After five brutal days in the scorching heat, the Sonora Rally came to a close Friday with a run to San Luis Río Colorado. Cans of Tecate and medals awaited the finishers under the giant reddish-orange finish banner at the Hotel Mirra.
While Stage 4 was predominantly in the dunes in the middle of a heat dome, Stage 5 was more of a direct run with slightly better temperatures with just two large dunes and plenty of sandy roads. Matt Lube compared the latter to riding with his brother when he was younger.
Even in the summer-like temps, Mike Johnson turned up the heat as he scored the stage win for bikes. His chances of overall victory were dashed the day before, but beating Ciaran Naran by a minute and 49 seconds gives him a chance to go out on top.
Lube, who had a comfortable gap on the others in Rally Enduro, raced more conservatively since there was “no sense risking a crash or a bike failure.” While he couldn’t catch the more experienced Johnson and Niaran, he was pleased to wrap up with 45 minutes on second-placed Josiah Skagen.
Of the three UTVs left, Mike Shirley was the only driver to set a time below three hours. Jorge Cano was second and just five minutes over the three-hour mark, while Daniel Gonzalez exceeded four hours mainly due to a 30-minute penalty for missing a waypoint.
“It was hot again, but people stuck to the plan and they pushed hard, and we got everybody in,” said race director Darren Skilton. “Nice to be back in our traditional hub of San Luis Río Colorado. They pulled out all the stops today. They had everybody on the highway controlling traffic for us.”
“It was a really tough year this year. The last two stages were brutal, but congrats to all the finishers.”
Stage winners
Auto
| Class | Overall | Number | Driver | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTV Stock | 2 | 202 | Jorge Cano | 3:04:51 |
| UTV Unlimited | 1 | 206 | Mike Shirley | 2:54:08 |
Moto
| Class | Overall | Number | Rider | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Moto | 1 | 8 | Mike Johnson | 2:32:20 |
| Rally Enduro | 4 | 14 | Matt Lube | 2:53:23 |
Overall winners
Auto
| Class | Overall | Number | Driver | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2WD | DNF | N/A | No Finishers | DNF |
| 4WD | DNF | N/A | No Finishers | DNF |
| UTV Modified | DNF | N/A | No Finishers | DNF |
| UTV Stock | 2 | 202 | Jorge Cano | 20:51:29 |
| UTV Unlimited | 1 | 206 | Mike Shirley | 20:03:53 |
Moto
| Class | Overall | Number | Rider | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Moto | 1 | 21 | Ciaran Naran | 18:25:12 |
| Rally Enduro | 4 | 14 | Matt Lube | 20:30:22 |
Featured image credit: Brian Englund
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