Can-Am’s Don Higbee Team Finishes 2nd in BAJA 500
Driven Powersports' Team Races Outlander to Second in Pro Quad Class

Casper, WY (6/7/2017) - Can-Am / Driven Powersports’ Don Higbee overcame 100-plus degree temperatures to finish second in the Pro Quad portion of the SCORE Baja 500 in Baja, California, Mexico. Higbee teamed up with three-time national ATV champion Rick Cecco, WORCS and Best in the Desert Series standout Cody Mitchell and multi-time GNCC titleholder Bryan Buckhannon on a Can-Am Outlander 1000 to race in the desert classic.

The Can-Am / Driven Powersports' Team took a 2nd Place finish at the SCORE BAJA 500 with the Can-Am Outlander 1000

Higbee started the race and then handed off to Buckhannon. Mitchell handled the coast section of the 500-mile course. Cecco ran the 100 miles of sand whoops around San Felipe, then Buckhannon and Mitchell tag teamed it to the checkered flag, which continued the teams perfect record of desert racing finishes.

“It was a long, hot day out there,” said Higbee. “We had a decent run and we were in position to win up until mile marker 180. We had some misfortune, fell back again and we just couldn’t overcome it. The course was brutal, challenging and fun. Everyone had a good time doing it. We pressed the pace as hard as we could early, but had to slow our pace at the end to preserve the bike.”

The team was running the only utility quad in the field. Despite giving up a little top end speed, the durability of the Can-Am showed during the grueling event.

“The Outlander performed very well,” said Higbee. “Custom Axis Shocks did a great job. The combination of Tire Spines and Kenda Tires held up really well. There was a lot of pressure on that Outlander with the temperatures we had and the four riders prevailed and got it across the line.”

Can-Am / Driven Powersports' Team Manager, Don Higbee, started the race for the team with Rick Cecco, Cody Mitchell, and Bryan Buckhannon finishing out 500+ mile long BAJA 500

Higbee and his team are second in points going into the final two races of the season. The season finale Baja 1000 is a perfect venue for the team to show off the durability of the machine.

“The Baja 1000 will really suit us the best,” said Higbee. “We’re best at the long distance stuff. We’re good at keeping the machine together. Our strategy from day one was to be in striking distance at the 1000. We’re building a brand new bike to do the BITD races and we’ll have another new bike for the Baja 1000.”

Cecco was honored to join the team at the beginning of the season. He took on the sand whoops in stride. It was clear to Cecco that the four riders were the perfect team.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to race in the SCORE series,” said Cecco. “It was definitely an experience. There were whoops all over that course and it was definitely challenging. We did well and everybody pulled their share of the track, and the Can-Am worked really well. I really enjoyed the experience.”

High temperatures forced the team to make more fuel stops than they had planned. Despite the Can-Am running hot due to temperatures topping out in the triple digits, Cecco was happy to finish off the race in second.

“The bike was running a little hot due to the temperatures, so it was drinking a lot more fuel,” said Cecco. “So we had a little less distance between fuel stops. I pushed really hard at the end of the race, and I never had seen so many whoops in my life.”

Higbee’s team will be back in action at the next round of the Best in the Desert Series, the Vegas to Reno. That race is scheduled for August 16-19. The Baja 1000 is scheduled for November 14-18.

Driven Powersports Racing 2017 Sponsors:
Can Am, Driven Powersports, Custom Axis, Tucker Rocky, Dirtworks, Tire Spines, David Jesse Racing, OMF, Dirtworks, Kenda, DP Brakes, Evans Coolant, MSR, Arai, Team JDR, Airdam Clutches, Spider Graphix, Cecco Racing