Stopping for Repairs Before Six Days of Desert Driving

Currently we are in Mongolia, near Khyargas Lake and approaching the Russian border.

Earlier last week, when we stopped in Ulaan Baatar, Java needed tons of small repairs. The suspension needed tightening, the front brakes were sticking, the oil was changed, there was grease all over the front components, and we tightened all the bolts and nuts on the car and engine. Not to mention cleaning up the car and fixing our broken roof rack.

ERA to the rescue! One of the ERA mechanics saw the rack and said we could land a helicopter on it! We hope he is right.

Some bumps hurt more then others. Damage to the skid plate was sustained on a big hit into a small ditch. That hit also moved our bumper higher on the right. We have been told to look ahead ALL the time! Tony took his eyes off the road to look at a bird and BAM.

Our rack is fixed and our spare tire is back on it. Our plan is to test the rack in the desert for one day and see if it holds, and then place a tire without a wheel on it and see how it does. If it fails, we will be doing the race down one spare. 

The Endurance Rally Association website has a daily report, which you can read here. We and Java made it into the Day 6 update, and it's definitely the photo OF the race! Java is airborne! 

As usual, don't forget to check the live tracker to see where we are and where we've driven since the start of the race!