KTM-Equipped Privateers Triumph At Baja 1000

[advrider]

If there’s a theme that runs through the Baja 1000 desert race year after year after year, it’s “Honda uber alles.” While the shorter SCORE races (which includes a 250-mile event and a 500-miler) might see a fair share of wins from the competition, Big Red is almost always the big winner in the biggest race. But not this year.

Last weekend, the team of Juan Carlos Salvatierra, Shane Logan, Diego Llanos, Carter Klein and Corbin McPherson won the Pro Moto Unlimited 400 class of the Baja 1000 aboard a KTM 450 SX-F in 26:34:17. The team had an international flair, as Salvatierra and Llanos are both from South America, Bolivia and Argentina respectively. Because of injuries their teammates suffered during pre-running, Logan and Llanos ended up carrying the bulk of the riding, but all of the five-man squad had seat time in the 1311-mile race (which ran from south to north this year, up the Baja Peninsula instead of downwards).

The second-place team was on a Husqvarna FE 450 team. Cirian Naran, Derek Ausserbauer, Nick Lapaglia, Forrest Minchinton, Clayton Roberts and Tucker Hopkins finished in 26:52:38. A Honda-mounted team took third, with Austin Eddy, Matt Eddy, Brody Honea, Jarett Megla and Russell Tonjum won in 29:06:03.

In the Pro Moto Ironman class, Edgar Cota won the category, finishing in 38:33:04.

You can see a full listing of all this year’s finishers here. You’ll have to scroll down to get past all the car and truck standings, to get to the motorcycle results. But for the real story of what happened this year, check out ADVrider’s thread in the Racing sub-forum, where you’ll get insider tales! There and elsewhere, race fans are unhappy this year over the aftermath of a crash by an SLR Honda rider (SLR won the race in 2022). Kade Tinkler-Walker ended up stuck in the desert for hours after crashing, when he wasn’t extracted to hospital. The exact reasons for the delay aren’t clear, although Mexican government airspace regulations and cash-strapped team and organizer budgets, which all combine to make helicopter support more difficult, are being given the blame for now.

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