A Brutal Baja 1000

Desert — By ATV Mag on December 5, 2008 at 12:00 pm

Several racers have called this year’s abbreviated, 41st annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 the most difficult course in the history of the off-road race, one of the most grueling in the world.

As every year’s course is unique, this year’s Baja 1000 was actually only 634 miles, but included incredible obstacles, varied terrain, high-desert desolation and a continuous, 60-mile stretch of four-foot-tall whoops — definitely a bit more than a light workout.

For an interview in our sister publication ATV Sport’s March issue, we spoke with Wayne Matlock, whose team won the overall ATV/Class 25 victory with his teammate Harold Goodman.

In our pre-race interview, Matlock said that Baja’s terrain is the weirdest place in the world and ranges from low-elevation flats to high-elevation pine forests.

“It’s completely wild,” he said.

This year’s field included 347 starters that came from 29 U.S. states and 34 countries. This year’s course began and ended in Ensenada, its 34th time starting in the famed Baja town. Of the pack, there were 227 finishers — the third most in the race’s history.

Power Of The Quads
With an impressive time of 14:47:25, Matlock’s ATV team was definitely in the top tier of Baja finishers, especially considering that finishing times 10 hours higher were commonplace.

Second place in the ATV category went to Danny Prather’s team, which came in a scant 9 minutes behind Matlock’s. The teams of Stefano Caputo, Gregg Row and Reed Rutherford rounded out the top five for the quads.

Matlock’s top ATV finishing time was just over two hours longer than Roger Normal/Larry Roeseler’s Ford F-150, the top trophy truck team.
The overall Baja 1000 victory went to Robby Bell/Kendall Normal/Johnny Campbell, aboard a Honda CRF450X dirt bike.They finished the course in 12:29:10, which was approximately 2 hours and 18 minutes ahead of the fastest ATV.

Proud Prowlers
Arctic Cat racers and fans had something to celebrate, with a pair of stock Team Bi-Polaris/Arctic Cat Prowlers finishing first and second place in the Sportsman UTV class, the first time in race history a side-by-side has completed the grueling race.

“We were the first-time finishers and first-time winners in this greatest of all races because of a total team effort,” said Bi-Polar team co-owner and driver Jim Creagan. “From start-to-finish, every person fulfilled their role perfectly and each Prowler performed magnificently.”

Team Bi-Polar/Arctic Cat piloted a stock 2009 Arctic Cat Prowler XTZ 1000 and finished the race in 27 hours and 57 minutes.

Just behind, at 28:13 was a three-driver/co-driver team of Shane Morgan, Tabor Cresap, Scott Sorenson, Justin Serface, Casey Squires and Mike Connors, aboard a Prowler XTX 700 EFI.

It was just the second attempt at the Baja 1000 for the Bi-Polar/Arctic Cat team. In 2007 they made it to mile-810 before succumbing to a broken suspension bolt. They returned this year, ready to prove the Prowler’s durability and to support their sponsors: Arctic Cat, Wired Energy Drink, Vision X Lighting, GBC Motorsports, TrailReady Beadlock Rims and King Shocks.

“These were stock Prowlers except for the required roll-cage, extra night lights, King shocks and tires,” said Creagan. “Nothing broke on either machine during the race and we had only one flat tire on the 700. Our support crew never even had to put a tool to either machine. It was just gas-and-go at the pit stops, which is a testament to their durability and performance. ”