2008 HUMMER H2 SUT, HUMMER H3 Alpha to Tackle Baja 1000

Team Hummer will celebrate the 40th Anniversary running of the legendary SCORE International Tecate Baja 1000 with two new full stock-class vehicles entered in this year??™s grueling 1,300 mile off-road race ??“ a 2008 Hummer H2 SUT and 2008 H3 Alpha. This year??™s running of the Baja 1000, begins on November 13, in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. It will finish 1,300 Miles later on November 15 in Cabo San Lucas.

Team Hummer owner Rod Hall and sons, Josh and Chad have recorded a total 26 class wins in the Baja 1000, more than any other family in off-road racing. Moreover, they win in stock class vehicles, which feature production-based vehicles with stock frames, stock suspension designs and production-based engines.

Driving without rest and only pitting for food and fuel, Baja proves a worthy proving ground for stock-class vehicles, drivers and support crews alike.

Hall, who will turn 70 on November 22, is a living legend in the off-road racing world. His relentless and unfailing driving ability has earned him a record 18 career wins at the Baja 1000 and the distinction of being the only driver in history to win the Baja 1000 overall in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Moreover, Hall today remains the only person to have raced every Baja 1000 in a four-wheeled vehicle in the 40-year history of the event.

Hall enters the 2007 race as the driver-of-record in the Mini stock-class Team Hummer H3. Since entering the GM Engineering-built H3, Hall has piloted the H3 to class victories in both the Baja 1000 and Baja 500.

???I??™ve raced nearly every type of off-road vehicle in virtually every type of terrain in the world,??? said Rod Hall. ???Yet, I can??™t think of a vehicle I??™d rather drive to tackle 1,300 Miles of rugged Baja terrain than the H3.???

Team Hummer driver Josh Hall returns to Baja as the full stock-class defending champion in the new GM Engineering-built Team Hummer H2 SUT. New for 2008, the H2 SUT features a 393-horsepower 6.2L V8 and 6L80 6-speed automatic transmission. Behind the wheel of the H2, Hall has earned the reputation as a skilled and fierce competitor.

Hall won the Baja 1000 full-stock class in both 2005 and 2006 in his 2003 H2 and says he is eager to utilize the extra gearing in the 2008 H2??™s six-speed transmission.

???We??™ve proven that the previous generation H2 was capable of beating the competition in grueling desert conditions. With two more gears and an additional 67-horsepower in the 2008, I think we??™ll be a worthy competitor when the green flag drops.???

The 2007 Baja 1000 also marks the inaugural Baja race for Team HUMMER??™s new H3 Alpha. The H3 Alpha features a new 5.3L V8 and was recently named Four Wheeler Magazine??™s 2008 Four Wheeler of the Year.

The Team Hummer H3 Alpha is piloted by five-time Baja 1000 winner Chad Hall. The combination of Hall??™s winning experience in Baja and the inherent off-road capability of the H3 Alpha should make for a competitive pair in the full-stock class.

???I??™ve always raced in larger vehicles, like the Hummer and H1 Alpha,??? said Chad Hall. ???The combination of the 300-horsepower 5.3L V-8 and nimble characteristics of the H3 Alpha should give us a chance to be in the hunt at the end of the race.???

Source: [url=http://www.autospectator.com/cars/motorsports/0033506-2008-hummer-h2-sut-hummer-h3-alpha-tackle-baja-1000]Auto Spectator[/url]