Baja 500 sees triumph, tragedy

The Baja 500 desert race took place in Mexico on the weekend, with triumph for some riders, and tragedy for others.

The overall winner was the Michelin-sponsored team of Colton Udall and Mark Samuals. Udall is a perennial winner at Baja, and the team was Honda-mounted, meaning Big Red still retains its edge in the Mexican race. Udall said this year was the hottest weather he ever raced in, and with those words coming from such a respected veteran, you know this was a hard-fought win.

You can see the complete list of winners from Baja here. One name that stands out is Carlin Dunne, who took home the victory in the Pro Moto Ironman class, running the entire 477-mile course solo, instead of swapping riders part-way, as is common practice in the Baja events. Not only is that win remarkable enough, but consider that this is the same guy who has won at Pikes Peak multiple times, setting records along the way. He still holds the electric motorcycle record. Could he be the most multi-talented rider from the US since Malcolm Smith?

Only four riders of the seven who started finished the Ironman class. A quick run through the listings shows the motorcycle competitor list didn’t have many big names this year, meaning those who hoped Dakar stars would start crossing over to the SCORE series are still left wishing. It seems those riders still prefer to hit the international rally raid circuit instead of slumming it in the Mexican SCORE races.

But even while Udall, Dunne, and the rest were celebrating their finishes, tragedy still hung over the event, as two riders were killed in this year’s race, as well as an 8-year-old spectator. Travis Livingstone and Noah Everman both died on the route. Livingstone was killed in a crash, and Everman was discovered next to his motorcycle by other racers. The boy was killed when a truck swerved to avoid spectators.

CMG wishes to extend our condolences to their families and friends, as well as to the teammates of the racers.

This was the 48th annual running of the Baja 500. For a list of photos from the event, try this link here; sadly, there are far too many trophy trucks …