VOLUME 58 ISSUE 49 DECEMBER 7, 2021 P29
gardens and sand washes.
When the dust settled it was
San Diego's Kepple (Husqvarna)
that set the fastest combined
time by winning two of the three
tests. His overall time of four
hours and 23-minutes showed
just how grueling this race can
be. Kepple accumulated a
nine-minute lead going into the
second loop and cruised the final
35 miles of the day.
"I put in a really heavy effort
those first two tests to build up a
nine-minute lead heading into the
third and final test," said Kepple
who now has four Tecate Enduro
first-place trophies to his credit.
"I have a ton of respect for every-
one that came down to endure
a dry dusty event this year and
much respect to Los Ancianos
for putting on another great event
with over 90 miles of perfectly
marked trail."
JCR Honda's Preston Camp-
bell took home second on the
day. He logged the fastest time
on the third loop (though only by
seconds over Kepple), bumping
himself up from fifth place to sec-
ond overall in the final and most
technical test of the day. Baja
legend Johnny Campbell made it
a family affair, racing the enduro
alongside his son, Preston, call-
ing it a "ride of survival."
Another racer from the USA,
Dustin McCarthy, rode three
consistent loops and nabbed the
third and final spot on the po-
dium. Anson Maloney and Justin
Morgan rounded out the top five.
Testament to the difficult
nature of the event, both in terms
of the technical terrain and the
unforgiving dust, there were only
172 finishers from the 343 official
entrants, making for a 50% finish
rate.
CN
Overall
1. Noah Kepple (Hus)
2. Preston Campbell (Hon)
3. Dustin McCarthy (KTM)
4. Anson Maloney (KTM)
5. Justin Morgan (Hon)
Dustin McCarthy
rounded out the top-
three finishers.
