LA CARRERA PANAMERICANA 1995
		A JAGUAR ADVENTURE
		by Doug Bohannon


Wed Oct 18 Tampa to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Today we leave for Mexico. Our team consists of John Parker whom
will drive our service vehicle during the race, Allen Black, my
co-driver/navigator during the race and me. We have our first trailer
flat in Florida.

Thr Oct 19 Baton Rouge to Beeville, Texas.

We have our second trailer flat. The day's ride is uneventful. Shorty's
restaurant in Beeville sells the largest steaks I have seen at a
restaurant.

Fri Oct 20 Beeville to Laredo, Texas.

I purchase Mexican automobile insurance in Laredo and check in with
rally officials. We meet Ramses who is trailering a Olds Rocket 88 for
his employer, Doug Mockett. Ramses speaks Spanish fluently and is a big
help on the ride to Tuxtula.

Sat Oct 21 Laredo to Matehuala, Mexico.

Today we cross the border into Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. We decided to
travel with Ramses who is a service vehicle driver for an Oldsmobile
Team and Tommy whom is a service vehicle driver for a Ford Team. Two
rally officials help us through the process of taking vehicles into
Mexico. It still takes over two hours for paperwork.

Sun Oct 22 Matehuala to Cordoba, south of Mexico City.

Driving through Mexico City is insane. My trailer is wider than the     
lane of traffic on the highway and people are trying to pass us on      
both sides. At one part of the highway the trailer fender is brushing   
a guard rail on one side and a VW van on the other. We finally have to  
run down the center of two lanes and people are still trying to pass    
us.                                                                     

We stop to help another rally driver whom is being detained by a Mexico
City traffic cop. The cop wants a bribe which is finally settled on to
be $30.00 US. Corruption is still a serious problem in Mexico City.

While descending in the mountains south of Mexico City, Ramses loses
the brakes on his van. The Olds he is towing probably weighs close to
3500 lbs.Fortunately, he is able to slow down and pull off the road.
After his brakes cool we bleed them and my service vehicle driver,
John Parker, drove Ramses' van to Matehula. He follows close behind my
trailer in case he needs me to help stop him.

We arrive in Cordoba around 11 PM. A resident of Cordoba, Alexandro,
guides us through the city and helps us find a secure hotel. The next
morning, Alexandro, directs us out of the city and back to the highway.
We appreciate his help.

Mon Oct 23 Cordoba to Tuxtla Gutierrex.

In Cordoba, we put new front brake pads on Ramsus' van and bleed the    
brakes again. We then head south to Tuxtula. We have to take a longer   
route because of earthquake damage to the roads in the west.            

This afternoon, are stopped by Mexican customs officials. They want     
T-shirts but agreed to let us go when I give them flyers on Predator    
cars.                                                                   

The roads are in very poor condition with recent damage from the        
earthquake. North of Tuxla, both lanes of the road fell off the         
mountain side. What is left is a cliff with a several hundred foot      
drop. A Mexican road repair crew had carved a notch in the cliff a      
about 12 feet wide to pass the missing road way. We also cross many     
large topes, Mexican speed bumps. I hope this is not the same route for 
the rally.                                                              

We finally arrived in Tuxtla at 4:30AM.

Tue Oct 24 Tuxtla Gutierrez

We sleep until noon, then we unload the car in the staging area at the
fair grounds. We start preparing the car and gathering information about
the race. This afternoon we also rest from the trip down. I drove the
tow vehicle from Laredo to Tuxtla myself, 2000 miles.

Wed Oct 25 Tuxtla Gutierrez

We get our medical examination, prepare the car and get it through      
technical inspection by 9:00 PM. We also receive our guide book and     
rules, time sheet for the first day, jackets and T-shirts, posters and  
sponsorship decals.                                                     

Thr Oct 26 Tuxtla Gutierrez

A Studebaker team rolls their car while testing their brakes. The       
Studebaker is not seriously damaged and will start tomorrow. We meet    
some of the other drivers and their team members. The D-Type is running 
great and everything checks out OK.                                     

This evening, we attend our first drivers meeting where were are given
information about the race. One of the sponsors of the race is the head
of the Mexican Highway Patrol. What this means to the drivers is that,
essentially, any car entered in the rally and properly marked can ignore
the speed limits and traffic signals through out the race as long as
they do not get involved in an accident with a Mexican citizen. A dream
come true.

There are over eighty cars entered including four other Jaguars. They
inculde an XK-120 driven by Steve Lawrence and Oliver Haycraft in Open
class, and XK-120 driven by Dmitri Martyniuk and Lee Cockerill in Sports
Mayor, a MK 10 driven by Charles Pacheco and Nadir Olivet in Touring
Mayor and a MK II driven by Julian Masters and Marshal Walker in Turismo
Mayor.

The two XK-120s are painted red and carry "Highlander" markings. These  
cars are being vidio taped by a camera crew for the "Highlander Series" 
television show. The star of "Highlander", Adrian Paul, will fly into   
Mexico City to drive one of the XK-120s for a short time to get some    
video footage of him in the car.                                        

We go to bed early to rest up before the rally. This turned out to be
the last relaxed day until we finish the rally.

Fri Oct 27 Tuxtla Gutierrez to Oaxaca

The race begins. Thirty minutes out we pass a car upside down in the    
road. Five minutes later, we pass a car that skid off the road and over 
a cliff. We don't here anything about the condition of the drivers and  
co-drivers.                                                             

Unfortunately, the rally course is the same road we came in on, topes
and all. We encounter some very rough driving with many pot holes, bumps
and topes in the road. We also have to pass the missing section of road
on a cliff.

During a velocity run, we hit an extremely rough section of road in the
mountains that causes us to slide sideways around a curve with a Bentley
on our tail. While I am able to recover without leaving the road or
being passed I notice the car listing to the right.

In Tehantepec I find that not only is a shock absorber mounting bracket 
bent but I have also flattened out the D-Type's skid plate and broken   
the aluminum oil pan. This damage is probably from topes I hit earlier  
in the day. We dumped almost all our oil in less than 30 minutes. We    
wait until our service vehicle picks us up and transports us to Oaxaca  
for repairs.                                                            

We arrive at Oaxaca at midnight and work on the car early into the
morning at a local repair shop. We patch the oil pan with epoxy, repair
and reinforce the skid plate and straighten and reinforce the shock
absorber mounting bracket. We make it to bed by 5:30 AM. We are back in
the D-Type by 7:30 AM for the next day of driving. We are now half a day
behind in points but the D-Type is ready to race again.

We do our late night repairs at High Tech, Alta Tecnologia Automotriz,
owned by Carlos Fernandez. If it wasn't for their resourcefulness and
eagerness to help, we would not make the next days run.

Sat Oct 28 Oaxaca to Mexico City

The D-Type is running good. While we are now half a day behind in
points, were are making some fast runs in the velocities and are holding
to schedule. Today we passed a state police car chasing someone one on
the highway. He waves as we go by. We rarely travel slower than 100 mile
per hour when on the highways.

We also pass the Jaguar MK 10 team. Their car has broken down the day
before and they are trailering it behind their tow vehicle. They have a
blow out on the tow vehicle and rolled the tow vehicle, trailer and car
on the highway south of Mexico City. Fortunately, their injuries are not
life threatening and they are released from the hospital the next day.

We almost get lost in Mexico City but we happen on another team and
follow them to Chapultepic Park where the days finish line is located.

I saw, Adrian Paul, the star of the "Highlander" TV series at the hotel
tonight. Tomorrow he will drive an XK-120 for a short time in the rally.

Sun Oct 29 Mexico City to Morilia

We are driving at altitudes of over 10,000 feet. The engine is losing
power noticeably at these high altitudes. The velocities are run on
winding roads in heavily forested areas. Each curve is blind and the
guide book is the only thing we have to tell us what the road conditions
are like. One of the other cars hit a donkey in the road today. Their
car survived, the donkey didn't. It is not uncommon to find live stock
and dogs in the road.

The Studebaker that rolled the first day, blew their engine today. They
also blew the engine in their tow vehicle and a semi ran into their
trailer, damaging it severely.

A Studebaker team member, Rick, rides with us until the end of the
rally. He speaks Spanish fluently and helps John drive and repair my
service vehicle.

Several trailers and some tow vehicles are hit or have near misses by
semi-tractor trailer rigs during the rally. The semi drivers do not seem
to care if they hit our equipment and may even be doing the damage on
purpose. Of course, the semi drivers never stop after hitting someone.

Mon Oct 30 Morelia to Guadalajara

We have another good day today. We brake a fuel line but are able to
finish before I had to do the repairs. I found the top speed of the
D-Type to be at least 145 mph. We attained this speed several times
today, passing cars on the velocity runs and highway. An Aston Martin
team driver later tells us that he was running at 135 mph when we blew
pass them.

On the first velocity, we pass an Alfa Romeo stuck in a wall. A medical
team is on the way to the scene. The driver sustains a broken leg.

On the second velocity, we round a blind curve to find two horses in the
road. I hammer the brakes hard and blow the horn. We are lucky in that
the horses freeze allowing me to maneuver around them. I don't think the
D-Type would survive an impact with a horse.

John trailers a Mercedes 300 SL that has broken down. The Mercedes is
almost 1000 lbs heavier than my D-Type and the added weight combined
with a long drive down a mountain causes the brakes to burn out on the
van. It takes John almost a mile to stop and he almost looses the van
on some curves. We replace the front pads and bleed the brakes this
evening.

Tue Oct 31 Guadalajara to Zacatacas

I push the D-Type hard through the first velocity today. I believe I    
cracked the oil pan in one of the curves where I was starting to drift  
a little and hit some pot holes. The Left suspension was compressed     
and the skid plate hit the road hard. When we arrive in the town of     
Tepatitlan de Morelos, I noticed that we are dumping oil on the road.   

The town has a celebration going on and is packed with people. The mayor
gives each of the drivers a certificate and a free lunch. As soon as
the crowd clears, a local man, Jesus Ramirez Maldorado, guides us to a
repair shop, Auto Mecanica "Torres". Rubin Torres Hernandez, the owner,
epoxies the new cracks in the oil pan for us and gets us back on track
very quickly. We are only about half an hour behind and we catch up to
the rest of the rally cars by the next town. Jesus's and Rubin's help
contributed greatly in keeping us in the rally today.

The next town we come to, Los Altes De Jalisco, has another reception   
for us and they give us a bottle of Tequila. Through out the rally, the 
smaller towns have the largest receptions for us. They treat us like    
celebrities.                                                            

More locals and photographers show up to observe the rally cars. Often
they stand on the outside of the curves in the velocities or on the
inside near the apex of the curves. Several times I use a photographer's
camera and tripod as an apex. I come as close to them as I can.

On the way to Zacatecas, during another velocity, we pass another car   
upside down in the road. We also see where two other cars have skidded  
off a cliff.                                                            

We brake another fuel line toward the end of the day but are able to    
finish and make repairs tonight.                                        

Zacatecas is, in my opinion, the most beautiful town we drive through
during the rally. It is situated in the mountains with very old
buildings, ornate churches and winding cobblestone roads. The entire
city throws a huge party for the drivers and crews. While I am busy
repairing the D-Type and unable to attend, my co-driver/navigator and
van driver have a great time in the city.

Wed Nov 1 Zacatecas to Monterrey

Today I pass three cars on the last velocity. The cars start at 30, 60  
and 90 second intervals ahead of me. We are told we have worked our     
way up to fourth position in our class today. We are hitting our times  
exactly and are doing very well on the velocities, making up for the    
time and points lost during repairs in previous days.                   

We are to stop for a lunch and reception in Salticas but the town is    
closed because of a gun battle. We are rerouted around Salticas to      
Monterrey.                                                              

The transmission is running hot and I later add oil to it. The car is
losing one quart of oil every two hours because of the damage to the oil
pan.

Thr Nov 2 Monterrey to Nuevo Laredo

Today is the last day of the rally. Instead of potentially missing
time for repairs, I decide not to patch the oil pan again. Instead, I
carry several quarts of oil with us and add oil to the engine at every
opportunity.

We run three velocities today. We do very well on the first two but     
the oil is at over 240 degrees and starts breaking down on the last     
velocity. I back off to allow the oil and engine coolant to cool down.  
My first priority is to finish the rally. Many cars break down on the   
side of the road today because their drivers push their car to hard.    

We complete the race 5th in class. I think we left an oil slick for the 
last 600 miles but the engine runs flawlessly and strong throughout the 
entire event. Not bad for a stock 4.2 Liter Jaguar engine with over     
10,000 miles on it.                                                     

The trailer came off my van today when John is driving. The trailer     
broke it's chains and ran through a guard rail, knocking over several   
concrete posts. Damage to the trailer is minimal but the trailer hitch  
and ball are worn out. Also, both trailer fenders have been lost due to 
vibration from rough roads causing metal fatigue. John has to change    
two more tires on the trailer due to damage from the accident.          

Often, we do not hear the fate of drivers of the cars that crashed or
disappeared along the route unless one of the drivers or crew knew and
told us. We are told that no one was killed this year but out of the
approximately 30 cars that did not finish, we never heard the fate of
over half of them.

The final banquet is held at a private bull ring and restaurant. The
bull fight takes a long time but most people have a good time and the
event is declared a success.

Fri Nov 3 We cross the border from Nuevo Laredo to Laredo.

I have lost the Jaguar's paperwork so we are held up for two hours and
have to pay $42.00 for a notarized letter stating we lost the paperwork.
A Mexican crew member from one of the other teams, Esteban Hidaleo
Tamayo, is riding with us and helps us find the right people to obtain
the paperwork needed to get my car out of Mexico. He probably saves us
several hours of aggrivation.

We drive to Houston and spend the night.

The rest of the ride home is uneventful but, for several days, I awake
in the middle of the night wondering what city in Mexico I am in.



I have made many friends during this event. Most drivers and crews are
friendly and willing to go out of their way to help a fellow driver. The
Mexican people, on the whole, are honest, friendly and try very hard to
help the drivers and crews if any problems arise. I would like to go
back to Mexico and visit all the places I flew by during the rally.

I also wish to thank my sponsors, Dan and Larry Ligas of Predator
Performance (813) 539-0218, Bill and Nikki Terry of Terry's Jaguar Parts
(800) 851-9438 and David Callen of H. I. Development/H. I. Resorts (813)
229-6686 for their help and support.

This rally is one of the most intense events I have ever participated
in. It is probably as challenging and dangerous as any professional
race in the world. Having finished has left me with a great sense
of accomplishment and a great respect for the quality of design and
strength of my car.

One of my friends asked me if the rally was fun. I had to think about
it. When she asked me if I would do it again, my answer was an immediate
"Yes".

Doug Bohannon
P. O. Box 2843
Winter Haven, FL 33883 USA
(941) 293-5335
jaguar@gate.net