Radar Tires and Bronson Motorsports win Baja 500 Class 10

Radar Tires and Bronson Motorsports dominated the 46th Annual Tecate SCORE International Baja 500 on Saturday, June 7, en route to a second consecutive Class 10 Baja 500 win. One year ago lead racer Mike Johnson won the Baja 500 event in a solo effort.

The victory marks the second SCORE International win for Radar Tires in 2014; Robinson Romo Racing won the season opening San Felipe 250. This is also the fourth SCORE International Class 10 podium for Bronson Motorsports and fifth SCORE Class 10 podium for Radar Tires over the past two seasons.
 
Mike Majesky started the event in the No. 1031 Radar Tires Buggy from the second spot on the Class 10 grid. Majeksy drove for the first 165 miles before the scheduled driver change to Johnson. At the time of the driver change, the Bronson Motorsports team had a 20 minute lead on the Class 10 field.
 
“We started second and just took off,” said Majesky. “The course was rough in spots and silty in others, and it took plenty of effort to get us to the front but it was well worth it. Coming off that second place in the Imperial Valley 250, we wanted to win here at the 500 and we did it. Bronson Motorsports put together an amazing buggy and those Radar Tires just ripped through the desert terrain, no matter what was in front of us.”
 
Johnson continued to increase the lead during his stint and crossed the finish line by more than 30 minutes ahead of the second place team.

 “This is amazing,” exclaimed Johnson at the finish line. “Thanks to everyone involved in helping achieve back-to-back Baja 500 wins!  Last year was a personal achievement for me to win the race on a solo run. Victory is sweet, but it is even more satisfying to experience it with Mike and the entire Bronson Motorsports team. Thank you Hoffy, Moe, Daniel, Gary and everyone at Bronson Motorsports and Radar Tires for your support. Mike finished his stint with a big lead and I had trouble getting into a rhythm initially, but once the nerves settled down, everything clicked and it was just gas and go!”
 
The Bronson Motorsports team used special non-DOT size 33X10.50R15 Radar Renegade R5 race tires for this weekend’s event that took place on Mexico’s Baja California Norte. The start/finish line was set in Ensenada, Mexico, a seaside port on the Pacific Ocean that is approximately 80 miles south of San Diego.
 
The annual 500-mile event traversed through high-speed dirt trails, sand, rocks, silt, natural terrain, washes and canyons, and included elevation changes from sea level to more than 4,000 feet above sea level. The course covered some new terrain this year and ran in a counter-clockwise direction.
 
The Radar Tires-sponsored team experienced no tire punctures but did change the rear tires at the scheduled driver change pit stop. Bronson Motorsports tire expert David Mauhili reported that the tire wear was very good and met the expectations of the team.
 
“Congratulations to Mike Johnson and Mike Majesky for winning at the SCORE Baja 500 and earning back-to-back Class 10 wins in this event,” said G.S. Sareen, President and Founder of Omni United, the parent company of Radar Tires. “We are thrilled to have the Radar Tires name on the side of the buggy and our tires carrying the team to victory for the second consecutive year. We are proud of our long course off-road racing program and are primed for the final two rounds of competition this year.”
 
The Robinson Romo Racing buggy of Cody Robinson and Roberto Romo had a difficult Baja 500.  Romo started the No. 1016 Robinson Farms/Romo Race Prep Buggy from 11th position but was involved in an accident early in the event. They were unable to compete the distance due to the damage that the new Alumi Craft buggy suffered.
 
“It’s a pity that the Robinson Romo Racing team were unable to finish the race, especially since they were the Class 10 points leaders going into this event,” said Scott Rhodes, Vice President of Sales for Omni United North America. “They have demonstrated that they have the pace in the two prior races this year. We were hoping for a 1-2 result for Radar Tires but that just wasn’t in the cards today.”
 
Next up for Radar Tires in long course off road racing is the Inaugural SCORE Desert Challenge on Sept. 25-28 in Southern California.