From a Front-Running Charge to a Fueling Disaster at the Baja 1000 💔

From the moment we rolled out in Ensenada, I knew this Baja 1000 had the ingredients to be special. Qualifying third with a time of 4:30.2, only three seconds from pole, put us in a strong position going into the race. Paul, Brent and I were confident. We had done our homework on the course and positioned the team so we could fight for the win.

At Race Mile 25 everything looked good and clear. By Race Mile 75 we were sitting third on course and a minute and 35 seconds up on fourth on corrected time. At Race Mile 80 I handed off the truck to Paul after a flawless driver change and watched him hit his stride. By Race Mile 135 Paul was hauling hard while Brent kept things calm and focused. His reminder of "we are not qualifying, still a long way to go" helped keep the pace in check.

By Race Mile 268 we were running third on course, the truck straight, and I was back in at night ready for the remaining miles.

At Race Mile 230 I was chipping away and was only 0.35 behind the leader on corrected time. The desert kept things unpredictable. At Race Mile 440 an unsafe release by the number one almost collected us in a speed zone.

By Race Mile 614 Alan Ampudia had light issues and Luke McMillin had suffered a driveshaft failure. At Race Mile 630 Tavo Viladosa rolled while running third on corrected times. At Race Mile 710 I passed Bryce on corrected times for the lead. At Race Mile 766 we were one minute and 39 seconds ahead and the Bulls were back in front. At Race Mile 777 we moved into the physical lead on course. Then came the nightmare.

At Race Mile 802 we ran out of fuel after being refuelled with the incorrect mount. Only 51 miles from the finish, we lost our shot.

Honestly, I am a little lost for words. We are all human and we make mistakes, and this one hurt. Paul did an incredible job getting the truck to us in the best possible condition. A small amount of rain helped the course open up and we were able to chase Bryce, which we did. We put more than a minute on him, but the Baja gods were not on our side this time. I am gutted for our team, partners and supporters. We have been down here for a month putting in the work and being away from our families, and for it to end this way is not what we wanted. We are safe and healthy and ready for the next adventure.