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/128354
Sco re Baja 1000 merican Ho nda Factory riders Steve Hengeveld, Johnny Campbell and Kendall No rman sta yed with the ir race trategy: to win the race and do it in commanding fashion. This year, they o veralled t he Teca te Sco re Baja 1000 an d upped t he ir all-tim e sp ee d record for the 10 16.3-mile-long Ensenada to La Paz course to 63.S mph. It took the three ofthem 15 hours, S7 minutes and 37 seconds aboard their bulletproof Precision Co nce pts-pre pped Honda XR650R to complete the treach erous run. Thr oughout the entire race, everything we nt smoo thly for the Honda team members, and they had the ir pit program in place, which was manned by 124 pers onnel , roughly every 50 miles. Alluding to their pre vious victories, Honda guru and Team manager Bruce Ogilve stated, "We are not going to change a thing: same bike and same strategy. We're going to run ou r own race. Why change?" By the time Campbell turned the bike over to Norm an for his 324-mile stint, the lead was we ll intact . Campb ell had to work some to do it. though, as he was passed tw ice by Mike Childress, another O pen-class entry. "He got ahead of me at Kilometer 19 and then crashe d in the whoops going into San Matias, then repassed me before San Felipe," Campbell said. Child ress crashed a second time between Felipe and Puertocitos, this time sustaining arm and finger injuries and damage to his XR650R, and Campbell had the lead for good . "I went the same pace I always do, " explained Cam pbell, w ho co mbines speed w ith a large dose of Baja savvy. The fi nal 600 miles were all Norman and Hengeveld, who flat-out hauls at night. "We had no issues," Hengeveld said. "The bike ran really well and we had the best night, weatherwise, in two weeks. " Andy Grider, Chris Blais, Kellon Walch and Scott Harden piloted a KTM factoryentered KTM 700LC4 - in the beginning of what will be a three-year. factorybacked effort - to a second in Open class and third vehicle overall. They finished 24 minutes behind the Honda team and averaged 61.9 mph . It was a strong first-time effort, and at one point in the race they were only 12 minutes down from the leaders. They had to overcome tire problems, with Grider aboard, in the first 200 miles, and Blais had fuel problems just before the finish. "The bike explodes between 60 and 90 miles an hour and has incredible torque," Grider said before the race, but the tire problems took their toll. "I rode 90 miles basically on two flats and had to stop and zip-tie the tires on. The White Brothers suspension was incredible - it really came out of the corners, " Grider said after the race. Capturing a third in the Open class and A