SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/693984
engineers and mechanics, all who spoke very little English. Katayama knew that Brock could help bust down the political walls for Datsun in the U.S. when Japanese automakers were desperately struggling to compete with the Big-Three automakers in Detroit, who ruled the roads. With Datsun's support, Brock made a dash to the Mexican 1000 again. No Japanese automaker had ever won or finished such a prestigious off-road race before Brock attempted it in the Datsun 510 in 1969. They hoped they could follow in the footsteps of Japanese motorcycle companies like Honda, who had already proven its motorcycles could compete against the American- made bikes with some success. Brock was now prepared to run in the production class with his BRE crew. "I took the 510 I used in '68, with the two- liter engine, and we were able to pre-run the Mexican 1000 before the event in '69. I told the Datsun engineers about how these gas-filled shocks were going to fail in Mexico and we had to change the design," Brock said. Despite his knowledge of what the terrain would do to the suspension system, Datsun engineers were not eager to listen. They insisted that Brock run the same factory OE shocks, and the engineers would support him along the way should something fail. Surprisingly, the engineers had rented a small aircraft that would fly from village to village during the race, loaded with spare tires, parts and factory mechanics. It seemed crazy, but Brock didn't have a choice, and the prospect of being able to continue made the plan seem plausible. THE RACE BEGINS From the start, the Mexican 1000 proved to be a challenge. Nevertheless, the BRE team came to Mexico prepared for the worst. According to Brock, within the first few hundred miles, the front shocks failed, and the aircraft was contacted for support. "With radio contact we told them where we thought the struts would fail. We'd stop at the next village along the route, (each had a dirt strip for medical emergencies) and the two mechanics would come running out of the plane with, new brakes and two complete front struts completely assembled. They changed the whole front end in 10 minutes," Brock said. Apparently the rubber-mounts of the front McPherson struts were the problem (as Brock had learned from his experience during the previous year), but the factory engineer (Tohru Kanbe) wouldn't let him modify the design. So Brock continued on course in the Mexican 1000 until they had the same problem over and over. Each time, the plane would land. The engineers fixed the problem, and Brock and his co-driver continued the race. This process went on until nightfall then things finally turned far worse. BROCK HAS HAD ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED CAREERS IMAGINABLE. FROM JOURNALIST TO AUTO RACER AND EVEN CAR DESIGNER. 054 SCORE JOURNAL