- Ridgeline Baja Race Truck captures second consecutive Class 7 win
- Fourth Ridgeline Class 7 Baja 500 victory in last five years
The Honda Off-Road Racing Team returned to Baja California last weekend, and continued its string of Baja 500 successes with another Class 7 victory at the iconic off-road race, the fourth class win for the Ridgeline Baja Race Truck in the last five years. In addition, the new-for-2020 Honda Off-Road Racing Talon 1000R scored its first podium finish with a second-place result for Eliott Watson and Quintin Tucker.
Ridgeline Baja Race Truck
After drawing a starting position deep in the field, starting driver Jeff Proctor and navigator Evan Weller immediately began working through slower traffic. With an early race start of 7 a.m., there was not much wind, which made navigating through the thick Baja dust a challenge. Navigator Weller was on point all day in the right seat as the pair clicked off early race miles.
Despite two stops to repair tire punctures within the first 80 miles, a fast 30-mile lakebed section enabled the Ridgeline to overtake traffic and regain positions, moving into the class lead. Once in clean air, Proctor and Weller extended their advantage to the second scheduled pit stop at Mile 160.
When the pair exited the Ridgeline at Mile 360 for second driver Pat Daily and navigator Michael Loomis, the Ridgeline had an 80-mile lead on the second-running truck. An uneventful run to the finish earned the team’s second consecutive Baja 500 victory, and fourth in the last five years.
Making approximately 550 horsepower, HPD’s 3.5-liter HR35TT engine uses the same block and cylinder heads as the production V6 that powers the production Ridgeline. Additional, custom elements of the powertrain include an HPD-designed intake plenum and custom Engine Control Unit programming.
Honda Talon 1000Rs
The Honda Talons of Eliott and Christopher Polvoorde were prepared and ready to challenge Baja for the first time in the third event for the Honda UTV Pro Turbo Class side-by-sides. The strategy for both entries was to be competitive in the closing miles of the race.
After getting off to a great start, Polvoorde unfortunately had to retire his Talon early, but Eliott continued with great pace, clicking off miles and working through a rough and rocky course. With minimal down time all day and a well managed race by Eliott and his navigator Quintin Tucker, they brought their #1893 Talon to the finish line in P2 after a long scorching hot day of battling the Baja desert.
Next
The Honda Off-Road Racing Team finishes their 2020 season November 17-22 with the 53rd running of the BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 1000.
Photos and information from the Ridgeline Baja Race Truck’s efforts can be viewed on
Instagram at @hondaoffroadracing and @proctor_race. Honda Racing/HPD news and reports can be found on the racing channel at Hondanews.com and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD and on the Honda Racing Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD.
Quote
Jeff Proctor (team owner/driver Ridgeline Baja Race Truck) won Class 7 for unlimited V6 Trucks: “This was a very fast, yet very rough Baja 500 that was demanding with such high ambient temperatures. We were fortunate to have a near perfect day and bring home the win in class!”
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