SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1530871
A SOLO DRIVE TO VICTORY Brock Heger Is Back On Top By Mike Vieira Photos By Get Some Photo Brock Heger took home first place in the Pro UTV Open Class at the BFGoodrich Tires 57th SCORE Baja 1000, but amazingly also finished seventh overall in his Polaris RZR Pro R, behind six SCORE Trophy Trucks and one Trophy Truck Spec, all while driving the entire 864.13 mile race himself. The SCI Motorsports Factory Polaris team gave him the option of being behind the wheel for the whole distance, and Brock said, “It’s something I always wanted to do, so we just went for it. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but I felt confident that I could do it in a competitive way, and not just do it to say I’ve done it.” Ultimately, he was quite correct. With navigator Justin Wilson at his side, the team ran a nearly flawless race, never having to get out of the car for a repair, or flat tire. With a second place finish in the SCORE Baja 400, behind teammate Cayden MacCachren, Heger was already in a good position for starting the race. But when MacCachren opted to start at the back of the pack, it allowed Heger to start first in class. From the beginning, he quickly moved up through the classes ahead of him, steadily improving his overall position throughout the race. “Finishing seventh overall, I think, is going to show a lot of people what these Polaris RZRs are capable of,” he says. “I had six SCORE Trophy Trucks in front of me that all cost over a million dollars, one Spec truck that costs $700,000, and then it’s me in a Polaris RZR.” Not surprisingly, Heger says he enjoyed the course and had a lot of fun, particularly being able to run farther south along the coast than he was accustomed to, as well as racing through the San Felipe area at night, despite the dust being kicked up by the Trophy Trucks in front of him. Although like many racers, wasn’t prepared for the rain he encountered during the last 150 or so miles of the race, and says he was freezing during that last portion. Despite that, he was able to keep up the pace and cement that impressive position. “We were just doing our own thing out there, doing what the car wanted to do, the pace it wanted to do,” he said. “I was just going to keep on doing it. At some point the guys [on the team] started hinting to get me to slow down a little, but for me we were having fun, and the sooner I got to the finish, the sooner I’m done.” SJ