:40:00
He's expecting Honda 1-X.
:40:03
Like everything else in Baja.
Communication is difficult.
:40:06
T can take a while to hear bad news.
:40:08
We need a new front axle
and a new front wheel. Do you copy?
:40:11
I copy, a new front axle
and a new front wheel.
:40:16
That's affirmative. He had a problem
early on and clipped a big boulder
:40:19
and had to change a front wheel
once already but the axle's tweaked
:40:22
and this wheel's wobbly. So he'll need to.
Just like you say. Make it right.
:40:28
Johnny had dislocated his thumb.
:40:30
And all he wanted to do was turn the bike
over to Steve and assess the damage.
:40:50
Only two minutes behind came
Chris Blaze of the Honda B Team.
:40:56
For the first time in years.
Johnny's lead was tenuous.
:40:58
He'd tape his hand
and be ready for the next leg.
:41:06
Unfortunately there are accidents
that require more than gauze and tape.
:41:10
That's when it's time for the Weatherman.
:41:12
From a repeater station
atop Mount Diablo.
:41:14
Bob Steinberger is the eyes
and ears of the race.
:41:16
Score Ops, copy Weatherman.
I have an emergency.
:41:21
Advise the hospital
that we need immediate...
:41:23
For over three decades.
Steinberger's been head of communications
:41:26
for the 1000, a job he does for free.
:41:29
In the early '70s
he was doing relays,
:41:31
and he was putting up
an antenna with weather balloons
:41:33
and someone called him
the Weatherman, and it stuck.
:41:35
You know, my dad's 65 years old.
He climbs to the top of this 50-foot tower
:41:39
on top of an 11,000-foot peak
and puts this antenna up,
:41:42
and right over it's like
a 5,000-foot drop down a sheer mountain.
:41:46
It's crazy. I mean, he's a great guy
and he loves this sport.
:41:49
We have an injured driver
at race mile 55.
:41:53
Weatherman, Score helicopter.
:41:55
Okay. We have
two injuries. Two back injuries.
:41:57
We are transporting
the first one right now to Ensenada.