Team Hummer Begins Final Preparations

The start of the Baja 1000 is now just a day away, and in the last couple weeks, Hummer has been putting the finishing touches on two new race trucks.

The new Hummer H3 and Hummer H2 SUT race trucks started out like any other production trucks, then shipped off to GM’s Desert Proving Grounds to undergo some heavy modification. But not too much – these vehicles are competing in the stock class – where major components like the engine, transmission, and frame must remain unchanged.

Special shocks from Fox Racing Shox(one of the few changes allowed in the stock-class), and new fuel cells were installed. The new design and location of the cells allows the crew to add fuel using 10 gallon ‘dump cans’ during race pit stops. The team also added race navigation units that help navigators communicate upcoming turns and obstacles, as well as improve night driving capabilities. Finally, the two race trucks were sent to Cumming Fabworks for their new paint schemes.

Almost complete, the Hummer race trucks were taken to Parker, AZ for a testing session. Now, some fine tuning and the addition of Hella off-road lamps are all that stand between these Hummer race trucks and the start of the Baja 1000 this Tuesday.

Fans can keep up with Team Hummer starting Tomorrow, November 13, 12:30 pm PST. The vehicle race numbers to follow are:

863 – 2008 H3 Alpha, piloted by Chad Hall and Sam Edgar.

866 – 2008 H2 SUT, piloted by Josh Hall, with navigators Sam Cothrun, Thad Stump and Sean Holman, Four Wheeler technical editor

760 – 2006 H3, piloted by Rod Hall and Mike Winkel, with navigators Jake Povey, John Chapman and Rick Pewe, 4-Wheel and Off-Road editor.

Team Hummer should be able to capture some great video of the event, thanks to their partnership with Micron, who’s providing image sensors and other advanced technology to help document Rod Hall’s 40th running of the Baja 1000.

“This is a special race for the Hall’s and Team HUMMER,” said Martin Walsh, HUMMER General Manager. “We’re honored that Rod Hall Racing has been competing and winning in stock-class HUMMER vehicles since 1993, and are proud to have the opportunity to partner with Micron Technology to document Rod’s 40th running of the race.”

If all goes to plan, it should take team Hummer approximately 40 straight hours of driving to complete the 1300 mile race from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas.

Good luck!