JCR Honda's Campbell, Bell, and Norman win Baja 1000 Record 11th Win for Campbell beats LR
1X ROBBY BELL/KENDALL NORMAN/JOHNNY CAMPBELL, 1st Overall and 1ST in Class. (Bell started the race and rode the third stint also, Norman rode the second stint, Campbell rode the final stint from Trinidad.)
Norman said: “I got on the bike at Honda pit three and I was about two and half minutes down. We were third physically on the course. I just started charging. In the whoops, I caught the 10x bike who had crashed. And I began ride consistently and raced with the 2X bike, who had a phenomenal start. I got to the lead at the end of whoop section. I just started riding my own race. I opened up a good gap at that point. Then I put it in cruise control. Actually, I got off the bike in San Felipe. I rode over 200 miles and Robby (Bell) got back on for the nasty whoop section. Then Johnny (Campbell) finished up from Trinidad. I thought it was a really good course. I have never raced the northern Baja terrain by Mexicali before. It was a new experience for me. I thought SCORE did a really good job with the course. They made it shorter this year and that was more affordable for the racers. It was great turnout for entries this year. When we first started racing down here we both had the speed to go win but we were both immature and we didn’t have the experience. But we have learned together and put it together. Now we can come down here and both ride solid races every time, it seems like. That’s what the key is to winning down here: being super solid and having someone you can rely on so that you don’t have to worry about your teammates, you just do your job.”
Campbell said: “We actually got the lead about mile 158, we just got it going away from there. 6x never pressured us, they held us up quite a bit in the first part of the race, about 80 miles, 1x and 10x were just dogging it in the dust, took forever to get around them. 2x had a big lead, a couple minutes, about mile 120. In the bottom of the Rim Rosa, Robby hit a rock really bad and sprained his wrist and actually dropped back behind 10x when he came into Honda pit 3 (mile 147). Kendall got on and passed 10x, 10x actually tipped over, then he passed 2x. When I got the bike I had a 10-minute lead so I just had to maintain and bring it in. Baja is a special place and I’ve been fortunate to live a lot of my life down here. I think I’ll just take a day off after this and relax. It’s a lot of work, a lot of head work. I’m the decision maker so you’ve got more responsibility. It was a pretty rough course; they get pre-ran to death. I’ve ran rougher than this, ’99 was so tough. This one wasn’t so bad. When you get handed the bike with a 10-minute lead, it makes it a little easier.”
Bell said: “It’s great to see Johnny (Campbell) get some of the glory and finish it, and get his 11th down here. It was such a gnarly race. It was tough with the dust; there wasn’t much wind early. Between pit 1 and 2, around mile 80, I finally got into second place. The 2x bike was gone -- whoever was on the bike was riding like a hero. I actually ended up hitting a rock and tweaking my wrist a little bit, so I gave the bike to Kendall in third place. But he was my hero today he got us back in the lead and gave me a good lead when I got back on. Definitely stoked he picked it up when I let it down a little.”
1. Robby Bell, Sun City, Calif./Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif./Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, Calif. Honda CRF450X, 12:29:18 (50.56 mph) (Class 22)
2. Caleb Gosselaar, Juniper Hills, Calif./Timmy Weigand, Santa Clarita, Calif./Quinn Cody, Buellton, Calif./Tim Morton, Escondido, Calif./Johnny Campbell, San Clemente, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 12:55:35 (48.84 mph) (Class 22)
3. Scott Myers, Menifee, Calif./Shane Esposito, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Francisco Septien, Ensenada, Mexico, Kawasaki KLX450, 13:06:12 (48.18 mph) (Class 30)
4. Ryan Penhall, Corona, Calif./Brent Harden, Sun City, Calif./Mike Childress, Wrightwood, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 13:15:51 (47.60 mph) (Class 22)
5. Jim O’Neal/Jimmy O’Neal Jr., Simi Valley, Calif./Jason Trubey, Mohave Valley, Ariz./Mac Stewart, N. Las Vegas/Gerardo Rojas, Vicente Guerrero, Mexico/Luke Dodson, Castaic, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 13:20:25 (47.33 mph)
6. Colton Udall, San Clemente, Calif./Justin Seeds, Phelan, Calif./Bryce Stavron, San Clemente, Calif./Ron Wilson, Encinitas, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 13:29:50 (46.78 mph) (Class 22)
7. Grant Steele, Temecula, Calif./Jeff Kargola, San Clemente, Calif./Max Eddy, Barstow, Calif., Honda CRF450X, 13:32:36 (46.62 mph) (Class 22)
8. Mike Johnson, El Paso, Texas/Kyle Abney, Albuquerque, N.M./Rex Cameron, Albuquerque, N.M., Honda CRF450X, 14:29:21 (43.57 mph) (Class 30)
9. Brett Helm, Poway, Calif./Jeff Kaplan, Thousand Oaks, Calif./Lou Franco, Sherman Oaks, Calif./Jon Ortner, Santa Barbara, Calif./Craig Adams, San Clemente, Calif./Bob Johnson, San Diego, Honda CRF450X, 14:39:37 (43.07 mph) (Class 40)
10. Francisco Arredondo, Guatemala/James West, England/Ivan Ramirez, Ensenada, Mexico/Victor Rivera, Spain, Honda XR250R, 15:00:45 (42.05 mph) (Class 21)
11. Jim O’Neal, Simi Valley, Calif./Doug Heil, Monrovia, Calif./Mike Sixbery, Bullhead City, Ariz./Andy Kirker, Santa Ana, Calif./ Paul Needles, Westlake Village, Calif./Robert Hansen, Carson City, Nev., Honda CRF450X, 15:47:17 (39.99 mph) (Class 50)
12. PG Lundmark, Sweden/Lukas Lundin/Hakan Lidgren, Canada/Peter Postel, Honda CRF450X, 16:07:40 (39.15 mph) (Class 40)
13. Chris Haines, Dana Point, Calif./Scott Pfeiffer, Costa Mesa, Calif./Craig Adams, San Clemente, Calif./Chuck Sun, Las Vegas, Honda CRF450X, 16:07:51 (39.14 mph) (Class 50)
14. Brian Campbell/Bill Cotton, Bakersfield, Calif./Peter Cochran, Laguna Beach, Calif./Ken Durr, Indio, Calif., KTM 530XCW, 16:11:11 (39.00 mph) (Class 40)
15. Chad Black, Laguna Hills, Calif./Connor Penhall, Corona, Calif./Brian Bebeck/Jake Hullet, Westminster, Calif., Honda CRF250X, 16:20:17 (38.64 mph) (Class 20)
