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It’s official! A Polaris RANGER is the first utility vehicle to win the UTV class at a SCORE International event.
A Polaris RANGER piloted by Polaris Regional Sales Manager Matt Parks made history on March 10, 2007, when it crossed the finish line of the Tecate SCORE Baja 250 in 6 hours, 59 minutes and 20 seconds, a full 51 minutes ahead of the next UTV class finisher.
“It was a great feeling being the first UTV finisher in the Baja record book,” said Parks. “Our strategy was to race the course more than racing the other vehicles, and the RANGER did the rest by running flawlessly with no breakdowns.”
ONLY TWO UTVs COMPLETE RACE
Five utility vehicles began the race in the UTV class and only two finished. The race ran on a demanding 216.2-mile course throughout Baja California, from Ensenada to Santo Tomas. The RANGER’s average speed was 30.9 mph.
Parks started 439th out of a total of 440 entrants and along with finishing first in class, he passed enough vehicles to finish 122nd overall.
The RANGER race team consisted of Parks and Eric Anderson as drivers, with Ken Kilgore and Travis Wuertz as co-drivers.
RANGER MODIFIED SLIGHTLY FOR DESERT COURSE
The modified, Baja-winning RANGER was closer to stock than most of the utility vehicles running the UTV class. Modifications to the RANGER included a high-volume air cleaner (to cope with the dusty desert conditions), and an FMF pipe and clutch package for additional horsepower and higher speeds.
The suspension was fairly close to stock with the exception of chromoly front control arms and new shocks built by Walker Evans Racing to handle the extreme conditions encountered in Baja races.
Parks’ RANGER ran OMF/Douglas wheels with bead locks and Maxxis Bighorn tires with Slime to prevent flats. Other modifications include a 4130 chromoly cage (mandated by SCORE), race seats with 5-point harnesses, 15-gallon fuel cell, in-dash GPS, race radio/communication system, five HID lights and a fresh air system.
Parks plans to race the Baja 500 in Ensenada, Mexico, with the RANGER in June.
www.score-international.com
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