The 41st running of the SCORE Baja 1000 has concluded. 347 teams started the race making up an armada of Trucks, Buggies, Motorcycles and ATV's. After almost 17 hours of non-stop action, Christy took their 101A race machine to a decisive victory in the hotly contested PRO ATV Class 24. The 5 rider team was propelled to first place aboard a purpose-built Duncan Racing/ Honda TRX-450R. So many desert races are lonely marathons against the clock, that was not the case at this event. Within the first 100 miles it was clear that Christy's only competition would be the 103A bike of Tom Wright II, Andy YMA Lagzdins and Jim Stack. They brought their A-Game from the"east coast of America to the northern chunk of Baja,California. The two teams held the top positions well into the night. Disaster almost materialized in the form of a loose electrical connector on the Christy Bike. As fate would have it, lead mechanic Leonard Duncan was on scene and together with the help of riders Dave Scott and Jeremy Sanchez they diagnosed and repaired the issue. The unexpected downtime had dropped the Christy effort to 3rd place. The riders job was clear: Put the team back in first place. Two things stood in the way of a victory, the seemingly endless San Felipe whoops and the waning daylight. Steve Abrego made quick work recapturing the penultimate position from sneaky 102A and Dave Scott rocketed back to the top spot through the aforementioned whoops. Enough of a gap had been created by race mile 400 that the chase team, fueled by Rockstar Energy Drink, took a moment to install new tires. The tire change got rid of a nasty vibration that had plagued the riders since Abrego's rocky section earlier in the day. Jeremy Sanchez took over and used the fresh rubber and his night riding expertise to further the lead to 17 minutes. Speed-Demon Jason Wade hopped on the bike at Valle De Trinidad and gave the bike's 5th gear a real work out. Jason had focused his prerunning time in this section at night and was very much at home passing bikes at a breakneck pace. His confidence was briefly rattled when he tagged a "Booby Trap" at race mile 524! With 103A still hot on his heels, Jason handed the bike off to Team Principal,
Craig Christy for the final 70 miles. Moments after leaving Santo Tomas, Craig was
alerted via radio that the lead trophy truck was 15 minutes behind and closing fast. 16 hours and 57 minutes after the start, Christy had crossed the checkered flag in 1st place! Craig's final push had broken 103A's resolve and an hour would pass before they reached the podium in 2nd place. The Christy Team is supported by: 2008 SCORE Baja 1000 Class 24 results: 1."Craig Christy, Burbank, Calif./ Steve Abrego, Covina, Calif./David Scott, Belen, N.M./Jeremy Christy Contact Info:
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Posted Dec 04 2008 10:31PM
