Hellwig Introduces 2016 Nissan Titan Sway Bars

For lifted and stock height Titans.  Good to see some aftermarket support for the new Titan...hope it keeps coming and gets more varied...

Hellwig Sway Bars for 2016 Nissan Titan...

Top Nissan Finisher at Italian Baja--Diesel Pathfinder

Before being stopped by a stalled engine due to a deep water crossing, Hector Oliveira and the VM Tecnosport team finished 12th in the Italian Baja this weekend.  Prior to the water injestion the team was running in the top 10. Given the Portuguese nature of the team one could expect them to show up at the Baja Portugal event later this year and run the Pathfinder there as well.

45 Entries, 13 Retirements (29% DNF rate), 8 Nissan Entries, 2 Retirements (25% DNF rate)

Nissan results for the event:

H. Oliveira, Diesel Pathfinder--12th
L. Lechowicz, Navara (Frontier) D40--22nd (2nd in T2 class)
A. Rossi, Pathfinder--25th
F. Crozzolo, Navara (Frontier) D40--27th
T. Piec, Navara (Frontier)--28th
A. Abdulla, Patrol Y62--29th
L. Traglio, Patrol Y61--Retired
A. Toro, Patrol Y61--Retired

Italian Baja Website...

V8 Navara Takes Third in South Africa...

In the Donaldson Cross Country Motor Racing Championship.  This was in Production Class T and driven by Luke Botha and codriven by Andre Vermeulen.  The event (Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race) brakes down into two races, each of near 500km and is a brutal test of some of the best Rally-Raid drivers this side of Dakar.

The Red-Lined Motorsport team consistently fields four or more V8 powered Navaras (Frontiers) in the Donaldson series and also sends a handful of cars to the Dakar the past few years.

https://www.facebook.com/sacrosscountryracing/

Nissan Patrol Running Well at Italian Baja...

Abdel Abdulla came into the Italian Baja in 2nd place overall for the year in the T2 class of the FIA Cross-Country Rally standings and is holding that place through the first two days of the three day event.

Currently having finished Stage 3 of the race, Abdulla is in second in T2 (production vehicles) about 2 and 1/2 minutes behind Seaidan and his LandCrusier who Abdullah is chasing for the '16 championship.

Tomorrow will present two more chances to catch Seaidan, each another 74 kilometers in length along what is a gravelly and water crossing filled course.  Abdulla sits 21st overall out of 45 entrants and is the second placing Nissan so far.  No Nissans have DNF'd to date and other sit as follows:

9th--Oliveira, Looks like a diesel Pathfinder...but unsure of real engine...Running in T1 class
21st--Abdulla, Patrol Y62
27th--Lechowicz, Navara (Frontier) D40
30th--Rossi, Pathfinder LR50
31st--Crozzolo, Navara (Frontier)
32nd--Toro, Patrol
33rd--Piec, Navara (Frontier) D40
38th--Traglio, Patrol

Nissan Patrol Closes in on FIA T2 Class

The FIA's World Championship for Cross-Country Rallies is dominated at the highest level of the sport by your well known Dakar entrants and efforts with Nasser Al-Attiyah, Carlos Sainz, Jean-Luis Schlesser, etc.  These entrants are in the T1 class for "prototype" cross-country vehicles.

The T2 class however is for production based vehicles and it is here where Nissan is leading the pack with a Nissan Patrol (known in the US as the Infiniti QX80).  Driver Adel Abdulla had taken a win in Abu Dhabi and had a 4th Qatar earlier this year and enters the 4th event of the season in Italy this weekend 12 points out of the T2 lead behind Yasir Seaidan and his Toyota LandCruiser.  With Yasir having two Dakars under his belt, he certainly has the experience to take the overall win...though the change in terrain from the deserts of the Mid-East to the tighter, rockier terrain of Italy may be an equalizer.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/sports/qatar-sport/385653/qatar-s-adel-aims-to-grab-lead-in-italy

You can follow the Italian Baja here:  http://www.italianbaja.it/?lang=en

This event will also include American Bryce Menzies behind the wheel of a XRaid Mini as he continues to prep for what is anticipated to be a Red Bull backed effort at Dakar '17 under the Mini banner.

Kind of a Nissan GT-R at this Weekend's Pikes Peak Hillclimb...

Body of a Ford Focus (kinda) and the heart and soul of a GT-R.  Well, this Australian effort comes out of Pace Innovations who works in a number of different genres, ranging from Australian V8 Supercars, to Rally-Raid style trucks, to hillclimb cars to side by sides.

This car has over 800HP and weighs just over 2,000 pounds and was originally designed to break hillclimb records in Australia.  Now it has bee brought over here to compete in one of the oldest and most prestigious events we have.  It will be competing against about 11 other competitors in the Unlimited class including another Nissan GT-R.

It doesn't appear that anyone is set up this year to challenge Sebastian Loeb's all time record set in '13 but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Electric Vehicle (modified) record of 9:07 fall to Rhys Millen and the Electric Vehicle (production) record of 12:55 fall to Blake Fuller and his Tesla S P90D.

Oh...and I'm so hoping the Jeff Denmeade's Time Attack 2 class Mitsubishi Evo effort blows up or is totaled in some catastrophic fashion.  Not enough bad things could happen to him in this event for my liking.

Pikes Peak International Hillclimb page...

Moeckel Pond Fishing...or Lack Thereof...

Well as part of Father's Day after a number of other dissapointments my son and I decided to run over to Moeckel Pond for some fishing.  I had been there about three months ago and there was a fair amount of shallow water in the "pond" and figured it would be a decent spot for some small, freshwater fishing.

Not to be.  The super dry weather and general draining of the pond due to the breaching of the dam has left almost nothing left for a fish to swim in.  There is currently a VERY small "puddle" just below the Moeckel Dam in which you can cast a line...we caught one small bluegill in said puddle and a good sized muskrat swam within 10 feet of us on his way up to the dam...but that's it.  If you have thoughts of heading to Moeckel Pond for some fishing...skip it...at least until the Moekel Pond Dam Association raises enough money to repair the dam and refill the pond.

Mocked Pond video about its history and effort to revive it.  I think I will head over to their donation page and contribute towards its restoration...far better that than another housing development at this point.