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Dragonfire Racing
Kawasaki Teryx Wins Big at Baja 500
Irvine, Calif. – The Dragonfire Racing
Kawasaki Teryx won its first ever Baja 500 in
the Sportman UTV class by an outstanding margin,
putting the Kawasaki Teryx in a league of its
own. The RUV (Recreational Utility Vehicle) was
piloted by Kawasaki’s own Team Green Manager
Reid Nordin and Hans Waage in great weather
conditions for the single day event. The two
drivers took advantage of the Teryx’s V-Twin
engine to finish hours ahead of the next
finisher.
Late Start
At the start of the race, the Dragonfire Racing Kawasaki Teryx was lined up
third in the segmented start. During the
mandatory safety check, the team was required to
adjust the extra safety lights on the Teryx and
ended up starting 10 minutes behind the next car
while making the necessary adjustments. The
deficit didn’t last long as Nordin piloted the
RUV to the front of the class by race mile 78.
“It didn’t take long to catch up to the other
cars,” said Nordin. “We were able to run a
really fast pace thanks to a great chassis and
an awesome motor.”
Take What Baja Throws At You
Cruising with a two
hour lead over the class competitors, Nordin was
just over 25 miles from the teams scheduled pit
stop location when he had to pull over with for
repairs. By the time the chase truck was flagged
down, parts fixed and back on track, the team
lost almost three hours. Only one competitor
passed the team in that time span. After
switching drivers, Waage piloted the Dragonfire
Racing Kawasaki Teryx to the lead at race mile
260 and never looked back.
“Baja is one of those places that will throw
anything at you,” said Nordin. “In my many years
of experience with this race, there is always a
chance to break and a chance to come from
behind. I think that the Baja race is the most
challenging event because of that factor.”
Winning Experience
Starting his visits to Baja
during the 1970s, Nordin brought decades of
experience to the new team. After all of those
years, this was only his second time actually
racing the event with his previous experience on
a three-wheeler in the 1980s. Most of Nordin’s
Baja experiences have been helping lead the
Kawasaki off-road team to numerous victories in
the late 80s and early 90s.
“I just love Baja and I do whatever I can to get
down for the 500 and 1000 races,” said Nordin.
“I’m glad I was able to help the Dragonfire team
to their first victory.”
Proven Winner
The Dragonfire Racing Kawasaki
Teryx raced in the 2008 Baja 1000 and the team
used that time as a learning experience for
future races. The two companies, Dragonfire and
Kawasaki, put their heads together so the next
event, the Baja 500, was a complete success.
“Dragonfire Racing has worked with others before
and the cooperation we’ve had with Kawasaki has
developed into a great partnership,” said Todd
Romano, Dragonfire Racing Owner. “We pre-ran the
course for over 1000 miles (with temperatures in
the low 100s) in a Teryx that was similar to the
race vehicle and we didn’t need to change the
oil or air filter.”
Baja 500 Kawasaki Wins
Dragonfire Racing Kawasaki Teryx – Sportman UTV
Enrique Guerro (KX450F) - Sportsman 250cc- Open
Shane Esposito (KX450F) - Class 21
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