:
OFF-ROAD
-l.....
riders Chris Haines, Jack Johnson and
Malcolm Smith brought 26 Baja 1000
class wins to the start line. They added
one more to the total , bringing their
XR650R down the course in 20 hours, 14
minutes and 4 seconds, with a 50-mph
speed average .
"It got nasty out there," said Smith, who
more than kept up his end of the bargain.
Smith was the winner of the first
Tijuana to La Paz Baja 1000 in 1967and still
enjoys being in Bajafor six weeks a year.
Jack Johnson, remembered for some
remarkable solo efforts in past Baja
races, had over 600 miles of riding duties
for his team.
"We're looking for a top-five finish ,"
johnson said before the race, but tire
problems on the top end of the course
and handling problems near the finish with
Haines aboard cut into their elapsed time.
Gene Dempsey, Sam Dempsey, Doug
Heil, Ron Bishop and jim O 'Neal finished
2 hours and 17 minutes behind the Haines
entry. Gene Dempsey, who rode the last
leg to the finish , has plans of retiring after
over 35 years of Baja racing.
Team Caveman riders Richard jackson,
Bob Wadlow and Greg Hawks ran with
the Haines bike for the first 650 miles,
even swapp ing leads, but jackson went
down hard on a muddy spot on the
course and broke his arm. The Team lost
close to three hours getting the bike
repaired and getting the last leg rider,
Greg Hawks, 50 miles up the course to
bring the bike in.
''Things like that can happen riding at
that speed in an uncontrolled environ ment," Wadlow said.
Sportsman riders Fred and Perry
Brown and Tommy Tomlinson from Rural
Retreat , Virginia, seemed at home in the
Bajaterrain. They finished first in a field of
21 entries and in a time of 20 hours, I I
minutes and 31 seconds, with a 50.2-mph
speed average in the Over 250cc
Sportsman class.
Another team from japan took the
honors in the Under 250cc Sportsman
class. Nobuyuk i Tsugita and Satoru Hirai
took 33 hours , 44 minutes and 3 seconds
to be the only finishers in their class,
As for next year, American Honda
plans to campaign both an A and B team,
and the KTM Factory will compete in all
three Baja races, with Grider, Walch and
Blais doing the riding. It will definitely be
eN
an exciting year to come.
LA PAZ, B,C.,
3
Malcolm Smith (54Bx), along with his teammate~ ch
Haines and Jack Johnson, took the win in Class 50.
MEXICO
RESULTS: NOVEMBER
(ROUND
r
OF
16·20, 2004
3)
MOTORCYCLE O/A : I. Johnny Camp belVSteve
He ngeve l4'Ke<1daJl Noonan (Hon) ; 2. AAdy Gride
