"All the Mexican people, thanks for cheering us on, letting us race here, and really supporting us. We look forward to seeing you out on the track. This is the best race in the world! We have a good team, we worked really hard. We made history tonight to win the first SCORE Baja 1000 for the Honda CRF450x and for breaking Johnny Campbell's win-streak and continuing mine with five in a row. I got on the bike at mile 700 and the bike still ran flawlessly, like it's brand new to the finish line.
Finishing third overall among 4-wheel vehicles and second in the featured SCORE Trophy-Truck division was Las Vegas' B.J. Baldwin, who clinched his first SCORE season point championship in his Chevy Silverado. With brief driving relief from Las Vegas' Tommy Bradley Jr., Baldwin covered the course in 20:01:25.
Ron Whitton, Maricopa, Ariz., drove his Ford F-150 to a surprising fourth overall and third in SCORE Trophy-Truck with a time of 20:39:49.
Brothers Gary and Mark Weyhrich of Troutdale, Ore., and B.J. Richardson of Las Vegas battled to second in Class 1 and fifth overall in 20:44:56 while sixth overall and fourth in SCORE Trophy-Truck was the team of Las Vegas' Brian Collins and Larry Ragland, Cave Creek, Ariz., with a time of 21:07:51 in the Collins Motorsports Chevy Silverado.
In the manufacturer's battle of `beat the Baja' research and development, a Chevy-powered vehicle for the 10th time, Toyo tires captured its first overall 4-wheel vehicle triumph while ending the 20-year winning streak of BFGoodrich Tires.
"Oh my Gosh! No problems all day - not a single mishap all day. No flat tires, nothing. It was a perfect day. Robby gave me the lead first, physically and I just had to drive it," said Andy McMillin, a third generation desert racer whose family now has 13 class wins and six overalls in this race. "Mark Post was behind us and he was only four minutes behind us and I guess he got stuck in that section up before Loreto, so we had like 15 or 20 minutes on them by the time we hit the highway at mile 850. So we just had to cruise it in. "
"I definitely think that's what won the race for us is the fact that...I knew Robby could drive the whole 1000 miles, so as far as he could go and how fresh he could be the whole way through, that was going to be key. So when the course started to get rough, that's where I would get in and that's where I would be a fresh driver and just do my thing. And I think it paid off in the long run, definitely. We finished a lot faster than I thought we would. I thought it would be about 22, 23 hours, definitely. No, I was not expecting to finish in sunlight."
"I would much rather win this race than all the others combined. This is the granddaddy of all races - the SCORE Baja 1000 to La Paz! How many people get the chance to witness this...since I was a baby, I've been coming down for pre-runs and stuff! I've been coming to La Paz all my life. I went out on the '95 1000 pre-run, '98 1000 pre-run, SCORE Baja 2000 pre-run, I rode with my dad in `02, then I drove in `04, now here I am in 2006 in the winner's circle! It feels great! Seriously, I was starting to weep when I turned onto the pavement when I saw my dad with his hand out the window..."