Amigo Wins Baja 500; Isuzu Amigo Prepped for Stock Mini-SUV Takes Class 3 Win.CERRITOS, Calif.--(AutomotiveWire)--June 17, 1999-- American Isuzu Motors Inc. congratulates Isuzu Amigo-pilot John Kearney John Kearney (born 1924) is a Chicago- and Provincetown-based American artist famous for making figurative sculptures, often of animals, using multiple, found metal objects, specifically bumpers from automobiles. for his Class 3-winning drive in the grueling Baja 500 off-road race. The off-road race held June 4, 5 and 6, 1999, in Baja, Mexico, is one of the tough, truck-destroying SCORE Desert Racing Desert racing is the act of racing through the desert in a 2 or 4 wheeled off-road vehicle. Races, which are generally comprised of two or more loops around a course covering up to 40 miles, can take the form of Hare and Hound or Hare Scramble style events, and are often laid out Series events. Isuzu teamed up with Land Off-Road Racing Off-road racing is a format of racing where various classes of specially modified vehicles (including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and buggies) compete in races through off-road environments. North America Off-road racing began in the early 20th century. to compete in the Stock Mini-SUV Class. This class limits performance modifications to the vehicle making it more representative of what you can buy off the showroom floor. "Essentially," said Kearney, "all we could do to prepare for the Stock Mini-SUV class was install a fuel-cell, roll-bar, some stiffer springs and torsion bars, along with a set of longer-than-stock-stroke high-performance shocks and remove the catalytic converter catalytic converter: see internal-combustion engine. catalytic converter In automobiles, a component of emission control systems used to reduce the discharge of noxious gases from the internal-combustion engine. . "Class 3 is different. You can install full-floater Ford 9-inch rear axles, full-race heim-joint suspension systems with coil-over shocks, and race-modify the engine. "When we decided to race the Isuzu Amigo in Class 3 we knew we would be up against vehicles with more racing modifications than our Isuzu Amigo had. We also knew the Isuzu Amigo is a tough and powerful truck right off the shelf, so we gave it a shot and came out on top," Kearney said. The Amigo finished over four hours ahead of its closest Class 3 competitors, a V8-powered Ford Bronco The Ford Bronco was a SUV produced from 1966 through 1996, with five distinct generations. It was initially introduced as a competitor for the Jeep CJ-5 and International Harvester Scout. and last year's Baja 500 Class winning Kia Sportage The Kia Sportage is a compact crossover SUV built by the Korean automaker Kia Motors since 1995. Originally, it was a mini SUV, but the second generation Sportage has grown in size to become a compact crossover SUV. . Kearney and co-driver Gerry Bill kept a steady pace during the first 250 miles and maintained a strong lead from the start of the race with Kearney giving the Isuzu Amigo's V6 engine and push-button- controlled four-wheel-driveline much credit for the win. "I race the high speed stuff in two-wheel-drive," said Kearney, "then when I come to a sandy wash or I need to climb a rocky hill Rocky Hill, town (1990 pop. 16,554), Hartford co., central Conn., a suburb of Hartford, on the Connecticut River; settled c.1650, inc. 1843. Chemical coatings and synthetic textiles are made there. Rocky Hill was an important river port from 1700 to 1820. , I hit the four-wheel-drive button and I'm gone. With that stout V6, even with stock gears, it'll climb anything in second." At race-mile 155 the Amigo pulled in for a routine pit stop, where the pit crew discovered a torn CV boot. Short on time, the pit crew opted not to change the boot, but simply pack it with grease at every pit stop. At race mile 250, John "Lucky" Copeland replaced Gerry Bill as co-driver/navigator with Kearney still at the wheel. Together the two raced the Amigo from Valle de Trinidad, across to the Pacific Coast and back to Ensenada. After racing for 16 hours straight, across some of Baja's roughest terrain, the Land Off-Road Racing Isuzu Amigo took the checkered check·ered adj. 1. Divided into squares. 2. Marked by light and dark patches; diversified in color. 3. Marked by great changes or shifts in fortune: a checkered career. flag. This win puts the Land Off-Road Racing Amigo team within eleven points of first place for the overall class championship of the 1999 Score Desert Racing Series. The Amigo competes next in the Score Desert Race Series Fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics. fireworks Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to 250 on July 17, 1999 in Barstow, Calif. American Isuzu Motors Inc. is the U.S. distributor of Isuzu light vehicles, commercial vehicles and diesel engines. For more information call 800/662-2464 or point your browser to www.isuzu.com on the worldwide web. |
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