"It was really good conditions,"
said Morgan. "I was expecting more
mud but it was really good in the
desert. I would never have thought I
would have eight wins. We lost a lot
of races to learn how to win them,
so it is finally paying off!"
Morgan shared the duties of
placing the 1x Honda CRF450X
on top of the podium with Shane
Esposito, Max Eddy Jr and David
Kamo. The team started first
and remained in the physical
lead throughout the 800-mile
race, fending off the advances
of Mexico's KTM-mounted 66x
team, headed by Santiago Creel.
The 1x team finished in 17 hours,
34 minutes, 28 seconds.
The team was originally slated
to include SLR team owner Mark
Samuels, but the their plans were
thwarted seven weeks prior to the
race when Samuels had a serious
crash at Glen Helen that resulted
in two broken femurs. "After I got
hurt, I had to go back to the draw-
ing board and figure out what to
do," said Samu-
els. "I was pretty
stressed, but I
was fortunate
to line up some
riders with a ton
of experience in
Baja and they all
rode flawlessly.
It was kind of
different being
on the sidelines
for this one,
but it was also
pretty special to sit back and be
the manager and watch our guys
perform."
The Creel teams ended sec-
ond in Pro Moto Unlimited, top-
ping the Pro Moto Limited class
and finishing second in Pro Moto
30. The Pro Moto 30 crown went
to the Honda CRF450X-mounted
team of Francisco Septien from
Ensenada, Mexico. In the Pro
Moto 40 division Jason Trubey
of Henderson, Nevada led his
team to victory aboard the 444x
Husqvarna FE 501 while Jeff
Kaplan of Thousand Oaks, Cali-
fornia headed the Pro Moto 50
class victory. The Pro Moto Iron-
man win went to Arthur Babcock
of Las Vegas, Nevada, the Honda
rider besting the field of 15 solo
riders to finish in 23:14:13.
Toby Price was among the
notable motorcycle racers to
contest the SCORE Baja 1000,
though it wasn't on a motorcycle.
Price teamed up with Nasser
Al-Attiyah of Qatar in a Red Bull
Ford Trophy Truck. The "Dakar
Duo" drove a blistering average
of 48.96 mph to finish second
overall, finishing only behind
the Ampudia brothers, Alan and
Aaron, who overalled the race in
16:10:36 driving the Monster En-
ergy Papas & Beer Ford Raptor.
Ten-time Baja 1000 Motor-
cycle Champion Larry Roeseler
teamed up with Luke McMillin
to also end up on the overall
podium in third. CN
Mark Samuels and his SLR Honda team celebrate
on the overall podium in Ensenada.
Toby Price teamed up
with Nasser Al-Attiyah
to finish second overall
in a Trophy Truck.
PHOTO: ART EUGENIO/RED BULL
VOLUME 56 ISSUE 47 NOVEMBER 26, 2019 P33
