Day 6 Aguascalientes - Zacatecas (Wednesday)

Finally a little rest. Today we were given a little extra time to relax, the race would not being until Noon. Regardless, we woke up at 7 am to persuade the hotel laundry to wash our racing suits. Bill was now better known as pig pen...he had a cloud of dust all around him. Needless to say, although the off-white vintage racing suits looked great on the rack they didn't hold up too well to an open car through the Mexican countryside. After a couple of hours, the suits came back looking almost as good as new. In Aguascalientes we stayed the night at the Fiesta Americana, it is a chain hotel owned by Grupo Posadas, a Mexican hotel company. This hotel is located in the heart of the city with a view of the cathedral and sits close to the bullring (a popular attraction in this city).




Thus far I think that the states of Guanajuato and Aguascalientes have had the most police coordination that we have seen in the race, this reminds of the 2004 race. They are placed throughout the highways and city streets coordinating traffic to facilitate our transit. When I say placed..... I mean there are patrol cars parked at all the major intersections for stretches up several hundred miles radioing each other to guide us. It is a very coordinated effort and we are very thankful of their assistance.

The drive to Zacatecas was quick and painless. We sped over and back on La Bufa for our final speed runs of the day. Below is a photos of the chaos caused by cars trying to find their place at the start up line before the speed run.





We entered Zacatecas to one of the largest crowds to date. Zacatecas is one of the most beaufiful towns one can see. It is an old silver mining town built on the side of a mountain. The architecture is wonderful and can be described as very much like Spain.


Car #151, the Porsche Coupe drove into town after their first time on La Bufa. La Bufa enables the cars to reach their highest speeds to date on the race. Only one accident this time. The 1954 Chevy exited the roadway and rolled over down the hill. The drivers were OK but the car was a toal loss.

Adriana and I stayed in the Bullring. The Quinta Real is a very old Bullring that has been tranformed into a 5 star Hotel. This is the location of the drivers meeting and the awards ceremony for the day.

As "Dia de los Muertos" approached the altars were built in many of the Hotels. This is one at the Hotel Emporio. They are quite detailed and are made to honor the dead.

A traditonal Callejoneada, or "Mezcal Walk" like we like to call it, occurs in Zacatecas each year. The drivers and crews walk thru the streets of Zacatecas with a band playing and Mezcal being served in small cups. Just to give you an idea Zacatecas is a colonial city, one of the most beautiful in Mexico, with narrow streets and lots of alleyways. The group walks down the streets led by the Tambora (the band) and stops at key locations for dancing and for the party to build. It's a party like no other and one that makes most drivers yell out "I Love Mexico!!".