View Full Version : HONDA RINCON WINS BAJA 1000!?!?
AZBanshee
01/24/03, 7:51 AM
I just saw this in Dirt Wheels Mag yesterday. Here's a link: http://www.dirtwheelsmag.com/detail.asp?id=189
Pretty damn impressive I'd say! A modififed Sport-Ute beats all the other Quad entries. I'm gettin one! Well, maybe in about 20 years...
Eric
***It's DUNE Season, Join the ASA, it's FREE!!!***
HardHeadedWoman
01/24/03, 10:37 AM
Hey, Kyle, look at this!
Don't follow David. There must be an easier way![:0];):D
Smile, your face might freeze like that!
El Gato
01/24/03, 12:53 PM
I had heard something about this before. I wonder what they did to that thing to make it race worthy.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
kford131
01/24/03, 5:25 PM
quote:Originally posted by El-Gato
I had heard something about this before. I wonder what they did to that thing to make it race worthy.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
HA HA...
Gas plus Rider plus RINCON = 1st place.
Seriously though, as i understand it, they removed the front wheel drive stuff since they werent going to use it. any other mods, i am not aware of.
"The Rincons were clocked at 72 mph and looked unstoppable as they hammered through the rough-rocky terrain." http://atvscene.com/race-reports/other/baja-1000-02.htm
And isnt it crazy, number 2 was on a honda 400ex.
Kyle
Have quad(s), will travel.
2003 Rincon
2002 Rancher
From what I read the Rincon also placed third too. They were positioned for a 1,2 finish but a small incident lead to a Rincon, 400EX, Rincon finish. Not bad huh?
RidingArizona.com
Webmaster - :)
The 1st place Rincon was actually docked 4 positions to 5th place for cutting the course. The 3rd place Rincon, ridden by Doug Eichner and John Gregory, was leading the race by a huge margin. Doug broke a tie rod near the end of the race and opted to limp it to the finish instead of waiting for the chase truck to catch up to him. They moved up to second after the 5a Rincon team was penalized. 1st was the Nelson team on a 400ex I believe.
Some cool pics and stories on the race at- http://atvscene.com/race-reports/other/baja-1000-02.htm
CT has the info of the penalty to the 5a Rincon on te CTracing.com site, but I can't access it right now.
Jeff Henson
CT310 TRX250R
Whiplash #21
BITD #Q70
I hate it when people cheat by cutting across the course....
2003 suzuki z400
I have no limitations, only my quad has limitations......
OK, here's what CT Racing's team had to say about the race-
Baja 1000
Team CT racing just completed the Baja 1000. Jimmy Stephensen, Cain Smead, and Mike Caffro set an easy pace early in the race. With two wins in the previous two races (San Felipe and Baja 500) we needed a good finish to win the Score Championship. Our strategy was to let the race come to us. By check 2 we had moved to second and were just keeping a good pace with Mike at the controls. Cain jumped on at about 350 mile mark, just as it began to get dark. Cain lost the 2 main headlights and was down to the backup. Cain stopped at a Honda pit and asked for some bulbs, they had him wait for a few minutes and then told him they had none. Cain set off on coarse and two miles later lost the backup. He rode back to the Honda pit in the dark with no light at all. Team Honda decided to cough a couple of bulbs. Total time lost over an hour. Jimmy got controls at about midnight. About 20 miles into the run he lost all lights. Kevin Avina in one of the three chase trucks was able too run him down and swap light racks and send Jimmy off to the finish. Other than light problems the quad was never wrenched on just air filters and fuel. We had zero flats running Maxis Razor's. Our finish position was fourth.
The 5a Honda Rincon team was Docked 4 positions moving them back too fifth for cutting the course. They admitted to us that they had cut the course after the DQ, but Honda politics was able to get them re-instated as the winner. The Rincon's were absolutely not stock as Honda is claiming.
Jeff Henson
CT310 TRX250R
Whiplash #21
BITD #Q70
Phil Brooks
01/26/03, 1:24 AM
All right Jeff! PRO # 21 now! Way to Go!:D Phil # 611
Honda's Crash Test Dummies
congrats jeff on going pro.... now I have something an ambition to go after....
2003 suzuki z400
I have no limitations, only my quad has limitations......
Thanks guys!
I'll probably get my butt kicked, but I miss some of my old pals that I use to race with in ATV1. I'm NOT going for points this year, so might as well try to win a little money back at the events I like to race.
BITD Pro racers Mike Johnson and Jason Rayburn are also coming out from SanDiego to race this weekend. Mike will be racing his TRX650EX (XR650 motor).
Zhvonte- After the race, I want to hear how your first desert race went. I'll be including your comments in the ATV race article in Southwest Offroad News.
Jeff Henson
CT310 TRX250R
Whiplash #21
BITD #Q70
quote:Originally posted by Zhvonte
I hate it when people cheat by cutting across the course....
Thats the Baja for you. They open the track weeks ahead of time so you can "prerun" for safety porpuses, everybody looks for cheat lines. You should see all the tracks out through the desert. We were running 3rd overall in the 2001 Baja-500 I had a real remote woods section that had a little rain during the night. At some points there were 3 tracks showing on the road, sometimes 2 and sometimes none in front of me. I actually stopped once and looked around because I thought I was lost. I could actually see where the tracks would emerge from a side trail or road and get back on the marked course.
I always wondered how team Honda always wins by so much, now I know.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
AZBanshee
01/27/03, 7:28 AM
Well that just sucks. I guess at least the other Honda's did really well, still amazing that 500+ pound quad can do the Baja.
I think I also read that a Honda 650thumper bike was the first thing to cross the finish line.
Eric
***It's DUNE Season, Join the ASA, it's FREE!!!***
I've said it before in other posts that poeple think of the Baja as nothing more than wide open graded dirt roads and dry lake beds. There is a lot of that, but there is probably more rough rocky and technical sections. I am sure the Honda guys were pushing hard there to try and build a lead so that they would have a little bit of cushion on the faster stuff.
David Gronlund,
Ride for fun, race to win.
quote:[i]
Zhvonte- After the race, I want to hear how your first desert race went. I'll be including your comments in the ATV race article in Southwest Offroad News.
Jeff Henson
CT310 TRX250R
Whiplash #21
BITD #Q70
jeff, cool deal, will definitely try to look for you out at the race.... so you know, I have a yellow quad (a million of those out there). I drive a 2002 frontier extended cab 4wd (desert brown color) with a customize az plate "mt dew". If I dont have to work a few hours in the morning, I am planning on getting out there around 7am.
2003 suzuki z400
I have no limitations, only my quad has limitations......