Class 40 Team , Rob Barnum/Mike Kay/Jack McCormick finish rough Baja 500 on 08 TC 510 Husky. Finishing 3rd in class. No communication from them yet, so no stories. Just job well done, hoped they had fun. Later George
For immediate release. Where? Baja California, What? The 2011 Baja 500 Husqvarna, Barnumspro, Uptight Husky, GP Husqvarna, Impact Bearing, Ims, Oneal backed team with rider of record Rob Barnum along with team mates Mike Kay and Jack Mc Cormic finished the grueling Baja 500 rounding out the podium with 3rd in the 40 pro class . But not without incident although no one sustained injury the team was not without problems just 2 days before the race. The team had discovered a faulty clutch basket on the race bike causing the need for a complete teardown of the motor, to clean the debris out. With the bike repaired and re assembled the 510 husky was ready once again for the 6 am start. Barnum started the first 50 feet as a formality as rider of record and handed the bike over to team rider Mike Kay. Kay trekked on and rode as fast as he could with the dusty conditions the pro quads made. He finally complete the first 80 mile leg to hand the bike back to Barnum at KM77. Barnums next leg over the famous Baja summit went well all but a persistent oil leak that was coming from the fork seals, the oil leak covered his boots and motor. This was a big distraction Barnum said because the oil seemed to be coming from the motor. But fortunately a stop at Mag 7 pit 3 found that was not the case. When Barnum checked the oil and radiator fluid to discover a full supply of fluids he was relived. With only a small pipe repair to keep the pipe from falling off from a broken pipe mount, Barnum finishing up his section cleanly with no further incidents. The bike was handed over to Jack Mc Cormic at Borrego race mile 208, The Borrego pit took some time for a gearing change and to secure the pipe once again to the sub frame. Mc Cormic and Kay shared the next section to Mikes Sky Ranch rd Mc Cormic ran to the Pacific side where he had to ride back from the coast because Barnum was un able to make it to the Santo Tomas rider change. Barnum waited at race mile 415 to once again jump on to ride the last 35 miles to the finish. Barnum was concerned about Mc Cormic having to ride further knowing that Jack was having stomach problems for the last few days. But Mc Cormic brought the bike in with a pair of broken forks that were pogo sticks to say the least. Mc Cormic did an amazing job of riding for over 70 miles with the worst suspension ever. Barnum said it was a really hard bike to ride the last 30 miles and my hat is off to Jack for sticking with it all the way to me. Barnum said the bike ran like a top no matter what we threw at it. The Husky is truly an amazing bike. A special thanks goes out to George Erl For help with the bike and parts. George is a great guy and a wealth of knowledge. Mag 7 for the excellent pit service, Mike Rasp, Frank Cook, Magnus, Rudy, Eric, Jeff and Gus for the great chase crew work! We will see you at the Baja 1000 in November.
Nice gettin' er to the checkers!!! Hey Rob lots of hardcore/thrasher rides amd races completed since the fall 2010 Barnums Pro crank rebuild on my 08 TXC450 Thanks!!
