Perhaps the busiest two weeks in Matt Sutherland‘s racing career is off to a good start as he won the National Malle Moto class at the Sonora Rally, but he will not have much time to cherish the triumph as he boards a van for a four-hour trip from San Luis Río Colorado to Ensenada to compete in the Mexican 1000.
Sutherland is competing in the Ultimate Ironman Challenge, a new programme created by the overseers of the Sonora Rally and Mexican 1000 for bike riders doing both events on their own without assistance from teams (help from other riders is permitted). Only Sutherland and Matthew Glade are attempting it, for which they will receive a commemorative plaque from Mexican 1000 organiser NORRA.
Already the reigning Mexican 1000 champion, the challenge began on a strong note as Sutherland finished fourth among all National Moto riders in the Prologue and first in his class. While National Enduro entrants, who have outside support and crews unlike Malle Moto, were the top finishers overall across the six days, Sutherland placed as high as second in Stages #1 and #4.
While not a perfectly flawless outing as he received fifty-one minutes in penalties including thirty in the fifth and final stage for missing a waypoint (relegating him to eleventh), the time added was still significantly less than his competitors as the second fewest by runner-up Paul Mumford added up to ten hours and forty-five minutes.
When Malle Moto and Enduro are combined together for the overall results, Sutherland’s run of 18:24:08 is good for third behind Brendan Crow’s 16:37:36 and Francisco Alvarez’s 17:56:38. Alvarez edged out Sutherland for the Road to Dakar, which grants the winner free admission to the 2024 Dakar Rally; five of the eight Malle Moto riders were RtD hopefuls.
“No navigation for us in the national class this year as we were the last vehicles to start in the heat of the day,” wrote Sutherland. “It was pretty brutal out there so [well] done to all the national guys who endured the brutal terrain we had this year. It was tough out there.
“Huge thanks to SD Powerhouse for prepping my bike that was flawless and to AHM Factory Services for giving me the suspension setup to handle the hidden square edges and everything else thrown at us over the past 6 days. It would have been a different story on my old suspension setup.”
Mumford would finish over thirteen hours behind Sutherland. Glade joined his fellow Challenge rider on the class podium in third.
Friends Vladimir Malyarevich and Alexander Kachaev were the lone non-North Americans in the field, respectively hailing from Belarus and Russia. While the FIM, who sanctions the World Rally-Raid Championship’s bike classes at Sonora, has a hard ban on riders from the two countries due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, National entries are independent of the FIM and FIA. Kachaev crashed just two kilometres into Stage #1 and spent the rest of the rally chasing Malyarevich and company, but successfully completed the race as the final bike finisher in thirty-fourth.
Sandwiched between the two, Ben Howard was the only adventure bike competitor; his Yamaha Ténéré 700 is heavier than the enduro KTMs, Hondas, and Husqvarnas of his peers with its larger size and engine. Howard endured a tumultuous Stage #4 when he and multiple colleagues got stuck in the desert and reached the bivouac in the late evening upon spotting a fuel truck, but managed to reach the finish.
“My arms are so tired I can hardly hold my Sonora Rally trophy up,” Howard quipped. “The Ténéré 700 was the only adventure bike entered so I won the category by simply finishing. I also came in as 30th out of 41 in the general motorcycle category. The XL Adventure bike was hard work in the beat up roads left by the FIM classes run ahead of the national motos and I struggled with it a few of the days, only holding a 21mph average [at] times.
“My arms will have to recover some, I can barely turn the wheel of my truck.”
National Malle Moto overall results
| Finish | Number | Rider | Team | Time | Margin |
| 1 | 501 | Matt Sutherland | Matt Sutherland | 18:24:08 | Leader |
| 2 | 542 | Paul Mumford | Paul Mumford | 32:01:13 | + 13:37:05 |
| 3 | 508 | Matthew Glade | RallyMotoShop | 47:36:44 | + 29:12:6 |
| 4 | 510 | Hector Guerrero | Mocedi Racing Team | 51:31:56 | + 33:07:48 |
| 5 | 521 | Benjamin Myers | Benjamin Myers | 71:32:47 | + 53:08:39 |
| 6 | 514 | Vladimir Malyarevich | Vladimir Malyarevich | 81:03:07 | + 62:38:59 |
| 7 | 528 | Ben Howard | Ben Howard | 86:26:31 | + 68:02:23 |
| 8 | 520 | Alexander Kachaev | Alexander Kachaev | 119:10:28 | + 110:46:20 |
National Malle Moto stage winners
| Stage | Rider | Time |
| Prologue | Matt Sutherland | 52:56 |
| Stage #1 | Matt Sutherland | 2:41:56 |
| Stage #2 | Matt Sutherland | 2:22:15 |
| Stage #3 | Matt Sutherland | 6:20:50 |
| Stage #4 | Matt Sutherland | 3:59:33 |
| Stage #5 | Matt Sutherland | 2:06:38 |
Overall winners
| Class | Number | Competitor | Team | Time |
| T1 | 201 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Toyota Gazoo Racing | 10:29:55 |
| T3 | 302 | Mitch Guthrie | Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team | 11:17:24 |
| T4 | 400 | Rokas Baciuška | Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing | 11:51:05 |
| RallyGP | 18 | Daniel Sanders | Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing | 11:01:09 |
| Rally2 | 17 | Romain Dumontier | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing | 11:48:21 |
| Rally3 | 57 | Massimo Camurri | Freedom Rally Racing | 15:59:16 |
| Quad | 162 | Laisvydas Kancius | AG Dakar School | 15:33:14 |
| National Car/UTV | 605 | Sara Price* | SP Motorsports | 17:14:04 |
| National Enduro | 513 | Brendan Crow* | Brendan Crow | 16:37:36 |
| National Malle Moto | 501 | Matt Sutherland* | Matt Sutherland | 18:24:08 |