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/127409
Rill~WIDS~~~alO_OO ~ e Overall winners Larry Ro eseler (shown ), Ted Hunnicutt and Marty Smi th finished the 754,1-mile race in 13 ho urs, 35 minutes and 25.4 seconds, averaging 55.-49 mph, Greg Zitterkop f (shown) and teammates Garth Sweetland and Paul Krause were third, Roeseler/Hunnicutt/Smith: The untouchables in Mexico By Anne Van Beveren Photos by Tom Van Beveren and Mike Klinger · B 6 ENSENADA, ac, MEXICO, NOV. 8·9 aja vetera ns Lar ry Roeseler and Ted Hunn icutt tea med with for mer National MX Champion Mar ty Smith to score the overa ll victory at the 24th running of the Baja 1000. The wi n was.Roeseler 's fourth in a row an d eighth of hi s career. T he Team G reen Kawasaki KX500mounted trio conquered the 754.I-mile course that bega n an d ended in Ensen ada in 13 hou rs, 35 min utes and 25 secon ds, fin ish ing mor e th an a hal£ an ho ur ahea d of the closest mot or cycle entry an d three hours quicker th an th e first fou r-wh eel finisher. " Wha t a toug h race," said Roeseler. " I'm really, really happy with this finis h. It wo u ld've been so easy to mak e. a mi stake today. All I could th ink of was ride smooth, don 't cra sh - please Lord, don't let an yth ing break." T h is year's Baja 1000 will be reme mbered as o ne of the most disorganized in th e race 's h isto ry. T he loca tio n of th e start/ fin ish lin e wasn' t co nfirme d until less than 12 hours befor e the race began as nego tiat ions co nti nued wit h ranchers wh o ow ned some of the land th a t the ra ce co u rse would ru n th ro ugh . T he start was delaye d 20 minutes a fter closed gates were reported in the first few miles, and a poorly-marked section 30 miles from the finish had man y of the top contenders ridi ng in circles . . T he race will also be remembered as one of the mos t expensi ve Baja 1000s on record. In addi tio n to the cost of prerun nin g, pi t crews and two-way radio co ntact wi th i ts to p ride rs , Kawasaki 's winning effort incl uded a heli copter tha t hovered over the lead bike for most" of the l 3-hour race. Honda 's factor y entry was also chased by a small airpl ane. Wh en asked how much T eam Gr een spent on the Baj a 1000 race, T eam Green man ager Mark J ohnson said, "T he.cost is classified. H ow much you spe nd doesn 't matter. We did it (the use of radi os and the helicopter) for safety." Scattered clo uds were it welcome cha nge from the usual low-lyin g fog as the 106 mot or cycle teams lined u p' for the sta rt at the east end of Avenida Rui z - the same stree t th at the fam ous Hussongs and Papas and Beer cant inas are located. The first bike ' was sche d u led to leave the line at 6 a.m . , but the riders were left to cool the ir engines until 6:20. And the delay contin ued even after the first bik e head ed onto the course.