Baja 1000: Kawasaki Takes Landmark Win
Jean Turner | November 14, 2014
Ricky Brabec led the Kawasaki squad to historic win at the Baja 1000. File photo by Mark Kariya
In one of the longest runnings of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, racers took on a full 24-hour charge at the 2014 event. Colton Udall putting his experience to work in the initial stretch of the race, and got his privateer Honda team out to a solid lead, but what looked to be another yet another runaway victory for the 1X Honda turned into a battle royal into the night.
The Bonanza Plumbing-backed Kawasaki team of Ricky Brabec, Max Eddy Jr, Robby Bell and Steve Hengeveld wasn’t about to let the Honda team run away unheaded. Hengeveld chipped away at the lead of the 1X team in the dark, where he was able to put his extraordinary night riding skills to good use.
Further complicating things for the Honda squad was a reported crash by Ian Young near Loreto that allowed the 4X Kawi team to close in even more. By the break of dawn, the two were battling neck and neck for the physical lead (although the Kawi team held the lead on adjusted time).
Ultimately the Bonanza Plumbing/Kawasaki team was able to pull the advantage, and a lead of nearly 15 miles heading into the final miles of the race. Udall, Young and Mark Samuels of the Honda team put forth a valiant effort in the final stretches, managing to close the gap by several miles, but ultimately, the JCR team had to settle for second.
Jean Turner | Contributor
A former staffer at Cycle News, Turner continues to contribute to the website and magazine as a columnist and someone we can count on to whip up a few thousand words on an off-road race when needed.
