• Honda Off-Road Racing Team opens 2018 season with class victory in Arizona
• Ridgeline Baja Race Truck dominates unlimited V6 truck category

The Honda Off-Road Racing Team and its Ridgeline Baja Race Truck opened the 2018 off-road racing season in the best possible fashion, with a decisive victory in the "7200" class for V6-powered race trucks in Saturday's Parker 425.

A part of the Best In the Desert Racing Association off-road racing series, the Parker 425 features three laps of a rugged course through the southwestern Arizona desert.  Each lap presents competitors with wide-ranging conditions, from sand washes and rough rock sections to wide-open rally roads.  This year featured an added element, as the course deteriorated rapidly while a field of over 200 entries made its way around each lap.

Starting fourth in a field of 11 Class 7200 V6 trucks, driver/team principal Jeff Proctor and navigator Evan Weller ran at a rapid pace on the opening lap, gaining two positions in the first 30 miles, then moving into the lead by race mile 80.  After their first scheduled pit stop for fuel and rear tires, Proctor and Weller finished the first lap with a 4.5-minute lead on the field.

Although the course began to deteriorate throughout the late afternoon and into the night hours, the Ridgeline continued to widen its gap over the Class 7200 field.  At the end of the second lap, Proctor turned over driving duties to Pat Daily during the team's final scheduled pit stop.  Daily continued to build a now substantial lead for the Ridgeline, all the while conserving equipment during a brutal third and final lap.  The Honda Ridgeline Baja Race Truck crossed the finish line in a time of eight hours, 54 minutes, one hour and 15 minutes ahead of the second-place Class 7200 truck. Powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 produced by Honda Performance Development, the Ridgeline Baja Race Truck features a body designed by Honda R&D Americas' Los Angeles Design Studio, with inspiration taken from the current Honda Ridgeline, which was also designed and developed by Honda R&D North Americas.  Key design cues drawn from the 2017 Honda Ridgeline can be seen in the front fascia, hood, roof, bed and side profile.

Making approximately 550 horsepower, HPD's 3.5-liter HR35TT engine uses the same block, cylinder heads and crankshaft as the production V6 engine that powers the all-new Ridgeline.  Additional, custom elements of the powertrain include an HPD-designed intake plenum and custom Engine Control Unit programming. 

Photos and information from the Ridgeline Baja Race Truck efforts at the Parker 425 can be viewed on Instagram at @hondaoffroadracing and @proctor_race.  Honda Racing/HPD news and reports can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD.

Jeff Proctor (team owner/driver Ridgeline Baja Race Truck) started 4th, finished 1st in Class 7200 Unlimited V6 Trucks: "It feels so good to get a win for this Honda Ridgeline team at our season opener.  We are so excited to bring this one home for the team."

Pat Dailey (team manager, driver Ridgeline Baja Race Truck): "I couldn't be more proud of this entire team, their effort and commitment to earn a win.  Now, the team is now focused on the [next round in the team's 2018 schedule] 50th anniversary of the Mint 400, on March 10th in Las Vegas."

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