Baja California, MX – Monday April 29th, 2024
Yesterday, (Sunday April 28th, 2024) Ducati and Steve Kamrad’s names were on everyone’s lips at the Norra Mexican 1000 yesterday, and today. Not, however, in any way either would have hoped for. Kamrad for distinctly unsportsmanlike behaviour, and karma. Ducati by association with their rider.
Yesterday, Kamrad (#53) was reported to have precipitated a head on collision. After the special, the Ducati rider, and AdvPulse contributor decided to backtrack the course. There are provisions for backtracking like this, generally it’s done when the course is relatively clear, and never at speed. Correction: According to a review of the NORRA rules, there are not provisions for this behaviour1.
Indeed Kamrad, had completed the timed special and only had to take the liaison so shouldn’t have needed to hurry. [Kamrad has disputed this citing he was in a “waypoint zone”, but this doesn’t actually seem to be a defined rally term – Ed. ] From the reports, Kamrad and the Ducati rounded a corner and head-on’ed another racer, Canadian Matthew Glade (#55).
Clarification:
Reviewing video of the incident that Kamrad sent unrequested to Glade’s partner, Kamrad’s is initially navigating off-track. He then joins a double-track (assumedly the course). His speed joining the track prior the incident appears to be 16mph, based on a glimpse of the Ducati DesertX speedo. Entering a blind corner while on track, Kamrad is heard to add throttle based on the audio, before colliding with Glade.
Reviewing the video in slow-motion, Glade was effectively hit on his front-left quadrant by Kamrad. The vector of force from Kamrad would throw Glade backwards and to Glade’s right, consistent with his landing position. While Kamrad had issues with this piece via Instagram, he did not contest this being construed as a head-on.
To be clear, this is not an accident – riding backwards on an active rally course has a predictable outcome of oncoming riders.
Glade was thrown backwards from their bike, activating their airbag vest. Glade suffered a concussion, but the vest likely prevented more severe injury, or fatality. Kamrad, not currently under the clock, then left the injured rider.
Correction: Per the video provided, Kamrad asks several times if Glade is ok. Glade is splayed on the ground, laying slightly on his right side. Glade is either unconscious or stunned. Glade eventually responds in the affirmative. The video provided from Kamrad‘s helmet-cam is ended there.
Later in the race, Kamrad was reported to undertake the same backtracking behaviour, luckily without another collision. Perhaps the second time the Ducati rider was trying to find his misplaced sense of personal responsibility?
Don’t for a moment think the Kamrad is exempted from representing Ducati on the brand’s “factory steed” based on journalistic independence or integrity. These type of rides are a publicity grab, a throwback to the “race on Sunday, sell on Monday” ethos of motorsports marketing, just dressed up in a wrapper of social media eyeballs and YouTube viewer minutes. The moment you accept a sponsored ride, you are by extension the brand. And, Kamrad’s behaviour has not done well by the Italian mark.
More surprisingly NORRA Mexican 1000 organizer Jimmy Lewis took no action against Kamrad, despite being thoroughly briefed on the collision. Indeed, contravening NORRA’s own rules on direction of travel1, Lewis allowed Kamrad to continue representing Ducati in the race. Perhaps the event is failing to live up to it’s tagline as the “Happiest Race on Earth”, compared to the harder-core SCORE Baja 1000.
Regardless, fate has intervened.
Around 9:10am this morning #53 stopped moving on the tracker. As of 10am PST this morning, it was reported from those on the ground race that Kamrad’s Ducati DesertX Rally had caught fire. In a further twist, and you can’t make this shit up, Jimmy Lewis was forced to put Kamrad on the back of his KTM EXC and double him off the course.
Suddenly, what was a smoldering PR issue for Ducati from a sportsmanship perspective, with they and Kamrad being the talk of the pits, has become a very real disaster for the DesertX Rally. The fire could raise questions of reliability for the DesertX, beyond those of a rider representing the brand. More important would be some kind of recognition of Kamrad’s conduct, by Ducati3, NORRA, or more importantly himself.
ACT II: Ducati Rider #53 Steve “Wrongway” Kamrad Disqualified from NORRA Mexican 1000
ACT III: The “Wrongway” Affair: Act III – Fictions and Questions
References and Footnotes:
- NORRA Rules Regarding Direction of Travel:
Section 11 Penalties – 11.7. Location – 11.7.1. Entrant vehicle traveling on the course in the reverse direction of the event, before the official closing of the Special stage: Disqualification. ↩︎ - NORRA Rules Regarding Direction of Travel:
Section 11 Penalties – 11.7. Location – 11.7.1. Entrant vehicle traveling on the course in the reverse direction of the event, before the official closing of the Special stage: Disqualification. ↩︎ - Ducati to a formal letter from Glade’s partner with a verbal apology ↩︎
OneWheelDrive.Net 
This is not unlike many of his angry and unsportsmanlike postings on social media over the years. #53’s behavior is chronic, and has only been enabled by others who have allowed and fostered it. Now, the monster is out of the box, set in his ways, and difficult, if not impossible, to tame; but shame on NORRA for not disciplining him with obvious evidence to do so. All too commonplace nowadays- money above integrity.
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