SCORE INTERNATIONAL

SCORE Journal Issue 6 - 2016

SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing

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by today's standards, and it wasn't until years later when SCORE took ownership of the competition and renaming it the SCORE Baja 1000 that more advancements in suspension and tire technology really took hold from manufacturers and racers' experiences there. WHERE IT ALL BEGAN Brock's idea to race a Datsun in Baja stemmed from his extensive racing experience, which goes back to when he designed the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe as well as helping in the design of the 1963 Corvette Stingray. But it was this less publicized period of his storied career in an unproven production class car at the Mexican 1000, that made desert racing history. "At our own expense, we ran a Datsun pickup in Mexican 1000 in 1967, to learn how the event was run," Brock said. Mary McGee, a motorcycle racer, drove the truck. Without outside financial support, Brock returned to the event the following year in a specially built Datsun 510, outfitted with a two-liter Datsun Roadster engine. With this new vehicle, Brock and Bob Lyon would try to make another attempt at competing in the Mexican 1000. Without time or money to pre-run the course in the 510, Brock and Lyon flew over it in a rented single-engine, Ryan Navion aircraft, to figure out a strategy for the race. After a few passes over the race course they eventually developed a plan that could possibly allow them to be successful. By the time they had a vehicle and a plan put together, Brock approached Datsun executives with his idea to race a four- cylinder 510 in the grueling Mexican 1000. He and his BRE (Brock Racing Enterprises) team had only limited experience driving the humble 510 to its limits. Back in the states, however, Brock and his BRE team were winning races on road behind the wheel of Datsun 2000 Roadsters, so the automaker took notice. Toyota actually jumped in and signed an exclusive racing contract with Brock to drive their new 2000GT, but for political reasons, that contract was reassigned to Carrol Shelby at the last minute. While this left Brock heartbroken, his only hope to completing his goal in Baja was in getting Datsun Motor Company to support BRE and their efforts. PICKING UP THE PIECES Brock passionately pursued the effort, and through his contacts at Japanese automaker Hino Motors, he was able to get word to the top executives at Datsun and plead his case about running the Mexican 1000 with full factory support. The plan worked. "I went to Yutaka Katayama, the top executive at Datsun at the time, and told him we had already ran Baja a couple of times, and I could get more publicity than his own marketing people." Katayama, known for being a rebel himself, took an instant liking to Brock and he agreed to fund the race in Mexico. With an agreement, Datsun delivered three African Safari spec 510s (technically right- hand-drive Nissan Bluebird SSS) by the start of 1969. Along with the cars, Datsun afforded Brock a small team of factory DECADES AFTER BROCK'S THIRD PLACE FINISH AT THE MEXICAN 1000, THE ORIGINAL BRE 510 RESURFACED SOMEWHERE IN ARIZONA, A BIT RUSTED AND WORN, BUT STILL INTACT. 053 SCORE JOURNAL

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