JCR Honda Wins 45th Baja 1000

After fending off numerous challenges from other motorcycle teams during the 45th running of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR) Honda team and their Honda CRF450X pulled out a decisive lead and sailed into La Paz to win the race with a margin of more than an hour, and lock up the 2012 SCORE 1X championship. It was a fitting tribute to Honda’s 50th Baja anniversary, stretching back to the inaugural ride from Tijuana to La Paz undertaken by Dave Ekins and Bill Robertson to promote Honda’s CL72 Scrambler in 1962.

After leading for more than 970 miles, the JCR team’s finishing time totaled 20:09:30 for an average speed of 55.64 mph. The success of JCR Honda team riders Colton Udall, Timmy Weigand and David Kamo extended the Honda win streak in the Baja 1000 to 16 consecutive victories and 23 overall motorcycle wins. Equally impressive, nine out of the top 10 finishing teams this year in the motorcycle division chose to ride a Honda CRF450X.

The toughness of this year’s Baja 1000 was evident at the finish line: Of the 298 starters only 174 teams finished the race. The JCR Honda CRF450X—prepped for the race by JCR’s Eric Siraton—worked flawlessly while racing over the brutal 1121-mile course.

“It was a very tough course,” said Udall. “The section through San Felipe was probably one of the gnarliest workouts I ever had in my life.”

“My stretches went by really fast,” said Kamo. “There were lots of cows and lots of cars and lots of people. Donkeys, horses, everything. Some were on the trail and some just stood there because we were going by so fast that they didn’t move. It couldn’t have gone any better.”

“We have three amazing teammates,” said Weigand, “and we have a great mentor in Johnny (Campbell) and a great bike in Honda. We’ve won this race before so we expected to do the same.”

“I am overwhelmed by the effort my pit crews put together to make this race run smoothly,” said Johnny Campbell. “JCR brings a small army of some of the most extraordinary people together to make a race like the Baja 1000 possible. I can’t thank them enough for their service and support. I am proud to have each one of them in the JCR family and look forward to many more adventures together. Thank you to the racers for their commitment to upholding this Honda legacy and our 16th Baja 1000 win in a row.”

About American Honda
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. was established in 1959 and is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and side-by-sides in the U.S. The American Honda Motorcycle Division is responsible for the sales, marketing, and operational activities for these products through authorized Honda dealers. For more information on Honda products, go to www.powersports.honda.com.

©2012 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.