SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1513396
A FIRST FOR SALVATIERRA The 1x Team Finishes The Season With A Huge Win By Dan Sanchez, Paul Hanson, Isaac Flores, Juan Gonzales, Ariana Medrano, and Guiherme Torres Photos by Get Some Photo “This was one of the hardest races in my career,” said Juan Carlos Salvatierra about winning the SCORE Pro Moto Unlimited class at the 56th SCORE Baja 1000. “It was incredible to win the most difficult and one of the longest SCORE Baja 1000 races in history.” After starting the season with a sixth place and fourth place finish in the first two races, the 1x team returned to win the SCORE Baja 400 and finished the season with a win at this special SCORE Baja 1000. The team members, including Diego Llanos from Argentina, Carter Klein, Corbin McPherson, and Shane Logan, were all experienced riders, but the long 1300-plus mile course was still a challenge. On top of a challenging course, the competition was also tough, including the 3x team of Ciaran Niran and the 7x team of legendary racer Mark Samuels—the odds were not in anyone’s favor. “We had a difficult time with the 3x and 7x teams who were running very close to us,” said Salvatierra. “We had a very eventful week with two of our riders getting injuries and another one getting sick. But we have lions in our team and Shane and Diego had to step up for us and take sections from other riders without pre-running them and did a wonderful job. I couldn’t do my section because I got injured on Friday, but the bike was flawless during the entire race. Outside of tire changes and regular maintenance things, we didn’t have to do anything on it.” The team finished the race with a corrected time of 26:34:17, with the 3x team only nine minutes behind them. “It feels really good to be at the finish, especially with this being the second-longest SCORE race ever,” added Salvatierra. “It’s great to think we made history here. We have never won a SCORE Baja 1000 in the Pro Moto Unlimited class, so this is a first and we’re very happy about it. I want to thank SCORE for such a great event, and SCORE Moto Liaison, Andy Kirker, who helped our category of racers to collect a $10K prize purse with some amazing sponsors, including Anube Sports, AHM Factory Services, Tacomoto, Stella, and Baja Bound.” SJ