Jagged X 2018 Baja 1000 Race Report
Nov. 20, 2018
UTVUG Staff
The SCORE Baja Racing season has come to an end with the completion of the 51st Baja 1000!
The Jagged X Factory Polaris RZR Team Headed to Ensenada with full intentions of defending last year’s epic win by doing everything in our power to lead this pack of outstanding competitors and bring home the big prize.
"Our Goals Were Clear"
Sitting in third place for the season points championship, just one point out of second and barely in reach of the leader, Wayne Matlock, our goals were clear. Capturing a win here along with a few other things going our way could mean yet another championship for the Jagged X team.
But Baja has a way of altering your plan and having her way, no matter what you throw at her. Our car, our prep, our team, and our spirit were all at peak level when the green flag dropped on Friday morning.
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The 2919 Polaris RZR left the line in a favorable number 2 spot. Veteran teammate and Baja champion Matt Parks piloted the car out of Ensenada with seasoned co-driver Miles Martin. By the time Matt found his rhythm through the canyons and fields heading towards Ojos Negros our luck took a detour when the engine water pump failed putting the engine into overheat protection mode. This occurred at Race mile 15. Matt and Miles sat on the side of the course enduring the torture of watching all our competitors pass by along with dozens of other classes. Fortunately, they were able to make radio contact with Chase 2 which was getting ready to head south on highway 1. Quickly we formulated a plan to get close enough to the car and get them the parts and coolant they needed to make a complete repair. Time clicked away while the whole team worked together to get our car back in the game.
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In the end the delay was over two hours. After racing these long races in Baja for many years we know that problems can strike any team at any time so the whole team kept their heads up and we sent the boys into the desert in hopes of getting back in the hunt. It was not long before Matt began picking off some of the slower class cars and making their way back into the race.
As the race progressed into the night Pat Stone and Jason Speiss took over and used their baja racing knowledge and experience to negotiate the middle section of the course. This section contained miles of endless silt beds and rocky terrain which they conquered in complete darkness while pushing the car closer to the front with every passing mile.
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This early delay made for a pretty long night of racing and chasing but the whole teams determination remained undeterred as the dark turned to light and the car kept clicking off the miles.The rest of the race did not go without a hitch, the never ending silt beds took a toll on a clutch and a belt and of course no Baja race is complete without a bottle neck or two, but by race mile 700 with Brandon and new team member Trae Herman in the car, they found themselves battling their way back into the mix, hoping now to break into the top ten. They ran strong all the way to the finish and while we did not achieve the result we had hoped for we were happy to have completed yet another Baja 1000.
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Our drivers and crew did an outstanding job, overcoming adversity and facing the Challenge that IS BAJA!
[gallery type="columns" link="file" ids="64133,64134,64135,64113"] The final results show Brandon and Team Jagged X in 11th place and should place the team in 2nd place for the season points championship. In addition to the final season results we are very proud to have earned yet another SCORE milestone award for once again completing every mile of every race in the season. This marks the 6th consecutive Milestone award for the Jagged X team. We want to congratulate Wayne Matlock for his dominating win and great season. And more congrats to every racer who completed this incredible race. We look forward to 2019 and we thank all of or friends, family and of course our great sponsors!- Polaris RZR #polarisrzr #rzrlife #teamrzr
- KCHiLites #KCHiLiTES #kc
- BFGoodrich Tires #BFGoodrich #BFGRacing #DriverEnough
- OMF Performance #omfwheels #omfperformance
- Walker Evans Racing #walkerevans #walkerevansracing
- CR Designs #CRDesigns #PaintByCRDesigns
- FactoryUTV #factoryutv
- Hostyle INC #hostyleracing
- Pro Eagle #proeagle #proeaglejack #proeagleoffroad
- Mountain States Contracting @blake_utv_racer #mountainstatescontracting
- Polaris Lubricants #polarislubricants #polarisengineeredlubricants