Alpine, CA (6/10/2016) -
Married couple, Kristen and Wayne
Matlock, both celebrated on the SCORE Baja
500 podium as Wayne #2971 won the Pro Turbo
UTV class and took 1st Overall UTV and Kristen
#1954 finished third in the Pro UTV class
and made history as the first female UTV racer
to “Ironwoman” the race held in the desert
outside Ensenada, Mexico. Polaris’ Wayne Matlock
continues his perfect streak in the SCORE
Baja competition, winning his fourth race
in four starts, which is another history making
accomplishment.
Wayne Matlock backed up his victory in the
2015 edition of the Baja 500 with a win this
year. He has also scored victories in the
Imperial Valley 250 and the Baja 1000.
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Terabbit
Racing's Wayne Matlock made history
with his 4th straight SCORE Win in as
many races by claiming the BAJA 500
Win |
“It’s an awesome accomplishment,” said Matlock.
“It’s more of a testament to the team we’ve
built and our sponsors, than just me as a
driver. There is a lot more that goes into
this than just driving.”
Matlock’s Terabbit Racing team had a plan
going into the event: run with the pace early
and run hard for the last 100 miles if a tight
race developed. Their best-laid plans came
to fruition. Although Matlock’s Polaris RZR
was stuck in a bottleneck early, he consistently
climbed through the field. He struck at mile
340 when Matlock beat the leader out of the
pits and then crossed the finish line by over
five minutes in front of him to overcome the
time differential.
“We got out of our pit just before the leader,”
said Matlock. “They were 20 feet off my bumper.
From there on I did my best because I had
to put four minutes on him to win. It was
either win or break at that point. I just
drove as hard as I could.”
Race record high temperatures nearly sidelined
his efforts. “This was the hottest race I’ve
ever done for that length of distance,” said
Matlock. “Going down through San Felipe the
heat caused our car to go into limp mode due
to the heat. It just wasn’t cooling enough,
so we took our water bottles and dumped them
on the radiator to get it out of limp mode.
One of the things that helped us is micropolishing
and cryotreating all of our internal parts.
That really helps to keep the temperatures
down in our transmission, motor, and differentials.“
Matlock came into the race with a lot of
pressure to win. However, without the additional
stress of running for a championship, Matlock
was free to run as hard as he wanted to try
to win.
“Because of our history, we’re expected to
win,” said Matlock. “We were really excited
to win this race and to back up the 500 from
last year. I like that I don’t have the pressure
of winning a championship. My focus is on
winning the race at all costs…not saving the
car in order to just finish.”
“The only flat we got was in the bottleneck
when we ran into the bushes and a large stick
punctured our tire,” said Matlock. “The DWT
Wheels held up flawlessly. Without the tuning
on the Fox Shox, we wouldn’t have been able
to win. There are a bunch of companies that
put us up here.”
Kristen Matlock finished third in the Pro
UTV class. Kristen started fifth in her class
in the 477.52 mile race. While looking over
her race car at the starting line, her co-driver,
Derek McGaughy discovered a leaking oil cooler.
Her team quickly made repairs and she was
off.
“I took it fairly easy off the start trying
not to make any mistakes,” said Kristen. “I
quickly passed six UTVs before approaching
the bottleneck. Patience wore thin as racers
sat there waiting their turn to make an attempt
at the silty hill climb that was causing the
log jam. Alonso Lopez #1949 decided to take
a huge risk by going through the bushes. It
paid off though and put an hour and a half
on the rest of the field. He created his own
line, but the rest of us weren’t willing to
take that risk. I don’t even know how he got
through it without tearing a CV boot or getting
a flat. He was pretty lucky.”
Kristen was pleased with her first Baja 500
race in the driver’s seat of a UTV. Kristen’s
previous role on the team was team manager,
supporting her husband’s efforts. She competed
in Terry Hui’s Polaris RZR that he and Wayne
won the Baja 500, Imperial Valley 250, and
Baja 1000 in last year.
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Polaris'
Kristen Matlock finished 3rd & also
made history by being the first woman
racer to complete the BAJA 500 as the
solo driver |
“I absolutely loved it,” said Kristen. “I
can’t wait to get back down to Baja and race
again! I have to thank Terry Hui for allowing
me to race his race car, my husband Wayne
for all of his time and effort he puts into
our race program, my mechanic Erik Ridens
from Black Rhino for an outstanding prep job,
my mom and dad for staying home to take care
of our two little boys, and my co-driver Derek
McGaughy for putting his navigation and mechanical
skills to the test.
“In the past, when I managed the team, I
always felt like I was only served the main
course. This year, I got the dessert.” added
Kristen
Driving debuts have been good to Kristen
Matlock. She finished second in the Pro UTV
class in her first Best in the Desert race,
the UTV World Championship, earlier this year
and one month later she finished second at
the Mint 400.
“There were 14 people in the Pro UTV class
and only four finished, so just finishing
this race was a huge accomplishment,” said
Kristen. “To finish on the podium is even
better.”
The Matlocks will return to the SCORE series
during the 49th Baja 1000 Nov. 16-20.
2016 Race Team
Sponsors:
Terabbit Racing, Matlock Racing, Polaris,
Maxxis Tires, Fox Racing Shox, DWT, Lonestar
Racing, Alba Racing, Black Rhino, Simpson,
G-Fors Racing, Coyne Powersports, NecksGen,
Baja Designs, Rugged Radios, Factory UTV,
Airdam Clutches, S & B Particle Separator,
Fly Racing, Maxima Racing Oils, Uni Filter,
CryoHeat, Motion Pro, IMS, Impact Racing,
Monster Seal, Lone Star Racing, KZ RV, Copy
Boy Printing