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Christensen in, pre-running opens Saturday for SCORE Baja 400
SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com September 1, 2022 Airing on ESPN2 World of X Games 3rd SCORE Baja 400, Presented by VP Racing Fuels Pre-running begins Saturday on 393.82-mile race course; Denmark’s Christensen, USA’s Wright, ‘3 1/2 Amigos’, Weiland, Polvoorde, Lofton, Miller, Blurton, Jones all in Spectacular event is Round 3 of four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship, Sept. 13-18 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico; Pre-running opens Saturday, Sept. 3; more info at… https://score-international.com/raceinfo/2022-baja-400-sept-13-18-2022/ NOTE: Current unofficial entry list, in numerical order, by class, at bottom of text ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—With momentum building at an increasingly rapid pace, re-running opens Saturday (Sept. 3) at 8 a.m. PT on the official race course for this month’s internationally-televised 3rd SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels. Among the newest entries on the rapidly growing entry list are Denmark’s veteran SCORE champion Martin Christensen, USA’s SCORE motorcycle star Brandon Wright, USA’s 3 1/2 Amigos, USA’s rapidly developing star Austin Weiland, USA’s ‘Young Gun’ Christopher Polvoorde, USA’s former NASCAR racer Justin Lofton, USA’s vet SCORE champ Wes Miller, USA’s SCORE champ Phil Blurton and USA’s Dakar Rally class champ A.J. Jones. PRE-RUNNING Official practice, or pre-running, on the official 393.82-mile race course for this year’s 3rd SCORE Baja 400 will start at race mile 33.08 and finish at race mile 360.82. The first 33.08 miles, which will be used in both directions during the race, will be available for pre-running only on Thursday (Sept. 15) and Friday (Sept. 16) and only in the outbound direction. GPS, ETC. The Racer’s Brief, Penalty Bulletin, Course Notes and GPS files will be available on the SCORE website under Race Info at 6 p.m. PT tonight (Thursday, Sept. 1). WHEN The youngest race in the long and storied nearly 50-year history of the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, Round 3 of the four-race SCORE World Desert Championship, will be held Sept. 13-18 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. THE NEWEST Among the latest of the 180 entries of nearly 225 official entries expected in this newest of the legendary SCORE Baja races are Denmark’s Martin Christensen, Escondido, Calif., in Class 10, USA’s Brandon Wright, Oak Hills, Calif., in Pro Moto Ironman, USA’s 3 1/2 Amigos (Stan Potter, San Marcos, Calif., Freddie Willert, El Cajon, Calif., Dan Worley, Encinitas, Calif. in Class 10 and young Matt Willert, El Cajon, Calif., in Class 1/2 1600), USA’s Austin Weiland, El Cajon, Calif., in Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction), USA’s ‘Young Gun’ Christopher Polvoorde, Hemet, Calif. in Trophy Truck Spec, USA’s former NASCAR star Justin Lofton, Brawley, Calif., in SCORE Trophy Truck, USA’s vet SCORE champ Wes Miller of Las Vegas in Pro UTV FI, USA’s defending SCORE Overall season point champ Phil Blurton of Auburn, Calif., in Pro UTV FI and USA’s 2019 SCORE Rookie of the Year turned-Rally-Raid-racer A.J. Jones, Litchfield Park, Ariz., in Pro UTV FI. BAJA RUTA MUY ESPECIAL! The race features another colorful, challenging course, designed, plotted and marked by SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva, of 393.82 miles of rugged Baja California terrain (370 for motorcycles and quads). The challenging race course will be another memorable example of all that Mexico’s Baja California has to offer, including high-speed dirt trails, sandy, rocky and silty natural terrain, majestic Baja washes and canyons, stretches along the seashore with elevations from sea level to 4,972 feet. The course will be another jewel reflecting the stark beauty of Baja California. It runs in a clockwise direction from Ensenada and back with two physical, full-stop checkpoints and 170 total virtual checkpoints. The two physical checkpoints will be: Checkpoint 1 at Ejido Jaramillo at race mile 223.64 and Checkpoint 2 will be at Santo Tomas at rm312.63. There are also a total of 15 speed zones for a total of 70.15 miles of the 393.82-mile race course. Heading East from Ensenada, the course goes through Ojos Negros then South through Rancho El Mezcal, turning East by Tres Hermanos and across to a short pavement section on Highway 3 then up and around in a dog leg by Rancho Las Vaquillas and back to another pavement section on Highway 3 at Heroes de la Independencia. After another highway stretch to Leyes de Reforma, the course goes East and then South to Ejido Jamau before another highway stretch past Valle de la Trinidad up to the access road to Mike’s Sky Ranch. After the big climb, the course continues South past Rancho La Joya, El Potrero and Rancho Santa Cruz where it turns west through Valladares up through Hacienda Sinaloa and across Highway 1 at Ejido Jaramillo. The course turns North at the Pacific Ocean for a short run up along the coastline, inland through Punta Colonet, looping back towards the Pacific and North through Cerro Solo, looping through Ejido Erendira up to San Vicente, Ejido Nativos del Valle North to Santo Tomas and then Ejido Uruapan. The course then winds its way Northeast by Rancho Palacios, through Los Encinos, turning North to Ojos Negros and by Las Minitas, Rancho Santa Maria and Rancho El Tule on its way back to the finish in Ensenada. WHAT Entries from all across the United States and around the world are anticipated for the upcoming internationally-televised desert race in Mexico’s Baja California. Inaugurated in 2019, the SCORE Baja 400 was not held in 2020 because of the global pandemic and in 2021 started and finished without spectators Northeast of the central city. The two defending overall and SCORE Trophy Truck champions in this new race are Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif. (2019) and Las Vegas’ Bryce Menzies (2021). WHERE The race and pre-race festivities will be in the heart of Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego. All race festivities including racer registration, media registration pre-race contingency and the start/finish line compound will all be held in or adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. Contingency and the start/finish line area will once again be the fantastic, fan-friendly Boulevard Costero. THE FIELD Nearly 225 vehicles are expected at the start line for this third-time SCORE race. Pro and Sportsman Classes are offered for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. To date there are racers from 21 U.S. States, U.S. Territory Puerto Rico, host country Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, France, New Zealand, Peru and Venezuela. DOUBLE DIGITS Leading the list of entries with double-digit lineups so far are SCORE Trophy Truck with 36 entries (including seven in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old), Trophy Truck Spec with 27 entries, Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 21 entries and Class 10 with 16 entries to date. GREAT DANE With roots in his native Denmark, Martin Christensen, 54, Escondido, Calif. is returning for an appearance once again in a SCORE Baja race. A reputable San Diego County businessman, Christensen has raced in several classes in his long SCORE career including SCORE Trophy Truck, Class 1, Class 10 and Class 9. In SCORE Trophy Truck and in Class 1, he raced in competitive BMW-powered vehicles with World Rally Championship race winner Armin Schwarz of Germany. For many years a regular SCORE racer, Christensen no longer races on a regular because of his significant other daily business commitments. Early in his SCORE racing career, Christensen earned three coveted SCORE season point championships 1998, 2002, 2003. For this year’s SCORE Baja 400, Christensen is driver of record for his No. 1050 All-German Auto ID-Chevy with San Diego’s Mark Smith listed as his additional driver. Christensen has earned two career Rod Hall SCORE Milestone Awards, presented by Toyota Escondido, 1998 in Class 9 and 2006 in Class 1. In this year’s SCORE Baja 500, the veteran Christensen finished 12th out of 26 starters in Class 10. SOLO WRIGHT Following several seasons co-rider on winning Pro motorcycle age group classes, Brandon Wright, 45, Oak Hills, Calif. not only won the Pro Moto Ironman (for solo riders) class in this year’s King Shocks SCORE San Felipe 250 over 10 starters in his class. Wright rides the No. 750x Husqvarna FE501 motorcycle. At the finish line in San Felipe, the victorious Wright said following his first SCORE Pro Ironman win, “It was really rough the whole way. I did pretty well for most of the time and was just trying to decide what pace to keep as I wasn’t sure where my competition was at. I was just trying to stay comfortable and everything was going well until about 15 miles to the finish when the whoops finally hit me. I thought I was done. I was just on survival mode at that point. But I made it. And I won my class!” Wright finished second in Pro Moto Ironman in this year’s SCORE Baja 500 and is tied for first place in his class point standings with Canada’s Aaron Richardson. 3 1/2 AMIGOS Definitely a trio with a multitude of years of SCORE Baja racing experience with a combined 176 years in age between them, ‘Tres Amigos’ San Potter, 60, San Marcos, Calif. is driver of record this year and his additional compadres Freddie Willert, 54, El Cajon, Calif. and Dan Worley, 62, Encinitas, Calif. moved up to Class 10 in 2020 after winning the SCORE Lite season point title in 2019. After several years away from the sport, the trio returned full-time in 2017 and finished seventh in the SCORE Lite points with one race win. In 2018, the talented trio finished fourth in the SCORE Lite points before their 2019 championship season in SCORE Lite where they won the SCORE San Felipe 250, the SCORE Baja 400 and the SCORE Baja 1000. With the team’s Jimco-VW race car sitting quietly for nearly a decade, the team actually won their class (SCORE Lites) in the 50th SCORE Baja 1000 in 2017. All three of them have raced in several different SCORE classes over the years and Worley won the 1992 Pro Moto 30 season points. ‘Tres Amigos’ moved up to Class 10 where they now split the driving in their No. 1006 Alumi Craft-Chevy, which is shod with BFGoodrich Tires, King Shocks and Raceline Wheels. After withdrawing from this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 because of a pre-running accident, the Trio, led by Driver of Record Potter came back and won Class 10 in the SCORE Baja 500 over a field of 26 starters in their class. The veteran talented trio won the SCORE Lite class in 2019 and finished fifth last year in Class 10 in the SCORE Baja 400. Newest member of the group is Freddie Willlert’s son Matt Willert, just 17, of El Cajon, Calif. In his official debut at this year’s SCORE Baja 500, the youngest Amigo finished on the podium in third place out of 10 starters in Class 1/2-1600. Matt Willert drives the No. 1606 Bunderson-VW. WEILAND Still a relative newcomer to SCORE desert racing, SoCal’s Austin Weiland has quickly earned his spot among contenders in the super-competitive Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) class with a very impressive season last year followed by a major victory this year as the fastest UTV out of 50 total starters in five different classes in this year’s BFGoodrich Tire 54th SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. Driving the No. 2954 Can-Am X-3, he averaged 39.08 mph and won the UTV Overall by nearly 15 minutes. From El Cajon, Calif., Weiland, 30, had a dnf in this year’s season opener and even with his huge overall UTV win at the SCORE Baja 500, he is 13th in his class point standings out of 35 total racers. His first major SCORE race win was in last year’s SCORE Baja 400 where he finished first in Pro UTV FI as well as first overall UTV among 47 starters in five different classes. CPR STILL ON TOP Building experience and some years under his belt along the trail upwards, SoCal’s youthful dynamo Christopher Polvoorde leads the SCORE Overall point standings and the massive Trophy Truck Spec class as well following his stunning season-opening class victory at this month’s King Shocks 35th SCORE San Felipe 250 that saw a race-high 36 starters in his class. Polvoorde may have just turned only 22 years old, but he has already been racing for over eight years and has evolved quickly into a SCORE Baja racing championship contender. He followed up his San Felipe victory with a fourth place finish out of 32 starters in Trophy Truck Spec at the SCORE Baja 500. Polvoorde has raced in many different disciplines including Short Course, Desert Racing, Rally Racing, Midget Racing, Robby Gordon’s Stadium Trucks, Kart Racing and the King of the Hammers where he won his class this year. When he isn’t driving four-wheel race vehicles, he also is an avid mountain bike enthusiast in his limited spare time. Driving the No. 204 CP Racing Mason Motorsports-Ford, he has earned 255 points so far in the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship and he leads not only the points in Trophy Truck Spec but the SCORE Overall point standings as well midway through the season. Polvoorde is also a full-time college student attending the University of San Diego on scholarship seeking a double major in finance and real estate through the USD School of Business. BACK TO HIS FUTURE Like so many others, Justin Lofton, 36, is a SCORE second-generation desert racer. After spending several years driving on various NASCAR national circuits, Lofton, who helps run the family Lofton Cattle company in Texas and his hometown of Brawley, Calif., has raced in four NASCAR Xfinity Series races, 84 in the NASCAR Truck Series. In the NASCAR Truck Series, Lofton had 29 top 10 finishes and one race victory. Lofton also ran several years in the ARCA Series where he earned the 2009 season point championship. During that 2009 ARCA campaign, Lofton has six race wins, 15 top fives and 19 top 10 finishes. He started racing late model stock cars on local tracks before pursing the NASCAR feeder series. Lofton also raced several times in Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Trucks series and won both the 2015 and 2016 Mint 400 desert race. With so much NASCAR racing, Lofton hasn’t competed to much with and he will be hunt for his first SCORE Trophy Truck win in his No. 41 Lofton Cattle JL Racing Chevy Silverado built by Mason Motorsports. Lofton is currently 19th out of 36 total starters in the 2022 SCORE Trophy Truck season points after a dnf in San Felipe and a ninth-place finish in the SCORE Baja 500 in June. In the SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels, he finished fourth in SCORE Trophy Truck in 2019 and 11th out of 30 starters last year. BOMB SQUAD RACING Involved in the off-road scene in virtually every way imaginable, Wes Miller, 52, Las Vegas, has been making high-speed tracks across the desert for more than 30-years. His roots can be traced back to ATV racing and freestyle where Wes founded H-Bomb Films and Media and created the wildly popular Huevos ATV video series. H-Bomb went on to develop a multitude of work within the off-road arena and Wes earned countless awards for his production, directing, cinematography and high-speed filming capabilities. Through it all, Wes fed his passion for racing with equal fervor, competing in countless SCORE Baja races where he has earned five career SCORE season class point championships, is a multi-time winner of both the SCORE Baja 1000 and SCORE 500. Miller started racing UTVs when the category was still in its infancy in 2005. He started racing for Polaris as a support driver in 2015 and became full-factory driver in 2017 and reintroduced the Bomb Squad race team. In 2022, Miller is fourth in Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) season points out of 35 racers following finishes of sixth place in San Felipe and fifth in the SCORE Baja 500. Miller and his additional driver Donny Powers, 33, Morgan Hill, Calif. share the wheel in the No. 2989 Bomb Squad Racing Polaris RZR XP Turbo. Miller and Bomb Squad racing won their class in the Inaugural SCORE Baja 400 in 2019 and survived to finish 19th out of 27 starters in last year’s race. CHAMP IS BACK After missing the first two SCORE races this season, the Champ is Back! Climbing the ladder race-by-race, noted Northern California racer Phil Blurton enjoyed his first season competing full-time in SCORE by winning the SCORE Overall, SCORE UTV overall and Pro UTV FI class point championships in the 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship. Starting cautiously with a fourth place in class in the season opener, Burton, of Auburn, Calif. and his driving teammate Beau Judge, Rockland, Calif., finished in second place in each of the next two races and culminated their championship campaign by winning their class in the season-ending legendary SCORE Baja 1000 to earn their season crowns. Blurton, 36, and Judge, 44, may have been rookies in the 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship, but they have been honing their UTV driving skills competitively for over four years before their big splash in this year’s SCORE series. Finishing his rookie season in SCORE racing, four-time UTV World Champion Blurton, a second-generation SCORE desert racer, was the driver of record in winning his first SCORE Baja 1000 title and his first overall SCORE UTV race win over 62 starters in four UTV classes while winning the Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) class. He was timed over the formidable 1226.35-mile race course in 26 hours, 58 minutes and 57 seconds in his No. 2944 Can-Am X3. “I’ve waited a long time to race with SCORE. My dad (Phil Blurton Sr) is a former two-time SCORE class champion,” commented Blurton at the finish line of last year’s SCORE Baja 1000. “SCORE Baja racing is in a league of its own.” In their championship season, Blurton/Judge finished fourth in the SCORE San Felipe 250 in April, and second in both the SCORE Baja 500 in June and SCORE Baja 400 in September to stay close in the hunt before pulling off their stunning championship victory in the SCORE Baja 1000. When he’s not racing, Blurton is the founder and operator of No Limit Race Development and Manufacturing based in Loomis, Calif. His company specializes building custom UTV cages and suspension parts. AJ RETURNS Second-generation SCORE desert racer A.J. Jones, 26, Litchfield Park, Ariz., is returning to SCORE following a major splash in 2019 followed by his move into Rally Raid racing where he won his UTV class this year in the famous Dakar Rally. A.J. Jones is the son of SCORE champion racer Jesse Jones who won the 2010 SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship. A.J. Jones started his career in racing early, first taking the co-driver seat as his father Jesse's navigator in 2018 as the age of 22. It wasn’t long until a young Jones moved into the driver’s seat, making a name for himself almost immediately in SCORE Baja racing. Racing in the Trophy Truck Spec Class he won his class in several races, including the SCORE San Felipe 250, SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 1000. A.J. Jones was voted the 2019 SCORE 2019 Rookie of the Year. For this year’s SCORE Baja 400, A.J. Jones will be driving in Portugal’s Factory South Racing No. 2985 Can-Am X3 in the Pro UTV FI class. Jones is a Monster-sponsored athlete. GREEN FLAG It is an elapsed-time race with staggered starts with the green flag dropping on Saturday (Sept. 18). Ceremonial start in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center will be 5:30 a.m. PT for Motorcycles and Quads and 9:15 a.m. PT for the Cars, Trucks and UTVs. here will be a minimum of three and one-half hours between the last SPT Quad and the first SCORE Trophy Truck. Car, Truck and UTV classes will have a course of 393.82 miles while motorcycle and quad classes will have a race course of 370 miles. While the fastest vehicles will finish in a little less than eight hours, all classes will have a time limit of 19 hours from the time each vehicle starters to become an official finisher in the race. TV The race will air domestically on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on the World of X Games program on ESPN2 and will be syndicated internationally to nearly 25 countries in Europe, Latin America, South America and Asia. Co-producing the shows with SCORE is the award-winning BCII TV of Los Angeles led by executive producer Bud Brutsman. Intro host for the broadcast will be Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee and SCORE Trophy Truck racing champion Cameron Steele. The premier airing of the race show is scheduled on ESPN2 for Sunday, Nov. 6 and 12 a.m. ET and 9 p.m. PT. START GRID-SCORE BAJA 1000 The results of the SCORE Baja 400 also will determine the start order within each class for November’s iconic season-ending BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. RACER REGISTRATION No additional online entries will be accepted after 5 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, August 31. With online racer registration now closed, late, on-site racer registration will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Sept. 13-16). In person registration is still being held in the SCORE Ensenada office until 5 p.m. PDT on Thursday, Sept. 8. QUALIFYING Qualifying for starting positions within their respective classes will be held on Wednesday (Sept. 14), starting at 8 a.m. PDT. Classes that will be qualifying for the 3rd SCORE Baja 400 are SCORE Trophy Truck, SCORE TT Legend, the unlimited Class 1 and the Trophy Truck Spec class. A HAPPENING… Colorful race week festivities will start on Tuesday, Sept. 13 to help celebrate this youngest SCORE Baja race. They will be held in or adjacent to the landmark Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada. Chassis inspections and pre-tech/Stella devise check and installation will be held on Wednesday (Sept. 14) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT by appointment and on Thursday (Sept. 15) chassis inspection/pre-tech/Stella bracket check and installation will be held at a location to be determined. Friday (Sept. 16) will see the colorful day-long, pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency festival in the start finish line area in Ensenada. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT contingency row will be held for all classes. Tech inspection/Transponder checks/Stella/SPICA device pickup will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. PDT on Friday as well at the end of the manufacturer’s row. During the race on Saturday, Sept. 17 until the course closes on Sunday morning, Sept. 18, the start/finish line compound will include the massive double-sided SCOREvision LED screen broadcasting race festivities, the start, live race action from around the course and finish line interviews. Popular Rat Sult will once again serve as host of the SCORE Live streaming. Assisting Sult will be veteran voice Dave Arnold. Contingency and the race itself will be streamed live, airing via the internet on the SCORE website. Included in the exclusive race coverage, along with vehicle tracking, will be live drone and in-car camera footage from various locations around the race course. AT THE RIVIERA… The historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, in the heart of Ensenada, will again be the site of many of the activities surrounding the 3rd SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels. Racer registration and media registration will both be held in Salon Rojo on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Sept. 13-16). On Tuesday (Sept. 13 for qualifying teams only) racer registration will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. PDT. On Wednesday (Sept. 14) it will run from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. PDT, Thursday (Sept. 15) it will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT and on Friday (Sept. 16) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Tuesday and Wednesday, no new entries will be accepted after 7 p.m. PDT, on Thursday after 4 p.m. PDT and on Friday, no new entries will be accepted after 3 p.m. PDT. SCORE Media Registration will be held in Salon Rojo at the Riviera on Tuesday and Wednesday (Sept. 13-14) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. PDT and on Thursday and Friday (Sept. 15-16) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT. The start/finish line for the race will once again be adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Blvd. Costero. LeDUC, GRAND MARSHAL Adding to the glamour of the SCORE Baja 400, Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Class of 2015 inductee Curt LeDuc, and SCORE champion truck racer has been named as the Grand Marshal for this year’s race. Passionate to a flair with racing champion sons Todd LeDuc and Kyle LeDuc, Curt LeDuc, 67, of Cherry Valley, Calif., has been a winner in desert racing, short course racing, the Dakar Rally, the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb and elder LeDuc is like the energizer bunny…he’s still going, going and going. LeDuc has had a strong career in SCORE and has four career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins and he won the 1997 SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship driving a factory-sponsored Jeep Cherokee. SCOREscope 2022 SCHEDULE Here are the remaining two dates in the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship which is being held exclusively in Baja California, Mexico for the seventh consecutive year:
- 3rd SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
- BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—