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Starting Draw Results-- SCORE San Felipe 250
SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com March 20, 2023 ‘Celebrating 50 Years of Desert Racing Excellence’ March 28-April 2 in San Felipe King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250, Fueled by Baja Vida ‘The Luke’ eyeing repeat overall race victory, season title as racers prep for big challenge Opener of 4-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship on 262.80-mile course, Pre-running continuing; motorcycles, quads have two separate course sections Fish Grand Marshal for 2023 season--Cornwell, Butler--2023 SCORE San Felipe 250 NOTE: Current unofficial numerical entry list, by class, at bottom of text ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – ‘Celebrating 50 Years of Desert Racing Excellence’ this year, pre-running continues on the unique 262.80-mile race course and ‘The Luke’ McMillin is hungry for a repeat in next week’s King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250, fueled by Baja Vida. Round 1 of the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held next Tuesday through Sunday on a 262.80-mile race course in and around the quaint, peaceful village of San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico. FAST FACTS Pre-race Contingency and Tech Inspection and the start/finish line compound will be located on the picturesque El Malecon in San Felipe along the inspiring azure waters of the Sea of Cortez. San Felipe is 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif. on the eastern side of the Baja peninsula. All four 2023 SCORE races will be held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the eighth consecutive year. SCORE, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, is celebrating its 50th season in 2023. BY THE NUMBERS With over 300 entries anticipated at the start line to launch the 50th season of SCORE desert racing, 260 total entries have been received so far for the popular ‘Spring Break’ event, with racers representing 28 U.S. States, and 13 countries. The countries with at least one racer so far are United States, host country Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Peru. To date, there are 203 cars/trucks/utvs entered and 57 motorcycles/quads. DOUBLE DIGITS With double-digit entries to date are the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck (high-tech, unlimited, 1000-horsepower, custom trucks) with 32, Trophy Truck Spec (SCORE Trophy Trucks with spec engines) with 43, Class 10 (20), Pro UTV Open (18), Pro UTV FI (26), Pro UTV Stock (13) and Pro Moto Ironman (solo riders) with 16. ‘THE LUKE’ WITH A COOL HAND While the odds are certainly not in his favor for a variety of solid reasons, no one can tell ‘The Luke’ McMillin that he won’t repeat as the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck winner in this popular season-opener South of the Border. And rightly so. San Diego’s McMillin, 30, is not only the defending race champion (he finished second in 2021) and he is the reigning SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion. And ‘The Luke’ has won the season crown in the marquee racing division for high-tech, 1000-horsepower, unlimited custom trucks two of the last three years. Emerging as the ‘Face of SCORE’ with a look of a movie star and the heart of a lion, San Diego’s third-generation desert racer ‘The Luke’ roared his way to the top of the point leaderboard in the SCORE Trophy Truck division and eventually the top of the SCORE Overall point leaderboard as well in 2022. Driving solo the first three races of the year, Luke McMillin finished first in the SCORE San Felipe 250, sixth place in the SCORE Baja 500, second-place in the SCORE Baja 400 and capped the season with the help of the G.O.A.T. (Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren who drove the first 394 miles) by winning the season-ending SCORE Baja 1000 to complete his championship 2022 season in the SCORE World Desert Championship. The youngest of the current active McMillin racers, Luke McMillin won the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division and the SCORE Overall and SCORE Truck title in his McMillin Racing No. 1 McMillin Racing All Wheel Drive Chevy 1500 built by Mason Motorsports. Luke McMillin now has four career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins and earned a threepeat in in the 2022 BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, splitting the driving with Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren as his second driver. McMillin won the 2021 SCORE Baja 1000 as the second driver for MacCachren and in 2020 he won the iconic race with Larry Roeseler as his additional driver. In the SCORE San Felipe 250, “The Luke” won Class 1 in 2012 before last year’s SCORE Trophy Truck and SCORE Overall race win. PRE-RUNNING Pre-running on the official 262.80-mile race course opens at 8 a.m. PT on Saturday (March 18). Pre-running starts at race-mile .63 and it is a shared course outbound/inbound to rm2.07. This year’s race course runs in a counter-clockwise direction with one physical checkpoint at the Morelia Junction Road crossing. Motorcycle and quad classes have two deviations to the overall race course, but all vehicles will run the exact same total mileage. THREE DECADES-PLUS Celebrating the 36th anniversary of the youngest of the three legendary SCORE Baja races, sometimes referred to as the SCORE ‘Baby Baja’, details are available under Race Info at https://score-international.com/raceinfo/2023-san-felipe-250-march-28-april-2-2023/ for the race with classes for Pro and Sportsman entries for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. QUALIFYING For just the fourth time in the history of this popular ‘Spring Break’ race, SCORE will hold a qualifying session starting at 7 a.m. PT on Wednesday, March 29 to determine the starting positions within each class for the SCORE Trophy Truck, SCORE TT Legend and Trophy Truck Spec classes. The starting order for qualifying in each class will be the order in which they entered the race. Entries received in the qualifying classes received after Friday, March 24 will be given then next available starting slot within their respective classes. Start order for qualifying will be determined by the date and time that they are received. Qualifying will be held on a 5.10-mile course not used before by SCORE. Qualifying is not open to the public and will be held on an approximately five-mile course that is not part of the official race course. Qualifying will be part of the SCORE Live streaming of the event accessed through the SCORE website. FIRST MOTO START Adrian Ortiz, has drawn the first motorcycle start for this year’s race in what will be his first SCORE race as the Rider of Record. Ortiz, 22, Dulzura, Calif., will lead his five-rider team on his No. 13x KTM 350XCF in the Pro Moto Unlimited class that has eight entries in it so far. Signed up to share the riding duties with Adrian Ortiz are his younger brother Albaro Ortiz, 17, San Diego, Cody Rangel, 25, San Diego, Gustavo Gonzales, 22, Valle de las Palmas, Mexico, and Danny Mendoza, Tecate, Mexico. OTHER FIRST STARTS Among the other racers drawing first starts in their respective classes in last Friday’s start draw were a few SCORE rookies and a few SCORE veterans. Drawing the first start in the unlimited Class 1 which has nine entries so far was Joe David, 37, Ridgecrest, Calif., in his No. 152 Jimco-Chevy while first start in Class 10 will be Chase Warren, 33, Scottsdale, Ariz., in his No. 1088 Alumi Craft-Chevy (20 entries to date), in Pro UTV Open (18 entries) is Justin Lambert, 47, Bakersfield, Calif., in his No. 1869 Polaris RZR Pro R 4. Also drawing first starts were Matt Monteith, 38, Okotoks, Canada, in his No. 2995 Polaris RZR XP1000 Turbo in Pro UTV FI (26 entries), Randy Emberton, 64, Prescott, Ariz., in his Polaris RZR Turbo S Pro UTV Stock (13 entries so far), and Jose Lozada, 44, College Station, Texas, in his No. 747x Husqvarna FX340 in Pro Moto Ironman (16 entries to date). David and Monteith while be making their respective first starts as DOR in a SCORE race. SCORE veteran champions Warren and Lambert won their respective classes in the SCORE San Felipe 250 in 2022 while Emberton was third in his class and Lozada was seventh last year out of 10 starters in his class. RACER REGISTRATION With online racer registration closed, late entries may register in person at the SCORE Ensenada office will have until 5 p.m. PT on Friday, March 24. Those entries will receive the next starting position within the class entered. Starting positions for the all-other classes (that are not qualifying) were determined by a random drawing after the close of online racer registration. Results of the start draw are posted on the SCORE website. On-site, late racer registration will be held Tuesday through Friday (March 28-March 31) in San Felipe. Registration will be held in the Centro Comercial Plaza Armex No. 1 (Avenida Mar de Cortez Sur No. 39) in San Felipe from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT on Tuesday for qualifying teams, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. PT on Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT on Friday. Late, on-site entries will receive the next starting position within the class entered. Questions should be directed to Shannon Lund, SCORE Registration and Membership Director at 775.852.8907 or registration@SCORE-International.com. ANOTHER AMAZING COURSE With pre-running opening Saturday for the King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250, presented by Baja Vida, SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva and Co-Race Director Rodolfo Fernandez have put together another memorable race course to challenge the world’s best desert racers. “This year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 race course will be another memorable one that will challenge even the veteran SCORE Baja racers,” commented Grijalva. “There is a little bit of everything including the tire-crunching Mini Summit and the unforgiving metal-bending five Baja washes that will help make this year’s race one on of the toughest ever. We are very pleased with the two special separate sections we have identified for the motorcycle and quad classes that will give them a beautiful race without having to look behind to see if a car or truck is catching them. This race and this race course will be a wonderful way to launch the 50th year of SCORE International.” Starting and finishing back on the picturesque El Malecon, the race is 262.80 miles, running in a counter-clockwise direction and features one physical full stop checkpoint (Morelia Road Crossing) at Race Mile 165. For just the second time and for safety reasons, SCORE has developed two separate sections within the overall race course for motorcycles and quads only, but all classes will still cover 277.00 total miles of magnificent Baja terrain. There are 113 virtual checkpoints for cars/trucks/UTVs, 139 for motos/quads. The course has seven speed zones for a total of 2.62 miles. The course heads North to the Zoo Road crossing up to the El Chinero area North for a large loop through Laguna Salada, South to Borrego, down through Laguna Diablo, over the Mini Summit to the Morelia Junction road crossing before winding West and South through four of the gloriously infamous Baja washes in this order: Amarillas Wash, Chanate Wash, Huatamote Wash and Azufre Wash, the Boulder Canyon (before Azufre) before heading North to the finish line. The moto/quad first deviation of the course is a RM 52.76 north of El Chinero and rejoins the overall course at RM 107. The second deviation starts at RM 235.52 at the East end of Azufre Wash where those classes will take a longer course through Matomi Wash, then run North parallel to the car/truck/utv course before joining back up at rm 258.41, for the four miles to the finish line on El Malecon. All Sportsman four-wheel classes, Class 7SX and Class 11 will run a reduced course of 237.74 miles. The official course map, GPS files, course notes and Racer’s Brief are all available on the SCORE website. They are located under race info for the SCORE San Felipe 250. SCORE LIVE During qualifying on Wednesday, contingency on Thursday and Friday and the race on Saturday until the course closes on Sunday early morning, SCORE Live streaming will be broadcasting race activities and start and finish line interviews as well as live action from Drones, ground cameras and in-car cameras from around the race course. There will also be live Zoom interviews for individuals around the race course as part of SCORE Live for this race. Popular Rat Sult, who is starting his eighth season as the voice of SCORE, 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, on-site director. Coverage will also include hourly updates throughout the race from Austin Farner of Fishgistics. SCORE live may be launched from the home page of the SCORE website or from the SCORE App. GREEN FLAG The King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250, presented by Baja Vida, will be an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Saturday, April 1 will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 6 a.m. (PT) and 9 a.m. (PT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs. While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in around four and one-half hours, all vehicles will have a 14-hour time limit in the 262.80-mile race to become official finishers in the iconic race. GRANDEST MARSHAL FOR GOLDEN YEAR Sal Fish, admired as the iconic ‘godfather’ of SCORE desert racing, has agreed to be the Grand Marshal of the Year for the entire four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship as SCORE is ‘Celebrating 50 Years of Desert Racing Excellence.’ Revered all over Baja California, Fish, who will turn 84 on May 2, is a former publisher of Hot Rod Magazine and a 2006 inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. He led SCORE for 38 years, from 1974 until he sold the organization on Dec. 20, 2012. His footprint left an indelible mark on all of desert racing as he was an extraordinary innovator and visionary for SCORE and the entire world of desert racing. SAN FELIPE GRAND MARSHALS SCORE has announced that Dan Cornwell and Pat Butler will join Sal Fish as the co-Grand Marshals for this year’s King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250, presented by Baja Vida. Cornwell, a long-time SCORE racer who raced in multiple classes, won the overall in the Inaugural SCORE San Felipe 250 back in 1982. Cornwell drove the No. 103 Chenowth-VW to victory in that first SCORE race in San Felipe. For nearly a decade now, Cornwell has been the SCORE Tech Director so he will be even busier at this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250. Butler, a prominent U.S. developer, opened the prominent El Dorado Ranch in 1989. Spending most of his time in San Felipe, Butler has been a staunch supporter of SCORE and the entire San Felipe municipality for over three decades. Butler is a former International Vice-President of the Marriott Corporation. SCOREscope 2023 GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY SCHEDULE Here are the dates for the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship Golden Anniversary season, ‘Celebrating 50 Years of Desert Racing Excellence’, which will be held totally in Baja California, Mexico for the eighth consecutive year:
- King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250, fueled by Baja Vida—
- BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500—
- 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
- BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 1000—
Pro Motorcycles
PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (8)
13x Adrian Ortiz
18x Aaron Volle
8x Ryan Liebelt
15x Eric Holt
33x Justin Carnes
3x Ciaran Naran
1x Juan Carlos Salvatierra
23x Derek Ausserbauer
PRO MOTO 30 (2)
300x Jano Montoya
319x David Smith
PRO MOTO LIMITED (7)
102x Steven Abrams
176x Austin Cummings
114x Ely Ramirez
162x Robert Rodriguez
137x Erick Ramirez Jr
103x Giovanni Aviles
100x Fernando Beltran
PRO MOTO 50 (1)
501x Robert Creemers
PRO MOTO 40 (1)
441x Alirio Amado
PRO MOTO IRONMAN (16)
747x Jose Lozada
766x Dustin Vazquez
793x Juan Zunino
704x Juan Pablo Valenzuela
775x Tanner Janesky
785x Fabricio Fuentes
723x Edgar Cota
709x Christopher Gil
700x Brandon Wright
721x Kelana Humphrey
718x Kurt Steever
765x Mark Bechtold
789x Christian Cuevas
758x Justin Cloutier
757x Brandon Lebrun
711x Dustin Davis
PRO MOTO 60 (3)
628x Scott McIntosh
611x Robbie Sjoberg
644x Kevin Ward
Pro Quads
Pro Quad (4)
21a Jose Castro
11a Fidel Gonzalez
10a Dario Rabago
4a Juan Gonzalez
Pro Quad Ironman (2)
83a Faelly Lopez
91a Jorge I. Lopez
Sportsman
SPT M/C (9)
241x Cheo Tessaro
255x Isaac Amaya
259x Jhoan Sanchez
214x Lawrence Janesky
249x Armando Ortiz
290x Gerardo Rubio
208x Miguel Luna
201x Nate Anderson
229x Joel Megallanes
SPT QUAD (4)
139a Sergio Jimenez
105a Francisco Valle
138a Jose Hernandez
123a Eva Hernandez