Skaggs Steals The Show At Baja Nevada
D
ue to the unusual weather
patterns the Southwest
experienced earlier this year,
long-distance desert racing was
forced to take a back seat for a
long time. But as temperatures
increased, so did the itch to go
racing again and several teams
and riders flocked to southern
Nevada for Legacy Racing As
-
sociation's flagship event, the
610-mile Baja Nevada, presented
by Brenthel, May 13-14. Going
back to a two-day format, the
longest off-road race in the U.S.
traverses the Nevada desert with
a 290-mile point-to-point run
from Pahrump to Tonopah on
day one, followed by a 310-mile
loop starting and finishing in
Tonopah the following day.
Much like the 2000's era of
Baja, the Open Pro class was
a sea of red, as all of the top
teams were aboard CRF450Xs.
Defending series champion
Danny Cooper and crew (1X)
sought to fight off the 22X team
of Cory Skaggs and Jarett Megla,
and the 57X duo of Trevor Hunter
and Hayden Hintz.
First off the line at 5:30 a.m.
on day one was the 57X bike, fol
-
lowed by 1X and 22X one minute
apart. Through the first two pits,
the three Open Pro teams main
-
tained their gaps in a tight race
for the lead on adjusted time.
However, the Dirt Bike Test/
Honda 57X team was the first to
run into an issue when their rear
tire came apart and needed to
be changed after just 64 miles. It
was an issue that would plague
them the rest of the day. During
the unexpected wheel change,
the Cooper Motorsports 1X
team made the physical pass
for the lead and opened a small
gap, while the early race leaders
scrambled to get their CRF450X
back on track.
Over the next 70 miles, the
running order remained the
WIND
IN THE
P36
The Cory Skaggs/Jarett
Megla duo took the overall
win at the Legacy Racing
Association's Baja Nevada
off-road race.
PHOTOS:
HARLEN FOLEY
