The Honda Off-Road Racing Team reached the top spot on the podium for their third Class 7 win at SCORE International‘s annual Baja 500 race. The race also marked the team’s third race win in the 2019 season, including the new Ridgeline’s win at the Parker 425 and the Mint 400, making them undefeated in the class so far.
The race was held in Ensenada, Mexico and was a 487-mile single-loop course. Silt beds and sand washes put many racers into a tough spot early on.
Jeff Proctor, team owner/driver, started the race with Evan Weller handling Navigation. Weller stayed onboard when the second driver, Pat Dailey hopped in to finish the race.
The team got caught up in what is known as the Traffic Jam. “There was a lot of silt, stuck race cars everywhere, and the battle [against conditions and terrain] started right away.” Explained Proctor. “It was just tough, probably one of the toughest Baja 500s I’ve ever raced.”
Dailey and Weller were able to pull from a nearly 28-minute margin to cross the finish line and win the Class race.
Undefeated in the 2019 SCORE International race season in CLass 7, the Honda Off-Road Racing Team also secured their third Baja 500 win in the last 4 years.
The New Honda Ridgeline Race Truck
The new truck was completed just in time for the race. The bodywork and lighter-weight chassis were revised from the previous truck but the team held on to the proven twin-turbocharged Honda V6 engine.
The Honda Performance Development (HPD) engine is a 3.5-liter HR35TT mill that produces around 550 horsepower. The base motor uses the same production Ridgeline block and cylinder heads with a few additional upgrades from HPD.
Next up for the team is the Vegas-to-Reno race in August.
Photos provided by Honda Racing and Pat Dailey.
