Franklin, Tenn. – For Team ITP racers Derek and Jason Murray, the 2019 Annual Baja 500 race was an event marked by both jubilation and disappointment. The brothers initially celebrated a first-place finish in the 484-mile course, but ultimately took third in the competition after a late penalty was assessed.
Not to be outdone, Team ITP driver Marc Burnett finished in second place at the 51st Annual Baja 500 race June 2 in Ensenada, Baja California. Only 14 of the side-by-side vehicles entered in the Pro UTV Forced Induction ranks were able to reach the finish line, but far less truly competed for the prestigious win.
“The SCORE International Baja races are always brutal, especially on tires and wheels,” said Rhett Turpin, Director of ITP Sales at The Carlstar Group. “Both teams ran Ultra Cross tires, which are specifically designed for desert racing and the world’s toughest terrain, and both teams were nicely rewarded with podium finishes.”
Brothers Derek and Jason Murray led the field most of the race in their turbocharged Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-side vehicle outfitted with 32-inch Ultra Cross tires.
“We finished first, but then after a 10-minute penalty was assessed in the morning we dropped down to third place,” stated Jason Murray. “SCORE decided to remove four VCPs (virtual check points) due to race day circumstances. After the results were posted, they decided to add back one of the four VCPs, giving us a 10-minute penalty.”
Without the penalty, the team would have won the event by nearly three minutes, with a total time of 13:33:52.138, still enabling them to land a podium spot in the top-three.
“We ran ITP’s 32 x 15 Ultra Cross—with no flats,” said Jason Murray. “The tires hooked up and worked great through the whole event.”
Burnett, who ran another exceptional race for Team ITP with a time of 13:27:19.881 in his Monster Energy-supported Can-Am Maverick X3 car, moved up one spot in the final class standings due to the Murray’s misfortune. Even with the second place run that had him finishing just 39 seconds behind the winner, Burnett called himself out for miscalculating a deeply rutted silt belt about four miles from the finish line. The veteran racer said in a post-race report that he kept hitting large rocks in the nasty silt beds, so on one particular silt bed he attempted to straddle it, but ended up laying the unit on its side. It took the ITP racer roughly three minutes to get going again. In racing, every second counts. “The bottom line; I was too cautious,” stated Burnett.
“Burnett has been running the ITP Ultra Cross R Spec tires because they’ve proven to be resistant to against punctures,” Turpin said. “Having him announce that he was hitting hidden rocks in the silt beds at racing speeds speaks volumes about the durability of our products. These races always have a high number of DNFs, so to compete for the win end up with two teams on the podium is a big positive.”
For more information on ITP Tires and its complete off-road tire lineup, visit www.itptires.com.
