SCORE Baja 500: Leaverton Wins Pro UTV in Baja Debut
In a race so grueling that just finishing is a major accomplishment, Corbin Leaverton rode his Honda Talon outfitted with Maxxis tires not only through every bit of the SCORE Baja 500 course, but straight to victory in Pro UTV NA.
Leaverton’s accomplishment is all the more impressive in light of the fact that the race was his first SCORE Baja contest. The Honda Off-Road Factory athlete covered the 461.3-mile course in 11:56:41, with a fastest lap of 11:56:41.
His Honda teammate Ethan Eberth also had a fantastic weekend. After qualifying in first place – the youngest rider ever to do so – Eberth took second place in Trophy Truck 2WD with a total time of 9:38:35 and a fastest lap of 9:38:25.8. “This year’s Baja 500 was definitely one to remember!” he said. “We started off the race great with clean air and a good pace, we had some brake issues but nothing major to stop us, and when Gatlan and I got out at 135, we had put a 4-minute gap on 2nd in our class. Then continuing on through mikes, Richard drove a great section with minimal mistakes which is hard to do in a place like that, when we got the truck handed off to us again at Rm 308 the hood had been ripped off of the truck which wasn’t a big deal other than silt getting blasted into the cab. But we kept marching along. We fought our way through the dust and was able to retake the second spot.”
The next SCORE Baja race is the 400, scheduled for September 10-14. Maxxis congratulates Corbin Leaverton on his victory and Ethan Eberth on his outstanding performance.
