VOL. 56 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 12, 2019 P29
OFF-ROAD LEGEND PASSES
A
ccording to some of his
peers, Bob Balentine
was one of the best desert
racers of all time. Unfortu-
nately, Balentine recently
passed away January 22
in an automobile accident
near is home in Mojave,
California.
Balentine was a two-time
AMA/D-37 Heavyweight
number-one plate holder
and is best known for his
domination of upstart rival
D-37 racing association
DRA (Desert Racing Asso-
ciation) in the early 1970s.
Balentine dominated DRA
for so long, DRA actually
put a bounty on his head
for any D-37 rider that could
come out and beat him. The
bounty remained safe for
many years.
Balentine was the first
desert racer to have real success on a
KTM long before the Austrian manufac-
turer became a household name, riding
for then KTM West importer Ted Lapada-
kis. As a rider for KTM, Balentine teamed
with fellow high-desert resident Tom
Kelly becoming one of the top teams in
off-road desert racing through the 70s.
He later went on to team with Al Baker
and work with him on the development
of the Mugen and later Honda XR500.
In that capacity he had a huge impact on
bringing to market the first truly success-
ful modern day four-stroke in desert rac-
ing. The highlight of this association was
his solo overall win at the 1982 SCORE
San Felipe 250 and Parker 400. Unfor-
tunately, Balentine lost his lower right leg
in a head-on accident with a truck while
pre-running the 1982 Baja 500, ending
his competitive career. Balentine was
planning to solo the Baja 500.
Despite this setback Balentine re-
mained an avid trail rider and enthusiast
for years to come following the accident,
choosing to live in his hometown of Mo-
jave, California, where he lived until his
recent passing.
"In my book, Bob was one of the
best desert racers ever," said fellow
desert racer Scot Harden. "I had a ton
of respect for him and knew anytime he
showed up he was going to be a threat
for the overall." CN
Desert-racing
legend Bob
Balentine
recently passed
away following
a car accident
in Mojave,
California.
