Team HERO riders Jim Wazny, Chris Ridgway and Mario Panagiotopoulos, all left-leg amputees, competed as the first all adaptive team in the Baja 1000, from Nov. 15-17. The team
finished 6th overall in the Open Pro Class 22 on adaptive Honda CRF450x dirt bikes, finishing the 1,121.55-mile race in 31 hours, 30 minutes, 59 seconds.
The long and challenging off-road race route stretches from Ensenada, Baja California to La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Of 298 racers who started, 174 finished the grueling race. Racers hailed from 34 states and 23 countries
“Nine months ago, when I committed to Team HERO [Help Everyone Reach Out] to race the Baja 1000, I did not realize what was in store. I had heard the stories and watched the videos on-line, but nothing could prepare me for the real thing,” Wazny stated in a press release. “It was a fantastic feeling to finish, and being the first-ever adaptive team to do it made it even sweeter. The emotions were intense and we made our goal of finishing.”
At the conclusion of the race, the riders delivered a prosthetic leg to a boy in need.
