KORE Dominates Class 8 at Baja 500
ENSENADA, MEXICO – The third race in the SCORE desert series was one of the most grueling in years. Torrential rains and severe earthquakes had turned the course into a battlefield of ruts, fallen boulders and bottomless silt beds.
Baja Race Preparation
After months of technical and logistical preparation, Team KORE established itself in Baja, ready to take on “The 500”. Adding to the tension was the fact that KORE had made numerous changes to the race truck – major suspension and steering modifications that had yet to be put to the ultimate test.
Prerace preparation was going smoothly. Then while prerunning the race course on his dirt bike, driver Kent Kroeker got a flat front tire, crashed and suffered a compound fracture of his right thumb.
“The 500 has been my nemesis for over ten years. In various classes I’ve won every other race. But in the 500 I’ve taken second place at least five times, but never won – all because of bad luck. A little pain never hurt anyone, but I was thinking that with the bone hanging out, if it got infected my race would be over before it started,” said Kroeker.
After changing his tire and riding to his support vehicle, chase crew members Chris “Mongo” Williams and John Scripps extracted Kroeker to San Diego where he underwent emergency surgery.
Baja 500 Race Day
Race day dawned hot and dry. A surprise heat wave brought 100 degree temperatures and no wind. “Heat is no problem – this is desert racing – but even a little wind helps increase visibility. We had no such luck,” said Kroeker’s navigator, Baja Design’s President, Alan Roach.
At 11am Kroeker launched the big Ram off the starting line. For 200 miles, Kroeker and Roach fought tremendous dust, stuck vehicles, rocks and loose terrain, bringing an undamaged race truck to Finnish WRC champion driver Harri Rovanperä and KORE navigator John Zambie. The Mopar 540 cubic inch Max Wedge roared off at full speed toward Mike’s Sky Rancho and into the night.
For the next 165 miles Rovanperä and Zambie made full use of 800 horsepower, 4.4 inch Fox bypass shocks, and no less than 14 Baja Designs HID lights, bringing Rodolfo Iribe and navigator Frank “Maximus” Martinek the big Ram in the physical lead by 12 miles.
“Being sideways in the air at triple digit speeds is interesting to say the least, but never once did I feel Harri was out of control. The guy can flat out drive,” said Zambie after the race. “I was having so much fun I didn’t want it to end.”
In Urapan, the KORE pit crew from NTG Racing put fresh Grabbers on the big Dodge, then Iribe and Martinek proceeded to tackle one of the most technical sections of the whole course. At one point a stuck race car blocked the trail, and Martinek, a Marine Corps combat veteran got out, pushed past the struggling drivers, then physically lifted the front of their car out of the way so Iribe could drive past.
For the Win
At the finish line Team KORE waited with nervous anticipation. Last year’s Baja 1000 was heartbreaking. Thirty miles from the finish, while in the lead, an obscure part broke costing KORE the win.
“Until the very end, anything can happen – the trans could blow, Mexican ambush, log jam, whatever. This is the gnarliest racing on earth and it ain’t over ‘till it’s over,” said Crew Chief, Mike Kerr.
After about an hour of nail-biting anticipation, Iribe and Martinek came around the final turn in a full-throttle power slide, getting the checkered flag and the win by almost 3 hours.
“This win was the culmination of months of effort from our employees and volunteers. Many thanks to General Tire, Baja Designs, Fox Racing Shocks and Greer Brothers Racing for their continued support,” said Kroeker at the finish line. “Winning the Baja 500 is the second best feeling in the world. Team KORE can’t wait for the Baja 1000.”
