Each team has one win
Team Honda hoping desert duel with Team KTM results
In overall 2-wheel victory at 37th Tecate SCORE Baja 500
350 already entered in June 3-5 race in Ensenada, Mexico--Round 3 of six-race 2005 SCORE Desert Series
LOS ANGELES！Like gunslingers out of the old West, desert racing factory motorcycle teams from Honda and KTM are diligently preparing for their approaching duel in the desert, each hoping for the coveted overall 2-wheel victory in next week's popular Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert race. Traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule, over 150,000 spectators are expected to cheer the world's best desert racers in action at round 3 of the six-race 2005 SCORE Desert Series, to be held June 3-5 in Ensenada, Mexico.
Since this summer classic began in 1969, KTM has never won the overall motorcycle title while Honda has won for the last eight consecutive years. In the two races since KTM has again fielded a factory team, the record stands even at 1-1. Honda finished first and KTM second in last November's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 and KTM broke Honda's 10-race winning streak in February at the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250.
But, like in any celebrated shootout, the records can be thrown out the window when these teams face-off for the third time.
With a massive field of over 375 entries (including more than 100 motorcycles and ATVs) expected from 20 U.S. States, Mexico, Canada and Japan in the world's foremost desert racing series event, the green flag will drop at 6 a.m. on Saturday (June 4) for the motorcycle and ATV classes in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, followed by the car and truck classes two hours later at 8:30 a.m.
The guys in Red from Team Honda have entered two teams, each loaded with near-identical Honda XR650R motorcycles. The Orange men of Factory KTM/Red Bull have one team, strapped to a state-of-the-art KTM 660Rally motorcycle.
With 11 class wins and 10 overall titles between them in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, the legendary Honda A team is comprised of Steve Hengeveld, 29, Oak Hills, Calif., and Johnny Campbell, 34, San Clemente, Calif. Hengeveld has five consecutive Class 22 and overall motorcycle wins in this race, including the last three with Campbell, who has five career overall wins as well on the No. 1x American Honda XR650R.
Honda's formidable foes who will ride the No. 3x KTM foes are Chris Blais, 24, Apple Valley, Calif., and Andy Grider, 31, Los Olivos, Calif., who came up just short last November in La Paz and just ahead in February in San Felipe.
Honda's B team, certainly having the resources to win this shootout, features young guns Robby Bell, 19, Murrieta, Calif., and Kendall Norman, 21, Santa Barbara, Calif., on the No. 9x Honda XR650R.
"Competition is what racing is all about and we look forward to lineup against great riders every time," said the soft-spoken Campbell, who has tediously worked his name into the legends of SCORE desert racers. "This type of race against a field this good is sure to bring out the best in all of us. It's kind of like a 'last man standing' sort of thing because nobody will let up on the throttle, especially not Team Honda."
Out of the 13 teams entered to date in Class 22 are several other top riders, although none with the same overall support as the three factory teams.
Among the outsiders in this SCORE Baja shootout will be the team of Mike Childress, 21, Wrightwood, Calif., and Mike 'Mouse' McCoy, 36, Santa Monica, Calif., on the No. 14x Honda XR650R. Childress is another of the talented young guns of SCORE desert racing, while McCoy, a renown Hollywood stuntman, is the gifted rider whose solo race in Class 30 (riders over 30 years old) in the 2003 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 was featured in the new 'Dust to Glory' feature documentary on the granddaddy of all desert races.
Fierce competition is once again expected in both of the top classes, and the entire race for that matter as a race-record 70 racers who have combined to earn 181 class wins, will be in the starting grid.
Among the top age group motorcycle riders entered are two teams led by prominent apparel manufacturer Jim O'Neal, 58, Chatsworth, Calif., who will lead two teams of Honda XR650R riders into both Class 40 (riders over 40 years old) and Class 50 (riders over 50). While riding only minimally himself for the past few years because of different injuries, O'Neal and his teams have five class wins in four years, four straight in Class 40 and in 2002, they pulled off the unique double by winning in Class 50 as well.
In Class 30 (riders over 30), a race-high motorcycle field of 14 includes the two Mexican riders from last year's season point champion team along with a two-time Mexican season champ from Class 21. Gerardo Rojas will ride his Honda XR650R and former teammate Sergio Vega will lead a team on a BMW HP2. J. David Ruvalcaba, the 2000 and 2001 Class 21 season point champion, will lead a team in Class 30 this year on a Honda XR650R.
The Class 21 (motorcycles under 251cc) includes teams lead by two former SCORE class point winners. Joe Desrosiers, San Marcos, Calif., will lead a team on a Yamaha YZ250 while 1994 season champ Tim Morton, Escondido, Calif., will lead a group riding a Honda CRFX250.
With incredible factory support, including over 100 pit crew members spread around the desert, Team Honda is still the king of SCORE desert racing, but Factory KTM/Red Bull can't be overlooked. The showdown for the overall in Baja should add more to the legacy of SCORE racing in Mexico.
The battle for the overall and Class 25 ATV crown is definitely up for grabs, but the top three finishing teams from the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 are all entered. The ATV shootout should be just that with 13 entries to date in Class 25. The team led by Josh Frederick, Moapa, Nev., won by just five seconds in San Felipe on a Honda TRX450R over the Yamaha YFZ450 team led by Mike Cafro, Carlsbad, Calif., and 16 seconds over the Honda TRX450R team led by Nick Nelson, Tehachepi, Calif.
Looking much like an inverted deflating balloon on a string, the 419-mile race course starts in downtown Ensenada adjacent to the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center and finishes at Deportivo Antonio Palacios baseball stadium, 9th and Guadalupe Ave., in the heart of Ensenada. It is located approximately 1.5 miles east of the start line area. The admission will be free to this special SCORE finish line celebration. Vehicles will start in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race.
The world's foremost desert racing series will showcase 24 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs in Ensenada, which is located 65 miles south of the U.S. border at San Diego on the Pacific Ocean side of the majestic peninsula.
To date, the classes with the most entries are: Class 1-2/1600 (38), Class 1 (35), SCORE Trophy-Truck (29), SCORE Lite (23), Class 5/1600 (22) and Class 10 (19). In the Pro Motorcycle classes, both Class 30 leads with 14 and Class 22 has 13 each. Class 25 for open ATVs has 13 riders entered to date as well.
For the first time in several years, the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 will be televised nationally on a delayed basis. Produced by Aura 360, the Maine production company, in association with SCORE, the race will air multiple times as a one-hour primetime special on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN).
Pre-race festivities for the 37th Tecate SCORE Baja 500 will center around the Riviera del Pacifico convention center in downtown Ensenada on Friday (June 3). Traditionally drawing thousands of spectators, the pre-race Manufacturer's Midway and display off all the race vehicles will be held adjacent to the San Nicolas Hotel, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday (June 3). The post-race awards celebration will be held at the San Nicolas Hotel in Ensenada on Sunday (June 5) at 10 a.m.
SCORE official sponsors for 2005 are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, C.L. Bryant-VP Racing Fuels-official fuel supplier. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Las Vegas Events, Herbst Gaming, Kartek Off-Road, Centrix Financial, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bilstein, Signpros, Cotuco, Fideicomiso Publico para la Promocion Turistica de Ensenada, Cotuco, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products, and Advanced Color Graphics.
For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2005 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.
Tecate SCORE Baja 500
Overall Motorcycle Champions
(Since 1994, all Class 22)
1994！Paul Krause/Ted Hunnicutt Jr., Kawaski
1995！Paul Krause/Craig Smith, Kawaski
1996！Paul Krause/Ty Davis, Kawaski
1997！Johnny Campbell/Bruce Ogilvie, Honda
1998！Johnny Campbell/Bruce Ogilvie, Honda
1999！Jonah Street/Torsten Borstrom, Honda
2000！Jonah Street/Steve Hengeveld, Honda
2001！Steve Hengeveld/Jonah Street, Honda
2002！Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda
2003！Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda
2004！Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda
|
|
