SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/751602
BY STEPHEN ROMERO PHOTOGRAPHY BY GET SOME PHOTO R acing Baja is difficult physically, and it is mentally torturous. It's as tough as off-road motorsports gets. No one competes in Baja without enduring some of the pain, but Baja on a motorcycle is a different animal. The odds of being injured are stacked against you. It's not if something is going to happen -- it's when. Such is the desert racing life of Mark Winkelman, who is the points leader heading into the 2016 SCORE Baja 1000 in Pro Moto 50 (age restricted). In addition, Winkelman is also racing in the Pro Moto Limited (400 cc) class, making the mileage he has to put into each race much more demanding. This normally wouldn't be huge news if it weren't for the fact that Winkelman is no twenty- something young gun. He's nearing 60, yet age seems to have no bearing on his ability to remain un-phased in the face of certain danger. The fact that Winkelman could be the poster child for the Baby Boomer generation is nothing when you learn that one of his teammates is 69 years-old. Winkelman leads the pack with 215 year-to-date points in Pro Moto 50, and in Pro Moto Limited, he's earned 169 year-to- date points. While riders Michael Gavin and Garrett Poucher are his only close rivals in these classes, Winkelman has learned that anything can happen on a motorcycle. "I love the stuff that is super-fast and none of it bothers me at all," Winkelman said. "I love racing at night too. But don't be fooled, every second of every minute I'm thinking Lord give me strength." Winkelman is no stranger to the constant pounding of the desert in Mexico, and he surely feels it after a stint in the seat. As he tells it, he runs the race for several hours, rests, and then gets back on the bike for each class. Something he's been doing for nearly a decade. Entering two classes, however, means is that Winkelman is having to switch his riding style for each type of bike, and he does this by leaning on his team for support. His Pro Moto Limited team is made up of Austin Miller, Scott Meyers, Ricky Da La Pena and Jim O'Neal. Winkelman's Pro 50 team is comprised of Andy Kirker Jeff Kaplan, Jim O'Neal, Flipper Manchester and Louie Franco. Marty Gomez is the go-to guy for the team Monkey Business, otherwise known as the Congos. Winkelman's strategy for Baja is to pace himself, and hope his other teammates do the same. "I'm from a racing family, who grew up racing stock cars, and Baja is the only type of racing I've done where I have to focus 100 percent of the time," Winkelman said. One of the ways he prepares before he even arrives in Mexico for a Baja race is to hydrate himself and ride a mountain bike to acclimate his body. All the fitness in the world, however, doesn't make a Baja race any less challenging. During a Baja race, Winkelman doesn't have much time to sleep. He's up at 4 a.m. and is lucky to get a 30-minute ON THE 101X HONDA, WINKELMAN, AND HIS CO- RIDERS ARE LEADING THE POINTS RACE IN THE PRO MOTO LIMITED CLASS. 049 SCORE JOURNAL