BILSTEIN Racer Wins at 2023 Baja 1000

BILSTEIN-sponsored racers finished strong at the 56th annual Baja 1000 off-road racing event.

Justin Park and team finished first in Class 7F and overall championship points at the legendary off-road event and were the only team in their class to finish the race.

The international competition, held Nov. 13-18, traversed approximately 1,300 miles.

Park started and drove his Ford Ranger to race mile 289 using B8 9200 external bypass and B8 9200 coil-over shocks from BILSTEIN. Teammates Cole Andrews, Jeff Tiglio and Eduardo “Pako” Martinez drove in intervals to race mile 1,200, and then Park brought it home to the finish line.

He said when things started to heat up—literally—he got nervous.

“It was hot outside, and I knew what was coming with such a long race. The final section was tough,” Park said.

Despite not being able to move out of second gear because of slippery terrain, Park and his team held on and finished with a time of 40 hours and 37 minutes.

“We knew we could end the whole race there if we missed a corner at that point,” he said. “Every section of the race was amazing; the people were so happy, and the scene was just incredible.”

Fifteen teams started the Pro UTV Open race, but only 10 made it across the finish line. Doug Mittag’s team was one of them, finishing in 10th with a time of 34 hours and 33 minutes in a Polaris RZR Pro R using Black Hawk 9300 Powersports BILSTEIN shocks.

The team included racers Kyle Ahrensberg, Keegan Kincaid and Rick Johnson.

Also, Eric Solarzano finished the season in second in overall points in Class 11 using BILSTEIN’s B8 7100 shocks.