Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126912
(.0 00 Q") Another former champ. Gary Nixon. geta refueled from former Superblce pilot (and now promoter) Steve McLllughlin. Nixon finished third in the On/Off-Road cIau. Former Grend NlItional Chempion Mark Brelsford stops for what turned out to be a painful 98s stop in Le Cerrare Mexicen Road Race. The racing stops. but the stories go on as Dick Mann (left). Brelsford (center) and Nixon talk in San Felipe. La Carrera Mexican Road Race Legal speeding south of the border By Paul Carruthers Photos by Mike Pons ENSENADA, BC, MEXICO, MAY 10 I was cruising down Highway 5 at close to 100 mph when I first spotted the two policemen standing in front of a parked police car, waving a green flag and urging me to go faster. That's right, urging me j break the law. It was like enter- 2Q. tQ_~O ,f~tn.!~·.~Jsin~"Wllo ,~jl,l~ ~~1.;.w~light Zo~~(rn' lf~, the Rod Sterling voice overdub. No, it wasn't the Santa Ana Freeway, and they weren't officers from the California Highway Patrol. It ~as a portion of one of the two highways that link Ensenada with San Felipe in Baja California, Mexico, and they were two Mexican Federales. It was all part of La Carrera Mexican Road Race - close to 150 miles of flat-out racing on roads ranging from wide-open straights to tight mountain curves, with entries limited to single and twin-cylinder motorcycles. But it didn't matter where it was as I thought to myself, "Is this a great country or what?" The La Carrera turned out to be exactly what I thought it would be, but multiplied by two. It is much more than just another motorcycle race - it is a happening. How often does one get the opportunity to compete with such greats as former Grand National Champions Mark Brelsford and Gary Nixon? How many times will one get the opportunity to race side-by-side for nearly 40 miles with former dirt tracker and National Number 19, Keith Mashburn? La Carrera is a bench racer's dream. Riders ranged in seriousness from the 145 mph Ducati-mounted, prerunning winner Steve Anderson of Cycle World to the guy who took delivery of his Suzuki Savage the day before the event - we're talking serious break-in here. Most of the competitors, however, were your basic middle-of-the-road racers out to have a good time in pursuit of speed without the fear of a jail term. There were very few wanna-be Kenny Roberts in the field of 45 motorcycle entries, just a bunch of guys havin' fun. The fastest of the fast at La Carrera turned out to be Anderson; his prerunning paid off as he averaged 106 mph to beat another Ducati ridden by ~ .Mgtprsvde Indu . , . ~ • ...-'''''1 Ii ... Mitchell. Third place went to Team Obsolete's Dave Roper on his G-50 Matchless followed by Nortonmounted Fred Eiker. Motorcyclist Magazine's 650cc class winner Nick lenatsch rounded out the top five overall. The On/Off-Road class was won by Mexican road race champ Jesus Rodriguez on his Cagiva Elefant. Rodriquez beat the Van Leeuwensponsored Kawasakis of Brelsford and Nixon (on a specially tuned Keith Mashburn special KLR600). The race started with the motorcycles parading through Ensenada traffic to a starting point 10 kilometers out oftown. At 10:30 a.m. the guys on twin-cylinder bikes took off in twoman waves, one minute apart. After trying unsuccessfully to encourage the duo of Brelsford and Nixon to start ahead of me, I left the line with Rodriguez and his Elefant. I kept the Mexican Freddie Spencer in sight for all of about three minutes (long enough to pass a flag-waving Grand Marshal Dick Mann and to watch the Mexican contingent cheer on their champion) and then started watching the odometer - waiting for a blur of Brelsford and Nixon. The first 35 miles of the highway - winds through the mountains, so I knew it wouldn't be long before the two former champions whooshed past. The odometer hit the six-mile mark when I heard the beep of Brelsford's horn as we approached a tight righthander. Shortly after, Nixon also passed around the outside. No big deal - just two riders with 26 National wins and three Grand National Championships to their credit. After I finally caught Loyal Reams on his tricked-out XL350, we entered the Ciudad de Trinidad pi t stop area together. My pit stop was a complete fiasco. Gas everywhere but in the :-::;O'~=.l~ti.epceW9~ .,.~, " .... I." )'.. -';J ';' thi('l4IMi\'Il'i1