Ridgeline Baja Race Truck Runs Second at Mint 400
• Honda Off-Road Racing Team follows season-opening win with podium finish
• Second-place result at Mint 400 follows victory in February’s Parker 425
• Ridgeline Baja Race Truck takes on Baja 500 in June
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 12, 2018) – The Honda Off-Road Racing Team and its Ridgeline Baja Race Truck backed up their season-opening win at February’s Parker 425 with a second-place finish through the Nevada desert outside of Las Vegas Saturday at the Mint 400.
Starting from the pole in the 10-truck “7200” class for unlimited V6-powered race trucks, team owner/driver Jeff Proctor and navigator Evan Weller pulled away to an early class lead during the Best in the Desert Racing Association event. But while working their way through several slower-spec Trophy Truck entries, the Proctor/Weller Ridgeline struck a large rock that had been obscured by dust, resulting in a flat tire.
The pair dropped to fourth in class while making repairs, but eventually began to move toward the front, contending for the lead throughout the first two 100-mile laps of the four-lap contest. The race remained a back-and-forth battle, as all the contenders suffered flat tires due to an exceptionally rocky course.
After the team made its only scheduled pit stop while running second just past the halfway point, Proctor handed off the driving duties to team manager and veteran off-road racer Pat Daily. Following a hard-fought 400 miles, the Ridgeline took the checkered flag second in class.
Powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 engine produced by Honda Performance Development, the Ridgeline Baja Race Truck features a body designed by Honda R&D Americas’ Los Angeles Design Studio, with inspiration taken from the current Honda Ridgeline, also designed and developed by Honda R&D North Americas. Key design cues drawn from the 2017 Honda Ridgeline can be seen in the front fascia, hood, roof, bed and side profile.
Making approximately 550 horsepower, HPD’s 3.5-liter HR35TT engine uses the same block and cylinder heads as the production V6 that powers the all-new Ridgeline. Additional, custom elements of the powertrain include an HPD-designed intake plenum and custom Engine Control Unit programming.
Photos and information from the Ridgeline Baja Race Truck’s efforts at the Mint 400 can be viewed on Instagram at @hondaoffroadracing and @proctor_race. Honda Racing/HPD news and reports can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD. The team next takes on the classic Baja 500, the first weekend in June.
Jeff Proctor (team owner/driver Ridgeline Baja Race Truck) started 1st, finished 2nd in Class 7200 Unlimited V6 Trucks: “It felt like we went to war today. Evan Weller [team manager and co-driver] prepped an amazing truck to endure these conditions. I couldn’t be more proud of the consistency of this team right now.”