Robby Gordon Under Investigation for Cheating
03/17/09 How far are you willing to go to win? is a question frequently asked in off-road racing. In a difficult and dangerous sport, it takes heroic amounts of dedication and commitment to compete at a professional level. The SCORE racing series in Baja, Mexico is considered one of the most difficult off-road racing series in the world – its roster of competitors boast such racing heroes as Ivan Stewart, Parnelli Jones, and more recently NASCAR legend Robby Gordon.
On Saturday, March 14th at the 2009 Baja 250, several top racing teams filed a formal complaint against Robby Gordon for illegally shortcutting the course approximately 4 miles in order to pass Trophy Truck competitor Ed Herbst who has signed an appeal having witnessed the action.
It's common for off-road racers to use the shortest paths through difficult terrain, but it is another thing entirely to deliberately leave the course and re-enter at another location. The sport can be said to effectively operate on an honor system and it is often difficult to track the vehicles and enforce rules between the established checkpoints.
In the most remote part of the course at race mile marker 132.5 Gordon veered off course and drove down a cliff to bypass a difficult section and pass Herbst. He was discovered by a pit crew known as the Baja Fools who had set up a pit stop in that section of the course. They had thought that Gordon was broken down on an earlier section until the radio confirmed that Gordon had finished in second place. On investigation, two sets of Toyo tire tracks were found re-entering the course at ~ mile 136. Gordon had clearly premeditated the deviation and had practiced the maneuver once before.
Appeals were filed with the SCORE International race officials and they are currently investigating. Gordon may be facing possible probation.