The Honda Off-Road Racing Team returned to Baja California, but now competing for the overall race win in the premier Trophy Truck category in last weekend’s 56th running of the BF Goodrich SCORE Baja 1000.
“We moved up to the premier class as it was time for our team to compete against the very best in Off-Road racing,” Jeff Proctor, team owner of Honda Off-Road Racing Team, said. “Our time competing in Class 7 ran its course and we want to showcase the capability of the Honda V6 Twin Turbo powertrain and Baja Ridgeline against all of the other V8s in the Trophy Truck class. The attention and eyes on us in TT are much greater from a marketing perspective than in Class 7. We welcome the new challenges that come from competing in the premier class of the sport.”
At the end of more than 1,300 miles of racing the length of the Baja peninsula, starting and finishing driver Ethan Ebert brought the new Honda Baja Ridgeline home 11th in a field of 22 Trophy Trucks and 323 total entries.
“You know, Baja’s so tough. Every year, it throws a different challenge at us, and this year was no different,” Proctor said. “This is a brand new Honda Ridgeline truck, and things started out pretty well, but then we started fighting a couple different gremlins that scaled back our pace. But all in all, the team fought hard all day and all night long.”
“A lot of times, victory at Baja is just being here at the finish line. Any time you can get to the finish of a ‘peninsula run’ [from La Paz to Ensenada] it’s a huge success. I’m just thankful for everyone on this Honda Ridgeline program to get to the finish line after 1,300 miles. It’s not the result we wanted, we were aiming for a top-10 finish, but there are a lot of improvements to come from this Trophy Truck. We’re looking forward to proving what this platform can accomplish against the best trucks in the world.”
The Baja Ridgeline was unique in the category as the only turbocharged V6 entry in Trophy Truck, with the rest of the field powered by large displacement, normally aspirated V8s. At just 17, Ebert was the youngest driver in the Trophy Truck field and headed a four-driver Baja Ridgeline lineup that included Richard Glasczak, Chip Prescott and Bobby Smith.
“Things went well for us, but Baja obviously has its ups and downs and this SCORE Baja 1000 was 1,300 miles, so there was a lot to go,” Ebert said. “This Honda Ridgeline proved its worth. We couldn’t have asked for a better truck, especially in the San Felipe section, which is all whoops. Nothing ever really went wrong [during his driving stints]. We just stuck to the plan and got to the finish. Anytime you can finish a SCORE Baja race, it just feels so good. It feels amazing and it can’t get much better than that here.”
Prior to running for the overall victory this year in the premier Trophy Truck category, the Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck had four previous Class 7 wins (for V6-powered trucks) in the Baja 1000 and five class wins in the Baja 500. In addition to the nine class victories, the Ridgeline also twice finished second in the Baja 1000, and third once in the ‘500’. The Honda Off-Road Racing program began in 2015 with a class win in the Baja 1000. The Honda Baja Ridgeline has gone on to record 17 class victories in 38 races. For more information on the Honda Off-Road Racing team and its schedule next year, be sure to visit their website.
