Shaffer Motorsports
Put To The Test During
SCORE San Felipe 250 Race
The Shaffer Motorsports team was eager to get back to Baja and to test themselves in the Mastercraft Safety
SCORE San Felipe 250. The San Felipe race is the shortest of the SCORE races in
Mexico but it packs just as much punishment as the Baja 500 or the legendary Baja 1000. A
new course layout this year included additional technical sections but there was no relief from the miles of whoops
that relentlessly pound competitors for most of the 250 plus miles.
The unpredictable terrain struck early when driver Daniel Aeberli, a very skilled driver, tagged a
rock at speed while prerunning the course. The team made necessary repairs to his damaged front suspension enabling
them to continue. The prerunning incident was a reminder how fast things can go wrong at race speeds on a technically
demanding course. They would start second off the line on raceday and with a class 10 championship as
their goal, it was decided to run a measured pace with an emphasis on finishing in the top five.
Race morning produced another picture-perfect
San Felipe day.
After taking the
green flag in the
Transfer Case Express Class 10, the team set out at a good pace. At mile 32, the power
steering started to act up. Mike pulled the car over but before John Bowers got out of the car, a mob
of locals had already surrounded the car, eager to lend any assistance needed. The power steering pump was gone but
only because the alternator, for some unexplained reason, exploded into pieces pelting the pump with shrapnel. The
chase crew was there in no time and dove into the car swapping out the damaged parts. They got it buttoned up and
headed back on course losing twenty minutes to the ordeal.
After getting back under way, they sought to make up some time. They were riding that fine line between pushing
hard and driving smart when they hit a rock in the dust flattening a tire. Not wanting to lose more time they tried
to make it to the next pit where they would refuel and make a driver change but they got stuck in some silt. John
quickly changed the tire giving them enough traction to get out of the silt. "We had some bad luck at the beginning
of the race," said Mike Shaffer, "The crew really came through for us. Except for some confusing GPS
directions in the dark, Daniel Aeberli and John Cantrell had a trouble free run to the
finish. We lost a position when the GPS led them to a closed gate but they found the course again and made it to the
finish." Results are still pending at the time of this writing but the whole team put in a solid effort overcoming
mechanical woes and maintaining a competitive pace on a tough and technical course. Shaffer Motorsports
will be taking those hard earned points to the HDRA 250 in
Ridgecrest, California April 5-7 the next World Championship of Desert Racing Series event in their
quest for the title.
Photography By Brian Binkert.
Last Photo By Jason Zindroski.
For the lastest information, photos and sponsorship opportunites:
See: Shaffer-Motorsports Website
See: Shaffer-Motorsports Facebook Page
Sponsors: Transfer Case Express, Boltec, PowerTank,
PSC (Performance Steering Components), RuffStuff
Mike Shaffer / Driver & Crew Chief
Mike Shaffer has been racing for 28 years, starting with BMX and then age 16 in drag racing and his first desert race was fifteen years ago. Shaffer was driver of record for the 2011 SCORE Tecate BAJA 1000, finishing 2nd in class for the team's first participation in Class 4. Shaffer was also driver of record for 2011 BITD Championship, finishing 3rd in class for the team's first participation in Class 10. Shaffer was also driver of record for 3 Baja 1000 wins, 3 SCORE Championships and one BITD Championship in Class 1700, along with rock crawling National Championship and ARCA Championship. Mike Shaffer is the owner of Shaffer's Offroad that helps customers build the vehicle of their choice, from bolt on accessories to custom one off vehicles. Shawn Twitchell / Driver & Team Manager
Shawn Twitchell started desert racing motorcycles in 1972, went to drag racing in the 1980's, circle track in the 1990's and is now back in the desert driving with Shaffer-Motorsports. Twitchell was a driver in the 2011 SCORE Tecate BAJA 1000, finishing 2nd in class for the team's first participation in Class 4. Twirchell was also driver for 2011 BITD Championship, finishing 3rd in class for the team's first participation in Class 10. He has been a member of Shaffer-motorsports team since 2008 helping win three SCORE 1700 Championships. Twitchell is the Business Unit Manager for FMC Technologies' Technisys Group. Desert racing is in their family encompassing four generations including his son Ian, who will co-drive for Shawn. Two of seven grand-kids are already earning their stripes in the pits and at the shop. Daniel Aeberli / Driver
Daniel Aeberli has raced with the Shaffer-motorsport team since 2010. He was a driver in the 2011 SCORE Tecate BAJA 1000, finishing 2nd in class for the team's first participation in Class 4. Aeberli was also driver for 2011 BITD Championship, finishing 3rd in class for the team's first participation in Class 10. He also drove the first section of the 2010 SCORE Baja 1000. Aeberli was with the team in 2010, helping them win SCORE Primm and Class championship in Class 1700. Daniel Aeberli is the CTO of MediTron S.A. a Swiss medical distribution company that he co-founded over 20 years ago in Switzerland and President of M.D. Visuals a medical consulting company in Stateline, Nevada.
Date: 03.19.13
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