After an an 11th place Pro UTV Open division finish for Wilkey/Weiss at the Baja 500, the Team 1857 crew was eager to take on the next SCORE challenge – the Baja 400!
The SCORE Baja 400 is one of the marquee events in the SCORE World Desert Championship series – positioned between the shorter San Felipe 250 and the ultra-long Baja 1000. It takes place in Baja California, Mexico, starting (and finishing) in Ensenada. As race enthusiasts know, the Baja races have been testing the limits of drivers, gear, and crews for decades.
2025 SCORE International Baja 400
This year, 165 teams were officially entered for the full event, and the Baja 400 offers a brutally beautiful blend of terrain: desert, salt flats, rocky gulches, and mountain roads. It demands not only speed and horsepower, but endurance, strategy, and mechanical reliability.
Team 1857 Places 4th In 4 Wheel Pro UTV Open Class
For the Pro UTV Open Class in 2025, UTVs compete on the same or very similar 427.64 routing as the trucks and cars of the pro ranks, meaning Pro UTV Open teams are putting in nearly that full mileage over unforgiving terrain. That includes long open stretches, tight technical sections, elevation changes, and navigation challenges.
A 4th-place finish in that class – like Blake and Harrison’s – is a massive accomplishment. It shows the team and their setup not only had speed but stamina, durability, and likely smart race strategy. Harrison sums it up below:
Boy, does this one feel good!
We definitely manifested this 4th place finish! Since the Baja 500, we talked about getting a clean run, and even pre-running, we talked strategy and a good game plan for the race.
We started 13th out of 18 in class, and our plan was to just run 80% and smooth the first 150 miles to see where we ended up. Immediately, we started picking off two cars a few miles in with issues. As we kept clocking off miles, we passed several more cars in class that were broken and got to 150 smooth, sitting in 5th-just a 1/4 mile behind 4th.
We did our first pit clean and started heading up Mikes with a 6-minute lead over the car behind us. We continued to run the same strategy-smooth and about 80%-for the next 130 miles when we finally caught 4th place and made the pass on the coast!
A trophy truck passed us not long after, making us back it down a bit with the dust. We got to pit 2 at mile 307; all was good, and we kept making our way up the coast. Then we got back into that truck’s dust, slowing us up for 10–15 miles, which sucked since we knew we were getting closer to 3rd.
We hit the highway section at mile 350, and then 5–7 miles later we were behind a truck again-cruising just enough to dust us out but not slow enough for us to catch and pass, as the course was very tight and technical. We sat in extreme dust from mile 360–380, which made us feel like the race was never going to end with how slow we had to go with zero wind. That definitely ruined our chances of possibly getting 3rd.
We finally got past the truck and immediately earned a rear flat. Got it changed and kept clicking off miles with the goal to just get to the finish. At mile 387, we pulled up behind a stuck 10 car in the lead and tried to give him a quick tow, but the strap snapped, so we kept going.
The next 13 miles were tight and brutally chewed up. We got a rerack at mile 395 to play it safe, and then we made our way to the finish!
A very drama-free race till the last 50 miles, honestly. We were just in our own world most of the time-running smooth and enjoying beautiful Baja. We couldn’t have asked for a better race day experience… until the last 50 miles of nighttime rough course and dust.
-Harrison Weiss
“There are a lot of people behind the scenes to mention: Harry, my co-driver, and the Superwinch team helped!”
–Blake Wilkey
When you’re tackling the unforgiving terrain of a race like the Baja 400, you learn quickly that having the right gear makes all the difference. That’s where Superwinch winches and hoists shine – they’re designed to take on the type of punishment that Baja’s rocky washes, deep silt beds, and steep climbs dish out. They’ve got the pulling power and reliability you need when conditions get ugly.
Off-road enthusiasts know that recovery isn’t just a “maybe” out in terrain like Baja – it’s practically guaranteed at some point. If you have an overlander, Jeep, truck, or SUV you want to make off-road ready, we have you covered. We have decades of experience on-and-off road, and we’re enthusiasts just like you who know the importance of gear you can count on.
Check out our winch and hoist lines as well as our great selection of recovery gear – and contact us if you have any questions – we’re glad to help.
Congrats to Blake and Team 1857!
