Yesterday we took out the new Studebaker for a first test run. Everything seems to be working well.

We will mount the front end this weekend and then next week some more testing.

Today we did an event with “Feed the hungry”.

Feed the hungry is an organization here in San Miguel that helps children in the poor villages around here.

If you have ever been in San Miguel you probably don’t think there are to many poor people here. If you go outside in the villages there is a whole other picture. Feed the hungry builds kitchen in schools where the kids can get a nutritious meal a day. Currently they are feeding 4.000 kids every day that probably other wise wouldn’t have a good meal.

It is a great organization that does a lot of good. Please look at their website, maybe you can help in some way.

http://www.feedthehungrysma.org

Mats

Maybe I should rename this section because this is not really news either.

Anyway, today we are going to speculate on who will win the “big race” this year.

Let’s start with actually speculating that Pierre will not race this year. Also I will not mention any of our cars.

He has a very good crew in Oscar and Phil.

He has one of the best and most experienced co drivers in Angelica Fuentes.

His car has been developed for maybe 10 years and Doug is a great driver.

Who else?

Bill Beilhartz was impressive in his new Studebaker at the La Carrera last year and also at the Chihuahua Express. He also has an experienced, Mexican co pilot in Jorge Ceballos.

Our good friends Paco and Araceli will also be very fast this year.  They have done the La Carrera together for 10 years. This year their trusty Hudson is resting. They are driving a very fast Studebaker that has been second overall many times (that is actually a NEWS!). They were fastest of all the classics in the Chihuahua Express this year.

They are using an updated Hudson engine. With their experience and service from Efrain Vega, they can win it all.

Another Mexican that is very fast is Othon Garcia in his big Buick.

Rumor says he has a new engine for this year. With some luck and more consistency he will place very high.

Historic C will be incredibly competitive this year. 28 cars entered with lots of very fast Falcons and Mustangs.

Bill Shanahan will debut his new Falcon. How many years has Bill done the La Carrera? Maybe 20 years. He has won Historic C in his Corvette.

My fellow Swede, Ralf Cristensen is always very fast.

Richard Tyzack was really fast last year in his Mustang.

Former class winner and US Coordinator, Gerie Bledsoe is making a comeback in a new Chevy Nova.

Ok, these are my personal thoughts. Please let me know if you think I forgot somebody.

Mats Hammarlund

This is not really news but more a rumor.

There is talk down here in Mexico that MANY times overall winner Pierre DeThoisy will not compete this year.

Piere has not missed a La Carrera in about 15 years so this would be big news if he doesn’t show up.

Pierre, a former professional race car driver has been the man to beat for the last 10 years here in the La Carrera Panamericana. 

Let’s see if he will be here in October.

The "Projects" is now updated with photos of a Mustang Drag Race Car that we are building for local racer, Oscar Torres.

The “projects” is now updated with recent photos from the building of Stig Blomqvist’s and Ana Goni’s Studebaker. It is always the last details that are the most time consuming.

Our Master Fabricator, Anders Berg is working hard fitting all body panels, making panels for the radiator, cold air intake and so on. The rest of us are busy fitting all hoses, instruments, electrical system and other little details.

Stig is coming down to test the car in a couple of weeks so please check back for more news from that.

Hello race fans.

Welcome to the new website of Mats Hammarlund Racing!

A lot of people have been in touch wanting more news and updates from the wonderful world of racing in Mexico. This website is made so that we can update it very easy. I promise we will post news regularly so keep checking back.

Most of you already know the biggest news here: We are building a new Studebaker that will be driven by Stig Blomqvist and Ana Goni. Stig is of course a former WRC world champion. Even though he is a fantastic driver, the car is brand new and it is his first time here in Mexico. It is VERY hard to do well the first time here and also with a new car.