25 years ago, Baja Designs was founded with a passion and thirst for off road. Performance driven and race proven – Baja Designs engineers and manufactures American made products, using only the best components available, right here in San Diego, California. (more…)
Team BD Trick Truck Race Summary
Justin Lofton took the overall victory and the top spot in the Trick Truck class; making him the second “Team BD” racer to take back to back wins that day. Finishing only 42 seconds behind Lofton was Andy McMillin in his new TSCO Trick Truck. Finishing just off the podium in fourth was “Team BD” racer Brett Sourapas.
“We turned our Baja Designs lights on with about 20 miles to go to the finish. It was hammer down from the start. Our Baja Designs Lights worked great when we needed them the most!” said Justin Lofton.
“We were in the lead pack all day. It was nerve wracking as it started to get dark, we couldn’t tell who was behind us. It was real dusty coming across the dry lake bed. We flashed our lights to let a slower car in front know we were coming. When our lights lit him up, he knew he better get out of the way. We had no time to spare with McMillin only 42 seconds back,” said Lofton.
Cody Parkhouse checked out from the rest of the class 1500 field and crossed the finish line 35 minutes ahead of second place to take the unlimited class win.
Team BD Class 6100/TT Spec Summary
Finishing well after sunset in the 6100/TT Spec class, Christian Sourapas used his Baja Designs lights to pierce through the dust and darkness to take the win.
Team BD Class 10 Summary
Class 10 winner, and now back to back champion of the Mint 400, Roger Starkey, took the top spot after setting a blistering pace. “Team BD” member T.J. Tuls, of Milk-N-It Motorsports was 2nd and Jason Coleman was 10 Seconds behind to put Baja Designs on the podium in 3rd. It was a clean sweep of the highly competitive class 10 podium.
Team BD UTV Summary
Branden Sims, who recently joined Baja Designs, took the overall win in the UTV class. Showing incredible sportsmanship, Sims jumped out of his race car after taking the overall win, and ran back onto the course to help push a fellow competitor with a mechanical issue across the finish line.
“Getting 1st and the overall be an all-time great moment in my life. I am excited to announce I have partnered with the top name in lighting!” – Branden Sims
Branden Sims, who recently joined Team BD, took the overall win in the UTV class. Showing incredible sportsmanship, Sims jumped out of his race car after taking the overall win, and ran back onto the course to help push a fellow competitor with a mechanical issue across the finish line.
Baja Designs Welcomes Cameron Steele & Desert Assassins
The Mint 400 was also a chance to welcome our latest team member to Baja Designs. Trophy Truck driver and icons in the sport of off-road racing Cameron Steele and the Desert Assassins. They debuted their new light setup at The Mint 400 which created quite the buzz. Baja Designs, Cameron Steele and the Desert Assassins will be changing the lighting world as everyone knows it. Stay tuned!
About Baja Designs:
For 20+ years Baja Designs (BD) has engineered revolutionary ways to stay at the forefront of motorcycle and automotive lighting. The first product developed was a Dual Sport kit that made a pure off road motorcycle minimally street legal. This intimate knowledge of motorcycle electrical capabilities led to a natural evolution to engineer the first HID motorcycle race light. Owner/Lead engineer Alan Roach is an avid Baja 1000 racer who has successfully been able to fine tune a motorcycle’s limited light optics to maximize rider comfort, speed and safety. As a result, Baja Designs (BD) has won every professional and amateur motorcycle and ATV Baja 1000 class for over 15 years.
As their engineers and racers advanced to truck and buggy racing, the next evolution began. Baja Designs quickly adapted their race winning HID motorcycle lights to their new race vehicles. With amazing speed, Baja Designs (BD) HID lights were adopted by the vehicle race community and could be found on the majority of Baja 1000 winning vehicles. In the process, Baja Designs (BD) engineers became well known as “The Scientists of Lighting” and were sought out by professional race teams to develop and aim their vehicle lighting.
LED lights were the next natural evolution of lighting and Baja Designs (BD) was the first company to develop a forward projecting LED light bar that was introduced and raced in the 2005 Baja 1000. That original LED light bar has evolved into a line of the highest performing and race winning LED lights on the market. Revolutionizing industry leading lights is not just a job at Baja Designs (BD), but a lifelong passion for both their owners and employees. The Baja Designs (BD) product line is dedicated to being BRIGHTER, BOLDER, and BETTER, which is why they truly are “The Scientists of Lighting”.
About Mad Media:
The 2015 Polaris RZR Mint 400 presented by General Tire will undoubtedly go down in history books as one of the most competitive races in recent off-road history. Fifty-one Trick Trucks and thirty-four Class 1500’s rolled in to Sin City ready to throw down on the brutal Best in the Desert race course. After a momentary stoppage in the race due to a multi-vehicle collision, it was apparent that The Great American Off-Road Race would carry on past dusk, shifting the focus to visibility into the night. With the help of Baja Designs Off-Road Performance Lighting, Justin Lofton, Sam Berri and Brett Sourapas were able to push until the end and secure the Overall Victory and 1st place in Class 1500 and Class 6100, respectively.
After making the move up from Class 1500 to the Trick Truck Class, Justin Lofton has proven his newly built Jimco Trick Truck can race with the best. As if the deteriorating Mint 400 race course wasn’t tough enough, racers had to quickly shift to nighttime strategies after the first stoppage of a race in Best in the Desert history forced the race to push further into the night. A Baja Designs OnX6 Racer Edition Arc Series LED Light Bar guided Lofton over the finish line after completing the 400 mile course in just under six hours, 7 minutes ahead of the 2nd place finisher Robby Gordon.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Lofton said. “We set our sights on doing this and here we are. This race is the one you want to win.”
Similar to Justin Lofton, Sam Berri also has a brand new Jimco Class 1500 built for the 2015 season which has been outfitted with Baja Designs OnX6 Racer Edition LED Light Bars and Squadron Pro auxiliary lights. Berri ran a flawless race and was 1st to the finish line with an official time of 06:24:27.431.
“My crew came together. I couldn’t have done it without everybody who got involved in helping put this thing together and made it worth winning The Mint!” commented Berri at the finish line. “Baja Designs played a huge part in this win, allowing me to keep my pace into the night and hold off Parkhouse hot on my tail.”
The list of accomplished Baja Designs racers with strong finishes at the 2015 Mint 400 doesn’t stop there. Tavo Vildosola was a frontrunner the entire day and finished 5th overall. Tavo finished the race just seventeen minutes off Lofton’s pace. Dan, Luke and Andy McMillin also demonstrated the effectiveness of Baja Designs Lighting with 6th, 7th and 13th place overall finishes.
Hot off their win at the BITD Parker 425 earlier this year, TSCO Racing’s Gary Weyhrich finished with an impressive 8th place at the Mint 400. Baja Designs racers secured 8 of the top 10 positions in the combined overall rankings in addition to top tier finishes in Trick Truck, Class 1500 and Class 6100 placing Baja Designs in the forefront of the off-road lighting industry.
Trick Truck Top Ten Overall Results with Baja Designs Lights:
About Baja Designs:
For 20+ years Baja Designs (BD) has engineered revolutionary ways to stay at the forefront of motorcycle and automotive lighting. The first product developed was a Dual Sport kit that made a pure off road motorcycle minimally street legal. This intimate knowledge of motorcycle electrical capabilities led to a natural evolution to engineer the first HID motorcycle race light. Owner/Lead engineer Alan Roach and Product Development Engineer Stephen “Tex” Mitchell were avid Baja 1000 motorcycle racers who were able to fine tune a motorcycle’s limited light optics to maximize rider comfort, speed and safety. As a result, Baja Designs (BD) has won every professional and amateur motorcycle and ATV Baja 1000 class for over 15 years.
As their engineers and racers advanced to truck and buggy racing, the next evolution began. The engineers quickly adapted their race winning HID motorcycle lights to their new race vehicles. With amazing speed, Baja Designs (BD) HID lights were adopted by the vehicle race community and could be found on the majority of Baja 1000 winning vehicles. In the process, Baja Designs (BD) engineers became well known as “The Scientists of Lighting” and were sought out by professional race teams to develop and aim their vehicle lighting.
LED lights were the next natural evolution of lighting and Baja Designs (BD) was the first company to develop a forward projecting LED light bar that was introduced and raced in the 2005 Baja 1000. That original LED light bar has evolved into a line of the highest performing and race winning LED lights on the market.
Revolutionizing industry leading lights is not just a job at Baja Designs (BD), but a lifelong passion for both their owners and employees. The Baja Designs (BD) product line is dedicated to being BRIGHTER, BOLDER, and BETTER, which is why they truly are “The Scientists of Lighting”.
About Mad Media
August 21st, 2013 – San Marcos, CA – Baja Designs would like to congratulate competitors of the 2013 General Tire Vegas to Reno, with a special thanks to Team Enlightened and their chase crews.
From the lights of the Las Vegas strip to the high desert of Reno, Nevada, this year’s General Tire Vegas to Reno challenged some of the best drivers the off road racing industry has to offer. Five hundred and fifty miles across the Mojave Desert at temperatures reaching upwards of 108 degrees gave everyone a run for their money. The longest off road race in the United States, Vegas to Reno claims its fair share of casualties. (more…)
August 13th, 2013 San Marcos, CA – Baja Designs’ CopperDrive® LED Management System permits their lights to shine brighter, run harder, cool faster and live longer. High output white LEDs generate a lot of heat, requiring proper thermal management to safely drive them at 100% power. 100% power is the only way to get the lumen count promised by the LED manufacturer.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOmMR38lu1A (more…)
Baja Designs LED lights are now 20% brighter. The Scientists of Lighting are installing the newest versions of the XP-G and the XM-L manufactured in North Carolina by CREE. Baja Designs OnX, Squadron, and SII led lights are made with CREE’s new XM-L2 (10watt) and the Stealth LED light bars contain the new XP-G2 (5watt). (more…)