Two Honda Teams For Baja

Mark Kariya | September 7, 2000

American Honda’s Bruce Ogilvie used the SCORE/Tecate Baja 2000 press conference at the Petersen Auto Museum in Los Angeles, California, to officially announce the composition of two Honda teams in the race. The “A” team, headed by three-time and defending Baja 1000 champ Johnny Campbell, includes current partner Tim Staab plus Steve Hengeveld, Jonah Street and Craig Smith.

In addition, Honda will field a second team of riders. The “B” or backup or “legends” team includes captain Chuck Miller, Ogilvie, Gary Jones, Bob Johnson, Paul Ostbo and Bob Rutten.

“We put a lot of thought into even having a ‘B’ team,” Ogilvie admitted, “But we came up with some requirements for people that were going to be on our ‘B’ team. First of all, they had to have a strong Honda history. Second, they had to be over 40 years of age. Third, they had to have a lot of Baja wins or a lot of Baja experience. I had to figure out a way for me to ride.

“We’re dubbing it the Honda Legends team, and that will be our ‘B’ team for this event. Going to Cabo is going to be a race of survival and not having any downtime.”

The well-attended press conference included many truck and buggy racers, some of whom are former or current motorcyclists like Malcolm Smith. Team Green’s Larry Roeseler will share a Toyota Tundra Trophy truck with Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, and former Team Green motocrosser Robbie Gordon and Indy car racers Roberto Guerrero and Mike Groft are also planning to tackle the nearly 1800-mile contest from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas. The race begins on Sunday, November 12. For more information, contact SCORE International at 818/225-8402 or visit www.score-international.com.

Those who wish to get a look at some of the race vehicles that made history in Baja racing will be able to do so by visiting the “1000 Miles to Glory” exhibit at the Petersen Auto Museum (on the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax; adult admission $7) from September 7-10. For more information, contact the museum at 323/930-CARS (2277) or visit www.petersen.org. Baja racing buffs can also look forward to a book entitled 1000 Miles to Glory, a full-color, coffee table-quality history book by Marty Fiolka due out next year.