Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Tecate SCORE Desert Series Round 3: SCORE Baja 5DD .Johnny C8mpbeII hops on the winning bike for his stint in tills ,ear's Baja 500. Campbell combined efforts again to win the 34th running of the famous race. Hengeveld and Campbell, By BRIAN FARIS PHOTOS BY MARK KARIYA ENSENADA, B.C., MEX., /llAY 31-JONE 1 T his was no race down nostalgia lane, but the 35th Annual Baja 500 did remind many of the old days along with the usual results. Ameri- can Honda factory teammates Steve Hengeveld and Johhny piloting a XR650, stopped the clocks at nine hours, 33 minutes and 48 seconds, averaging 47.36 mph over the tougher-than-usual 452-mile Ensenada-to-Ensenada course. This was about five mph slower than pre-race estimates, which reflected the conditions of this year's course. It was nearly 100 miles into the race before Hengeveld and Campbell took over the physical lead after being the seventh bike to leave the start line. "Thunderstorms helped out with dust issues after mile markers 80 and 95: Hengeveld said. "After that it was awesome, dust-free." Greg Bringle (pictured) was on the gas. And so was Ricardo Malo. The two riders' combined effort won Class 30. 54 JUNE 25, 2003' After passing the Blais Honda in a sand wash and taking the lead for good, Hengeveld said, "I rode smart and backed down where I could." Campbell, who rode the first 76 miles and split the mileage evenly with his partner, had to deal with drier conditions. "It was much harder to pass than usual; it was very dusty: Campbell said. "We rode it just like we planned - be patient, be smart." Hard as it is to be patient in any race, the team's patience paid off, as they won with a 24-minute edge over the second-place team: Ricardo Malo, Greg Bringle and Eddie Tyynismaa. The trio also finished first in Class 30. Riding in the last Pro Class to start, the Malo team, aboard a Precision Concepts set up XR650, steadily moved past the entries in front of them all day. They finished just seconds behind the third-place Chris Blais team but won on corrected time in 9:58:29. "Our plan was to be conservative in the first half," Tyynismaa said. "When we started reeling in the top runners, we picked up the pace, and it worked." Second in the Open Pro class and third motorcycle overall, Chris Blais, Chuck Dempsey and Beau Hayden brought in their XR650 in a time of 9:58:58. They started last in their class and actually led at kilometer 78 when factory Honda technician Blais passed Campbell on the water-slick highway. They lost some time when Hayden encountered a closed gate on the course and had to stop and open it, sta lling the bike in the process. They also dropped a couple of minutes repairing a broken shift lever at the Mike's Pit. "Everything was good - we had four passes by the highway crossing, and we had clear sailing: Blais said. Phillip Zeiger and Fred Willert brought their Open Pro Golden West· Steve Hengeveld teamed with campbell to win with 24 minutes to spare over the second-place bike. cue I • n eVIl'S