On April first I had the opportunity to interview two awesome people by a zoom call, this is my first time ever interviewing two people at one time, and I have never done a zoom call, let alone doing an interview zoom call, they helped me learn different types of racing that I have not seen before. So, I was very excited and nervous.
Let me introduce you to Jamie Lambert. When I was at SnoDrift I got meet Jamie who is the co-driver in the #36 FH Motorsports Rally car.
He and his driver Mike Cessna won in their class at SnoDrift this year. Jamie lives in Chillicothie, Ohio with his wife Lauren who is also a rally co-driver. He has two children, Holly, and Indy. Being it was a zoom call I happily got to say hi to Indy and Lauren and their cute pups Martha and Hudson. Jamie works designing packaging for the Military.
Jamie got interested in racing because, “I spent a lot of time in the miliary and when you are in the military you get to do a lot of exciting things to get your adrenaline going and when you get out of the military it is hard to find stuff like that. Racing fills that void. It gets you going and excited”
Jamie and his best friend Mike Cessna (Driver) have been rally racing their FH (For Him) Motorsports #36 for over 7 years. Even though he likes the adrenaline rush, Jamie says the best part about racing is the people he meets and the people in his “rally family.”
“The best part of racing is by far is the people!”
-Jamie Lambert
One of the people that Jamie became friends with through rally racing is Craig Lumsden.
Craig and Jamie met at the Southern Ohio rally 6 years ago and became FAST friends. Because of the talent and ability Jamie has as a co-driver Craig was excited to have Jamie join him as the navigator for Baja and Dakar.
Now I want you to meet Craig.
Craig is “The Boss” of Colorado Motorsport. They have rally, Baja, Dakar and Nirocross teams.
Craig and his wife Carrie live in Larkspur, Colorado They have two grown up children, Kirsten and Zach. Zach is also a driver for Colorado Motorsport.
Craig has always been interested in cars and racing, as has Carrie who was his rally co-driver for years. Their son Zach was more interested in motocross racing, but after a few too many injuries Zach and Craig decided to move to racing on 4 wheels instead of 2 and started Colorado Motorsport.
After rally racing throughout the country they moved to racing on pavement at events such as the Pikes Peak hill climb.
Craig said, “For me the best part about the sport is how we have built relationships with people from all over the world and we talk to them on a very regular basis whether it is about racing or just what is going on in their lives”
I have read that Baja and Dakar are two races that are considered the most difficult and dangerous in the world, so having the right person in the seat beside you is important.
Baja racing is an endurance rally where teams compete over hundreds and hundreds of miles in the desert.
Races like the Baja 1000 take teams around 24-hours to complete, but the Dakar is even harder. At the Dakar in Saudi Arabia, teams rally non-stop for 14-days over almost 5000-miles (that is more than crossing the U.S. from one ocean to the other).
Craig said, “In order for us to get to race these most difficult and dangerous races in the world we must surround ourselves with the best safety equipment. That means we have to pay a little bit more. But safety is always first so if something does happen we are well taken care of and we are very well prepared.”
With rally racing, competitors’ race all over the country and even the world. Craig said that he has enjoyed every single one of his races, but the Pikes Peak Hill Climb is special to him because it is dangerous, fast, and fun.
“The Pike’s Peak Hill Climb is one of my favorites. It’s a very short race, it’s very quick, but its also dangerous, fast, and fun.”
-Craig Lumsden
As for Jamie, he said,” Sno*Drift in Michigan is an absolute blast, but when it comes to my favorite place, I think I haven’t even been there yet.”
Craig and Jamie will be going to Morrocco, North Africa to race this fall. This will be all new for Jamie who is learning Baja and Dakar style navigating which is a foreign language. Really! A lot of it is in French and that there are about 250 different symbols that you need to recognize on fly along with reading an odometer for milage, a compass for direction, pictures, and notes all at the same time. For the Baja 1000 and The Dakar you only get 30 minutes to see the notes.
Jamie said “Craig is driving and I will be telling him where to go so we don’t get lost.”
So, Jamie will be keeping Craig on track, literally 😊
Thank you so much Jamie and Craig.
I will see you at the races.
DeLayna Dubie
PitSide... Online 