Team SLR Honda is celebrating after the 52nd annual Baja 500 with a continued win streak as the No. 1x bike. Onboard the 2020 CRF450X, SLR Honda led the entire race, start to the finish, and was named the 1st place Pro Moto Unlimited Class winner on Saturday, September 26, 2020. Team riders: Mark Samuels, Justin Morgan, and Justin Jones strategically split up their sections to cover the grueling 491-mile course to finish the race in 9 hours and 39 minutes.
The race began at 3 am in San Felipe where Rider of Record, Mark Samuels, rolled the start and handed it off to team rider and three-time Baja champion, Justin Morgan to take the first long stint North. Averaging 50 mph and pulling a 9-minute lead on the 2nd place team, 66x, Morgan set the pace of the race.
Morgan handed off the bike to Mark Samuels at RM 236 in the lead. Samuels, who battled the rising sun and temperatures through San Felipe, pulled away and headed South through the brutal terrain of Baja. Reaching RM 397, the 1x team swapped riders and Justin Jones conquered the last two canyons to finally set out on the last stretch towards the finish line.
Justin Jones brought the 1x bike just South of San Felipe where Mark Samuels jumped back on to finish the race. With a twenty-minute lead, Samuels crossed the finish line in 1st place as the overall Pro Moto Unlimited class winner for the 2020 Baja 500.
ABOUT SLR HONDA
SLR Honda is a professional off-road race team owned by Mark Samuels and based out of Yucca Valley, California. With the sponsor support of Honda Powersports and Monster Energy, they will be competing in select desert races in the 2020 season. For more information on SLR Honda, please visit the website of www.slrhonda.com.
Presented by SLR Honda
Written by Makenna Sekeres
