from Monaco's Prince Albert.






He now returns to his “day job,” driving a Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and will be back in action this coming weekend, defending his GT class points lead at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The Team USA Scholarship was founded in 1990. Previous winners include Jimmy Vasser, Bryan Herta, Memo Gidley, Jerry Nadeau, Buddy Rice and A.J. Allmendinger.

Team USA Scholarship winners currently lead three prestigious title chases in North America, with Edwards holding the Rolex GT points lead, J.R. Hildebrand (2005) leading the way in the Firestone Indy Lights Championship and Joel Miller (2007) out in front in the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear.

(Credit SPEEDtv.com)