Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 Bv BRIAN FARIS SAN FEUPE, MEXICO, MAR. 16-18 'I t was business as usual for Ameri, can Honda, as factory team riders Steve Hengeveld and Jonah Street took the 15th Annual Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 aboard an XR650R in a time of 3:33.22. The 58.7-mph average gave the pair the overall win and was 1 mph faster than the first four-wheeled vehicle. Honda teammates Johnny Campbell and Tim Staab had to settle for second place when their clutch went out seven miles from the finish line. "We were neck and neck when the clutch let go," a disappointed Campbell said. "I think it developed an oil leak.' The two Honda teams stayed close to each other for 200 miles of 30 APRIL 4. 2001 • DUD. _ the 208-mile course. Staab, riding the first half after switching with Campbell just off the start line, caught and passed Street 15 miles into the race. At SCORE chec!< two, with 82 miles completed, the Campbell/Staab team had a three-minute lead. By checkpoint three, 121 miles in, riders Hengeveld and Campbell were just seconds apart and the duel continued until the Campbell/Staab Honda lost its clutch. The Campbell/Staab entry finished almost 28 minutes behind due to the clutch repairs. Staab, in true Baja make-do fashion, used an ever-present aluminum can as spacer material, to allow the bike to finish. He deserves a tip of the sombrero for his resourcefulness. n __ • "I had a good ride, except where I got off when the bike swapped ends and I caught my foot,' Hengeveld said in describing his ride. "After that, I couldn't pound the whoops. The bike ran awesome.' Finishing third in the Open class and third overall on a Precision Concepts-prepped XR650R were Phillip Zeiger and Trevor Sheridan. "The course was rough out there, but nothing we didn't expect; we did a lot of pre-running,' Zeiger said. What the pair hadn't planned for was a spectator's van getting through traffic control and turning across the course just before the finish line, causing finisher Sheridan to leave 100 feet of skid marks to avoid hitting it. "I had it pinned coming around that last comer and had to skid to the finish," Sheridan said. Fifth overall and rounding out the Open-class entrants was the XR650R of Jaime Sanoja and Arturo Salas. Juan Ruvalcaba with teammates Steve Cruz and Roglio Panda put together another strong Baja run to take the 250cc class. Their time was 4:38.27 on a Yamaha YZ. They were the GTL overall winners, finishing ahead of the only other class finisher - Kawasaki-mounted Oscar Garcia . by 34 minutes. The Ruvalcaba team, from Ensenada, had strong backing from family and friends, and cited their pits as very helpful in the win. Oton Guzman, Scott Herweg and Steve Taylor took first in Class 30, and eighth overall aboard an XR650R in a time of 5:08.29. They were separated from the second-place fmishers by less than four minutes. Eddie Zeller and Kai Vetter experienced a flat rear tire and limped the last 40 miles on a square rim and a tire held on with zip ties. In Class 40, Baja veteran Jim O'Neal picked up a class win and seventh overall in a time of 4:48.41 with teammates Tim Withers, Cliff Matlock and John Ortner. The team's time was excellent, considering that their throttle stuck open coming off the start. They tried to fix it 100 feet from the start. "The throttle stuck the whole way," O'Neal said. "We rode it in the high gears using only half or three-quarters gas. It was tough in the technical stuff, because we couldn't set up for whoops." O'Neal also stopped to help family friend Chuck Dempsey, who crashed hard and had to be airlifted to San Diego with a dislocated hip. Neil Maninen, on a Honda XR400, finished second, one minute ahead of Klaus Groeger and Jim Ferguson, who rounded out the class. Fourth overall, with a time of 4:33.33 was Sportsman-class winner Alejandro Vizcaino, who teamed with Luis Cattellano and Jose Vizcaino aboard an XR650R. "The course was very rocky, but the bike ran perfect,' Jamie Vizcaino said. "We had no problems at all." By checkpoint two, they had passed all but six of the other bikes that started ahead of them. Six of the 10 starters in the Open Sportsman class finished with about an hour separating them, making this a very competitive class. Although SCORE's Sal Fish attempted to add about 25 miles in a south-easterly direction to the course, he was stopped by local ecological concerns. The course stayed exactly the same as last year's race, using first the Huatamote heading south, and then east. The course continued east through the Chanate Wash and then hooked-up with the old Puertocitos Road going south. It then connected with the Asufre Wash and on to the Matomi Wash in an easterly direction. The remaining 64 miles went north to the finish. It differed from last year's course in its condition. Before Saturday's start, Honda guru Bruce Ogilvie called the course, "Beat, real beat." "The last 25 miles were brutal,' said Hengeveld. As tough as the course was, this year's winners, Hengeveld and Street, had a 2 mph-better average speed than Campbell/Staab did in winning last year's event. For a race as rough as this was, the motorcycles had a surprisingly high finishing rate. After the Baja 2000 last November, this 2G8-mile sprint was a welcome change of pace. I:IN SlID Felipe Baje Celifamia, Muice Results: MIIn:h 11-18, ZOOl OVERALL: 1. Steve Hengeveld/Johnah Street (Hon); 2. Johnny CampbeU/Tim Staab (Hon); 3. Phillip ZeigerfTrevor Sheriden (Han). CLASS 21: 1. Juan Rubelcebo/Steve Cruz!Rogelio Panda (VAM): 2. Oscar Garcia (KalAl) CLASS 22: 1. Steve Hengeveld/Jonah Street (Hon.) 2. Johnny Campbell/Tlm Staab (Hon); 3. Phillip Zeiger/Trevor Sheridan (Han); 4. Jaime Sanoja/Arturo Salas (Hon). CLASS 30: 1. Otcn Guzman/Scott Herweg/Steve Taylor (Han); 2. Eddie Zeller (Vam); 3. Julio Abril (Vam); 4. Kevin Wald/SCotl Donlavey (Hon). CLASS 40: 1. Jim O'Neal/Tim Withers/Cliff Matlock/John Ortner (Han); 2. Neal Manninen (Hon); 3. Klaus Groeg~/Jim Ferguson (Hon). SPORTSMAN: 1. Alejandro Vizceino/Luls Castellano (Han).

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