Campbell/Hengeveld Win Baja 500

Kit Palmer | June 3, 2002

Johnny Campbell and Steve Hengeveld teamed up to take top honors at the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, June 1. The team Honda duo, riding an XR650, finished the race in a time of nine hours, 35 minutes and 54 seconds, with an average speed of 49.34 mph, and was also the first vehicle overall to cross the finish line.

Finishing second overall was Honda’s other team of Andy Grider and Danny Cooper, who also rode an XR650. The Grider/Cooper duo finished the race in nine hours, 56 minutes and 46 seconds.

The top four-wheel entry was a Class 1 open-wheel rig driven by Troy Herbst and multi-time two-wheel winner Larry Roeseler. Herbst and Roeseler finished the race in 10 hours, 24 minutes and 54 seconds.

The race was round three of the Optima SCORE Desert Series.

Kit Palmer | Off-Road Editor

Kit Palmer started his career at Cycle News in 1984 and he’s been testing dirt and streetbikes every since – plus covering any event that uses some form of a knobby tire. He’s also our resident motorcycle mileage man with a commute of 120 miles a day.