RACER.COM: Four-part Series Featuring Rossi and the Honda Off-Road Team
Melissa Eickhoff embedded herself with the Honda Off-Road Racing Team for the Baja 1000. Below is an excerpt from Part 4. Click the link below to read the full story, as well as parts 1-3.
As professional and capable and driven as he is, even Alexander Rossi, an Indianapolis 500 winner, had to concede that Baja won this round, and take a DNF in stride.
He’s not alone. Even the finishers of the 52nd running of the Score Baja 1000 aren’t sure of their status. It was a brutal race course. One that was originally laid out to challenge the racers, then, add to it historic rain fall that completely changed up the course.
For the Honda Ridgeline team, the race ended at RM 250. To try and point to one thing that influenced this decision is folly. Which brings us back to the variables (see Day 1). Rossi said. “Too many variables weren’t in our favor this year, so we had to call it. Jeff evaluated the situation and ultimately decided that the safety for the team was being compromised. It isn’t just the driver and co-driver to consider, but the crew for repairs and recovery in sketchy conditions.”
It wasn’t an easy decision for…
