SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1490770
A NEW BIKE FOR THE BAJA 1000 "We prepped a new bike specifically for this race," said Montoya. "We didn't want any issues and spent a lot of time testing and pre-running. Most of our riders were in Baja two weeks before the race just to get comfortable with the course." Montoya still had a strong lead in points, but he knew he had to focus on the championship with minimum mistakes. "Two weeks before the race, one of my riders got into a crash and we had to replace him with a new rider." For Montoya, being smart on the course was paramount. But at mile marker 160, fuel problems developed again, and to make matters worse, they were in the middle of nowhere when it happened. "We lost our first place position and unfortunately, the new fuel pump went out again at night and we lost close to five hours of time for repairs," he said. Fortunately for Montoya, he had a comfortable points lead. The Smith and Bardonnex team each did not compete in one of the races this season, disqualifying them for a chance towards the class championship. "For us, we wanted to win, but finishing on the podium would give us the points needed to claim the championship," he said. As it turned out, Darrel Collins on No. 301x Husqvarna FE501S came out of nowhere to take first place in Pro Moto 30. Montoya's 325x team would settle for second place and ended the season with a considerable margin over the rest of the competitors in class. "I told my wife that I was going to retire if I won the class championship," Montoya said. "Then when I got back home, I said I had to go back in 2023 to defend the title. She just laughed."SJ JANO MONTOYA: PRO MOTO 30 CLASS CHAMPION SCORE JOURNAL 75