Fuel Cinema Sundays - Two visions of the Baja 1000!
On the Fuel Cinema Sundays of this weekend, we share with you two vision of one of the most Epic Offroad Races of the Earth, The Baja 1000!
Let's be sure we have this right. The Baja 1000 is the world's longest non-stop point-to-point race. It has more than a dozen categories of vehicles, from $2 million racing cars to motorcycles to unmodified pre-1982 VW Beetles. The course changes every year. You can leave the course and take a shortcut, but that way you might miss one of the secret checkpoints. The race includes both dirt back roads and Mexican highways. The highways are not blocked to civilian traffic during the event, and the racers have to weave in and out of ordinary traffic. Oh, and they could get stopped by the highway police.
On the first video over here we have "Dust to Glory" documenting pretty well what really is the Baja 1000!
"Dust to Glory" tells the story of 2003 running of this legendary race, which offers glory but not much money; they can't even sell tickets since the fans essentially just walk over to the edge of the road and watch the cars go by. And yet the Baja 1000 attracts stars like Mario Andretti and Parnelli Jones, and, in years past, celebrities like James Garner and Steve McQueen.
The documentary was directed by Dana Brown, son of Bruce ("The Endless Summer") Brown, who uses some 50 cameras, including lightweight digital cameras mounted on cars and motorcycles. That's helpful because there is no one place to stand in order to get a good idea of the entire race, especially since each category of vehicle is dispatched separately -- the fastest cars, trucks, and motorcycles first, the Beetles last. There is a ham radio operator who keeps in touch with the checkpoints, provides weather reports, reports accidents and communicates with the drivers' support teams, but he looks less like Command Central than like a guy in a hut on a hill with some stuff from Radio Shack.
So on the second documentary, a totally diferent vision of the same race, with the real explorer/adventurer DNA.
The "All Dust, No Glory" a Documentary recorded by the HBOM Racing's with the attempt to run an stock, 40-year-old VW Bug through the most grueling offroad race in North America - the Baja 1000. This is shot with one camera, by one person, with no budget. There are no voiceovers, no helicopter and for sure no interviews with Robbie Gordon.
This is the REAL Baja 1000, and the story of a hodge-podge crew of knuckleheads. Shot and Edited by Tony Camarda
So, time to find a warm place on the sofa, open a good beer and Leave The Main Road!
