SLR Honda has completed the SCORE International Off-Road Racing undefeated after teammates Justin Morgan, Max Eddy Jr., David Kamo and Shane Esposito claimed victory at the Baja 1000.
The SCORE Baja 1000 serves as the final round of the SCORE International Off-Road Racing series and proved to be a dramatic end to the season with bad weather forcing organisers to postpone the start for one day.
In Saturday’s pre-dawn hours, SLR Honda was the first team to leave the start line in Ensenada, Mexico, and although the wet conditions meant that the following teams didn’t have to cope with dust, SLR teammates Justin Morgan, Max Eddy Jr., David Kamo and Shane Esposito immediately began to stretch their advantage. They were never headed during the counterclockwise loop around the northern end of the Mexican peninsula, finishing back in Ensenada over 800 miles later with a winning time of 17 hours, 34 minutes, 28 seconds, which was over two hours ahead of the runner-up Pro Moto Unlimited squad. Honda teams also won the Pro Moto 30, Pro Moto Ironman, Pro Moto 50, Pro Quads, Sportsman Quads and Sportsman Moto classes.
Despite the smooth race day, things hadn’t looked promising for the squad just over seven weeks earlier, when SLR team owner and rider Mark Samuels broke both of his femurs in a training crash. (Samuels has been a rider on four winning Baja 1000 teams.) “After I got hurt, I had to go back to the drawing board and figure out what to do,” Samuels said. “I was pretty stressed, but I was fortunate to line up some riders with a ton of experience in Baja, and they all rode flawlessly. The only real issue we had all day was a short in our lighting system right off the start, so we swapped it out at a pit. Apart from that, everything went great for us, while the other top teams had some issues. It was kind of different being on the sidelines for this one, but it was also pretty special to sit back and be the manager and watch our guys perform.”
The win in the legendary event’s 52nd edition capped off the squad’s second-straight undefeated season in the series and stretched the Honda CRF450X’s unmatched Baja 1000 win total to 13; the model’s current platform remains undefeated in SCORE racing. Honda-mounted teams have earned a record 29 victories in the race, including 22 of the last 23 years.
Shane Moss finished an incredible third in the Solo Ironman Class. “he race was awesome, man. I was doing really well up until about race mile 400,” said Moss after the race. “Then my hand was starting to give up and I was just holding on for dear life. the last 400 miles was really tough. It got so cold this morning there was ice on the ground and I had to stop at a campfire just to keep warm and then I sat in a car to warm up. It took forever to do this last 100 miles. It was so tough. I just had nothing more to give. I was done. I’m just happy to make it to the finish line.”
Toby Price finished second with teammate and 2019 Dakar Rally car category winner Nasser Al-Attiyah. Price after the race said “I love Mexico. It is unreal. I really enjoy coming back here. I’ve been able to experience some bike stuff here, but with the Dakar Rally coming up in January it is so close to that event we were not able to bring a bike here. The very best next thing is a SCORE Trophy Truck and I’m very grateful to Jesse Jones to have me in his truck. We have had a very good race here today, we made some good ground, started 28th or so and made it to third. It’s crazy, we are really stoked to get a podium; two Dakar champs. We had a good race; I only had one flat. I slid into a rock and punctured the tire. The truck was flawless. Mason Motorsports built a really amazing vehicle. Jesse Jones has really been looking after us and keeping us going. Red Bull, KMC wheels, BFGoodrich tires it’s been an amazing effort.”
