Arctic Cat Thundercat 1000 earns major win

Ask anyone who’s ever raced all three of the SCORE Baja 1000 Series races which one is the toughest, and you’ll likely get the reply, “Definitely the San Felipe Baja 250!” It’s the shortest of the three SCORE Baja racecourses at approximately 250 miles, but it’s laden with giant whoop-de-doos from start to finish. Finding a section of racecourse to relax and shake the cramping out of your fingers is a rarity in this race, especially when you’re racing a 700-plus-pound 4×4 ATV.

“We had no major issues throughout the day and the Thundercat ran strong and flawless from start to finish,” says team captain Reid Rutherford.

Rutherford races the Thundercat with teammates Benn Vernadakis and Tony Valerio, as well as a fleet of chase vehicles and a pit crew that Rutherford claims the team couldn’t succeed without.

In the past, the Fines Double Racing Team has competed in the SCORE and Best In The Desert Pro ATV classes alongside tricked out 450cc and big bore sport quads. Surprisingly, they’ve actually been successful there. But for 2009, SCORE added the all new Class 26 to its race entry form, a class specifically setup for Utility ATVs. San Felipe was the first event to host the all new Utility Class.

Once the dust cleared, the Fines Double racing team emerged as the winner, finishing almost one hour and forty minutes ahead of its nearest competitor.

“We’d like to thank all of our sponsors that are helping us out in 2009. They include Arctic Cat, RTT Stabilizers, Tire Balls, GBC Tires, DWT Wheels, Planetmoto.com, Speedwerx, Rox Risers, Spyder Grips, Motion Pro and Vision X Lights. Without them, we wouldn’t have a race team,” says Rutherford.

The next race for Fines Double Racing is the SCORE Baja 500, which stages out of Ensenada, Mexico.

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