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THE #1A AMERICAN
HONDA / MATLOCK RACING PRO ATV TEAM WIN THE
2009 TECATE SCORE BAJA 1000 & SCORE SEASON
CHAMPIONSHIP!
The #1A American Honda / Matlock Racing Pro
ATV Team of Wayne Matlock, Harold Goodman, Wes
Miller & Josh Caster won the 2009 Tecate SCORE
Baja 1000 on Nov 20th with a time of 16:54:52
(39.78 mph) and secured the season championship.
The Matlock Racing team started out the SCORE
season with an Overall win aboard the Honda
TRX700XX at the SCORE San Felipe 250. The team
was once again the fastest over the course at
the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 but after the shake up
with new penalties and the move to 2nd place,
the #1A American Honda/Matlock Racing team was
going to be really hunting the win at the final
race of the season, the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.
Matlock Racing once again entered aboard the
Honda TRX700XX and drew the second starting
position. With Wayne Matlock starting, the #1A
quad quickly moved into the lead even before
leaving Ensenada on a course that many racers
said was the roughest course they had ever seen.
During Matlock’s first section he didn’t have to
deal with the Ensenada morning fog that is
normally present during the start of the race
but he had to dodge his way around the slower
motorcycles that started ahead of the quads
while fighting to see in the thick dust and silt
before handing the quad off to Josh Caster at
race mile 39.
Caster was able to take the quad from Matlock
now in the lead position and work his way past
more motorcycles in the early morning dust. Once
on the fast roads near Ojos Negros Caster was
able to gain some time to the lead that Matlock
had made at the start of the race. Midway
through his section, motorcycle traffic began to
become a factor and time was lost as the #5A
team of Felipe Velez gained time and moved into
the lead on adjusted time. Caster finished off
his ride at race mile 101 in Nuevo Jct where he
handed the quad off to Harold Goodman about 30
seconds off pace of the 5A team now holding the
lead on adjusted time.
Goodman’s first section started off with the
famous rocky and dangerous summit, the dry lake
bed of Laguna Salada where silt beds show up out
of nowhere and then into the deep rocky whoops
of Borrego. Goodman was able to hold off the 5A
team until reaching the silt beds at the bottom
of the summit where the 5A team was able to make
the pass in the thick clouds of silt. Goodman
continued to pace the lead quad all the way into
Borrego where he would hand off the quad to
Matlock once again at race mile 202.
Matlock’s second section would continue from
Borrego all the way to Morelia Jct at race mile
237. Matlock took the quad and was off charging
hard to regain the lead before he was to hand
the quad off again. The 5A team was also
charging hard to keep the lead but suffered a
mechanical issue after passing Borrego. Matlock
was unaware of the 5A teams issue and kept up
the hard charge until he passed the quad off to
Caster at Morelia Jct.
Caster’s second section included San Felipe’s
famous desolate Matomi Wash and the extra rough
and rocky whoops of Old Puertocitos Road.
Matlock unknowingly passed the 5A team during
his section and still believed he was running in
the second place position. When the quad was
passed off to Caster at Morelia Road, Matlock
was in a hurry to get Caster on the road so he
could help regain the lead. Caster believed the
competition was close behind so he charged hard
to regain more time. The next quad did not come
through Morelia Jct for another 23 minutes and
by this time Caster was well out of radio range
to be notified and was still charging hard to
gain time on the competition that he believed
was right behind him.
Caster reached race mile 307 at the end of
Matomi Wash without any issues and believed he
had pushed hard enough to gain time on the
competition. After a quick stop at a Honda/JCR
pit he was off towards the infamous Old
Puertocitos Road whoops. As Caster was working
his way back towards San Felipe in the whoops,
he got word over the radio that no other quads
had come through race mile 307 for over 30
minutes. He slowed the pace after getting this
news to avoid damaging the quad in this rough
section of the course and continued his way
towards San Felipe before handing the quad off
to Matlock at Zoo Road located at race mile 355.
During Caster’s section he hit a buried rock
causing one of the rear wheels to vibrate at
high speeds so this was changed at Zoo Road
during the rider change. Matlock was now on his
third ride of the day which would continue from
the big sandy whoops of Zoo Road to race mile
378. He worked his way through the whoops
without any issues before handing the quad off
to Goodman for his final ride.
Goodman took the quad from Matlock at race
mile 378 and worked his way north towards
Borrego once again and then on to San Matias
Pass. Goodman continued to gain time on the lead
and raced his way up the sandy San Felipe washes
towards the mountains before he would hand the
quad off to Matlock again. He reached the
Honda/JCR pit in San Matias Pass located at race
mile 417 as planned, just before dark. The rear
tires and air filter were changed to keep them
fresh and the Baja Designs HID headlights were
attached to the quad for Matlock’s fourth ride
of the day.
Matlock was off into the night heading up
into the mountains around the rocky, silty and
dusty Mike’s Sky Ranch loop. The Baja locals had
piled rocks and sandbags up at the three stream
crossings and the water would be almost seat
deep as Matlock worked his way through them
trying not to get stuck in the middle and still
stay dry in the process. He made his way around
the winding and twisty roads taking a small slow
speed spill in the silt before reaching Valle De
Trinidad at race mile 495 and passing the quad
off to Wes Miller for his section.
Miller would start his ride at Valle De
Trinidad located at race mile 495 and work his
way to the Pacific coast. Luckily after reaching
the coast the normal heavy fog along the ocean
was not present and he was able to keep a very
fast pace in the dark up most of the coast.
Miller raced his way through the new silty
section of the course near the town of Erendira
and the many VCPs (virtual check points) that
SCORE located in this section. After a quick run
up the coast along the Pacific Ocean, he
followed the course back inland towards the town
of Santo Tomas and then back into the hills and
the rider change located near Ojos Negros. The
inland section of the course was very rough and
Miller worked his was through without any issues
before he would hand the quad off to Matlock in
Ojos Negros at race mile 636.
Matlock’s fifth and final ride of the day
began at race mile 636 in Ojos Negros. The quad
was still running great after Miller’s ride up
the western coast section of the course and the
team knew they now had over an hour lead on the
competition thanks to all the riders continuing
the fast pace and not making any mistakes. With
this in mind, Matlock made his way back towards
Ensenada and kept his eyes open for any of the
famous booby-traps the Baja locals like to set
up near the finish of the race course. Following
the now extra silty course with missing course
markers taken down by the locals, he made his
way back down the same course he had come up
earlier in the day at the beginning of the race.
Racing his way up the last couple of corners on
the slick asphalt streets he made his way across
the finish line over an hour ahead of the next
quad.
When the final Official results were posted
by SCORE, the team had done exactly what they
had been determined to do- They finished first
Overall quad and were the only team in their
class not to receive any penalties!
The Honda/JCR Pits performed flawlessly and
this continued to add time to the teams lead
throughout the race. Final race prep by the
Matlock Racing crew proved to be the best as the
only stops made were for fuel and rider changes.
The motor prepped by Rich Morel sounded as good
at the finish of the race as it did earlier that
morning when it was started for the first time.
The Honda TRX700XX has proven to be a very
dependable quad and has finished in the #1 spot
at every SCORE Baja race it has ever been
entered. Combined with a high horsepower
reliable motor and Honda’s new independent rear
suspension this quad is proving to be the
ultimate racer!
With the final results posted the team
claimed the Overall win at the 2009 Tecate SCORE
Baja 1000 and the 2009 SCORE Class 25 Season
Points Championship. This is the second
consecutive year that Matlock Racing has won the
Tecate SCORE Baja 1000!
Matlock Racing would like to thank all their
sponsors who have supported them in 2009
Honda, KZ Trailers, Vey’s Powersports,
Precision Concepts, Rich Morel Racing Motors,
JCR, Maxxis, Houser Racing, Elka, HMF Exhaust,
Fly Racing, Pro Honda Oil and Chemicals, Baja
Designs, Tire Balls, DWT, OMF, Renthal, Motion
Pro, Streamline, IMS-Roll, IMS, TCX Boots,
Quadtech, Scott Goggles, UNI Filters, DID
Chains, Division Four
For more information on Matlock Racing please
visit –
www.matlockracing-honda.com
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