Led by team manager Bruce Penhall and fielding two teams, the 2X team of Steve Hengeveld and Robby Bell was first off of the line and the 5X team of Ryan Penhall, Conner Penhall and Brent Harden followed shortly after.
“Our 2X motorcycle team drew first start position while 5X started fourth. Bell took the start and as the clock struck six a.m. Most times being the first racer on the course is good as you have clean air. Baja can be different. With thousands of spectators lining the first twenty-five miles, it can be a traffic jam as many drive right down the course to find a place to watch. After dodging many vehicles in the first thirty whoop infested miles, Robby brought the 2X bike to Hengeveld with the lead. Hardan on the 5X bike struggled a little in the dust and handed off to Conner in fifth says Penhall”.
With the 2X bike in the lead, Hengeveld continued to pull time. Unfortunately this was short live as he began to feel a vibration which turned out to be a rear flat. With a forty-eight mile section, including a twelve-mile lake bed, he was forced to back it way down and nurse it to the next pit. The wheel started to come apart and tore off the mud flap and part of the air box. By the time he got to pit two, he was down to fourth. A quick rear wheel change and he was back at it, but now his arms and hands were exhausted from hanging on to the shuttering bike for so long.
All in all, everyone rode well. The flat tire was something that really put us down. It couldn’t have happened in a worse place. The longest pit to pit section with a lake bed where speed is everything. Both Kawasaki 450F’s were faster and handled better than our 2009 Baja 1000 bikes and we really feel we were on our way to winning. Second and third isn’t what we came for, but it keeps us in good position for the overall class championship. To have both teams make the podium is actually quite good as we look forward to the next race which is the Tecate SCORE International Baja 500 coming up in June 4, 2010 which is a loop race that starts and ends in Ensenada, Baja Mexico.
