Barker's Official Blog

With more than half of the 2017 ATV MX National Championship completed, Team Nine6Nine gives us a run down of the last few races. Excitement is building as they enter the last stretch of this challenging competition. 

The second half of the ATVMX National Series has been full of excitement for Team Nine6Nine. Round 5 of the ATVMX National Series did not disappoint at Sunset Ridge MX in Walnut, Illinois. There were a variety of firsts for Team Nine6Nine. That Friday's practice was the first time Logan Stanfield #55 was able to ride in the 2017 season. Although he hasn't been cleared to race yet, he's been training locally to prepare for strong finishes in the 2018 season.

Zack Decker #23 earned 1st place overall in both Super-Mini and 250 Mod at Sunset Ridge. He also competed for a 2nd place overall in Youth All-Star. Phil Oppen #121 rode aggressively at Sunset Ridge to earn a 2nd place overall in Junior 25+. He had a good weekend as a rider but an even better weekend as a mechanic. Sunday was the first time one of his machines made it to the Pro-Am podium in 2017. In Pro-Am moto one at Sunset Ridge, Alan Myers #24 proved his place in the class charging early for a 1st place finish, winning by 24.6 seconds. In Pro-Am moto two, he knew who to beat and rode a comfortable 3rd place which landed him in the center of the box. Winning his first Pro-Am podium in the 1st place position was a sweet end to Father's Day weekend.

Round 6 at Millville MX helped Team Nine6Nine gain even more momentum leading into the last few rounds of the series. Alan Myers #24 went 1-1 in Pro-Sport sweeping his first Pro-Sport 1st place podium finish. He's felt more like himself since Sunset Ridge MX, where he won Pro-Am for the first time in his rookie season. Zack Decker #23 was able to lock in his 250 Mod National Title and hopeful to lock in his Super-Mini title in the following rounds. As the season comes closer to the end, Phil Oppen #121 was pushing to earn a 1st place podium finish in hopes to close the gap between himself and the points leader in the Junior 25+ class. The team has had high motivation since MN with the return of Logan Stanfield #55 to the 969 Compound. His return is still uncertain in the 2017 season, but when it happens, it will be quite the comeback!

The weather for Round 7 at Unadilla MX wasn't the best, but Team Nine6Nine was happy that it didn't affect any motos. In fact, the track was a favorite one in the series so far for the 969 Boys. It was also a local race for Myers and Decker, so they were hoping to give their local fans some fun racing to watch. Alan Myers #24 put on a show on Sunday with a 3rd in Pro-Am for the first moto and a 1st place in the second moto. He ended up with a 2nd overall podium position. He also battled hard in both Pro-Sport motos to earn of 4th overall on the weekend in that class. Zack Decker #23 had some trouble on starts for the weekend in his Youth All-Star class but was able to battle through the pack to earn 3rd place in both motos with a 3rd place overall. Since he locked in his 250 Mod class last round, he wanted to focus on locking in his Super-Mini title. Unfortunately, bike issues plagued his lead in both motos. He was still able to earn a 5th place overall on the weekend. Phil Oppen #121 had some tough competition in his Junior 25+ for the weekend. He pushed hard to earn a 3rd overall. Logan Stanfield #55 stayed in Indiana to do some practicing throughout the weekend. He says he is feeling stronger every day and is anxious to return as a competitor in the series.

We are thrilled to have teamed up with Nine6Nine MX School this year as they take on the 2017 ATV MX National Championship. With so many talented riders racing the season has been very exciting. We hooked up with Travis Moore the team manager to learn more about the first half of the season. You can read all about it below! 

Nine6Nine team leader, Travis Moore, give us a rundown of the first half of the 2017 ATV MX National for the team and its riders.

The first half of the ATVMX National Series had it's ups and downs along with a cancellation of Round 3 at High Point MX in Pennsylvania. Team Nine6Nine rider Logan Stanfield #55 never started the season with his fellow teammates due to an injury that occurred during pre-season training in Florida. Successful back surgery and physical therapy have allowed Stanfield to work his way back to riding an ATV. He says, "I had big things to accomplish this year in the A-class. This was just a minor setback for my major comeback. You will see me on the box again in the 2018 series."

The loss of training with Stanfield wasn't an easy adjustment for his New Jersey brother, Alan Myers #24. Entering his rookie year in the competitive classes of Pro-Sport and Pro-Am, Myers knew his training had to go next level. After training for months in Florida, he started the season strong in Daytona with a 4th place overall in Pro-Am and a 2nd place overall in Pro-Sport. Heading to Texas with confidence, the two classes proved their level of competition would be tough. Myers ended the weekend with a 6th in Pro-Am and a 4th in Pro-Sport. He was ready to step up to the challenge.

At Monster Mountain, he was pushing for a second place finish when he got caught up with a fellow competitor causing mechanical issues that would affect his riding pace. Pushing through, he ended the weekend just outside the top 10 in both classes. High Point MX being canceled allowed more training time than usual. He felt good going into Ironman and proved it by running a strong 3rd place on Saturday in Pro-Sport and a 5th place overall in Pro-Am on Sunday. Mechanical issues forced a bike change before Muddy Creek. One that proved to be a good move. Myers had his best starts of the season in Pro-Am coming out top 3 in each holeshot. He ran 2nd for most of both motos while dropping a few spots by the end due to a health issue. He fought for a 3 way tie for 2nd that landed him a 4th place overall on the weekend in Pro-Am. He says, "Because I have ridden a Walsh Hybrid before, I decided to go back to my roots. I knew coming into these classes that'd I'd be racing some of the toughest competition in the sport. I'm ready to prove my spot on the box."

While dealing with all of Team Nine6Nine's mechanical issues, Phil Oppen #121 manages to find time to run at the front of his Junior 25+ class. He ran strong 2nd place finishes at Underground MX and Monster Mountain MX. He was ready to step it up and ran 1st place for some of the moto at Ironman. Unfortunately, at the last turn of the track, a competitor passed him to land him 2nd place overall. He came to Muddy Creek with confidence as he had allotted more time to training. Oppen pulled the holeshot in moto one. While running first on the last lap, a mistake before the uphill triple caused a drop in position earning him a 5th place overall. He says, "Although I don't get to train as much as I'd like, I am able to live my dream of building motors with this team. I am happy that at my age, I can still competitively race and have a career in the racing industry. These people have become my family."

The newcomer of the Nine6Nine boys is Pennsylvania native, Zack Decker #23. He may be 13, but he has proven he has the work ethic of his older teammates. His consistent training has earned him first place finishes overall every round in his Super-Mini class and 250 Mod class. Youth All-Star is always a fun class to watch where all the fast youth riders compete. Decker earned first place overall finishes in the class at Underground MX and Monster Mountain. His competition stepped it up for Ironman MX. After a bad start in moto one, he fought his way to 3rd place. He was running out front the second moto, but a mishap with a wrecked rider pushed him back to a 7th place position. He ended the weekend with a 5th overall. He worked hard during the off weekend and came to Muddy Creek seeking more first place finishes. He made a skilled pass in moto one to earn 1st place. While running in second and charging for first in moto two, he and a fellow rider got tied up in a corner on the last lap. A mistake the would cause him to drop to a 3rd place overall on the weekend. He says, "I have never worked so hard for anything in my life. I am working on fixing some of my rookie mistakes and plan to be out front from here on out."

Team owner Travis Moore is very happy with the roster of guys for this year's team. Each family of the rider plays a huge role in making the Nine6Nine team run smoothly. From cooking and traveling to track maintenance and endless support, Moore is very appreciative of the opportunity to work with such great people. He says, "I have really liked to see my guys go through adversity and push through with toughness this season. From Logan getting hurt to Alan having mechanical issues, this year has not run as smoothly as last year. It's a good life lesson that with work and determination you can progress and succeed." Speaking on behalf of Team Nine6Nine, we cannot thank you enough for your support and effort to help make this race team successful. 

Barker's Sponsored Rider, Juan Pirrunas Dominguez, and his skilled team took first place in the competitive sportsman quad class at the 2017 Baja 500. Words simply cannot express how excited and proud we are. We thank our lucky stars for having such a dedicated and skilled racer on our team, who pushes himself, his machine, and our exhausts to the limit, and time and time again excels. Of course, this race didn't play out without its own set of unique challenges and mishaps. Check out how Juan and Team 109A took down the competition and made it to the finish line, below.

Thank you so much! The whole team is thrilled about our Baja 500 win but this one is even more special because we were the first quad across the finish line which is our first overall finish ever!

I don’t know if you noticed but the whole right side of my jersey was torn due to a small crash around race mile 12! The fog was so thick that I ran a turn while I had 5^th gear tapped! I was unable to make the full turn so I turned into a barbed wire fence. Thanks to some of the locals and police, I was able to get going again after about a minute. Just some bruises and some scratches and I was off again! Nothing happened to the quad thank God. [OR YOU, JUAN!!! WAY TO RECOVER!]

The silt in the first half of the course was so gnarly that our white quad turned into a pile of silt after a couple hundred miles. Our new Barker’s Exhaust allowed us to power through that stuff with no problem and made going through silt beds really fun! The whoops near San Felipe are always physically tough. Not only do they take a toll on the rider but they were mixed with 100+ degree weather that got our motor and shocks really hot. However, Baja ATV Rider’s Only set us up with plush Elka Suspension that made it easier to power through them for 200 miles! 

We were the last quad off the line out of the 12 total quads that were registered for this Baja 500. At race mile 80, we were the second quad on the road and first overall on time. However, the top 4 quads in our class were less than 5 minutes apart which made for some serious racing for almost 300 miles until we started pulling away from the competition. We took over the physical overall lead around San Felipe and held it all the way to the finish line! It was nerve-racking because we did not want to blow our overall position so we held a smooth fast pace for the last half of the race.

The craziest thing I saw was coming up on a huge cow that was torn to pieces with guts laying all over the race course. The smell was so horrible that I gagged inside my helmet! Looked like a truck hit it at full speed during pre-running. It is actually kind of scary when rounding corners at over 80 mph and just praying to God you don’t run into a horse or cow. You will get killed instantly on a quad. 

Well after my first crash in the morning, I rode a little more careful. Although my adrenaline was at full blast, I didn’t want to ruin our race for riding over my head. You can’t win a Baja 500 in the first 70 miles but you sure can end it! So our plan was to ride smooth and fast through the thick morning dust and that’s what we did. After starting last in our class, we came in first in class at race mile 80 and pushed through some of the gnarliest fog and dust I have ever seen!

The new round can looks awesome and gave the finishing touch to our race quad. We also noticed the clamp was easier to put on with the round can when compared to the oval design. It also gave the quad a sharper sound and felt more torque at the touch of the throttle. This gave us a huge advantage through the rocks and the sandy whoops around the San Felipe loop. The installation of the exhaust went smoothly and everything bolted right up. We just love the way the new round design looks, especially with the two-tone anodized exhaust cap. We could distinguish the sound of our quad through mountains and the wide open desert when it was coming hot into the pits. It just sounds much more powerful than any other exhausts the competition was running. It still looks brand new after 515 miles of racing Baja!

The team wants to give huge thanks to Barker’s Exhaust for their support in our 2017 Baja 500 effort. The whole team was really happy with the response the new design gave us compared to the oval exhaust we ran at the San Felipe 250 in April. Our sights are set for the Baja 1000 in November. The 50^th running of the Baja 1000 will be a peninsula run this year that will start in Ensenada and finish in La Paz. We are expecting a 1300+ mile Baja 1000 course and the preparation for this adventure started right after we crossed the Baja 500 finish line first overall!

Pirruñas Racing Sponsors: Liberty Motorsports, Barker’s Performance, Baja ATV Rider’s Only, Fox Racing, YaDije Apparel, Master Exterminators, Yuma Mortuary, Elka Suspension, Motul Lubricants, JR Racing, Menudo Michoacan, Marcos Cousiño, RK Chains, UNI Air Filters, IMS Products, and My Big Brother. 

Barker's Performance is looking forward to the Baja 1000 in November, the next race in the SCORE International series on November 14th-18th. Stay tuned for more awesome practice and race updates! 

Want to learn more about our winning exhaust system for the Honda TRX450? Click on the links below. 

• Barker's Full Single Exhaust System for a Honda TRX450 (04-05 Models)
• Barker's Full Single Exhaust System for a Honda TRX450 (06-Current Models)

Even hotter and even more brutal than the San Felipe 250, the 2017 Baja 500 is fixing to be one of the greatest challenges yet for racers. This includes our sponsored rider, Juan Pirrunas Dominguez, but we're confident this man, his team, and their winning Honda TRX450R are prepped and ready to conquer. 

We just wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't keep fans up to date on this incredible race and racer. So we reached out to Juan to learn more about his thoughts and plans going into the 2017 Baja 500. Here's what we learned.

This year’s Baja 500 is going to be a real challenge due to the very demanding course that SCORE International has put together. This year’s race course has all the obstacles that Baja has to offer. From running along the Pacific Ocean to pounding San Felipe whoops in 100+ degree weather. As always, Pirruñas Racing is preparing for the worst and expecting the unexpected.

I got the chance to get down there and pre run my section known as the “crossover” from race mile 170 to 240 this past weekend. This is one of the most critical sections of the course due to its remote areas that can leave you stranded for help overnight if you do not prepare for it. The course gets very rocky and technical  going over the mountains coming into Rancho El Coyote at race mile 207. The course then heads up the mountains toward the famous “Mike’s Sky Rancho” for more rocky and technical terrain before it drops down to San Matias at race mile 240. 

Our plan for this year’s Baja 500 is to navigate through all the obstacles with ease and conserve our Barker’s Exhaust powered Honda Trx450r for 515 miles. In order to win, you must first finish and the team with no issues will take the checkered flag. Not only will this 12+ hour off road race put a true test to man and machine, but will prove that we run the best products in off-road racing. There is no better test than conquering a Baja 500!

One of the biggest challenges Pirruñas Racing will face is racing through temperatures over 100 degrees. Not only will this put a toll on our race quad, but riders will have to make sure they are hydrated while pounding through the 4 feet deep whoops in San Felipe. SCORE is planning to set hydration stations where racers can stop and hydrate if needed without adding to our total race time. Overcoming this challenge will get us to finish line but also prove the athletic capability that racing in Baja takes.

The team and I want to give a special thanks to Barker’s Performance for giving us the confidence in allowing us to put their bulletproof exhaust to the ultimate test. This Baja 500 wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our friends, family, and sponsors who have helped us along our Baja Racing career.

Pirruñas Racing sponsors: Liberty Motorsports, Barker’s Performance, Baja ATV Rider’s Only, Fox Racing, YaDije Apparel, Master Exterminators, Yuma Mortuary, Elka Suspension, Motul Lubricants, JR Racing, Menudo Michoacan, Marcos Cousiño, RK Chains, UNI Air Filters, IMS Products, and Juan's big brother.

The 2017 Baja 500 will take place on June 1st through the 4th in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. 

Want to learn more about a Barker's Exhaust for a Honda TRX450? Click one of the links below.

• Barker's Full Single Exhaust System for a Honda TRX450 (04-05 Models)
• Barker's Full Single Exhaust System for a Honda TRX450 (06-Current Models)

With our recent redevelopment and release of our new Dual Exhaust System for the 2014-2015 Grizzly 700, we have discontinued manufacturing the original Barker's Single Exhaust for the 2014-2015 Grizzly 700. Here's why. 

When Yamaha released the 2014 Grizzly 700 with a single exhaust port, we got to work on a single exhaust. At the time this seemed like a natural fit, so we developed, tested, and felt satisfied enough to launch the 2014/2015 Grizzly single exhaust system. 

Then when the 2016 Grizzly came out and it struggled on the Dyno a bit, we thought back to the incredible success we had with the 2015+ Raptor 700. This dual exhaust system, which splits into two cans from the single port head, quickly became one of our leading exhaust systems for horsepower gains and overall performance. When we attempted the same style design with the 2016 Grizzly, we were blown away by the gains! At this point we began thinking about the single for the 2014/2015 Grizzly, thinking that maybe we left some ponies on the table with the previous design. We got back to work on the 2014-2015 Grizzly, and sure enough, a powerful dual exhaust for this machine was born.

In our research, we found that these 14/15 Grizzly's run extremely hot from the factory floor. With our single exhaust on this machine, we just did not see the packing life or performance we wanted. After doing some rigorous testing, we found that the AIS system on the Yamaha creates a ton of excess heat. The AIS system adds additional oxygen to the exhaust, causing the exhaust temps on the Grizzly's to get extremely hot. This resulted in the muffler depleting it's packing much quicker than we'd like. In addition to the AIS system, we found that the CVT transmission made the machine run at a higher standard RPM than a geared quad, so the machine coming from the factory already ran lean. Because our duals spread the heat and exhaust flow out and into two separate mufflers, dropping the heat and pressure basically in half, we knew this design would greatly benefit the 14/15 Grizzly.

With our dual exhaust system for the 14/15 Grizzly 700, we also supply 2 pieces of DEI's extreme heat barrier to protect two areas that could be prone to melting plastics. You might also consider greater heat protection to enhance long-term heat protection. For this machine, We highly recommend DEI's Bodywork Protection Kit. To further combat any exhaust heat under your plastics, wrapping the area where the pipes split from 1 to 2 with Exhaust Heat Wrap can further help. We do not recommend wrapping an entire exhaust in heat wrap, though, as this can cause all of the heat to go into the mufflers.

We also do not recommend running this system without properly tuning your machine or adding a fuel controller that is pre-mapped with the ideal settings for this exhaust system upgrade. Blocking off your AIS system can further help to keep the heat down and will prolong the life of your packing. 

Check out the Barker's Dual Exhaust System for the 2014-15 Grizzly 700, here. 

Barker's Performance is thrilled to announce that Juan Pirrunas Dominquez and his awesome team won this year's San Felipe 250 in the competitive sportsman quad class. Time and time again we continue to be impressed not only by this young man's talent and dedication to racing but also his commitment to his team and sponsors. 

We followed up with Juan after his big win at the San Felipe 250 to learn more about the race and how our exhaust performed under such intense pressure. Here's what we learned.

It was another intense San Felipe 250 for Pirruñas Racing. We were very busy the past couple of months in getting physically/mentally ready and in prepping a winning quad. My big brother Alonzo Dominguez and Mechanic Jose Nolasco can take all that credit in prepping us a winning racer! We had no mechanical issues at all. Our Motul Lubricants kept the same oil capacity level all race long and we used the same UNI Air Filter all day. Our Elka Suspension prepped and set up by Felipe Velez at Baja ATV Riders Only never faded away, even after over 250 miles of whoops, rocks, and more whoops! Our Barker’s Exhaust put the power to the ground and kept us in front of the pack all the way to the checkered flag! Like I said before, to be the best you have to run the best and we proved that at the 2017 San Felipe 250. 

We drew first off the line out of 8 sportsman ATVs and our goal was to put time on the rest of the competition. So our game plan going into the race was to hold the throttle wide open for as long as we could. The whole team did a fantastic job in following the game plan by finishing over an hour ahead of the next sportsman ATV. However, Sunday we found out that SCORE International provided us with a heartbreaking 1-hour penalty due to missing 6 VCPs that we still don’t know which ones we missed. That gave us a finishing time of 7 hours and 25 minutes and only 7 minutes ahead of 2^nd place. Thank god for our Barkers Exhaust!

Pirruñas Racing had a smooth race overall and the course got super rough as we pounded down the 271-mile course. One of our riders was enjoying his ride so much that he missed the first Baja Pits at race mile 41 and handed the quad off to me with an empty tank. We were lucky enough to get some fuel from the 2A team of Don Higbe and Chris Robinson which allowed us to make it to our next fuel stop. I owe you guys some cold Tecates and some tacos! Other than that, we had a flawless 2017 San Felipe 250 and already looking forward to the Baja 500 in June!

The team and I want to give special thanks to Barker’s Performance for giving us the confidence in putting their exhaust on top of the podium. This win wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our friends, family, and sponsors who have helped us along our Baja career.

Pirruñas Racing sponsors: Liberty Motorsports, Barker’s Performance, Baja ATV Rider’s Only, Fox Racing, YaDije Apparel, Master Exterminators, Yuma Mortuary, Elka Suspension, Motul Lubricants, JR Racing, Menudo Michoacan, Marcos Cousiño, RK Chains, UNI Air Filters, IMS Products, and My Big Brother.

Barker's Performance is looking forward to the Baja 500, the next race in the SCORE International series on June 4th-5th. Stay tuned for more awesome race updates! 

Want to learn more about our winning exhaust system for the Honda TRX450? Click on the links below. 

• Barker's Full Single Exhaust System for a Honda TRX450 (04-05 Models)
• Barker's Full Single Exhaust System for a Honda TRX450 (06-Current Models)

Imagine navigating through more than 250 miles of tough terrain that's mangled with rocks and sand, and temperatures exceeding 100°F.

Now, imagine conquering all of this in less than 12 hours on the top of a quad. The Score International San Felipe 250 may be the shortest of SCORE's race series, with the Baja 1000 boasting 850 miles of similar off-road conditions, but it is certainly a challenge for many a man and his machine. Attempting to race any machine over 250 miles in under 12 hours with some of the craziest rocky, sandy whoops, and extreme conditions around is no joke. We don't know about you, but it seems like you would have to be one dedicated and skilled individual to take on such a race.

Barker's Performance is proud to have a man such as this on our Sponsored Riders roster. For Juan Dominguez, this will be his 8th time racing the San Felipe 250. We reached out to him to learn more about this year's race and a little more about him and his team. Here's what we learned.

The team and I are getting ready for our 8th San Felipe 250 in a row. The San Felipe 250 is the shortest race of the SCORE International series however, it is the roughest due to its never-ending rocky/sandy whoops. I was down there pre-running this past weekend and the course is already chewed up and temperatures were over 100 degrees! The course will only get rougher in these two weeks leading up to the race.

We will be competing in the competitive sportsman quad class since I had to put a last minute team together. I will be teaming up with a couple guys from our Baja 1000 rival team, Oskar Espinoza and Osman Arce from Ensenada, Baja California. The San Felipe 250 will be starting Saturday, April 1st at sunrise and will have 12 hours to navigate through the rough, 272-mile race course SCORE has put together.

The San Felipe 250 is not new for Pirruñas Racing since it will be our 8th time running it. We have been lucky enough to podium this race about 4 times with one of them being a 1st place finish. We are going to rely on our Barker’s Exhaust to power us through the deep sandy whoops and the never sandy washes San Felipe has to offer. We will be racing a Liberty Motorsports/ Baja ATV Rider’s Only prepped Honda TRX450r.

The team is hungry to win this year’s San Felipe 250. We have been getting ourselves ready mentally and physically the past couple of months and are going for the top spot. We are confident heading into this race since we have a strong group of riders, reliable support crew, and the best sponsors in off-road racing to get us to the finish line on top. But this is Baja, anything can happen at any given time. We are preparing for the worst and expecting the unexpected!

Thanks for all the support Barker's Exhaust!

So there you have it! Stay tuned for more updates on the 2017 San Felipe 250 and the Pirruñas Racing Team! We will add photos and commentary to our blog and social media as it comes across the wire. 

We love desert racing! 

Want to learn more about a Barker's Exhaust for a Honda TRX450? Click one of the links below.

• Barker's Full Single Exhaust System for a Honda TRX450 (04-05 Models)
• Barker's Full Single Exhaust System for a Honda TRX450 (06-Current Models)

It's that time of year again. The ATV MX National Championship begins tomorrow and we are beyond excited for this year's competition. Here's why.

What is more exciting than dedicated and skilled ATV racers going head to head race after race for a big win and recognition? Aside from life's greatest milestones, nothing! The ATV MX National Championship is a true test of man and machine, will and skill. We love to see which machines pull ahead of the pack, and how racers handle their machines under tough race conditions. 

This year we are especially excited because we have the great pleasure of having two teams running our exhaust this year.   

Team Nine6Nine is ready to wage a war this year at the MX National Championship and we are thrilled to have a rider on their team racing with a Barker's Exhaust. Team Nine6Nine member, Alan Myers, #24, will be competing in the Pro Sport/Pro-Am classes on his Suzuki LTR 450. Last year, Myers won the National MX Championship in the 450A class and has since moved up to compete in the Pro-Sport and Pro-Am classes. With Travis Moore to help lead the team to another victory, we are sure Alan and all Team Nine6Nine racers will have a very exciting and fruitful season. 

The Harris Motorsports Team is another team participating in the ATV MX National Championship that will be riding with a Barker's Exhaust. Zack Harris will be racing a YFZ 450 in the Pro-Am class. 

Be sure to stay tuned and follow along with us throughout the championship. We will be regularly updating our blog and social media with race results and other exciting information. We can't wait to see what's in store for this year's ATV MX National Championship!

Barker's Performance is extremely excited for November 16, 2016. This date marks the start of the 49th Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 in Ensenada, Baja California, and Mexico. One of the toughest desert challenges out there, the Baja 1000 encompasses more than 850 miles of extreme desert conditions and obstacles. We are super lucky to have one of our very own sponsored rider's participating in the race, Juan Dominguez.

This race will not only be a true test of sheer might and skill for Juan Dominguez and his team, it will also brutally test our exhaust system in extreme desert conditions over a significant amount of time. We look forward to this race and the awesome results we expect both to achieve. 

We wanted to reach out to Juan to get his thoughts gearing up for the big race. Here's what we've learned. 

How have you been preparing to get ready for this race?

The team and I are very stoked for this years Baja 1000! This year's team consists of myself Juan Dominguez, Julio Banda from Mexicali, Rusty Repass from Maryland, Dan Webb from Virginia, and Alberto Jimenez from Mexicali.

We have been prepping mentally and physically for this race for the last couple of months. Our race quad (100A) was torn down and built from the frame and up. Liberty Motorsports rebuilt our entire motor and of course Barker's Exhaust will keep it running strong for the entire 854 miles! We start our pre-running this weekend so each rider can get to know their sections for when the green flag drops in a couple of weeks.  

What are your thoughts heading into the race?

This year's Baja 1000 should be a faster race course then the past years but anything can go wrong in 854 miles of off-road racing. To win you must first finish so preparation is key to get 100A across the finish line. SCORE has set up a very demanding race course with plenty of Baja obstacles to overcome.

What do you think will be your biggest challenge?

I think the biggest challenge in racing Baja is to not have any issues. Since we are racing against time, the less problems you run into the more of a chance you have to win. Our race plan needs to be executed perfectly in order for us to be on the top of the podium. We need to prepare for the worst and expect the best!

We will be posting updates from the big race on the Barker's Exhaust Facebook page so be sure to follow along if you don't already! You might also like to check out the 2016 SCORE Baja 1000 course map.

Want to learn more about Juan Dominguez?

Check out this awesome video interview from SCORE International.