Every event has its twists and turns. This one is no different.
The follow crew headed out with Arvid yesterday from Oceanside. The ‘chore’ vehicle was to go ahead to Blythe so they could take over crewing in the middle of the night.
This vehicle had been hand-picked brand new (2000 miles) to avoid any issues.
Three hours into the race we (follow crew) received a phone call from Sylvain & Martine that the van we had rented in San Diego had died. Turns out the transmission was shot. They hobbled their way to Escondido with it where they were given another van, identical to the Manitoba rental.
All the decals had to be removed and re-applied to the new van. This morning at 5:24 the van was inspected by RAAM officials and given the okay to be on the road.
We are grateful that this new obstacle was overcome swiftly. Thank you to Avis Rental for the assistance.