Mexico At Civil War?

Things are taking a fast turn for the worse especially at the border and this is a very important situation for all La Carrera Panamericana and Chihuahua Express teams. At this very moment we have many friends who are racing even as I type this and as soon as I hear anything I will post it.

When? March 19-20-21, 2010.

Where? City and State of Chihuahua, Mexico

Location? Chihuahua City is 220 miles south of El Paso, Texas, and only
145 miles west of Presidio, Texas.





CLICK HERE to read about armed gunmen blocking roads.

This news report came in less than 3 hours ago...
Mexico's violence


THREE horrendous killings occurred recently in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just across the border from El Paso, Texas. They underlined the severity of the influence of drug cartels in Mexico, but also sounded a warning to Americans.

Shot dead were an employee of the U.S. consulate general, her husband, and the husband of another U.S. employee. What was new was not the execution-style killings, but that these were the first American government officials to have fallen victim to them.

The spreading poison of the cartels in Mexico, which cause some observers to fear that the country of 112 million people is becoming a drug culture, is alarming to Americans. One reason is the historically close relationship between the United States and Mexico.

A second reason is that there are many Mexicans in the United States, who have both legal and illegal status.

And third, although maintaining law and order in Mexico is clearly the business of the Mexican government and not the United States, the fact is that Mexico's drug cartels' existence depends on the hungry market for their product on this side of the border.

The basic relationship between the United States and Mexico will remain in spite of the drug trade and its corresponding slaughter, which has spread from Mexicans to Americans. While there is grumbling in the United States about the impact on jobs here as a result of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, nearly half of Mexico's $140 billion worth of imports last year came from the United States.

Mexico was the second-largest destination for American exports, behind only Canada, the other partner in NAFTA.

In spite of U.S. efforts to control the nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico, it remains porous. The idea of building a fence and wall along the border was abandoned recently because it is not the most effective method of addressing the problem.

U.S. aid to Mexico through the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service is intended to improve coordination, to tighten border procedures, and to control the trade in arms across the border. President Obama is reportedly considering an increase in aid in the aftermath of last weekend's killings.

President Felipe Calderon of Mexico is using the Mexican army to curb violence along the country's northern border. U.S.-Mexican military cooperation has too sensitive a history to offer much promise.

Probably the best action the U.S. government could take to help alleviate the drug cartel problem would be to modify America's own drug policy.

The problem is twofold: the supply of product from Mexico and demand for it from the United States. It is a matter that cries out to be addressed from both ends.

HEY.... FOLLOW THAT COP!!!

If you ever doubt for a second that LCP participants don't get preferential treatment while taking part in LCP have a look at the following video but while you're watching it keep in mind this is'nt the exception to the rule... This is the norm just the way all LCP teams are treated. You can almost go anywhere or do anything and they welcome you with open arms.

The man shaking my hand in this photo was the top Federally in all of Mexico and clearly very well respected by everyone everywhere we went. As he shook my hand at the start of the last high speed stage of the final day he told us what a pleasure it was to have us racing in his country. WHAT? A pleasure to have us racing in his country??? Here was a man who for 7 days had helped us break every single motor vehicle known to man kind and then he made us promise we come and do it all over again.












Have you ever taken a wrong turn on the freeway and then realize not only is it the wrong way but you don't have a clue how far into the wrong direction it will take you before you will be able to find a place to get turned around? Well that's exactly what happened one day to Jon and I during the 2007 La Carrera Panamericana. After realizing we had taken a turn onto a different freeway which Jon assumed was the wrong one I just pulled off to the side of the freeway. As soon as we saw one of the Federallys who was traveling with the LCP cars we flagged him down. To make matters worse the Federally didn't know either but he knew how to find out and within a few seconds he pulled over a local police officer and told him we were in a hurry and needed directions. As bad luck would have it we were now on the wrong freeway and it was a LONG way to turn around but as good luck would have it the Federally smiled and said, "FOLLOW ME!" With that he turned on his flashing lights and we began backing up on the freeway and kept on backing right on up the on ramp in oncoming traffic until we got back to the freeway which would take us the right direction. If that wasn't cool enough then the Federally kept his lights on stopping traffic until there was an opening for us to pull out into traffic. As soon as were were back on the freeway the Federally gave us an escort thru traffic flashing lights and all that got faster and faster as we went on our merry way. VIVA MEXICO!

The Distinction Of A Mil Cumbre Battle Scar

During the entire 7 days of hard racing over 2000 miles through Mexico during the grueling world famous 2007 La Carrera Panamericana driver Gary Faules and navigator Jon Emerson had only one minor incident. Petty impressive considering this was their first LCP event on roads neither had ever seen before. The car didn't get the name Lucky by chance. The night before at the drivers meeting teams were advised by the president of LCP, "Do not, try to win this stage." Watch what happens a few seconds after Jon tells Gary, "Use all the road." By the way, Gary and Jon won this stage.

If You Like La Carrera Panamericana Photos...

1999 Photo courtesy of Clément Marin


Today I got a note from Clément Marin from Paris France telling me about his new 2008 La Carrera Panamericana book and from the looks of it I think it's going to be a nice addition to my coffee table.


CLICK HERE TO VIEW PORTFOLIO

Clément wrote;


Dear Panamericana enthusiasts,

After 10 years of taking pictures of the most exotic and extrem road race in Mexico, I decided to make a book of the 2008 edition. You will not find historic data, neither results nor palmares in this book: THIS IS ALL ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY! The introduction is by 7 time winner Pierre De Thoisy. 88 pages.

Hope you enjoy !

Best regards

Clément Marin

La Carrera Panamericana... It's So Much More Than A Race

By now the rookies La Carrera teams will have began realizing that there is so much more to La Carrera Panamericana than just getting from checkpoint A to checkpoint B. In reality each of them will strain to recall every single day, kilometer, village, race fan, adobe home, and more as they attempt to relive the adventure that has captured their very soul. Many will have learned that Mexico is nothing like they thought it to be and in fact a million times more unforgettable than they could ever had expected. Yes, they haven't realized it yet but there is now a seed firmly planted deep inside each of them that will grow in time and like the the swallows that feel the need to return to Mission San Juan Capistrano in California or the Monarch butterflies that is beckoned back to Morelia they too will find the desire from that seed within to return.

Mexico... so much more than a place to race but a place that is good for all.