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 | SCORE Baja 500: Yellow and Green the new colours of AGM X6 Trophy Truck.
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This coming week Armin Schwarz and All German Motorsports head into their 2013 campaign with the Baja 250 in San Felipe (Mexico). This year the squad from Escondido / California (USA) will tackle the five most important desert races in Mexico and the USA at the wheel of their AGM-Jimco X6 SCORE Trophy Truck.
In addition to the three SCORE rounds in Mexico - the Baja 250 (8 to 10 March), the Baja 500 (31 May to 2 June) and the Baja 1000 (14 to 17 November) - AGM will contest the Vegas to Reno classic in Nevada (15 to 17 August) and the HDRA race in Laughlin (20 to 22 September).
Amongst the novelties for the upcoming season is the new look of the Trophy Truck. It is now strikingly liveried in the yellow and green colours of the Schaeffler Group, which has been well known for years in Europe’s most popular touring car series, the DTM (German Touring Car Masters).
The Schaeffler Group has considerably expanded their engagement at AGM - which is clearly visible from the outside but has also made some significant technical changes to the "desert monster."
"We were able to fit numerous Schaeffler products in our car, from bearings over Unibal to the torque converter. Moreover, Schaeffler are now involved with the entire development of the torque converter and was able to help us solving last year’s problems," explains Armin Schwarz.
"This is absolutely great because Schaeffler are based in my home town of Herzogenaurach in Franconia and supported me even in the 80s when I was a young hopeful rally driver. Their support helped me to win my first titles." Back in 1986 Schwarz competed for the INA rally team - INA is a company in the Schaeffler Group.
Thanks to the comprehensive support of many partners, AGM is optimally prepared and equipped for the challenges of the new season. "I would like to thank all our partners, many of which have committed for the long term, for staying with us," says Armin Schwarz.
"Your loyalty and support is simply fantastic. Without you we wouldn’t be able to compete at such a high level. With your engagement we know we’ve got a solid base on which to build our sporting success."
2013 took off with news from the SCORE Championship. Sal Fish, the co-founder and the supremo of the series for many decades, has handed over the baton to Roger Norman. As the new chief promoter Roger will run the SCORE Championship parallel to his US American offroad series HDRA.
"I’d like to thank Sal for his unbelievable commitment. Sal was there from the beginning - and he always had a reliable solution for everything. We’re missing him already. He was and still is Mr. Baja," says Armin Schwarz.
"Now Roger has taken over the helm and will steer the SCORE Championship to a successful future. He’s already working on further strengthening the marketing, the worldwide TV coverage and public relations. We’re expecting lots of positive developments - the more public interest we generate the better for our partners and the entire sport."
Only three months have passed since the last 2012 outing of the AGM-Jimco X6 SCORE Trophy Truck at the Baja 1000. But the short winter break was used for more technical optimisations: "We stripped the car down completely and modified the frame here and there," outlines Armin Schwarz. "We based those alterations on our technical analysis of the 2012 season."
"Our partner Danzio put the engine on the test bed and was able to further improve the driveability and the top end performance," adds Armin Schwarz.
"We have worked on the air intake and on the exhaust side. K&N Filters put our air intake filters through intense testing, analysed the air flow characteristics of different solutions and helped us optimise the engine performance. On the other side, Remus optimised the exhaust system. Our power plant breathes freely and strongly, that’s for sure."
"With Fortin we went back to have another good look at the gearbox - at all bearings and components. Our partner Liqui Moli developed a special gearbox oil for us which performed fabulously at the Baja 1000, so there’ll be no change."
"With a new custom-designed cooler Fox makes sure that their shocks survive even the toughest desert tracks and performs optimally over the great distances we are doing. With Eibach we put more work into the fine tuning of the spring rates and the overall suspension."
"Just to finish it all off, we improved many small details. As development partners of BF Goodrich we enjoy a very close co-operation. BF Goodrich has strongly supported us in analysing the past races and monitoring tyre pressures during the races."
So, all systems are ready to go. After weeks of intense preparation Armin Schwarz and AGM are eager to pit their Trophy Truck against the competition. "We’ll try to make it to the podium," says Schwarz citing his goals for the upcoming Baja 250. They have repaired and graded parts of the track around San Felipe. Hence the brutal, bumpy surface is now smoother and more forgiving.
"The wheel-travel and weight of the car are not the decisive factor but I feel the handling will be crucial. That would be good news for us," hopes Armin Schwarz. In any case, Schwarz and AGM head to San Felipe with fond memories. Back in 2010, the team celebrated the overall victory at the Baja 250, racing their AGM Class One Buggy.
2013/03/01 | 18:57 CET | ARTICLE: MR/HS/AGM
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