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By: Robert Janis
Precision Concepts ATV Team Win of 41st Baja
1000 Gives It SCORE ATV Championship
Team of Matlock, Goodman, Spaeth and Miller Win
Baja 1000 on a Honda TRX700xx
Harold Goodman
Wayne Matlock
Wayne Matlock |
For racers of a series, it all comes down to
points, and Precision Concepts got the points it
needed when it won the 41st running of the Baja
1000 to win the SCORE ATV championship.
The victory in the Baja 1000, along with
overall wins at the San Felipe 250 and Baja 500,
allowed the team that includes: Wayne Matlock,
Harold Goodman, Marc Spaeth and Wes Miller to
amass enough points to win the SCORE Series. The
Baja 1000 victory was achieved on a Honda
TRX700xx, ridden in the other victories as well.
The race went like this:
Wayne Matlock was the first to ride the
TRX700xx. Battling some thick dust he was able
to achieve second place on adjusted time when he
passed the bike on to Harold Goodman at the
120-mile mark of the course.
The second leg of the course took Goodman
into the dangerous and rocky La Rumarosa grade
section which he mastered and then continued on
through to Borrego making up more than one and
one-half minutes on the lead quad. At the
279-mile mark of the course he passed the bike
on to Marc Spaeth.
It was Spaeth’s assignment to guide the ATV
through the sandy swoops of San Felipe, and he
was able to hold the lead before passing the
Honda to Matlock at the 353-mile mark.
This particular leg of the course took
Matlock past the Zoo road section in San Felipe.
The deep whoops and the rocks provided a
challenge and Matlock suffered two rear flats.
He had to stop and replace both flats at an
unscheduled pit repair before he was able to
race on to Borrego and pass the quad over to
Goodman. The team was now in second place at the
405-mile mark of the course.
Darkness fell during Goodman’s ride that took
him through Sky ranch Loop, and he had to stop
for the installation of lights. Yet he was able
to pass the bike on to Matlock at the 455-mile
mark of the race with the team still in second
place. This was Matlock’s third time on the quad
for the day, but the course provided no
surprises.
Next to ride was Wes Miller with the
assignment of taking the team through the coast
area of the course. It was during this leg that
the team regained the lead and Miller was
actually able to put some separation between
himself and the second place rider. By the time
Miller passed the Honda over to Matlock at the
590-mile mark of the course, the team was 4.5
minutes in the lead.
Now it was up to Matlock to take the quad to
the end. Matlock had to negotiate a course that
was missing markers, and he had to overcome
booby traps built by the locals. However, he was
able to add another 4.5 minutes to the lead time
allowing the team to win by a total of 9
minutes.
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