If there’s one sure-fire way to motivate a race team, it’s with cold hard cash. In this case, BFGoodrich, this year’s title sponsor of the 50th annual SCORE Baja 1000, is throwing down $50,000.
To up the ante in honor of the 50th anniversary, BFGoodrich is offering a contingency prize of $50,000 to the overall winning team, if they are riding exclusively on BFGoodrich tires.
It makes sense for the company to put its money where its mouth is. Rob MacCachren is seeking his 4th consecutive overall win in the Baja. This year, his trophy truck will ride on 40-inch BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR3 tires. If MacCachren wins overall, it will be the first time anyone has won the SCORE Baja 1000 overall in four consecutive years,
“Desert racing is in our DNA, and this race is of particular significance. In 1986 we had our first overall Baja 1000 win,” said Chris Baker, Motorsports Director, BFGoodrich and Michelin North America. “We increased the amount of the contingency prize from last year to show our teams how important the Baja 1000 is to us.”
This history began in 1975 when the company used the punishing Baja desert as a real-world research laboratory and proving grounds, testing what was then a new concept – a radial light truck tire good for on- and off-road use. Since then, BFG tires have carried drivers to Baja glory on 28 different occasions.
Teams competing on BFG rubber this year will rely on several products in multiple race classes, including the All-Terrain T/A KO2, the Mud-Terrain T/A KM2, Baja T/A KR, and Baja T/A KR2 and KR3, among other tires vying for overall and class titles.
Simply finishing the grueling Baja 1000 is a triumph for anyone. It’s as much a test of mental strength as it is a trial of mechanical endurance. Most have been prepping for the race since early this summer – building, testing, and pre-running the course. An extra fifty grand is a strong incentive from the event’s title sponsor.
This year, the epic race runs nearly the entire length of the Baja California peninsula, stretching more than a thousand miles from start to finish. We’ll have full coverage here on our website and across our social media channels, so stay tuned.