THR Motorsports riders Ricky Brabec, David Pearson and Max Eddy Jr. give Kawasaki a Baja 500 victory.
The Monster Energy/THR Motorsports Kawasaki team anchored by Ricky Brabec earned the overall motorcycle win and Pro Open motorcycle class at the 46th running of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, yesterday.
With the THR team starting first off the line, Brabec shared riding duties with teammates David Pearson and Max Eddy Jr. The team battled briefly with the second-placed team of Mark Samuels and Ian Young along the way, but otherwise had a smooth run for the entire Baja 500 race distance, going the distance in 8 hours, 58 minutes and 27 seconds, averaging 49.81 mph to win for the second time in three SCORE races this year.
“I started first off the line and rode to Uruapan, and David Pearson got on and rode it to Camalu to give the bike back to me,” Brabec said. “He had a little bobble and the Honda bike (1x of Ian Young) got around us. I got back on I got around the Honda and we had the lead since Camalu. It wasn’t an easy race, and we were both pinning it the entire way. You can’t give up just because you’re in second place so we kept pushing and here we are at the finish line. If you just ride the race as clean as you can and keep the bike on two wheels, that seems to be the best strategy here in Baja. I liked running the course backwards and going to the coast first. I think it is cool that (SCORE President) Roger Norman changed it.”
Samuels and Young finished just over 6 minutes and 30 seconds behind the THR team. The Honda team of Francisco Arredondo, Scott Myers, Shane Esposito and Ryan Dudek finished third overall and also won Class 30 (riders must be over 30 years of age).
A cluster of racers added multiple class wins to their career Tecate SCORE Baja 500 totals. Leading the way was the Class 60 team of Jim Dizney and Jim im O’Neal. Dizney now has five wins while who now has 17 class wins. Three other racers, also competing in motorcycle classes, remain undefeated after their third win in the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship: Tony Gera (SCORE Ironman, Honda XR650R), Giovanni Spinali (Class 40, Honda CRF450X) and Raul Hernandez.
46th Tecate SCORE Baja 500
Ensenada, Baja California
Mexico
Results: June 7, 2014
Open M/C (450cc or more)
1. Ricky Brabec/David Pearson/Max Eddy Jr.-Kaw; 8:58:27 (49.81 mph)
2. Mark Samuels/Ian Young-Hon; 9:04:56
3. Ray Dal Soglio/Mike Carter/Zach Vogle-Kaw; 11:42:37
4. Eddie Hernandez/Andrew Terry/Chris Krumel-Honda; 12:02:05
Limited M/C (449cc or less)
1. Ricky De la Pena/Rene Magana/Paul Lopez/Austin Miller-Hon; 11:48:27 (39.90 mph)
2. Dane Ward/Boe Huckins/Jim Peterson-Suz; 13:18:37
3. Fernando Beltran/Fernando Tavarez/Ricardo Munoz/Adrian Ruiz/Vicente Guerrero-Yam; 15:14:20
4. Jesus Guerrero/Jose Davila/Jovani Solorio/Luis Torres-Suz; 16:02:28.
Class 30 (Riders over 30 years old)
1. Francisco Arredondo/Scott Myers/Shane Esposito/Ryan Dudek-Hon; 9:34:06 (47.05 mph)
2. Mark Winkelman/Jim O’Neal/Gerardo Rojas/Kevin Murphy/Morgan Crawford-Hon; 10:14:32
3. Todd York/Nate Scott/Bud Carmen/Jason Stevens-KTM; 12:04:56
4. Jay Rabjohn/Jay Rabjohn/Justin Schultz/Mat Bateman-Hon; 12:39:54
5. Brad Baker/Jean-Paul Dupin/Rob Allen-Hon; 13:18:01
Class 40 (Riders over 40 years old)
1. Giovanni Spinali/Paul Thomas/Mike Carter/John Griffin/Earl Roberts-Hon; 11:24:02 (39.78 mph);
2. Ezure Tadao/Hideyuki Fukuoka-Yam; 12:16:33
3. Joe Leal/Mario Acosta/Jose Manuel Ochoa/David Hammers-Hon; 12:30:43;
4. Jason Miller/Bruce Anderson-Hon 13:00:03
Class 60 (Riders over 60 years old)
1. Jim Dizney/Jim O’Neal/Max Christensen/Mike Castro/Robert Koch-Hon; 13:10:03 (33.94 mph)
SCORE Ironman (Solo Riders)
1. Tony Gera-Hon; 11:20:30 (39.40 mph)
2. Kevin Daniels-KTM; 13:52:21
3. Daniel Stinson-Hon 14:48:35
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