2024 Baja 1000 Coverage

Heger enjoying the beaches of Baja.

Polaris Factory Racing’s Brock Heger delivered a historic performance, going solo behind the wheel of his Polaris RZR Pro R Factory and dominating the field this past weekend at the 57th running of the prestigious SCORE Baja 1000.

Heger’s first Baja 1000 victory was made all the more impressive by not only dominating the entire UTV field, but finishing seventh amongst all four-wheeled vehicles, including the elite Trophy Truck classes – the highest finish by a UTV since the UTV classes were introduced to the race in 2007. Heger’s victory secured the necessary points to come from behind and clinch the 2024 SCORE UTV Pro Open Class Series Championship for the second consecutive year. Heger won the race by 45 minutes over Polaris-supported racer Branden Sims, who finished second in a race-modified Polaris RZR Pro R. This Baja 1000 triumph capped off a second consecutive undefeated season for Polaris Factory Racing, with UTV overall wins at all four SCORE series events, and marked Polaris’ third straight Baja 1000 victory.

“After a pretty rough run at the first three events this season, I entered this final race with nothing to lose and a hell of a lot to gain, and it felt like the best move was to take matters into my own hands and run the entire race on my own,” said Heger. “To win my first Baja 1000 and turn my entire season around in such a dramatic fashion is pretty special, but it comes with a ton of mixed feelings. I feel terrible for Cayden. He’s been spectacular this entire season, and to have it all slip away so close to the finish is absolutely terrible. I’m incredibly grateful to the entire RZR Factory Racing team, our dedicated support crew and everyone back at Polaris engineering who work tirelessly to make the RZR Pro R Factory the most dominant UTV in the sport and put me in the best position to win at every race.”

Heger owned the race from start to finish, leading nearly every mile of the grueling 864.13-mile course. The race began just outside of Ensenada, where Heger quickly surged to the front, establishing a strong pace early. By mile 77, he held the lead, followed by teammates Cayden MacCachren in 6th. It’s worth noting that MacCachren had opted to start at the back of the field, making his impressive climb through the ranks all the more notable. Heger and MacCachren continued to impress, with Heger still leading by mile 167 while MacCachren advanced to third. Heger’s RZR Pro R Factory showcased its unmatched combination of power, strength and control, performing flawlessly throughout the unrelenting Baja terrain.

As the race approached mile marker 211, Heger extended his lead to four minutes, while MacCachren slipped back to fifth. Near the halfway point, Heger remained the first UTV, skillfully extending his lead after briefly getting stuck in a bottleneck. By this stage, he had climbed to an impressive 13th overall among all four-wheel vehicles, with his RZR Pro R Factory continuing to deliver exceptional performance across the punishing desert landscape.

During the second half of the race, Heger continued to dominate while MacCachren sliced and diced through the field, working his way into second and closing the gap by mile 720. Over the final 100 miles, Heger never relented, powering ahead to secure the UTV Overall and UTV Pro Open class victory. Unfortunately, with only 78 miles remaining, MacCachren’s race ended in heartbreaking fashion, as unforeseen challenges forced him to retire, dashing his hopes for the championship.

“Another incredible season for Polaris Factory Racing is in the books, and going undefeated again in the SCORE series, capped off with another prestigious Baja 1000 win and the UTV Pro Open Championship, is nothing short of extraordinary,” said Alex Scheuerell, Polaris Factory Racing Technical Director. “It’s kind of appropriate that we currently have a ‘Tough Doesn’t Quit’ marketing campaign, because that is exactly what Brock demonstrated with his incredible performance. The toughness, grit and determination that he showcased today – not only racing the 864 miles on his own, but absolutely dominating the field, is remarkable. This victory, and the entire season, highlight the strength of our Polaris Factory Racing program, the expertise and dedication of our design and engineering teams and the incredible capabilities of the RZR Pro R platform.”

Pro UTV Normally Aspirated Class

Honda teams enjoyed remarkable success in the 57th SCORE International Baja 1000 this weekend as well, highlighted by SLR Honda taking their sixth win in the Pro Moto Unlimited class, and Honda Talon Factory Racing earning victory in the Pro UTV Normally Aspirated division. This year’s grueling course for the legendary off-road event started and finished in Ensenada, with a 864-mile counter-clockwise loop circling the northern half of the Baja Peninsula.

The SLR squad’s first win came back in 2018, and it was followed by four more in a row, before last year saw them taken out by a hard crash while fighting for the lead. This year’s lineup of Justin Morgan, Tyler Lynn, Brandon Prieto and Ryan Surratt was not to be denied. Lynn was the first rider off the start at 1 a.m. on Friday, and he built a 14-minute lead before Prieto took over 260 miles later. His 200-mile section was relatively smooth apart from some wire becoming tangled in his front wheel, but the team was able to remove it at the next pit. Despite the delay, the lead was 17 minutes when the bike was taken by veteran Morgan (competing in his final Baja 1000 as a motorcycle racer), who added another 10 minutes to the lead during his 260-mile San Felipe section. Surratt continued the dominance until Lynn took over again for the final 80 miles, finishing with a total time of 17 hours, 52 minutes, 33.799 seconds later, nearly an hour ahead of the second-place team (Arturo Salas, Carter Klein and Ciaran Naran, also Honda-mounted). It marked Honda’s record 33rd Baja 1000 overall motorcycle win and the 17th for the CRF450X—the winningest vehicle in the history of the race. It marked the seventh time that Morgan has been on a winning team, but it was just the second for Prieto and the first for Lynn and Surratt.

“After what happened last year, it was a little nerve-wracking coming into it this year, but it felt really good to have a really smooth race, like normal,” said SLR owner Mark Samuels. “This was my first time not racing on the team, and it was cool to just focus on managing things and watch the next wave of the sport coming in. It was nice to have everything come to fruition.”

Comprised of drivers Michael McFayden and Zach Sizelove, along with codrivers Saydiie Grey and Jimmy Sizelove, the Honda Talon Factory Racing squad campaigned a Talon 1000R in the event. The sun was out by the time McFayden left the start as the fifth vehicle in the class, and he was in the physical lead by mile 50. Sizelove drove through the night in the middle section, and McFayden took the final stint to the finish, notching a winning time of 22 hours, 25 minutes, 3.611 seconds that was one hour, 21 minutes faster than the second-place team. Finishing third was the David Pedder-piloted, Raceco USA-prepared Talon of the Pedder Racing Team, which earned the series championship.

“The race actually went really well,” said Honda Talon Factory Racing team owner Jeff Proctor. “We put a lot of energy into logistics and planning for these endurance races, but it’s not often that it all goes according to plan. We’re always pivoting on the fly, but this was one of those races where it went really smoothly. Michael got up front and did a great job of clicking off the miles and preserving the lead, and Zack did awesome as well. He has a lot of experience in Baja, but it was good to see him get his first win. Overall, there wasn’t a lot of drama, and that’s what it takes to win.”

“On behalf of American Honda, a big congratulations and thank-you to SLR Honda, Honda Off-Road Factory Racing,” said Brandon Wilson, Manager of Racing and Advertising at American Honda. “Baja is a huge part of Honda’s heritage, and for good reason: the race is so demanding that winning requires reliable vehicles and talented, intelligent riders and drivers. The success that Honda has enjoyed in Baja over the decades—and that these two teams have achieved this year—shows that Honda products are up to the task, and we greatly appreciate their efforts.”SC

Other classes to be won by Honda-mounted teams included Pro Moto Limited (with lead rider Jose Armondo Ortiz Garcia); Pro Moto 30 (Ryan Liebelt); and Sportsman Moto (Ernesto Sosa).