Bilstein-sponsored racers finished strong at the 56th annual Baja 1000 off-road racing event. Justin Park and team finished first in Class 7F and in overall championship points, and were the only team in their class to finish the race. The international off-road competition traversed approximately 1,300 miles over the course of the race, which was from November 13th to 18th.
Park started and drove to race mile 289 in their Ford Ranger using B8 9200 external bypass and B8 9200 coilover shocks from Bilstein. Teammates Cole Andrews, Jeff Tiglio and Eduardo “Pako” Martinez drove in intervals to race mile 1,200, and Park took over at race mile 1,200 to the finish line. He said when things started to heat up — literally — he got nervous.
“It was hot outside and I knew what was coming with such a long race. The final section was tough,” Park said. “We knew we could end the whole race there if we missed a corner at that point. Every section of the race was amazing; the people were so happy and the scene was just incredible.”
Despite not being able to move out of second gear because of slippery terrain, Park and his team held on and finished with a time of 40 hours and 37 minutes.
Fifteen teams started the Pro UTV Open race, but only 10 of them made it across the finish line. Doug Mittag’s team was one of them, finishing in 10th with a time of 34 hours and 33 minutes in their Polaris RZR Pro R using Black Hawk 9300 Powersports Bilstein shocks. The team also comprised Kyle Ahrensberg, Keegan Kincaid and Rick Johnson.
Eric Solarzano finished the season in second in overall points in Class 11 using Bilstein’s B8 7100 shocks. For more information on Bilstein, be sure to visit their website.
