Baja 1000 Update: Polaris RZR Team Wins Big In 3 Pro UTV Classes

The Polaris RZR Factory Racing Team did pretty damn well in 2019, concluding the season with one of the world’s most unforgiving desert races: the 52nd SCORE Baja 1000. Being that the 800-mile race concluded the 2019 season of the World Desert Championship, this is a huge closure for Polaris, as it finished 1-2-3 in Pro UTV Forced Induction, Pro UTV NA, and Pro Stock UTV classes.

Polaris RZR Factory Driver Mike Cafro, who debuted the all-new RZR PRO XP, secured a win in the Pro Stock UTV class and had this to say, “We raced the Pro Stock UTV class to promote the new PRO XP. The car was impressive. This RZR was box stock other than some required race modifications.”

Polaris RZR Factory Racing Team After the 52nd Baja 1000

Looking out over the rest of the field, and you will see that the Polaris RZR Factory Drivers secured four of the top-five finishers in the Pro UTV Forced Induction class. While Justin Lambert destroyed competition and terrain alike with a first-place finishing time of 21:00:42.687, Wayne Matlock was just 29 minutes behind, thus securing him the overall Pro Turbo UTV Championship. Meanwhile, RZR Factory Drivers Wes Miller and Brandon Schueler forced their way into the top five with respective times of 22:54:56.038 and 23:23:17.956.

Kristen Matlock also did particularly well, capping-off her 2019 race season with yet another victory in the Pro UTV NA class, with a finishing time of a 21:55:40.859 being achieved entirely via her driving. Kaden Wells was hot on Matlock’s rear hubs in second place, which in turn, secured him an overall Pro UTV NA Championship title. The day after crossing the finish line, Wells had this to say, “Our team fought for the lead until the battle was over, settling for second place in the race but still winning the Championship. We sang ‘We Are the Champions’ a lot last night!” 

Kyle Duea, vice president of Off-Road Vehicle Marketing for Polaris was eager to weigh-in as well, “The perseverance and determination of the Polaris RZR Factory Team continues to drive massive successes in some of the most rugged races on the planet. At Baja, the team put an exclamation point on another dominating year for the RZR Factory Team. We’re incredibly excited to celebrate another big year of wins and podiums and cannot wait for the team to keep the success going in 2020.”

Don’t expect the Polaris RZR Factory Racing Team to cut back on the ass-kicking any time soon either. Polaris has announced that it plans to compete during the 2020 King of the Hammers in Johnson Valley, California starting January 31st. 

About the author

Micah Wright

Raised on LEGOs by grandfathers who insisted on fixing everything themselves, Micah has been a petrolhead in training since age four. His favorite past times include craft beer, strong cigars, fast cars, and culinary creativity in all of its forms.
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