As a career endurocross racer and rider, I am no stranger to the extreme. That being said, the Baja 1000 was an experience of a lifetime. The 44th running of the Tecate Score Baja 1000 was my first time racing in Baja, California. Along with my teammates Joey Lancaster, Anthony Cerruti and Miles Warren, we headed to Mexico two weeks prior to the event to learn that it was in fact, possible. We all had a blast while leaning our sections and doing what we love the most - riding on two wheels. It was hard work and hard on the body, but the most crucial thing for us was to have the best chance at a solid result. This practice time was imperative. The course was very beat up after being used in both the San Felipe 250 and the Baja 500 earlier this year. We decided on our sections early on and focused to have them nailed down. I was going to start and ride to race mile(RM) 80, then get back on the bike at RM 450 and ride to RM 540.

Rain in the days leading up to the morning of the race really help cut down on the dust on the west side of the peninsula, which was nice for our vision in the morning light. I started for our team at 6:34 a.m. and was amazed by the huge number of spectators lining the course at that hour of the morning. The conditions where really good and I was having a blast, but was riding fairly conservative not knowing what to expect as far as the infamous booby traps and course changes from the locals. Booby traps are usually just poorly made jumps, but can also be holes and other obstacles made for the enjoyment of the local spectators.

I made it RM 80 to hand off the bike to Miles Warren. At this point, we were in fifth place and happy to have the race in motion after so much preparation leading up to this monumental day. We filled our Clarke Manufacturing gas tank and I did a few adjustment to our EVO industrial(?) suspension. After just these few checks and changes, Miles was on his way. I jumped in the team chase van and headed to RM 199 where the bike would be handed off to Anthony. We arrived and set up the pit stop and soon started hearing that something had happened to Miles about fifteen miles into his section. Details were few and far between. Hours later, Miles arrived at RM 199 and all of us where happy to see him in one piece. We looked over the damage to the bike and realized there was significant damage done. We went to work on switching out the left radiator. I think we were all bummed that we had such a massive setback, but we know that’s racing and we just needed to focus and keep moving forward. We got Anthony on his way and our race was back in motion.

I'm really happy that we didn't give up as a team and we pushed hard all the way to the finish line.

MILES WARREN

The Baja 1000 was exactly what everybody told me that it would be. Insane. As I was gearing up for my section of the race on the big day, it couldn’t have been more stressful…or so I thought.  We had to go to the starting line to drop off Rory so that he could start the race. After we made the drop and Rory successfully crossed the starting line, we were off on our adventure. While in the van we dealt with several different things that had me pretty stressed out before I even got on the bike – The first of which was trying to get geared up and eat some breakfast so I would be physically ready for the first of my two rides All of the emotions and pressure is pretty strong. The next thing we came across that was pretty crazy was the military checkpoint at Ojos Negros. It was a complete zoo. There were so many people and it was so chaotic. Once we got passed the checkpoint, it was smooth sailing to Race Mile (RM) 80 where I would mount the bike for the first time.

Once I got out of the van and put my helmet on, I started to feel much better. Rory got the bike to the checkpoint where he made a few minor changes to the suspension and then I was off. The first 20 miles of my section were pretty smooth and at times, it almost seemed like it was freshly grated terrain. At RM 95, I was clipping along pretty good when I collided with a good-sized rock that caused me to crash into a large patch of cactus. I was hurting, and so was our bike. In the crash, I broke the radiator and was impaled with what felt like thousands of cactus spikes. So now, I was sitting there with a broken radiator and a sore body but I knew that I needed to get the bike fixed and get it to the team all the way at RM 200. I was able to repair the radiator but it took about an hour and the fix only lasted about 20 miles where I was lucky enough to pull into a pit and get it fixed with a ton of quick dry epoxy which took about another hour. At this point, I was pretty bummed out but I just wanted to keep going. Even after the second attempt at fixing the radiator, I was still losing water and was forced to stop nearly every 20 miles to add more water. When I finally made it to RM 200 where I got off the bike, I was feeling dazed and realized that I probably smacked my head pretty hard when I crashed. I felt pretty confident knowing that I had about six hours to eat and recover before I had to get back on the bike. However, days later, we were still picking cactus off of the right side of my body.

The drive south down to RM 320 was a long ride, but we arrived and waited for Anthony to come in. When Anthony rolled in, we bolted on the big dual 8-inch Trail-Tech light and I took off and headed into the dark. Anthony could have used this light earlier, as darkness had already started to fall. I knew when I took off, the trophy trucks were not far behind me. Knowing this made me nervous but I just tried to keep up a consistent pace and ride as smart as I could, all things considered. My goal was to get to the checkpoint at RM 404 where I could get off the bike before the trophy trucks caught me. This section went pretty well for me. I was able to make good time and keep myself off the ground. I came up just short of beating the first trophy truck to RM 404. They passed me about two miles before the pit. It was pretty gnarly to see how fast they could go through the rough terrain. Once I got to the team at RM 410, I was very happy to get off the bike and get back in the van to head north. The Baja 1000 was an awesome experience for me and I am very thankful that I was able to go and compete with an awesome group of guys. I can’t wait to give it another try in the near future...

ANTHONY CERRUTI

I was the third rider in line to ride at RM 200, where Miles was to pass the bike on to me. We waited for Miles long past the expected time of arrival. We knew something was wrong, and it was difficult to plan because communication was nearly impossible.  We heard from the famous Weatherman of a problem with the rider and the bike at RM 95 and learned he was up and moving again.  So, all we could do was wait.   He finally rode to our waiting point, complete with a body full of cactus and a severely broken radiator. He had managed to fix the radiator for the very short-term with a ton of quick dry epoxy. That fix got him to us.  We quickly swapped the radiator and a filter and front tire and were back in the race.

I ripped off into the first Baja 1000 race of my life and was focused to get the bike back to Miles at RM 322.  I rode confidently and tried to keep a good pace, not wanting to push it too hard and hit the ground. I knew the team was depending on me. The first twenty miles were pretty whooped out. The next twenty were the fastest of the race through the dry lake bed. It was at this point where I topped out the Pro Caliber bike at 94 miles per hour.  My first Baja Pit was at RM 245, where I made a few clicks on the rear shock and adjusted my fanny pack that was so painfully uncomfortable, it was felt like it was wearing a hole through my lower back.  The next 45 miles where pretty whooped out, but there were lines around the most nasty sections. I found some good ones. I was just trying to keep a good flow and not get too far off the course so we don’t get dinged with a penalty.  RM 290 to 300  was the dreaded motomia wash. To be honest, that section sucked. It was absolutely no fun and really terrifying.  The goal through here was to focus, focus FOCUS. The rocks were everywhere and most are hidden in the sand. There was just no way around not tagging a rock.

As I was leaving the wash roughly around RM 302, the daylight was about gone. Because we had to swap the radiator, we were behind on our estimated time and  we didn’t think to put the lights on the bike for me. What a rookie move!  So I just pulled the goggles on and  kept soldiering on.  Two spills later and feeling my anger level rise, I came up on a dude with a light and rode side by side with him to the rider exchange at RM 322. My next section was from Zoo Road at RM 415 to RM 450.  All whoops in this section big and nasty. By this time we, were being passed by trophy trucks. That was crazy to deal with, but that’s how Baja works.  I got the bike to Rory in one piece and quickly got myself to a delicious taco!  Baja was fun, scary and crazy but was a great time with my friends. Oh yeah, I want redemption!

JOEY LANCASTER