Matt Eddy and the K&N Sponsored Honda Team Win the Baja 1000 Class 21 Championship
- 12 Jan 2012
"I have been racing down in Baja since 2006, three times a year. So I worked for this championship for the last five years," Eddy told K&N. "It is really hard to go down to Mexico and win your first time out. The logistics of the pits, tire changes, air filter changes and rider changes are a huge part of the race."
The SCORE Baja season starts in March with the San Felipe 250 race and the Baja 500 in June, followed by the Baja 1000 in November. "The San Felipe 250 is a very rough race and it's very demanding. This year we had some trouble with one of my teammates crashing and bending up the bike," said Eddy. "We ended up 4th in class and 11th overall. To finish the 250 was our main goal after the crash in order to salvage some points." Which he managed to do, so going into the Baja 500, Eddy now sat in 4th for the class 21 points chase. "We had to win the 500 to have a chance at the points championship," continued Eddy. "Going into the 500 our only goal was to win to stay in the hunt for the championship. We had a perfect race with no problems and won the 500 by one hour on the next bike in class 21. With the win at the 500 it put us one point out of the lead in class 21." Headed into the Baja1000 one point behind, the Snap-On Pro Circuit K&N Honda team knew they had to have another perfect ride. The Baja 1000 is worth double points, so whoever won would wrap up the points championship.
"We started right behind our biggest competition at 6:30 a.m. and we raced back-and-forth for the next 400 miles, with the lead changing every five to ten miles. At about mile 450, the other bike melted there starter on a 100mph dry lake bed called Diablo, so that gave the Snap-On Pro Circuit K&N Honda a comfortable lead. We still had to ride fast and smooth, but we could breathe a little easier." Eddy and the team took the bike all the way to finish without incident to claim the Class 21 points championship. For Eddy the K&N connection came about when he was at the Power Puff MORE desert race. Eddy said, "I started talking to one of the K&N sales reps about motorcycle air filters, and he gave my info to Johnny Jump. A couple days later I got a call from Johnny, and we talked about what I was doing and if I would like to try out the K&N filters. So I tried it out and I loved them, and I decided to use the K&N filters in the Baja 1000, and the results speak for themselves. It is a great filter, and with less filter changes at the 1000, I'd have to give it credit for being one of the reasons we won the championship." When he's not honing his skill in Baja, Eddy races in the National Hare and Hound series, along with the WORCS series; it's a full-time schedule that keeps him at the top of his game year round. "I will for sure be defending my title next year," adds Eddy. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
