FOX-equipped vehicles swept several classes and took overall victory at the recent SCORE Baja 1000, cementing the manufacturer’s dominance in the toughest and longest continuously-held desert race in the world.

Luke McMillin and co-driver Larry Roeseler piloted their No. 83 vehicle to first overall and first in the Trophy Truck class, with FOX athletes claiming 15 of the top 25 relevant classes.

“This year’s race will be marked as one of the toughest loop courses ever and we’re proud to say that FOX shocks held up to the abuse, taking home wins in nearly all classes,” FOX’s new Director of Motorsports Bobby Smith said. “With nearly half the field failing to finish, the victorious FOX drivers are a testament to the performance and durability baked into our technology. Consumers can feel good about the fact that this translates into the products they get to drive on or off-road. Congratulations and thank you to all racers that choose FOX in their pursuit to conquer the brutal Baja desert and rise to the top of the podium. 

“A special congratulations to Luke McMillin on earning his first Baja 1000 overall win along with his teammate and Baja legend, Larry Roeseler,” Smith added. “It was only a matter of time before he finally achieved that goal, and we are honored that he chose FOX to help get him there.” 

The Event

Many of the world’s best desert racers flexed their muscles at this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 53rd SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, which started and finished in Ensenada, Baja California Nov. 22. One hundred eighty-five vehicles toed the start line, with racers from nearly 30 U.S. States and 15 countries. By the end, just 99 racers finished.    

The Course

This year’s SCORE Baja 1000 was a loop race of 898.40 miles in the northern state of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. The distance was a race-record for a SCORE Baja loop race. It started for the 46th time and finish for the 27th time in Ensenada, a coastal city on the Bahia de Todos Santos area of the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of the U.S. border at San Diego. 

“It was a great day,” McMillin said at the finish line. “Larry did an amazing job; he just kept it in line and had no downtime, which is exactly what you need to do in the first half of the SCORE Baja 1000. He brought me a clean truck; we were third and were right up there with the top leaders when I got in. We got some gnarly silt and some tough bumps out there. It’s hard to pick up your pace in a 1,000-mile race and don’t beat up the truck too much, so we tried to be strategic on that. It was a tough course, but a great course.” McMillin drove the second 430-mile leg to the checkered for a finishing time of 19 hours 10 minutes 24 seconds.

The Results

• FOX drivers claimed eight of the top 10 4-wheeled vehicles, including a sweep of the top 4 in the premier SCORE Trophy Truck class:
  • 1^st – Luke McMillin & Larry Roeseler 
  • 2^nd – Rob MacCachren & Josh Daniel
  • 3^rd – Bryce Menzies & Andy McMillin
  • 4^th – Cameron Steele & Bobby Pecoy
• FOX also swept the top 5 positions in in Class 1 with Cody Parkhouse taking the win, while Jimco Racing Inc. CEO Robbie Pierce claimed victory in the SCORE TT Legends class;
• In Trophy Truck spec, Dan Fresh and Jeff Bader finished first in class and 7^th overall along with FOX Motorsports Tuner Mike Kim and Service Technician Erick Rivera as navigators; 
• FOX-equipped UTV’s swept all four UTV classes, took the top 5 in the Forced Induction class, the top 4 in the Naturally Aspirated class, and claimed the top 10 positions of all UTV classes combined:
  • Pro UTV FI & UTV overall winner – Wes Miller 
  • Pro UTV NA winner – Francisco Arredondo 
  • Pro UTV Unlimited winner – Eliott Watson 
  • Pro Stock UTV winner – Carolina Sanchez
• In total, FOX-equipped vehicles claimed 15 class wins and 26 podium positions across all 25 4-wheel-vehicle classes.

Additionally, three FOX UTV drivers soloed the entire race (Adrian Orellana, Marc Burnett and Kristen Matlock), in the car for over 26 hours or more. Good suspension definitely helps and prevents driver fatigue.

​The race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on the ABC TV Network’s World of X Games programming. First airing is set for Jan. 3, 2021 on ESPN2. It is being produced by SCORE in association with award-winning BCII TV of Los Angeles. Announcer is Hall of Fame racer and FOX athlete Cameron Steele. Complete SCORE Baja 1000 race results here.

Link: Fox