SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/825030
SJ: What was the most frightening moment? Hengeveld: I've never really had a frightening moment. My most frightening wasn't really frightening. I guess it's so common when weird things happen in the middle of nowhere. You come down a hill somewhere, turn a corner, and you get lit up by a bunch of lights from the Mexican military at one o'clock in the morning while pre-running. That's kind of scary at first. It wasn't really frightening more so than it was unexpected until you figure out what's going on and you calm down. You definitely wake up. You're so into riding in the middle of the night, then you come into this slow section, go around a corner, and all these bright lights light you up. Your lights catch them and it's a road block. You're pretty much stuck. You can't do anything, so you stop, and by the time you figure out what's going on, just know they want to look in your fanny pack and off you go again. SJ: As one of the few who rode for two of the most dominant teams in SCORE history, Team Green, then Honda, can you compare the approaches each team used for the SCORE Baja 1000 and did both make that race its most important race of the year? Hengeveld: For the Baja stuff, my tenure with Honda was a lot longer. When that was going on, our whole program was a pyramid. At the top of that pyramid was the SCORE Baja 1000. No matter what, with Honda, the SCORE Baja 1000 was the most important thing ever. It didn't matter what happened the rest of the year as long as they won the 1000. That was the diamond, for sure. During the Kawi years, I was on the 250cc team so we weren't going for overall wins anyway. We got second overall and a third, but it wasn't the overall race win. That program was run a little bit differently, only because we weren't on the open bikes then. In the SCORE Baja 1000, regardless of what team you're on, that overall victory is where it's at. I'm glad Honda gave me the opportunity back at the end of '99 to join their team so I could help them bring a lot more overall victories. That's what it's all about, is that SCORE Baja 1000 overall win. SJ: Could you comment on the differences in racing a 125cc two-stroke in Class 20 or a 250cc two-stroke in 21 and a big four-stroke in 22? Hengeveld: Back in the '90s, the 125cc class had 20-something people in it so it was a big class. There were teams featuring guys like Tim Morton back in the day, and the late Dave Chase. There were just a bunch of different guys riding 125s. I got to ride it the one time, but you're pretty much tapped on it. The bike doesn't really go a lot slower than you want it to go for Baja. Another thing with a 125 is keeping it running. Being such a small motor and going that many miles wide open, it's really, really hard on the bike. You're not only racing Baja and racing your competitors, you're also making your machine survive. If you could get to the finish line with no problem on a 125 back then, you were in good shape. SCORE BAJA 50th SPECIAL SECTION ROAD TO THE 50TH SCORE JOURNAL 76