There is Only One Baja Rally™
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Safety Plan |
Taking Control of an Uncontrollable Desert
The desert is an inherently dangerous and unforgiving environment to begin with.
So it follows that motorsports races being held in remote deserts requires many added layers of complexity and challenges to prepare for.
This is how organizers of the Baja Rally took a rare opportunity to develop the safest motorcycle race in Baja California.
So it follows that motorsports races being held in remote deserts requires many added layers of complexity and challenges to prepare for.
This is how organizers of the Baja Rally took a rare opportunity to develop the safest motorcycle race in Baja California.
"We're using over a decade of our experiences combined with the latest satellite technologies to venture into an enormously dangerous environment.
As a result of this experience and intention, we've made it safer than any other event of it's kind that we know of.
Thats a bold claim to make. Here's a close look into how we back that up."
As a result of this experience and intention, we've made it safer than any other event of it's kind that we know of.
Thats a bold claim to make. Here's a close look into how we back that up."
Five Components
RALLY COMP
#1 |
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This satellite-based system consists of hardware, software and internet tracking application that functions as a competition meter to manage timing, scoring, live-results. But for the purposes of safety, live tracking and 2-way messaging keep riders and organizers connected in real time. Riders and safety staff have satellite trackers attached to their vehicle and send location updates every two minutes enabling commanders to dispatch and deploy safety teams in the most efficient possible manner.
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"The riders feel incredibly safe even when they have a mechanical issue," Scotty continues, "We send them a text to the unit on their console that pings them with a loud buzzer alert ("R U OKAY?). That makes them feel calm knowing someone is watching them no matter what. According to Baja Rally, when there is a potentially serious incident arising, that's when the racers and staff turn to the next critical element of the plan."
Paramedics
#2 |
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symbiosis EVENT SAFETY |
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For over 2 decades, individuals from Symbiosis Event Safety have provided safety expertise and staffing for a wide breadth of events including Indy Car, off road desert races, major league sports and music festivals. Since 2015, Symbiosis Event Safety has staffed Baja Rally with experienced paramedics who remain on-call during racing hours with Icom Sat 100 radios and within eye sight of the search and rescue helicopter and it's pilot. Incidents can come in waves and have some lulls. In 2018 and 2019, Baja Rally completed 5-day rallies without a single medical or safety incident. In a recent editions of Baja Rally, there were multiple incidents where a Symbiosis paramedic was needed and utilized. The thoughtfulness that constitutes the Symbiosis-Baja Rally partnership goes well beyond what is visible at face value.
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Eye in the Sky
#3 |
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The immediate, crystal clear voice of safety.
Prior to the Icom S100 PTT Sat Radio being available, Baja Rally used light, fixed-wing aircraft fitted with a VHF antenna and manned by a Rally-Relay radio operator. This aircraft flew in a circular pattern between 10,000-12,000' and enabled the organizers to send and receive "relay" messages to and from the aircraft by "line of sight", the direct path from a transmitter to the receiver. A clear line of sight is important to high-speed communication and critical in emergency situations. Safety teams were able to use VHF radios via relay to reach Moto-Medics whose helmets were wired with PTT hand held radios, otherwise rendered useless across long distances and topography.
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"The old system was effective but had some of its own blind spots," Scotty explains, "Namely, morning fog prevented the Rally Air Relay unit from take-off and led to delays in starting the special stages. Also, Rally Air Relay had to land for refueling at least once during each stage, leaving the rally exposed to at least of hour of vulnerability."
Moto Medics
#4 Moto Medics Team
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Safety Commandos Patrolling the Desert
Form their maiden deployment at the Inaugural Baja Rally® in 2013, Moto-Medics have been enlisted, enabled and utilized to strategically embed first responders safely into the field of racers in teams of two.
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Each team typically consists of one medically trained professional and one pro-level Baja racer/ guide. EMT's, RN's, paramedics, physicians and surgeons have enlisted into the Moto-Medic teams over the years. The wealth of experience we harvest from these pros is immeasurable and the commraderie fostered among these volunteers runs deep-The Baja Rally Moto-Medics team is a tight group of dedicated professionals who serve selflessly for a week each year under sometimes difficult and challenging circumstances. Racers at Baja Rally have expressed their gratitude at simply knowing there are first responders riding amongst the competitors during timed racing stages.
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Honoring The Godfather of the Moto Medics Team
The OG of Moto Medics, Patrick Attardo, RN was the first MM and the trusted leader of the group. The Godfather of BR Safety passed away in 2022, but his leadership skills continue to guide the way for these selfless brothers and sisters who patrol the race course in the desert.
The OG of Moto Medics, Patrick Attardo, RN was the first MM and the trusted leader of the group. The Godfather of BR Safety passed away in 2022, but his leadership skills continue to guide the way for these selfless brothers and sisters who patrol the race course in the desert.
2016 Moto-Medic case study example:
First 60 Seconds
2016 Sage 2; rider collapsed at race mile 96.3;
Rider sends an alert to the safety team;
Safety team locates rider on Rally Comp tracking & sends the GPS coordinates to pilot via radio;
Safety team identifies nearest moto-medic team to the victim;
Safety team uses radio to Rally Air Cesena to relay message to Moto-Medics;
Within 60 seconds, Moto-Medic receives info and continue down course 2.5 miles to downed rider;
Five minutes into the incident MM arrives at scene and assesses the victim as non-critical;
MM uses satellite phone to call Symbiosis Paramedic standing by with helicopter pilot;
MM and Paramedic collaborate and reach consensus that heli-medi-vac is not required;
Safety staff prepares ground crew in extraction vehicle to rescue the exhausted rider and bike;
Race continues uninterrupted.
"By the end of that day we knew something very special happened that had never been done in Baja before", Scotty fondly recalled, "We used everything we had at our disposal to let the professionals decide how and when to deploy the helicopter."
First 60 Seconds
2016 Sage 2; rider collapsed at race mile 96.3;
Rider sends an alert to the safety team;
Safety team locates rider on Rally Comp tracking & sends the GPS coordinates to pilot via radio;
Safety team identifies nearest moto-medic team to the victim;
Safety team uses radio to Rally Air Cesena to relay message to Moto-Medics;
Within 60 seconds, Moto-Medic receives info and continue down course 2.5 miles to downed rider;
Five minutes into the incident MM arrives at scene and assesses the victim as non-critical;
MM uses satellite phone to call Symbiosis Paramedic standing by with helicopter pilot;
MM and Paramedic collaborate and reach consensus that heli-medi-vac is not required;
Safety staff prepares ground crew in extraction vehicle to rescue the exhausted rider and bike;
Race continues uninterrupted.
"By the end of that day we knew something very special happened that had never been done in Baja before", Scotty fondly recalled, "We used everything we had at our disposal to let the professionals decide how and when to deploy the helicopter."
Moto Medic EMT Eric Hingely's 2017 account of the Moto-Medics team in Dirt Bikes.com
Baja Rally Moto Medics: Life Savers in the Mexican Wilderness
Baja Rally Moto Medics: Life Savers in the Mexican Wilderness
Helicopter
Search & Rescue
#5 |
Heli Search & Rescue |
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"We will never race without a helicopter standing by"
It came early in the first days of Baja Rally when a huge industry influencer said, "If you don't have a helicopter on standby, I wont come and I wont be able to recommend anybody else come". Interestingly, this person never came, nor to our knowledge, ever recommended anyone else come. But thanks to them, we have never dropped a green flag for a timed stage without a fueled helicopter standing by in close proximity to the stage, generally 30 miles maximum distance from the furthest racers. It is the single most expensive resource for the organization- the complexities of acquiring and transporting aviation fuel is a monumental legal undertaking of its own- but it is something we cannot morally afford to live without.
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Safety Summary
Why we're going far beyond what you would ever expect.
From simple concepts like helicopters, sat-comms and moto-medics to intricacies so nuanced, they would never even occur to a racer or team. We're surveying the stage routes in advance for traffic flows and shadows on shakedown missions. If Stage 2 is supposed to be raced on a Wednesday at 7:00AM, we test that stage on a Wednesday at 7:00AM. When we decide where a stage will start, we consider the direction in relation to sunrise, instead of sending racers due east, directly into the sunlight after dawn. We keep aware of changing tides, lobster season, hurricane damage and morning fog patterns, all of which are dynamic during the first week October. We will never race at night, because we cannot fly a private aircraft at night. There's even more behind the scenes that comprises our safety plan.
