At SuperATV, we like to build products that are better and tougher. But most riders don’t get to see just how stinking tough our parts are.
Brian Thompson isn’t one of those riders.
He took on a 1,000-mile continuous off-road race, Baja Nevada 1,000 (also know as Baja Nevada The Long Way), backed by Rhino 2.0 Axles and a RackBoss 2.0 Rack and Pinion.
So how did they do? Let’s find out.
“It took us 32 hours and 50 minutes to complete this, and that’s continued racing, nonstop.”
Brian Thompson’s no stranger to racing. His dad raced in Southern California in the ‘80s, and he himself has been racing for more than 20 years. And now his kids race too. Over the years, he’s amassed multiple championships and race wins.
But when he first heard about the Baja Nevada 1,000—the first 1,000-mile continuous race in the United States—there was no hesitation.
“We said, ‘Yes, this is going to happen.’”
Brian and his team, TNT Offroad Racing, entered their 2015 RZR XP 1000 4. If they hoped to finish this brutal one-day, 1,000-mile race, they needed parts that could go the distance.
They opted for Rhino 2.0 Axles and our RackBoss 2.0 Steering Rack because they knew they could trust them.
“Confidence is 100% our thing. We’ve got a lot of test miles on the Rhino 2.0 Axles and RackBoss 2.0 Steering Rack, and we trust them now.”
How did they hold up? Brian and his team covered 1,000 hard, off-road miles in 33 hours. That’s 33 hours of silt beds, rock crawls, wide open throttle, and every other technical obstacle the Nevada desert could throw at them, only stopping for pits every 40 miles or so.
Brian drove the first 400 miles with his son riding shotgun as copilot and suffered massive problems. First, the power steering quit at the 10-mile marker. So he had almost the entire 1,000 mile race ahead of him with no steering assist. But their problems were just beginning.
Next, the motor mount broke away from the frame as they were leaving the sixth pit, and they had to stop and replace the whole mount.
Later, because he had no power steering to absorb steering feedback and deliver smooth control, the trail beat the hell out of all the steering components. The steering column ripped off the mount, but they managed to hose-clamp it before they got to the next pit and weld it back together.
In the next stint, helmed by their partners at Team Alpine, the mount that held on the EPS, master brake cylinder, and gas pedal ripped off the chassis. A few zip ties got them to the next pit.
“There’s no quit in our team. Pretty proud of our crew.”
Their machine took the beating of a lifetime. But after the breakdowns in the first half of the race, it was smooth sailing to the finish line.
Their Rhino 2.0 Axles never bound up, overheated, or ripped a boot.
And the RackBoss 2.0 didn’t budge, despite being in the center of the carnage caused by their nonfunctional EPS.
Brian says it best: “They look brand new. Just a little bit of Nevada desert on them. But after a thousand miles, the car’s going back together, and they are going right back on.”
Brian finished the race as copilot with his son driving after nearly 33 hours in the Nevada desert.
Was it just luck that Brian’s Rhino 2.0 Axles and RackBoss 2.0 Rack and Pinion survived the Baja Nevada 1,000 in perfect condition?
No!
We’ve engineered and manufactured these parts to kick ass in conditions exactly like this.
Rhino 2.0 Axles are a straightforward upgrade to stock. They’re bigger, made with better material, and engineered precisely. It’s really simple:
The bigger CV joints provide a tone of extra strength, but also increase articulation angles. The result is CV joints that run cooler across a wide variety of terrains and conditions.
Everything else just makes it stronger. Heat-treated chromoly throughout is designed to take massive torque loads from the drivetrain and huge hits from the terrain. Making the axle shaft bigger doubles down on that strength.
On top of that, Rhino 2.0 Axles come backed with an 18-month warranty—not that you’ll be able to break them.
Upgrade to Rhino 2.0 Axles on your UTV or ATV.
Our RackBoss 2.0 Rack and Pinion is even more impressive than our Rhino 2.0 Axles.
Standard rack and pinions tend to have a lot of play in them straight from the factory, which leads to a lot of wear on every ride. It’s because they use just one bushing to support the rack gear. It’s inevitable and completely unavoidable.
That’s why we designed a rack that uses two bushings to support the rack gear. There’s practically zero unwanted movement, and it reduces wear by over 50% compared to stock.
How did it hold up for Brian? “There’s zero backlash in our rack right now after 1,000 miles. It’s literally brand new.”
Not bad.
Get your own RackBoss 2.0 Rack and Pinion.
Brian prepared for the Baja Nevada 1,000 by outfitting his RZR with Rhino 2.0 Axles and a RackBoss 2.0 Rack and Pinion, and it paid off.
If you want to see what he’s up to now, you can follow him at TNT Off-Roading on Facebook and @tntoffroadracing on Instagram.
If you want to build a race-proven machine like Brian’s, head over to SuperATV.com to check out our Rhino 2.0 Axles and RackBoss 2.0 Rack and Pinions.
Maybe you’ll be the next one to conquer the Baja Nevada 1,000.
Check out our interview with Brian Thompson!
