Jean Turner | December 8, 2019
Early December in Northern Baja can really go either way. You can have heat and dust (as in 2017), or rain and mud, as racers saw for the 2019 Tecate Enduro, put on by the Los Ancianos MC. But in any conditions, the results seem to produce the same winner. Noah Kepple topped the field aboard his 3Bros./SRT Husqvarna to take the overall win at the 2019 Tecate Enduro for the third time in the last four years, regaining his crown in the Baja event from 2018 winner Gary Sutherlin. JT Baker claimed second overall leaving Sutherlin to collect third after losing valuable time in the third loop due to a run-in with some barbwire.
Kepple was eager to not only claim the win, but to go toe to toe with his archrival, Sutherlin, and “beat him straight up” without injuries or mechanical issues that have factored into their results in past years. After two of the three treacherous loops, the duo was only separated by a minute and a half, leaving it all to play for in the longest and most technical test.
Kepple got out to a great start from the second row and opened the loop, running what he felt was a smooth and error-free race, but Sutherlin’s third loop got out to a horrible start when he immediately got tangled in some barbwire. The wire was tangled in Sutherlin’s rear wheel so severely that he had to wait for locals to fetch wire cutters to free his Hatch Racing KTM and rejoin the race. The defending champion lost about 17 minutes in the ordeal, but was still amazingly able to make the overall podium at the 2019 Tecate Enduro.
“I felt good and pretty much just checked out,” Kepple said. “I felt like I rode really well; I didn’t spend too much energy on the first two loops, so I still had some in the tank for the third loop. I ride smart and didn’t blow any turns; sometimes it’s easy to do that when you’re the first rider through.”
It wasn’t entirely without incident for Kepple, however. He confessed he tucked the front end of his 350 FX in the last 100 feet of the race in a wet, grassy area and hit the ground. “Yeah, everyone saw that,” he said with a laugh.
After crossing the finish line, Kepple anxiously awaited his rival. Sutherlin, starting from the row behind him and with a minute-and-a-half time advantage, had two minutes and 30 seconds to take the overall win. “My dad started the stopwatch when I crossed the finish line,” Kepple said, “I kept asking ‘what’s the time? What’s the time?’ After two minutes and 30 seconds, I knew I had the win.”
Kepple cashed in on the $2500 grand prize while JT Baker, who recently signed with the FactoryONE Sherco Enduro Team, collected second overall, matching his finish from last year. Sutherlin was still able to collect third to round out the overall podium. Thanks to event sponsors including Maxima, Sidi/Motonation and Motion Pro, the pro field enjoyed a good-sized purse.
Nearly 300 riders lined up for the Los Ancianos MC Tecate Enduro, which, true to form, sold out in a matter of hours back in October. Three loops totaling of 85 miles of rocky single-track trail were thoroughly soaked due to rainstorms in the weeks before the race, and while conditions were mostly prime, there were a number of water crossings that turned into mud holes (and nightmares) for some. Thick mud baked onto bikes was a common sight, and as always, there was a high rate of attrition.
For the worthy and weary who reached the finish, they were fortunate enough to find none other than Malcolm Smith waving the checkered flag. Malcolm was the honorary starter and finisher for the Los Ancianos, and hung out for the post-race festivities which included plenty of tacos and beer at Hacienda Santa Veronica.
Once final results for the 2019 Tecate Enduro are calculated, they will be posted at www.LosAncianos.com.