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36 States, 17 countries entered so far in 55th SCORE Baja 1000
SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com November 10, 2022 Next week in Ensenada BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, Presented by 4 Wheel Parts Entries from 36 States, 17 Countries in starting draw for finale of 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship Late, on-site racer registration Nov. 15-17at Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center; Pre-running continuing on rugged 828.25-mile route around Northern Baja California; AMA Hall of Fame SCORE motorcycle champ Scot Harden serving as Grand Marshal; Internationally televised race to air on ESPN2’s World of X Games; #SCOREBaja1000 SCORE Live, vehicle tracking at www.score-international.com, Rat Sult host; NOTE: Current name/number entry list in start order, by class, at bottom of text ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico— While most of the start positions were determined by the finishing order from the previous race, the balance of the starting positions for the first 265 entries were determined this week as racers from around the world are heading to Baja California, Mexico for next week’s legendary BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. FAST TRAX The finale of the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held Nov. 15-20 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, the race will start/finish and colorful pre-race activities in the heart of Ensenada at the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center and the adjacent fantastically fan-friendly Boulevard Costero. Ensenada, ‘The Off-Road Capital of the World,’ is located 80 miles South of the U.S. Border near San Diego. With over 275 entries expected, 45 competition classes are offered for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. To date, there are 265 total entries from 36 U.S. States, U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico and 17 countries. Joining the USA and the U.S. Territory Puerto Rico, in the field so far are racers from host country Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, India, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Peru and Spain. So far there are 194 cars, trucks and UTVs entered and 71 motorcycles and quads. Most the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s celebration of one of the very top motorsports events in the entire world. The race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on the ESPN2 World of X Games programming. The race show on ESPN2 is co-produced by SCORE International and the award-winning BCII TV of Los Angeles. Bud Brutsman is the Executive Producer. Intro announcer for the race show will once again be Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee and SCORE champion desert racer Cameron Steele who will again pull double duty racing in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck class as well in his No. 16 Desert Assassins Monster Energy Ford Raptor. All four 2022 SCORE races are being held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the seventh consecutive year. SCORE, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, is celebrating its 49th season in 2022. TOP SEVEN STARTERS As a result of their finishes in September’s 3rd SCORE Baja 400 in Ensenada, Mexico, SCORE Trophy Truck racers will be the first five vehicles to start this year’s SCORE Baja 100. With ‘super team’ of combined racers in the first seven starting slots on the grid, starting first in the elapsed time race with 60-second intervals between starters will be Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas/Andy McMillin, San Diego (No. 7) followed by Luke McMillin, San Diego/Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas (No. 83) second, Dan McMillin, San Diego/Josh Daniel, Vista, Calif. (No. 23) third and fourth will be Mexico’s Alan Ampudia, Ensenada, Mexico/Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr (No. 10). Fifth will be the Australian duo of Paul Weel/Toby Price, sixth will be by Mike Walser, Comfort, Texas/Jax Redline, Amarillo, Texas (No. 89) while seventh will be Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif./Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif. (No. 16) next Friday (Nov. 18). SCORE Trophy Truck, launched by SCORE in 1994, is the marquee racing division in the sport for high-tech, 1000 horsepower, unlimited custom trucks. FIRST MOTO The first motorcycle to start the race will be Bolivian super-star international rally racer Juan Carlos Salvatierra (No. 10x) who was the Overall motocycle and Pro Moto Unlimited class winner in in all three races so far this year. This week’s start draw was held for all the racers who have entered to so far that did not finish or did not race in the SCORE Baja 400. DOUBLE DIGITS Leading the list of entries with double-digit lineups so far are SCORE Trophy Truck with 38 entries (including nine in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old), Trophy Truck Spec with 26 entries, Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 26 entries, Class 10 with 20 entries, Pro UTV Stock with 11, Pro UTV Open with nine and among two-wheel vehicles Pro Moto Ironman (Solo riders) with 22 entries to date and Pro Moto Unlimited with nine and Sportsman Motorcycle with 12. PRE-RUNNING Official practice, or pre-running, on the official 828.25-mile race course for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000 continues through Thursday (Nov. 17). The first section of the course to the Ojos Negros area, which will be used in both directions during the race, will be available for pre-running only on Wednesday (Nov. 16) and Thursday (Nov. 17) and only in the outbound direction. The Racer’s Brief, Penalty Bulletin, Course Notes and GPS files are available on the SCORE website under Race Info for the SCORE Baja 1000. MORE FIRST STARTS Among the other racers who will start first in their respective four-wheel vehicle classes in this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 after their season-opening class wins in San Felipe are Gustavo Vildosola Sr, Mexicali, Mexico/Ricky Johnson, El Cajon, Calif. (SCORE TT Legend, No. 21L), Brian Parkhouse, Long Beach, Calif./Cody Parkhouse, Long Beach, Calif. (Class 1, No. 10), Christopher Polvoorde, Hemet, Calif./Ray Griffith, Downey, Calif. (Trophy Truck Spec, No. 204), Stan Potter, San Marcos, Calif. (Class 10, No. 1006), Dan Chamlee, Montecito, Calif. (Class 7, No. 700), Mike Cafro, Calif. (Pro UTV Open, No. 1876), Austin Weiland, El Cajon, Calif. (Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction), No. 2954), Miguel Cortez, San Diego (SCORE Lites, No. 1205), Kaden Wells, Hurricane, Utah (Pro UTV NA, No. 1995), Martin Rangel, Surprise, Ariz. (Classs 1/2-1600, No. 1626), Randy Emberton, Prescott, Ariz. (Pro UTV Stock, No. 3933), Trey Hernquist, Encinitas, Calif. (Class 5, No. 501), Edward Muncey, San Diego (Baja Challenge, No. BC4) and Hector Sarabia, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 11, No. 1145). Among the other motorcycle first starts will be the teams led by Ryan Liebelt, Reedley, Calif. (Pro Moto 40, No. 400x), Jano Montoya, Winter Garden, Fla. (Peru) (Pro Moto 30, 325x) Giovanni Spinali, El Cajon, Calif. (Pro Moto 50, No. 500x) and Brandon Wright, Oak Hills, Calif. (Pro Moto Ironman, No. 750x). BAJA RUTA MUY ESPECIAL! Identified, designed and plotted by SCORE President/Race Director Abelardo Grijalva, the 828.25-mile race course for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, runs in a clockwise direction after the first part to and then back and back from Ojos Negros. The magnificent course features three physical, full-stop checkpoints and 285 virtual checkpoints. The course also has 18 speed zones for a total of 70.6 race miles. Checkpoint 1 is at race-mile 200.22 (El Chinero), Checkpoint 2 is at rm 579.98 (Ejido Jaramillo) and Checkpoint 3 is at race-mile 726.57 (El Alamo). After Ojos Negros, the course goes up and over the Cordillera de Molina to drop into the desert around Rm 115. After reaching the La Ventana area it will run south to the El Chinero road crossing highway 3 at Km 192 and will keep going south to Matomi wash. Halfway into Matomi Wash it exits and goes north to Azufre Wash, then to Huatamote wash, Chanate Wash and up to Morelia Junction. From there the course will exit the desert and go to San Matias Pass road and Mike’s Sky Rancho, down to Rancho La Jolla and will run on the San Pedro Martir road to Meling Ranch. After Meling it will run to the Pacific Coast to Ejido Jaramillo and north to just below San Vicente where it will cross back to Valley de Trinidad then back to Ojos Negros and onto to the finish line in Ensenada. For safety reasons, all of the Sportsman 4 Wheel Vehicle classes along with Class 11 and Class 7SX will run a reduced course of 695.79 miles and the Sportsman Motorcycle and Quad classes will race on a reduced course of 760.91 miles. This year’s course map is available on the SCORE website under race info on the SCORE Baja 1000 page at www.SCORE-International.com. GREEN FLAG The SCORE Baja 1000 will be an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Friday, Nov. 18 will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 2:30 a.m. (PT) and 9:15 a.m. (PT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs. While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in around 17 hours, all vehicles will have a 36-hour time limit to become official finishers in the elapsed-time 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. A HAPPENING… Colorful race week festivities will start on Tuesday, Nov. 15 to help celebrate this epic 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, pre-tech/Stella device check and installation will be held on Tuesday (Nov. 15) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT north of the start/finish ramp. Wednesday (Nov. 16) and Thursday (Nov. 17) will see the colorful two-day, pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency festival in the start finish line area. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT on both days, contingency row will be held with motorcycles, quads and a few car/truck classes on Wednesday and the remainder of the classes, including SCORE Trophy Truck on Thursday. Tech inspection/Transponder checks/Stella/SPICA device pickup on both days will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT as well at the end of the manufacturer’s row. During the race on Friday, Nov. 18 until the course closes on early Sunday morning, Nov. 20, the start/finish line compound will include the massive double-sided SCOREvision LED screen broadcasting race festivities, the start, live race drone, ground-camera and in-car camera action from around the course and finish line interviews. SCORE LIVE During contingency on Wednesday and Thursday and the race on Friday until the course closes on Sunday early morning, live streaming will be broadcasting race activities and start and finish line interviews as well as live action from Drones, ground and in-car cameras from around the race course. Popular Rat Sult, who has been the voice of SCORE over the last seven seasons, will once again serve as host and lead announcer of the expansive SCORE Live streaming. Assisting Sult will be veteran voice Dave Arnold. Sult and Arnold will be announcing from the SCORE start/finish ramp while the show will also include SCORE studio announcers in El Cajon, Calif., providing live info and updates throughout the race. SCORE live is being produced again by SCORE Media House, Aaron Laub, producer, Alberto Luna-director. SCORE live may be launched from the home page of the SCORE website or from the SCORE App. 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 BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. Racer registration and media registration will both be held in Salon Rojo on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (Nov. 15-17). On Tuesday (Nov. 15) racer registration will be held from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT. On Wednesday (Nov. 16) it will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT and on Thursday (Nov. 17) it will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT. On Wednesday, no new entries will be accepted after 4 p.m. PT and on Thursday after 3 p.m. PT. SCORE Media Registration will be held in Salon Rojo at the Riviera on Tuesday (Nov. 15) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. PT and on both Wednesday (Nov. 16) and Thursday (Nov. 17) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. There will be two pre-race mandatory racer’s meetings, both being held in the Cathedral Room at the Riviera CC. The first one, for racers in motorcycle and quad classes will be on Wednesday (Nov. 16) at 6 p.m. PT and the second one, for racers in car/truck/UTV classes will be held on Thursday (Nov. 17) at 7 p.m. PT. The pre-race SCORE Media Conference will be held on Thursday (Nov. 17) at 11:30 a.m. in the Cathedral Room at the Riviera CC. The start/finish line compound for the race will once again be adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Blvd. Costero. BFGOODRICH TIRES UNMATCHED BFGoodrich Tires, the official tire of SCORE for 46 years, received two awards for the 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship. BFGoodrich Tires was honored after the 2021 season as the SCORE Contingency Company of the year for the 31st time as well as being voted the SCORE Pit Support Team of the Year for the 33rd time. BFGoodrich Tires has been the choice of 35 of the 54 overall winners of the popular SCORE Baja 500 and 32 of the 54 overall winners of the legendary SCORE Baja 1000. BFGoodrich Tires is also the title sponsor of both of the iconic races again in 2022. BFGoodrich Tires also has been the choice of 29 of the 35 overall winners of the SCORE San Felipe 250, all three SCORE Desert Challenge races, the lone SCORE Challenge of Champions in San Felipe, the one SCORE Baja Sur 500 and the first SCORE Baja 400. This year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 overall victory by San Diego’s Luke McMillin marked the 100th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja overall race win. BFG BIG BONUS SCORE major sponsor BFGoodrich Tires has posted a US$25,000 contingency bonus for the overall 4-wheel race winner to help commemorate this newest race on the SCORE schedule. GRAND MARSHAL—SCOT HARDEN SCORE has announced that the Grand Marshal for the BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, will be Hall of Fame SCORE motorcycle champion Scot Harden. Harden, 66, born and raised in Las Vegas and currently living in Menifee, Calif., is a legendary professional desert motorcycle racer with a 50-year career as a world champion racer and motorcycle industry executive. In his racing career Harden captured two SCORE Baja 1000 overall victories, three SCORE Baja 500 wins, two wins in the SCORE Parker 400, one Mexicali 300 win and he also won the 1979 SCORE Pro Moto Unlimited (Class 22) season point championship. In addition, he has numerous overalls at other major desert events, In international competition Harden is a three-time International Six-Day Enduro (ISDE) medalist, earning a gold, silver and bronze in the early 1980s. As a result of his illustrious career, Harden has been inducted into three halls of fame, the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame in 2008, the Trailblazers HOF in 2020 and the Hot Shoe HOF in 2020. SCOREscope 2022 FINALE
- BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—
- King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250—
- BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—
- 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
- BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—