ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – When the final checkered flag fell, a total of 245 vehicles left the start line early Saturday morning with racers from 26 U.S. States and 12 countries. When the course closed at 6:05 a.m. on Sunday, there were 144 official finishers for a very high 58.78 finishing percentage, especially considering the difficulty of the race course. The results were made official following complete data tracking review of the devices on each vehicle in the event late Sunday morning.
Defeating 24 starters in his class and 37 total UTVs to win the overall UTV title in the 51st Baja 500 was former Polaris key executive Craig Scanlon, Yorba Linda, Calif., with a winning time of 13:26.41 in his No. 2931 Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo. It was his first SCORE race win as a driver of record.
PRO UTV FI (two-seat Forced Induction, OEM engine UTVs)— (24 Starters, 14 Finishers)—
1. 2931 Craig Scanlon, 45, Yorba Linda, Calif./Keith Redstrom, Glendale, Ariz./Colbey Wemple/Seth Quintero, Polaris RZR Turbo, 13:26:41 (36.08 mph);
2. 2905 Marc Burnett, 48, Lakeside, Calif., Can-Am X3, 13:27:20;
3. 2917 Jason Murray, 36, No. Tustin, Calif./Derek Murray, 39, Yorba Linda, Calif., Can-Am X3, 13:33:52;
4. 2971 Wayne Matlock, 41, Alpine, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 14:14:48;
5. 2904 Cory Sappington, 53, Peoria, Ariz./Scott Sappington, 54, Glendale, Ariz./Jason Flanders, 38, Phoenix/Dan Sprague, 42, Colorado/Ryan Johnson, 29, Tempe, Ariz., Can-Am Maverick X3 Max, 14:16:34;
6. 2918 Justin Lambert, 43, Bakersfield, Calif./Michael Alsup, 25, Bakersfield, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 15:03:34;
7. 2919 Brandon Schueler, 30, Phoenix/PatStone, 49, Payson, Ariz., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 15:10:40;
8. 2942 Casey Currie, 35, Norco, Calif./Aaron Quesada, 38, Riverside, Calif./Cody Currie, 32, Orange, Calif., Jeep, 15:12:35;
9. 2948 Matt Burroughs, 50, Norco, Calif./Dan Lewis, 54, Jurupa Valley, Calif./Cody Beeson, 33, San Clemente, Calif., Can-Am X3, 15:20:31;
10. 2910 Scott Trafton, 38, Alpine, Calif./Dave Price, 62, Alpine, Calif., Polaris RZR Turbo, 15:41:22;
11. 2927 Justin Smith, 48, Peoria, Ariz./Jeff Day, 47, Peoria, Ariz., Can-Am X3, 16:00:09;
12. 2912 Tony Riggs, 50, Newhall, Calif./Tim Dunbar, 38, Huntington Beach, Calif./David Clay, 36, St. George, Utah, Polaris RZR Turbo, 16:03:25;
13. 2946 Jose Juarez, 35, Chula Vista, Calif./Fernando Martin, 34, San Diego/Walter Chavez Jr, 21, San Diego/Jose Zuniga, 26, Tijuana, Mexico/Ricardo Canseco, 27, Chula Vista, Calif., Polaris RZR XP1000 Turbo, 17:15:23;
14. 2903 Juan Martinez, 40, Monterey, Mexico/Ryan Edwards, 32, Indio, Calif./Riley McGinnis, 20, Canyon Lake, Calif./Jose Cruz, 22, Chiapas, Mexico, Polaris RZR Turbo, 17:22:29
PRO UTV NA (two-seat Normally Aspirated, OEM engine UTVs)— (8 Starters, 4 Finishers)—
1. 1995 Kaden Wells, 20, St. George, Utah/Ivan Gutierrez, 33, San Felipe, Mexico/Travis Wells, 47, St. George, Utah/Rory L’Hommedieu, 36, Mesquite, Nev./Michael Wells, 33, Idaho Falls, Idaho/Corbin Wells, 21, St. George, Utah, Polaris RZR XP1000, 13:41:31 (35.42 mph);
2. 1954 Kristen Matlock, 38, Alpine, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 1000, 16:25:56;
3. 1985 Adrian Arellana, 34, Escondido, Calif./Daniel Gonzales, 25/Carl Sosa, 62, Polaris RZR XP1000, 17:10:51;
4. 1950 J.T. Holmes, 38, Reno, Nev./Bobby Kurylo, 33, Truckee, Calif./Lars Leckic, 45, San Francisco, Polaris RZR XP4 1000, 18:52:15
Photo by High Rev Photo