Johnson leads at the Baja 1000 halfway mark

With competitors now eclipsing this year’s BFGoodrich Baja 1000 halfway point near Race Mile 380, veteran off-road and motorcycle icon Ricky Johnson is on a mission to show that the passage of time has not slowed him down one bit. Taking advantage of his pole position, R.J. piloted the No.6 Team C Mason-built Trophy-Truck at a pace fast enough to maintain the race’s overall four-wheel lead as darkness descended upon the stark Baja desert landscape this evening.

Johnson then turned over the truck to team owner Larry Conner, hoping to take advantage of his vehicle’s all-wheel drive chassis, tough BFGoodrich race tires and clean air to maintain the race lead.

Their advantage, however is far from comfortable. Lurking not too far in their mirrors is the always-potent No.11 Rockstar/BFGoodrich Ford of Rob MacCachren, who will share driving duties with Jason Voss, followed closely by another all-wheel drive truck, the No.7 Red Bull/BFGoodrich Ford of Bryce Menzies and Toby Price. Andy McMillin was next in his No.31 Red Bull/Toyo Chevy, also a Mason-built all-wheel drive truck, handing the truck over to teammate Gustavo “Tavo” Vildosola Jr.

Much to the delight of local fans, the No.77 Speed Energy/Toyo Chevy of Robby Gordon rounded out the top five, with Cameron Steele’s No.16 Monster Energy/BFGoodrich Geiser-built truck not too far behind. (Note: these are physical positions of the vehicles, not time corrected or official standings)

With less than 100 miles left to go, the No.7X Honda motorcycle ridden by Justin Morgan is leading a large two-wheel field headed toward the finish line in Ensenada.

Racers have a total of 36 hours to complete the event, with the first Trophy-Trucks expected back at the Ensenada finish around 2:00am or so. For complete coverage and tracking please see below:

Live Streaming: SCORE International has promised live streaming and professional production from the Ensenada start and finish. To watch, click here.

Live Tracking: With the advent of GPS tracking and detailed satellite maps, viewers can now track any and all competitor via live online tracking. To watch, click here.

Weatherman Relay: Standing tall as the oldest and most famous method of communication in Baja, the Weatherman Relay offers racers, chase teams and safety crew with direct radio relays, which makes for drama-filled listening and instant race updates. To listen, click here.

Top Five Four-Wheel Vehicles

6 Larry Connor, 68, Miamisburg, Ohio/Ricky Johnson, 53, Trabuco Canyon, Calif./Luke Johnson, 27, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., Chevy Silverado (Mason)

11 Rob MacCachren, 53, Las Vegas/Jason Voss, 32, Gilroy, Calif., Ford F-150 (Geiser)

7 Bryce Menzies, 31, Las Vegas/Toby Price, 31, Australia, Ford Raptor (Huseman)

31 Andy McMillin, 31, San Diego/Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola, 36, Mexicali, Mexico, Chevy Silverado (Mason)

7 Robby Gordon, 49, Charlotte, N.C./Cole Potts, 19, Scottsdale, Ariz., Chevy Silverado (Custom)

Top Motorcycle

7x Justin Morgan, 28, El Cajon, Calif./Mark Samuels, 28, Yucca Valley, Calif./Justin Jones, 27, Murrieta, Calif., Honda CRF450X