off road bike race

SCORE: Factory FMF/KTM Racing Takes on Baja 500 (Video)

FMF Racing Press Release:

Check out the Factory FMF/KTM Off Road team as they race their way to a podium finish at the 2013 SCORE/Baja 500. Featuring Kurt Caselli, Mike Brown, and Ivan Ramirez.

The Factory Team took off in 3rd position at the start of the race. Team rider Kurt Caselli was the first rider out. By the 105 mile marker he had already moved the team into the lead by 2 seconds with the adjusted time. Caselli then got hung up in a large wash section and lost the lead. At race mile 190 he was approximately two minutes down from the leaders when he suffered a hard crash. The team got quickly got him medical attention, while the spare rider, Justin Jones, took off on the bike to get to the next pit area for repairs.

2013 SCORE/Baja 500 Race Footage:

Approximately 30 miles later, Jones got to the pit where the mechanics quickly set to work to repair the damage to the bike. After the repairs were made, Jones got back on course now in 3rd place. He rode another 30 miles at which point he handed the bike to Mike Brown. Brown quickly started making back time lost from the crash and repairs, and was able to move the team back to 2nd position at mile marker 345.

Shortly after moving into 2nd, Brown encountered a front brake issue which had stemmed from the earlier crash. He stopped at the next pit around mile marker 380 to have it repaired and to pass the bike to the final member of the team, Ivan Ramirez.

The bike was mended once more and Ramirez charged onward to the finish. The team crossed the line in 2nd place approximately 22 minutes down from the winning team. “We are obviously bummed that Caselli crashed, but thankful he was not seriously injured in the high-speed crash,” commented Team Manager Antti Kallonen. “Considering our crash and a few mechanical issues, we are happy to walk away with a 2nd place finish. We are also proud of the KTM support team of Kendall Norman and Ryan Abbatoye for finishing 3rd and putting another KTM team on the podium. We have to look at where we can improve on this ride and set our focus now on the SCORE/Baja 1000 where we hope to pull off a victory.”

2013 Baja 500 Pro Motorcycle Results:

1. Timmy Weigand / Colton Udall / David Kamo (Honda)
2. Kurt Caselli / Ivan Ramirez / Mike Brown (KTM)
3. Kendall Norman / Ryan Abbatoye (Honda)
4. A.J. Stewart / Justin Morgan / Chris Brown (Honda)
5. Robby Bell / David Pearson / Steve Hengeveld / Taylor Robert (Kawasaki)
6. Francisco Arredondo / Ryan Dudek (Honda)
7. Mike Johnson / Rex Cameron / Francisco Septien / Shane Esposito (Honda)
8. Adam Neuwirth (Honda)
9. Jim O’Neal / Roberto Villalobos / Ricky Brabec / Max Eddy (Honda)
10. Mark Samuels / Cory Freeman (Honda)

For more information: www.fmfracing.com