The official “Dean of Dirt”, Cameron Steele fought his way to his very first, first place finish in the stacked Pro-Lite class on Sunday night under the lights at Glen Helen.  After winning a championship in the pro-buggy class, Cameron stepped up to Pro-Lite as part of the Stronghold Super Team.  We got a chance to catch up with Cameron and ask him a few questions after his big win on Sunday night.

How does it feel to finally get that first place finish?
I am stoked it’s been frustrating that we have not been on the podium before this. The team is awesome and I’m glad I finally got my part done on the track.

How is Pro-Lite different than racing in the Buggy Class?
Buggy has a little more etiquette probably because they are open wheel cars.  In trucks there’s a lot more contact.
There’s no turning brake in truck, which allows buggies to turn and stop on a dime.  Trucks are less forgiving buggies are more nimble, so you really have to focus on carrying your momentum in the trucks.

How was the racing this weekend?
I love racing Glen Helen.  It’s my home track.  I have been racing there since I was a kid on bikes, buggies, and trucks.  I am just glad I don’t have to race those notoriously hard ruts on a bike any more.  The bike track is gnarly.

This is your first year in this class and the field is stacked, how do you think you will do?
I knew it would be tough.  The competition is stiff.  Brandt and Deegan are both really good racers.  I expected to be a top three guy and win races. I go out to win and the team is just as committed.  I knew there would be little bit of a learning curve, but we are top three in points.  It vindicates what we do.

Tell us about your truck?  Who prep’s it?

I run in the Pro-Lite class, which is limited to 12 inches of travel and we use the 4cyl engine.  It basically feels like a racecar on rails. My entire Pro-Lite was Re-engineered by Dave Clark.  He is a legend.  My crew is lead by mechanic Ruben Duarte, and prepped by Kyle Lucenti, and Curt Finn.

Tell us about your team?
The Stronghold Team is awesome!  I get to race with Motocross legend Jeremy McGrath.  The team is owned by the Bailey family and their partner Chuck Gossage. The cool thing is it’s really a family based team, you don’t feel like you’re going to work.  The team really has created an environment that fosters racing.  You can’t be afraid to make mistakes.  As long as you are learning from them, that’s part of racing. They are fully committed to making better racers.

Do you think it helps coming from bikes?
Yes.  Bike racers are really good at processing a lot of information really fast.  Being elbow-to-elbow with 20 guys wide out of a gate teaches you to think and react quickly or the consequence is pain.  It’s that simple.  Kind of like all those Kung-Fu movies where they are doing the training while getting hit with a stick.

What skills do you think transfer from racing a trophy truck in the desert?
As an owner of a trophy truck team I understand that there’s a big effort with a lot of moving parts just getting to the track.  So I understand logistics, prep, and vehicle dynamics.  Overall seat time helps as well, but the trucks are pretty different.  A trophy truck has 850-horsepower with 3 feet of travel and a Pro-Lite has 300 horsepower with 12 inches of travel, so they are very different.

Who do you think is our biggest competition?
Really myself.  Just being mentally prepared and not making mistakes.  Other than myself:  Brandt and Deegan are consistently the fastest guys in qualifying and racing.  Rodrigo as well, you can’t count him out.

Why do you race off-road?
Out of all the things I have done off-road racing is what I love the most.  Short course off-road is unlike any other form of motorsports.  You have contact, variable dirt surfaces, rivalries, heated battles, it’s awesome!

What’s next for you?
I just tested my new trophy truck.  We are trying to decide what races we will do next.  If it were up to me I would do them all!  Vegas to Reno, San Felipe, and the Baja 1000 are all on our radar. We just got our new 40-inch trophy truck tires from Yokohama, we are really stoked!  Looking forward to the next round of Lucas Oil Off-Road at Surprise, AZ as well.

What’s your game plan for the next race?
You have to race clean in this type of racing.  I just want to be consistent and get good finishes.  I am really proud of the fact that we won a few races last year and still managed to finish every race.  That’s why we won the championship.

What is your goal as an off-road racer?
I want to be Champion in everything I do.  Short course, desert racing, it doesn’t matter.  I want to be the best. I have had a life goal of winning the Baja 1000 overall.  Once I accomplish that, I am going to do it again.  Baja is in my DNA, that’s what I do.  I also love sharing off-road racing with people. It’s really cool to see people smile once the get a taste of what we love to do.

Interview by Matt Martelli

Photos by Jason Zindroski

[Show as slideshow]

If there were a King and Queen of off road, Cameron and Heidi Steele would be it!  The Monster Energy and Desert Assassin sponsored duo charged hard at this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250, but it was Heidi, piloting a Class 6 Ford Ranger, that took the checked flag in her class along with co-driver Rene Brugger. Check out how their weekend went!

Produced by Mad Media – Directed by The Martelli Brothers

Well, I’ve been back for a few days and still trying to reconcile it all in my head. What a trip! I have to thank Cameron Steele (PAB) & Jeff Laubsher (Lobster)and the rest of the Desert Assassin’s crew for selecting and allowing an unknown out of Mesa, AZ to be a part of such an epic ride. I am proud to say I’ve ripped with some amazing riders and people over the 5 days I was in Baja. For those scared or unwilling to go to Mexico, I believe they are really missing out on such a beautiful place. Not at any point in time did I feel sketched out or worried about my safety. The DA logs tens of thousands of miles a year adventuring the peninsula and I had complete faith that they would lead me to safety at any situation. The captains, chase crew, equipment and the logistics behind such a trip are second to none. Safety is #1 and that is kept in the back of everyone’s mind.

Day 1:
Ken Neal owner of Bulletproof Diesel here in Mesa, AZ is a integral part of the #16 DA trophy truck pit crew and it worked out that I would ride with him down through the border to meet up with the rest of the riders since he signed on this adventure as part of the chase crew. We loaded up Tuesday night at his shop and hit the road 5 am Wednesday morning and headed for breakfast before the border. After breakfast we headed across the border into Mexicali and headed straight to Borrego to start the first day of the Hell Ride. Being a complete fresh fish I was a bit nervous to meet everyone and to see if my riding was solid enough to adventure the 5 days through Baja. Everyone geared up, had a short riders meeting to go over detail, said a prayer and hit the dirt.

First section was probably the gnarliest, Mini-Summit. This is about a 1 mile descent down nasty bowling ball to ford fiesta sized boulders and drop offs. There were 25 of us strategically navigating down the summit and I was bringing up the rear so that I wouldn’t get in anyone’s way. Here’s a shot of me starting down:

Well about a quarter through I felt really good and thought, “This isn’t so bad”. As soon as I think that I hear a huge pop and coolant starts flying out the left side of my bike coating the rock below like the cap of a Makers Mark bottle. “F” is what I instantly thought. My coolant overflow tank decided to burst and now I was losing coolant without recovery. We shut her down and Mark Bradford and I proceeded to bypass the tank and just kept an eye on coolant level until we finished the day. Well, the bike kept over heating and blowing steam because of the nature of the terrain we were on, I tried to power my way through the boulders without engine, but that was pretty tough as throttle and clutch are instrumental in powering through off camber shotty terrain. Took a few falls and got pretty gassed out. Jesse Beck “Baja Nomad”, LA City paramedic and overall Baja bad ass started pushing my bike down by foot and we leap frogged down the descent to where I could safely navigate to the bottom and start our journey to San Felipe for lunch. Thanks to Mark and Jesse for helping me get though that situation, wished I could have tackled it on my own, maybe next time, and thanks to everyone else for being patient with the situation. We got to the bottom, I caught my breath and we jammed through a long whoop section that took us right into San Felipe for lunch.

After some great tacos and Cokes we threw our riding jackets on and headed for the coastline that is the Sea of Cortez. Awesome! This was my first experience ripping beach and there is nothing like it! 4th and 5th gear pinned through wet sand and view like none other was epic! We had one quick pit off of the beach for gas and snacks then we hopped right back on the beach and held it pinned until we lost sunlight, we kicked on the Baja Designs HID race light and hit the highway though Puertecitos into Gonzaga Bay where we would post up for the night at Alfonsinas, a nice little spot right on the beach overlooking a beautiful Sea of Cortez and the grounds for some amazing sun rises. I was a little tired and more mentally drained because of the situation on the Mini Summit. It really bummed me out, and as much as you want to kick back and have a few cervesas you really had to be on the ball with your bike maintenance to make sure that you would be ready for the next day so I changed out my air filter, lubed up the chain and gave everything a once over to make sure she would be good to go and proceeded to my room to prepare for the next day. Dinner came quick and we had a buffet of carne, shrimp, fish and the normal sides for our appetites. Cameron jumped up and had a few words to say about day 1 and wanted all of us to do introductions. For people that know me speaking in front of people is not my bag and being rider #24 put me at the rear of the introductions so that gave me chance to hear what some of the riders had to say so I would be prepared in my speech. There were so many great guys on this ride, from pro riders to industry leaders to a little non-profit guy like me. It was great to hear people’s stories on their adventures in Baja and to get to know some guys a little better for a new guy like me was good. I spoke and basically talked about my short experience at the 2009 Baja 1000 and how I saw a post on a forum site that introduced me to the annual trip the DA puts on, “Rip to the Tip”. That post basically led to me contacting Cameron and somehow getting on the list for this ride. We all finished up food and I called it a night.

By the way, I earned a nickname right off of the bat thanks to the one and only Manny O., AKA “Squirrel”. For those who know Manny he sure knows how to brighten everyone’s day to say the least, super bad ass rider and certified trash talker to back it up, one of my favorites for sure. Well this was at the base of the Mini Summit when I pulled up to where they were all waiting and resting up he yells at me and says something about my “bling bling” red anodized wheels and parts and being all show and no go……”yeah, yeah… so you’re that guy, bitch… Bling, Bling!” From there on out it was “bling” this and “bling” that. PAB comes up and says, “You know that’s going to stick, right?” Damn! So from here on out its “Bling Bling”. Actually pretty stoked to have earned a nick name as dumb as it is, so I’ll represent it proudly, ha-ha. Thanks Manny…..

Day 2:
Every day starts out around 5:45am so we would have to time to see the sunrise over the Sea of Cortez. We snapped some group shots and got the gear packed up and over to chase before breakfast. I always made sure to not be the last guy ready to go. Breakfast was always a prepared buffet and it was nice to not have to worry about food. Headed outside to fill up the water bladder and warmed up the old steel horse. We hit the trail by 7:30 and headed towards the desert for a good long day of rocks, rocks and more rocks. 1st Leg was some nice sand washes, some rocks and Fred’s Tractor trail. We took a small break at the base of Fred’s and PAB had a game planned for us. Here is a thumbs up, check out the boojum trees in the background:

Basically the riders were split up into 2 teams, red and blue team and the team that had the fewer amounts of dabs would win the rights to hit some epic single track before the other team gets to. I got picked second to last with good reason. Our team was selected to hit the hill first and I went about 4th in line. The red team was all lined up at the top of the first little climb cheering us on through the entrance to probably the 2nd most gnarliest trail of the trip. I blip it up the first small hill and set my sights on what was ahead. About 50 yards up I decide to look way ahead to see what I was up against and of course I nail a rock and get bucked of the bike where everyone could see me, bouncing off the rev limiter and all. I Pick her up and put my butt back on the bike and truck up another 100 yards where there was a quick drop to a steep uphill that veered to the left. Only made it about 3/4th of the way on that one and dumped her down a few times. It took some steam of me so I took a short rest and finally made it up and through the rest of the trail flailing like a whining 2 year old getting his blankie taken away. Stoked I made it up without injury or damage to the bike, but it definitely kicked my ass. There was only one guy who made the whole hill without dabbing and that was 2009 Class 40 champ, Brian Campbell, mad respect for this guy who ended up taking the coveted “Hell of a Rider” award…..well deserved sir. The rest of the day was filled with some awesome single track by way of Chapala and “22 day” trail. Special thanks to Bill Nichols who created these amazing stretches of trail through the Baja desert, simply stellar. We treaded lightly and took special care to not blow through the tightly carved path that stretches from the Pacific to the Sea of Cortez. Once out of the trail we hit the black doom (tarmac) for the final leg into Bay of LA. This was one of my trip highlights. The view that we had coming over the hill overlooking Bay of LA was beautiful and breath taking, it was my “wow” moment for sure.

We got to our hotel and had some technical difficulties that involved some water and some electricity. Apparently some guys that jumped in for a quick shower were getting shocked by the shower head so I decided to go ahead and take a wet wipe bath that night. Sketchy, but funny to hear that was happening once we knew everyone was ok! Regular bike maintenance was on the agenda then on to an epic dinner that involved lobsters the size of Chihuahuas’ and margaritas. Yum!

Day 3:
Up at 5:45 for breakfast and gearing up for another day of ripping through the desert, this day would take us from Bay of LA back up to Gonzaga Bay taking the famous “Window Rock” trail though El Crucero, Frog Canyon, Snoopy Island and on up to Alfonsinas for lodging. Window rock was a super fun trail and I ended up cruising with a buddy, Frog, who had taken some spills the days before and hurt his shoulder. He was struggling a bit through some sections and I stuck with him though most of the trail until the sweep crew, Jesse and Mark caught up and I proceeded to try and catch up with the rest of the guys. The guys were only about a mile or so up on a hill so I met up and we took a small break because there was some bike issues on a few bikes. At this point my bike was overheating because of the technical trails and “Pup” ended up trading his higher pressure radiator cap with me to help with the point the bike would boil over at. After the swap my bike had zero issues the rest of the trip and I deeply appreciate his generosity! I got called out as one of the slow guys at this point and had to jump ahead with PAB and a few other guys to post up at the window rock. We jammed on some rad single track and I managed to “lineback” a barrel cactus with my right shoulder and arm. Ouch! Had PAB pull out some deep “Baja Heroin” in the muscle and carried on to the window rock where we found out that frog had some radiator damage and they were doing some repairs. Awesome rock and got to see why the trail was named after it, cool landmark.

Hit some two track and a long stretch of whoops to El Crusero for a lunch break. After lunch I got wind that there was going to be some rookie initiation shenanigans up ahead so I was ready for some fun. We headed into frog canyon where there is some small streams running that smell like crap. I saw a short video clip on YouTube from the Rip to the Tip in 2010 and I knew right away what we were in for. We got to the “area” and all of the vets made us stick around for 2 minutes while they go through the fresh fish rookie spot. 2 minutes was up and the Beaman brothers proceeded to lead the pack into a swampy mud pit that was pretty much dried up so we pretty much lucked out for initiation, I decided to go through the deepest section just to say I didn’t wuss out. There was to be another game with some rubber ducky’s, but the water was too low and it never happened, bummer. We hit some sandy washes into some gravel roads on a good pace and PAB stopped because he got word that Frog went down hard. Apparently he blew through a drop off and into a rock at 4th gear and knocked him self out. Everything ended being ok, but he got to ride in the chase truck for the rest of the trip, I was definitely stoked he was alright. After the scare, we jammed on a gravel road for a long stretch into a rocky trail that spit us out at Snoopy’s island for the last stretch of beach to Alfonsinas. We took a small break at Snoopy’s and had Ken Neal, chase crew, gear up for his 2nd time ever on a dirt bike. We were all stoked to see him rip some beach for the first time and he had 5 chances to fall over before he would get roosted by everyone. He made it all the way back to the hotel without taking any diggers! Awesome job Ken! Another day in the books! We had a great dinner and probably one of the more fun nights sitting around the campfire and playing with some camera settings. We used a 15 second exposure to capture the Hell riders individually drawing letters with flashlights and a small torch and we managed after about 6 takes get an awesome picture of us spelling “HELLRIDE” on the beach. Check it out:

I think I am going to get this one in poster size and put it up in the garage. I think Billy Cotton nailed the night by saying “I think this is the most fun I’ve had sober in a long time!” Props to Josh Wellington for nailing the shot.

Day 4:
Another sunrise off Gonzaga Bay, breakfast, loading the gear then we were off to hit some more trails heading north with San Felipe as our day’s destination. Cruised though some trails, blazing some of our own to get closer to the beach and I ended up with a flat tire on the front wheel. The first flat had to be me. We ended up posting up on a nice spot that overlooked the Sea of Cortez and Mark Bradford and John Levy jammed out on my front tire and after some investigation the ultra heavy duty tube I paid to have put in wasn’t so ultra heavy duty. Someone is getting an ass chewing very soon. Not only was it not ultra heavy duty, the extra tube I had in the fender pack had a spot rubbed off from moving around and deemed itself garbage. We cannibalized the tube and wrapped it around a tube that Bruce Hendel or “El Gato” so kindly gave up for me. Thanks Bruce and thanks to Bradford and Levy for the labor!

I want to really emphasize that every person involved with the Hell Ride is top notch. It really is labeled as a brotherhood with good reason. No one complained and if there was hand to be leant it would be instantly without question. I am so proud to be associated with such a brotherhood. With that said we aired up and jammed through some beach, sandy hill climbs and descents heading into Matomi Wash where we would have lunch and rest up for some sandy washes and rocks. We took it really slow and there was a lot of stop and go with good reason. There a lot of lines within the wash that you could get crossed up in and PAB didn’t want anyone to get out of shape on a line that no one else went on. If anything were to happen it would be a nightmare locating everyone so I believe it was the right thing to do. We took a break at a cool spot on the trail where the buggy was posted up so Evan could take some video. I figured out that if there was going to be film there was going to be either some falls or embarrassment and I didn’t fail. We came though a really narrow sandy wash where there were big egg shaped rocks you had to dodge and I managed to hit a few and take some slow speed tumbles. The last lay down was, of course, on film as I managed to get my leg stuck in between the rock and my bike. So I’m sure there is some good video of me trying to pull my leg out of the sandwich and extending my ski poles out through a small rocky climb before our rest stop. The rest of the day is pretty much a blur. I remember some whoop sections and a long stretch of sandy wash into San Felipe where we played in the sand dunes for a little bit. There was a game we played where we had a short start into a steep deep sand hill and the person that made it least furthest on the hill had to go shirtless for dinner that night. Glad to say it wasn’t me! We got in to the Hotel, clean up, did the normally scheduled maintenance and had a great dinner with some award ceremonies and speeches about the overall experience. “Hell of a Show” award went to Jason “Frog” Groves for his epic dismounts; “Hell of a Brother” award went to Mark Bradford for his efforts as sweep and on-trail assistance, well deserved brother! The final award was the “Hell of a Rider” award and it went to Brian Campbell for being an all around amazing rider, no dabs on Fred’s Tractor trail was pretty rad! Had a few drinks and hit the sack preparing for the final day of riding.

Day 5:
Day 5 started early as usual, had breakfast, watched the sunrise and geared up to hit the trail for a long day to the border. We hit the black doom for a few miles then we headed east over to the Diablo dry lake bed and hauled ass for a gas stop in Borrego off Hwy. 3. After we refilled and filled up on electrolytes and a snack we headed over to the Sea of Cortez and rode in a single file line through some loamy wetland type of stuff I can’t really remember what you would call it, but you definitely couldn’t grab 5th gear in it and it was all you could see for miles. Here’s a shot:

Hit some rocky pointed hills that were king of sketchy and met up with the chase guys for more gas. Jesse Beck “Baja Nomad” basically BBQ’d his clutch as this point so we loaded the bike up and hit the tarmac into where we would have lunch off of HWY 5 about 10 miles down the road. At this point we had about 80 miles to the border we all came to the agreement that we were ready to call it trip so we could all get home to our families at a decent hour so we dressed down and loaded up.

All in all a trip of a life time for me. No major equipment hiccups and just some normal brush and cacti damage on the arms. Thanks to the DA for making this a safe and well thought out trip for all of us involved. If you ever have the opportunity to go on trip like this take it and run! I want especially thank my wife, family and friends that supported a mission to make this dream a reality. Your generosity will never be forgotten. Also would like to thank Diego @ Baja Designs, Stich @ Trick Stix and Terry @ TNT Racing for their support on the bike.

Burt Neal, AKA “Bling Bling”

A new horizon is upon the Desert Assassins race team and although there is some heartache there are great new happenings to be excited about.

Justin “Bean” Smith will become the lead fabricator and tech on the Lucas Oil, Yokohama Tire, Monster Energy, KMC Wheels, ReadyLift #16 SCORE Trophy Truck. “Bean” who recently missed 2nd place in class 1 at the SCORE Primm 300 by :59 seconds has proven that along with being a great driver he can build and prep with the best and has been a two-time finalist on the SCORE Mechanic of the Year award.

Former lead on the #16 Jamie Campbell has left the Desert Assassins race team to take on other challenges. Jamie is one of the preeminent builders in this sport who has worked with Robby Gordon, Penhall Fabrication and the DA and will no doubt go on to building more amazing race vehicles. Jamie and the DA are both from San Clemente and have a long relationship and the DA wishes him all the best and thanks him for his support.

Cameron Steele and Smith (26) both hail from the same neighborhood in San Clemente and Justin was a part of the teams Baja 1000 winning 1600 effort in 2003 and the two have traveled and raced together for years. Bean raced with Heidi Steele in 2005 and the two of them won the legendary Baja 500 and Baja 1000, which also secured them the championship in Sportsman buggy that same year.  In 2009 Bean and Cameron teamed in the #16 to finish 2nd in the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge and Bean was formerly a professional Freestyle Motocross rider who chose off-road over FMX. Smith cut his Trophy Truck prep teeth under the skillful eye of Rick Geiser and the Geiser Bros. shop when the current #16 first made an appearance.  Rick Geiser who has been Cameron’s driving partner for 3 years is still involved with the guidance of the team although he is running the #76 (Jones) program through the end of 2010.

In a soon to be news release, the #16, #76 and #78 (Ashcraft) will be making a joint pitting effort at the 2010 SCORE Baja 1000 and the #16 driving line up will be announced within the next two weeks with a surprise twist that should catch many peoples attention.

Steele and Smith share a shop in San Clemente where the #16 will continue to be prepared for the SNORE 250 and the looming SCORE Baja 1000.

Find out how the DA does it in Primm. As always Cameron and gang having a good time on race day. This video features Cameron Steele, Heidi Steele, Justin “Bean” Smith and Josh Daniel. The SCORE San Felipe 250 is only one week away and we can’t wait to see what the DA posse will do next.

Check out Cameros RDC Forum User Profile and drop him a line.

The Desert Assassins claim multiple SCORE titles and Baja 1000 victories – Heidi Steele claims her 4th championship and 2nd Baja 1000 win.

The most prominent race on the off-road racing calendar and the longest continuous desert race in the world took place this past Friday the 20th of November 2009. Each year SCORE International hosts the Grand Daddy of all off-road competitions on the Baja Peninsula and the Desert Assassins fielded six teams, four of them with a chance at individual class championships.

In the premiere desert racing class, SCORE Trophy Truck, Cameron Steele and Rick Geiser in the Yokohama Tire/Lucas Oil #16 would enter the race top five in the points. Starting 14th with Cameron driving they had to battle fierce dust but were in the top three on adjusted time at the first couple independent timing points. They ran in the lead group until mile 325 when a steering belt issue put them back 45 minutes. Rick took over the truck at mile 405 in the top seven positions but a collision with another vehicle on the Mike’s Sky Ranch loop set the team back. Rick suffered a concussion and had to limp 35 miles to the next location where Cameron took back over the truck. Rick suffered from dizzy spells and nausea. They finished 8th in class and 11th overall in the 42nd annual running of the race.

The big news was the Yokohama Tire/Lucas Oil/Camburg Engineering Class 6 Ford Ranger truck effort of Heidi Steele/Rene Brugger/Jamie Campbell where they not only won the Baja 1000 but also claimed their class championship. Mid way through the season Heidi had Jamie Campbell build a new Class 6 truck for her team. With the new truck complete and the team for the Baja 1000 set they just missed out on clinching the SCORE title a race early at the Primm 300. Heidi started the 1000 and drove over the legendary summit and through the Laguna Salada silt beds before handing the truck to Jamie in second in position. Jamie who is the 1997 overall bike winner at the SCORE San Felipe 250 took on the very rough San Felipe section which seemed only fitting. Then Rene, who is in his third year of driving with Heidi, battled through the rest of the night and into the next day. Jamie had a terrific battle moving from 2nd to 1st and back to 2nd position when an alternator problem cost some time. In the Urapan section Rene closed on the 1st place Class 6 truck that eventually broke after battling for the lead for more than 100 miles through San Vicente, Erendira and Santo Tomas. In the end Jamie and Rene earned their 1st Baja 1000 wins behind the wheel and Heidi took her second adding to her 2005 Baja 1000 win in sportsman buggy.

DA Kingpin Brian “Cheater” Burgess drove with Brent Parkhouse in the SCORE Lite buggy class and like Heidi won the race and the championship. Brian won the 2006 SCORE 1600 title and in 2007 beat testicular cancer and is back racing and winning in the desert. Brian is an OG member of the Desert Assassins and represents the family regardless of what vehicle or class he races.

On the Desert Assassins youth gone wild front young guns Justin “Bean” Smith and Colton Udall had shots at their respective buggy and bike titles going into the Baja 1000.

Bean came to Baja tied in the class 1600 points in the buggy that he builds and preps in his own shop. He had a flawless run to mile 345 where he had a 24-minute lead but a suspension problem put him down for a long time. While waiting for parts most of the top 10 in his class got by him. In true DA style Justin never surrendered and battled back with driving partner Andy Devercelly to finish 6th in the race and 3rd in the final class points unofficially. Bean ended the season with two class wins and is one of three people on the SCORE final ballot for Mechanic of the year.

Moto rider Colton Udall is now the rider of record for the 2nd factory Honda/Johnny Campbell racing team effort but cut his teeth in Baja as part of the DA Open Pro bike team. He along with Jeff “OX” Kargola were tied for second in points coming into the 1000 but OX crashed and needed to be evacuated by air out of Mexico prior to the race. Johnny Campbell, older brother to Heidi’s driving partner and an 11 time Baja 1000 overall winner, choose two other DA graduates to fill the spot left by OX in Max and Matt Eddy. The team ran near the front all day and in the end finished on the podium in the race and unofficially 2nd in the SCORE open pro bike points.

The one DA team that had a tough day at the Baja 1000 were Josh Daniel and Adam Ashcraft in the unlimited buggy, Class 1. Both drivers represent the values of what the DA is all about and have been winners in their respected racing efforts and teamed up for the first time this Baja 1000. It started tough and got worse as they had to replace a steering rack and an alternator in the first two hundred miles. After being hours down they continued only to have suspension issues that forced them out of the race at mile 345.

In all it was another great year for the Desert Assassins and their effort to win championships, races and spread their brand of fun in the circles of racing, TV and web.

The entire Desert Assassins team is supported by Yokohama Tire Corporation and supported by their race service provider Trackside Performance.

The Trophy Truck and Class 6 teams would like to thank Yokohama Tire Corporation, Lucas Oil Products, American Racing Wheels ATX Series, Trackside Performance, FOX Racing Shox, KC HiLiTES, Currie Enterprises, OC Motorsports, MasterCraft Seats, Patrick’s High Performance Graphix, Ron Davis Radiators, Alpinestars, Motive Gear, UNI Filter, VP Fuels, Prime Fabrication, Geiser Bros and Blue C Communications.

Cameron would like to additionally thank Monster Energy Drink, Ready Lift, and Metal Mulisha. Special thanks to Jamie Campbell and Jeff Laubscher and their families for allowing them to time to make the #16 the best it has ever been.

The class six team would also like to thank Camburg Engineering, Fiberwerx and JBA headers. We recently rebuilt Heidi’s Class 6 truck. The mechanical part of her suspension is available off the shelf from Camburg Engineering and it rocks!

The Baja 1000 will air on NBC Dec 19th, check your local listings. Photo courtesy of High-Rev all rights reserved.

Baja on TV today – Nov 4th. The Desert Assassins Rip to the Tip, Tecate to Cabo on dirt bikes with 20 riders. Near death experiences and popping wheelies on the beach. FUEL TV at 5 and 8pm.

Good times and struggles in some remote places in Baja. Should be fun for all interested in the Baja.

Thanks to Monster Energy and Lucas Oil Products as well as Pro Moto Billet

1488.3 miles, seven days of riding, the Baja Peninsula, 20 riders, dehydration, epic trails, angry Gringos, beautiful locations, a couple cracked cases and one dead goat……the short blast that is the 2009 Rip to the Tip brought to you by Monster Energy Drink, Lucas Oil Products and Pro Moto Billet.

Since 2006 Cameron Steele and Larry Badgwell have been hosting a band of brothers the length of the Baja Peninsula each year on their dirt bikes. “It’s an adventure we do as an individual but have to count on the entire group as a whole to conquer Baja” said Steele about the trip that has become a happening each year in early May. The trip became a reality when Cameron wanted to share his love for Baja with his group of close riding buddies in 2006. Those riders have come to be known as the dirty dozen, the OG’s of the Rip, and with one ill equipped chase truck they tackled the Baja. This year there were 20 banditos and 6 chase drivers in 3 pretty tricked out chase trucks and trailers as they looked to tame the Baja as best they could.

This is a ride that requires an invite; this is not a tour ride and should not be treated as one. The Desert Assassins Rip to the Tip has goals and they are to always try and ride the most fun and challenging trails we can find, “and we don’t change your oil or wipe your nose” said Larry, even though Lucas Oil as a trip supporter provided all the oil for the riders. The 2008 group had said the route was too easy as it was based on a “Beach Rip” and asked for something a little tougher for 2009 so Cameron along with Rip Brother Jeff Laubscher would spend the next year plotting trails and ideas to give the Rip Brothers what they wanted. Little did they know that 3 of the “OGs” (original gangsters, pioneers of the trip) would be down by the middle of Day Two.

P.A.B. as Cameron is known cruises Baja on average 3 full months a year and logs about 8,000 Baja moto miles per year. His full time job is as a driver in the SCORE desert racing series for Yokohama Tire, Lucas Oil, ATX and Monster Energy Drink in his #16 Desert Assassins Trophy Truck. He also continues his job as a television host on broadcasts around the world and has worked at such at events as Supercross, the Indy 500, Running of the Bulls and today he is in his 11th year announcing for the ESPN X Games.

Cameron wants to share his love of Baja to all and in 2009 he and Larry decided to make the trip a “full” Peninsula “pull” starting by riding their bikes across the border from Tecate USA to Tecate, Mexico. What is normally a wasted travel day became a 221 mile ride to San Felipe where day one would end. Factory Honda/JCR Racing icon and 11 time Baja 1000 winner Johnny Campbell would join the first day and bring along Colton Udall who is quickly becoming Johnny’s protégé. They would roost with an eclectic group for sure, 20 riders in all, which included; 3 rip rookies from Colorado, 6 returning “O.G.’s”, Bruce Hendel from VP Fuels and his party of four that included Baja first timers from Massachusetts and Indiana, and Factory JCR rider OX who is a new addition to the 2009 team among others.

Dirt sample taken near Jamul! “Rider Down” was the call over the radio as the flat light and the dust off other riders ahead would claim Rip co-founder Larry Badgwell and test both his Leatt Brace and his new Mulisha Helmet. Larry unloaded in 4th gear and did the “Nestea Plunge”, a reverse launch making contact with the ground head first on the backside of his helmet. For sure a scary moment as the Rip Brothers came to his aid. Chase three, Trey Piersall, was nearby with our film crew that is building both TV and web-episodes for the 2009 Rip and he was able to meet us and haul Larry to San Felipe for inspection. A “Full Pull” is the coveted accomplishment that each rider shoots for on the Rip to the Tip where they achieve every mile offered on the ride. For Larry to agree to get in the truck and lose his Full Pull was statement to how hard he wadded, no one is tougher than Larry.

San Felipe’s sun rise always rocks and the first 50 miles of Day Two down the beach were epic but a bit of a late start put the riders in a dangerous position as they were headed for the infamous Bill Nichol Rock Trail. Not to mention there was a six rider detour that led to a couple bikes being buried in the muck to the engine cases and beyond that cost the crew even more time. “The rock trail is the real deal” said PAB who had ran it a couple times already in 2009. “There is no shade and it will be 15-20 degrees warmer when we get on the rocks than it is here on the beach” he continued as the crew filled up on fuel and ate at the chase truck “you have to carry enough water to spend a couple days and you have to understand no chase truck can come get you or your bike, there is a way around with the chase truck for anyone not up for this battle, this is a double black diamond” said PAB as the brothers listened just south of the beach town of Puertocitos.

20 riders on the trip and 20 decided to take-on the rocks. First you must battle ten miles of soft, hot and rocky wash to get to the first hill climb into the rocks. By the time we climbed the first trail we could see a couple riders struggle but this was a tough trail. Conner Gilmer and Rusty Espinoza are in excellent physical shape but were starting to waver. It should be pointed out that they spent a couple hours pulling Rusty’s bike out of the muck in a lagoon after a wrong turn sent them off track at the beginning of Day Two. They were already taxed and these OG’s were showing signs of wearing down.

Larry cleans the start of the Rock Trail

The rock trail would see temperatures around 90 degrees this day and although it was not “that hot” the heat for sure played into the problems ahead. “This is a tough trail and those that didn’t mentally and physically prepare will have issues” said Jeff Laubscher who scouted all of the 2009 single track with Cameron over the past 6 months. The crew stopped and Cameron who had an umbrella Velcro’d to his light offered the shade to cinematographer Michael Graber who at 57 was the oldest of the Rip pack, although extremely fit he was melting but it was a fort made of motorcycles, jackets and tow ropes that provided shade for Rusty who needed a break. It was getting late and it was obvious that some riders had not brought enough water for this segment.

Moss and PAB do the rock dance

“I never thought this trail would zap some of the guys that it did and when I saw that Conner who is one of our toughest and most prepared brothers starting to really crumble I knew we had an issue” said Steele. Luckily Conner could man it to the last junction and the crew could start out for water and other supplies at the road where Chase One was waiting in Guayaquil. Rip OG’s Shawn Dolmage and Larry would spend two hours with Conner resting as the crew of Moss, OX and PAB would shuttle supplies back to Conner and get the chase truck coming in as far as it could. Conner was 32 miles from the pavement and the 4×4 F350 fitted with 35 inch Yokohama Tires could come in 29 of those miles before it was single track which the brothers would either have to carry Conner through or he would have to ride……

Check out this web-episode sponsored by Monster/Lucas Oil/Pro Moto Billet…..
YouTube – Monster Energy’s 2009 Desert Assasssins…

There will be a couple more episodes and the story will continue soon but I have to work a little to get ready for tomorrow, thanks to all that enjoy the stories and helped to write all of this. Rip Brothers post your stories and pictures, others comment as you wish

More videos and photos soon at Monster Energy, Lucas Oil and Pro Moto Billet web sites. Thanks to those sponsors and the additional support from Alpinestars, Dunlop and VP Race Fuels

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With a fresh season and a clean slate the Desert Assassins team took the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge by storm. Held on the banks of the Colorado River in a two-day format the event marks the start of the five race series that culminates in the Baja 1000 in November.

The DA has won many awards and championships over the last few years and in 2009 they are off to a quick start. DA drivers hold down 3 of the top 5 places in the early 2009 SCORE Desert Series Overall points standings.

Last year Heidi Steele was able to win the SCORE and BITD series championships in the semi limited mid size truck class and at the kick off event she surprised a few people by switching to the unlimited mid size truck classes. “Last minute we were able to make an agreement for an unlimited class 6 vehicle with Ross Savage and we decide to change classes” said Heidi Steele. Steele continued “we are viewing this class as the future of mid-size truck racing”.

Trophy Truck #16 driven by Cameron Steele

The traditional “unlimited” mid size class, class 7, calls for a stock frame and limitations that favor 15+ year old technology so Heidi moved to the true unlimited class with Ross where they were crowned the winner although they were the only entry. “This is where the mid-size trucks will be in the future but just to be sure we also raced the 7 class in our limited truck that Heidi won the championship in last year and with less than half the suspension of the other trucks she raced against they were 3rd for the weekend” Said Heidi’s husband Cameron.

Cameron also had a great opening weekend for the series as he earned his best finish ever in the unlimited truck class know as Trophy Trucks. Cameron was also working Winter X Games this weekend for ESPN and was planning on having partner Rick Geiser do the Jump event, practice, qualifying and the Sunday race with Cameron able to only be in Laughlin on Saturday. “Rick was injured in the jump event and we had to make a call as to who would drive qualifying and on Sunday” said Steele, who continued “I had a lot of options and everyone had an opinion but in the end I chose “Bean”.

Justin “Bean” Smith has been a part of the DA family since inception and has been a navigator in the Trophy Truck but had never driven it before Friday at Laughlin. He had driven and won with Cameron, Heidi and others in limited buggies but this was a huge step. Bean was also racing this event in his own 1600 car for the first time and is eligible for the SCORE Rookie of the year award as it is his first year as Driver of Record and he started off with big results..

In the end Bean would drive half of the Trophy Truck race in the Yokohama Tire/Lucas Oil #16 and he and Cameron would finish 2nd in class. Bean also finished 3rd on Sunday in his 1600 car and set a new record while winning the Laughlin Leap for the 1600 cars.

Also in the 1600 class DA Kingpin Brian “Cheater” Burgess teamed up with DA driver Aaron “Pop tart” Hawley for the runner up position. Brian was the 1600 class champion  two years ago but had to take some time off to kick cancers ass. “Cheater is back for the entire season and being teamed with Pop Tart will make them tough to beat” said Cameron. At the end of the weekend the only driver able to top their team was current 1600 champion and DA member Adam Phankuch.

“Adam, Brian, Aaron and Justin are all committed to racing the entire SCORE season in 1600 so if the DA doesn’t win this championship we will all shave our heads” joked Cameron

In a twist Cameron’s former racing partner Clyde Stout had his best day ever in SCORE, just like Cameron, finishing 3rd. “Clyde took the time to go out and build his own truck and he landed on the podium with it, I am super pumped for him. It was like having the whole circus together again with our buddies Trigger, Jake, Vano, Cody, Greg and BR being there with all the usual suspects” said Steele. “Man if one of us could win the championship it would be one hell of a party in the OC come December!”