VOL. 52 ISSUE 40 OCTOBER 6, 2015 P31
make any mistakes with the Rally
Comp [computer]—just hit all the
waypoints and did it well. My day
just went really good."
Unfortunately for Burgiss, a
major navigation error dropped
him to fifth at the end of stage
two from Rancho Coyote to El
Rosario, with Hengeveld tak-
ing the day win by more than 13
minutes over Cody, this despite
a fifth-gear get-off that damaged
his navigation equipment and
throttle tube. Cody also crashed
during the stage, but he ended
up with a broken thumb and
decided to head back home
for treatment while the others
started the third day.
"If it was the last day, I'd
probably go ahead and ride, but
since we're only halfway into it,
I'd better not," he said.
Poskitt was third in the stage
followed by Ian Blythe who'd
flown in after finishing second at
a Brazilian national enduro, only
to DNF a couple miles into the
first stage with a broken engine
in his KTM 450 XC-F.
The third stage from El Rosa-
rio to Catavina saw Steele take
the win to solidify his hold on
third place, followed by Poskitt,
Hengeveld, Rally 1 rider Jeremy
LeBreton and Rally Pro Patrick
Reyes from Mexico.
"I don't think I've ever won
anything on a dirt bike before,
to be honest with you!" Steele
said. "I think winning a stage of
the Baja Rally was a big deal for
me." (Steele finished second to
Andy Grider in the inaugural Baja
Rally, just six seconds behind.)
With a comfortable lead going
into the final stage from Cata-
vina to Ensenada, Hengeveld
could've cruised and followed
Steele and Poskitt to the finish,
but he reported, "I just wanted to
put in a solid ride today; I figured
if I could catch the first two guys
that left [ahead of me], all I'd
have to do is ride with them.
"But we were going up a
canyon and they weren't go-
ing as fast as I wanted to go so
I passed them and just kind of
rode and took my time. Once I
got in the lead, I took my time
and made sure I hit all my spots
correct and didn't really push it
at all—just kind of on a little pre-
run."
Runner-up Poskitt shared, "I
had a quick look at the results
this morning and went into today
thinking, 'Well, really all I have to
do is hold my position,' because
let's face it: Mr. Hengeveld is a
way faster rider than I am!"
He added, "Overall, I'm really
pleased with how I rode; I prob-
ably rode faster than I ever have
before. I felt really confident. I
changed my suspension before
the race for the first time onto
some different suspension and
it's made a massive difference to
my riding—so much more confi-
dent hitting stuff."
Mark Kariya
Unheralded
privateer Trent
Burgiss (here
leading Lyndon
Poskitt on the
second day)
served notice
that he'll be one
to watch in the
future.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
MARK
KARIYA
