Cycle News Staff | December 7, 2021
American Noah Kepple captured the overall win at the 60th running of the Tecate Enduro, in Baja California, Mexico, December 5, after more than 90 miles of racing. The win marked Kepple’s fourth overall victory at the Tecate Enduro, and saw him pocket the $2500 top prize.
Noah Kepple went undefeated in all three tests of the Tecate Enduro. Photos: MJ’s Moto Photos
The Los Ancianos Motorcycle Club annual event saw nearly 350 entrants joining top racers from both the U.S. and Mexico. Twenty-two pros made it to the start line this year, including Kepple, Preston Campbell, Justin Morgan, Dustin McCarthy and Arturo Salas, to name a few. In the grand tradition of the Los Ancianos (Spanish for “the Ancient Ones”), the club named a grand marshal for the event, this year with Scot Harden, a former Los Ancianos event winner, accepting the honor.
The 91-mile Tecate course featured three unique loops, each hand-cut by the Los Ancianos crew. The first loop ran 22.9 miles, 34.8 miles for the second and 33.4 miles for the third. Dusty conditions challenged all the riders as they finessed their way through a mix of flowing single track, treacherous rock gardens and sand washes.
Dusty conditions didn’t stop Kepple from claiming his fourth Tecate win.
When the dust settled it was San Diego’s Kepple (Husqvarna) that set the fastest combined time by winning two of the three tests. His overall time of four hours and 23-minutes showed just how grueling this race can be. Kepple accumulated a nine-minute lead going into the second loop and cruised the final 35 miles of the day.
“I put in a really heavy effort those first two tests to build up a nine-minute lead heading into the third and final test,” said Kepple who now has four Tecate Enduro first-place trophies to his credit. “I have a ton of respect for everyone that came down to endure a dry dusty event this year and much respect to Los Ancianos for putting on another great event with over 90 miles of perfectly marked trail.”
Preston Campbell rode a solid race and finished second overall.
JCR Honda’s Preston Campbell took home second on the day. He logged the fastest time on the third loop (though only by seconds over Kepple), bumping himself up from fifth place to second overall in the final and most technical test of the day. Baja legend Johnny Campbell made it a family affair, racing the enduro alongside his son, Preston, calling it a “ride of survival.”
American, Dustin McCarthy rounded out the podium.
Another racer from the USA, Dustin McCarthy, rode three consistent loops and nabbed the third and final spot on the podium. Anson Maloney and Justin Morgan rounded out the top five.
Testament to the difficult nature of the event, both in terms of the technical terrain and the unforgiving dust, there were only 172 finishers from the 343 official entrants, making for a 50% finish rate. CN
2021 was the 60th running of the Tecate Enduro.
Results
| 1. |
Noah Kepple |
HUS |
| 2. |
Preston Campbell |
HON |
| 3. |
Dustin McCarthy |
KTM |
| 4. |
Anson Maloney |
KTM |
| 5. |
Justin Morgan |
HON |
Visit Cycle News for more off-road racing action.
