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Vildosola Sr tops new entries for 55th SCORE Baja 500
SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com May 1, 2023 ‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’ Race week—May 31-June 4 BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500— The G.O.A.T., Vildosola father & son, Ebberts, Myers sisters, Reid, Salvatierra, Novelo, Lawrence X2, B. Sims, new entries Round 2 of four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship in Off-Road Capital of the World—Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico; Sal Fish Grand Marshal—2023 season, Stewart, Campbell—SCORE Baja 500 Racer registration, event info available at www.SCORE-International.com; #SCORE Baja 500 NOTE: Current unofficial number/name entry list at bottom of text ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – ‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’ this year, among the latest earliest entries to date for this month’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500 are Rob ‘G.O.A.T.’ MacCachren, father and son Gustavo Vildosola Sr and Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr, Dale Ebberts, Britney Myers, Cody Reid, Juan Carlos Salvatierra, Gerardo Novelo, Mikey Lawrence and his uncle Clay Lawrence, and Branden Sims. Round 2 of the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held May 31-June 4 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Ensenada, ‘The Off-Road Capital of the World’, is located 80 miles South of the U.S. Border near San Diego. DETAILS With over 300 entries expected from 30 U.S. States and 20 countries, 44 competition classes are offered for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. Most the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s celebration of one of the top 10 motorsports events in the entire world. SCORE Live will be streaming throughout race week on the SCORE website. Colorful Rat Sult is in his eighth season as the host and lead announcer of SCORE Live. Assisting him again at this race will be veteran voice Dave Arnold. All four 2023 SCORE races are being 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. MORE EARLY BIRDS Leading the latest early group of entries include Las Vegas’s desert racing G.O.A.T. Rob MacCachren (SCORE Trophy Truck), Mexico’s Gustavo Vildosola Sr (SCORE TT Legend), his son Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr (SCORE Trophy Truck), Dale Ebberts, Wilton, Calif., (Class 10) with his son Ezra Ebberts and daughter Madison Ebberts, Britney Myers, Newport Beach, Calif., with her sister Tamara Myers (Class 10), Cody Reid, Apple Valley, Calif., (Class 1), Juan Carlos ‘Chavo’ Salvatierra, Santa Cruz, Bolivia (Pro Moto Unlimited), Gerardo Novelo, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 7SX), Mikey Lawrence, Banning, Calif. (SCORE Trophy Truck), his Uncle Clay Lawrence, Banning, Calif. (SCORE TT Legend), and Branden Sims, Prescott Valley, Ariz. (Pro UTV Open). ONLINE RACER ENTRY APPLICATIONS Racer entry applications are now available at www.SCORE-International.com under Race Info on the SCORE Baja 500 page. Questions should be directed to SCORE Registration and Membership Director Shannon Lund at 775.852.8907 or registration@SCORE-International.com. Online racer entry applications will be accepted through Friday, May 19. THE G.O.A.T A second-gen desert racing returning as the overall winner of last year’s BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500, Las Vegas’ Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Rob MacCachren, 58, is always among the favorites in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 1000 horsepower, unlimited custom trucks. MacCachren, admired as the G.O.A.T. of off-road racing, has three career overall and SCORE Trophy Truck victories in the SCORE Baja 500 (1996, 2018, 2022) as well as seven class wins over a period of 32 years starting with his first back in 1990. MacCachren, who is the SCORE All-time leader in career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins with 20, earned his three overall wins in this racing driving solo. The G.O.A.T. has an amazing 315 career race wins in desert, short-course and stadium off-road racing. After running over half the race among the leaders, MacCachren had mechanical issues in San Felipe but he methodically pushed himself to make it to the finish line as 18th out of 39 starters in his class. MEXICANA LOGISTICS Considered the first family of Mexican desert racers, Gustavo Vildosola Sr and his son Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr are both entered in the SCORE Baja 500. From Mexicali, Gustavo, 69, and Tavo, 41, are both veteran SCORE racers with numerous race wins and season point titles on their impressive resumes. For this year’s SCORE Baja 500, they will be in different trucks, one in SCORE TT Legend (SCORE Trophy Truck drivers over 50 years old) and the other in SCORE Trophy Truck. Vildosola Sr will drive the No. 1L all-wheel drive Ford Raptor built by Mason Motorsports in SCORE TT Legend. Vildosola Sr won the 2022 SCORE TT Legend (drivers over 50 years old) season point title following undefeated season with four straight victories. Vildosola Sr, also won the SCORE TT Legend season point championship in 2018 with Scott Bailey as a second driver. He won in all four races in 2022 with help from legendary Hall of Fame racer Ricky Johnson, 58, El Cajon, Calif. who drove the first half of each race. The dynamic duo started the 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship with Vildosola Sr winning the SCORE TT Legend class once again and Vildosola Jr finishing fifth in SCORE Trophy Turck Vildosola Sr also has three career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins in his illustrious career in SCORE desert racing. Vildosola Sr, who has raced in many classes in his illustrious career, has three career class wins in the SCORE San Felipe 250, two in SCORE Trophy Truck (2003, 2013) and in SCORE TT Legend in 2017. Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr will drive the No. 21 all-wheel drive Ford Raptor built by Vildosola racing in SCORE Trophy Truck. Vildosola Sr has three career class wins in the SCORE Baja 500, Class 5/1600 in 1955 and SCORE TT Legend in 2018 and 2022. CHAMP IS BACK After nearly two decades as an occasional second driver for several teams, SCORE champion racer Dale Ebberts is back this year with his own team with a special family twist. Racing in his No. 1077 ESM-Toyota in Class 10, Ebberts, 52, Wilton, Calif., will be joined in this year’s SCORE Baja 500 by his daughter Madison Ebberts, 23, Alpharetta, Ga., and his son Ezra Ebberts, 19, Wilton, Calif. Both with their own desert racing driving experience, Madison Ebberts is on the PR staff for American Honda while Ezra Ebberts is a student at the University of Nevada in Reno. Ezra Ebberts won Class 10 in this year’s King of the Hammers in the same Class 10 car that the Ebberts will race in Ensenada. With multiple SCORE race wins in Class 1 in his career, Ebberts was the 2003 SCORE Overall Point Champion, including winning his class in the 2003 SCORE San Felipe 250. Prior to this season, Ebberts has raced with several race teams including Shelby Reid (Class 1) where they finished second in class in San Felipe last year and last year’s SCORE Baja 1000 where he finished eighth in Class 10 as the second driver for Ivan Tagle. Dale Ebberts has two career class wins in the SCORE Baja 500, both as the second driver. In 1983, Ebberts was second driver for Mike Julson in Class 1 and in 1995 he won Class 1/2-1600 as the second driver for Brent Grizzle. MYERS SISTERS Another second and third generation SCORE race team, Myers racing returned to SCORE in 2021 after an absence of several years. The famous SoCal racing family is back in a major way with four family members in three family entries, two in SCORE Trophy Truck and one in Class 10. All three are part of the Toyota Escondido TE Motorsports Team. Dan Myers, 44, Newport Beach, Calif., and his younger brother Andrew Myers, 43 of San Marcos, Calif. are in separate trucks SCORE Trophy Truck and the latest Myers entries are their nieces Britney Myers, 27, and her sister Tamara Myers, 28, of Newport Beach, Calif., who are racing together in Class 10. The Myers sisters’ father, Steve Myers, is also a racer and is listed as a back-up for his daughters if needed, while his new Toyota SCORE Trophy Truck is being finished. Unfortunately, the Myers sisters suffered another DNF in this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250, but they have the talented assistance from Larry Negrete Jr, 28, San Ysidro, Calif., to help them improve in their Myers Girls Racing No. 1023 TE Motorsports Custom-Honda, 1650cc open-wheel desert race car. REID READY A second-generation SCORE desert racer, Cody Reid returns as the defending Class 1 champion in the SCORE Baja 500. After racing in separate classes for a several years, Cody Reid, 31, Apple Valley, Calif., was reunited in 2021 with his mother Shelby Reid to form a very formidable unlimited Class 1 team. The Reids debuted their No. 168 Chevy-powered Alumi Craft AWD open-wheel desert race car by winning their class in the 2021 SCORE San Felipe 250. Shelby Reid, 55, is also a former SCORE class point champion and has decided to retire from behind the wheel. After a rare DNF in last year’s SCORE San Felipe 250, the Reids were scheduled to split the driving in the SCORE Baja 500, but Shelby dropped out because of a family issue that came up during race week and Cody Reid roared to the Class 1 victory driving solo. In his solid career, Cody Reid has won two SCORE season class point crowns, both in Class 10 (2014, 2015). In the SCORE Baja 500, he has two class wins, 2019 in Class 10 and last year in Class 1. To open the 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship, Cody Reid finished third in Class 1 in the SCORE San Felipe 250. BOLIVIAN AMBASSADOR After winning the season point championship for two consecutive years (2020, 2021) in the brutally tough Pro Moto Ironman class for solo riders, Bolivia’s acclaimed international rally racer Juan Carlos Salvatierra moved to the Pro Moto Unlimited class last year and won the fastest class on two wheels in his first three attempts in this legendary class. He capped his stellar season with a third-place podium finish in the SCORE Baja 1000. Salvatierra will have two other members of his SCORE Baja 500 team again this year—Shane Logan, 21, Lake Havasu City, Ariz. and international rally racer Diego Llanos, 30, of La Rioja, Argentina. ‘Chavo’ will lead his team on his No. 1x KTM 450SX-F motorcycle. At last year’s SCORE Baja 500, Salvatierra and his team gave KTM its first overall moto win in the 54-year history of the iconic race. He opened the season with a sixth-place finish in Pro Moto Unlimited at the SCORE San Felipe 250 with Arturo Salas Jr and Shane Logan. For this year’s SCORE Baja 500, Salas Jr has entered on a different KTM in Pro Moto Unlimited. Salvatierra, 42, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, raced nine years in the Dakar Rally, also mountain biking and triathlons. Considered the most important athlete in the history of Bolivia, in 2011, Salvatierra became the first athlete from Bolivia to race in the Dakar Rally. He is also a nine-time Bolivian National Motocross champion. SENIOR STATESMAN Born in Ensenada, Mexico, prominent businessman and long-time government official, Gerardo Novelo, 57, returns for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500. Long a champion of SCORE Baja racing, Novelo was one of the key individuals that helped establish the SCORE strategic tourism alliance with the Mexican government in 2019. Novelo and his team will drive the No. 700F Nissan Hardbody King Cab in Ensenada in Class 7F. Team manager James Murphy, 66, of Lomita, Calif., will share driving duties with Novelo. Novelo is a three-time SCORE season Class point champion, having won titles in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018 in Class 7SX and last year in Class 7F. Part of the family that owns the luxurious Estero Beach Resort south of Ensenada, Gerardo Novelo was selected as the 2019 SCORE Person of the Year for his continuing contributions to the welfare of SCORE International in Mexico. In both of this year’s races, Novelo and his team have had rare did not finishes. Novelo won Class 7SX in the 2019 SCORE Baja 500. LAWRENCE X2 Another of the many family entries in the SCORE Baja 500 is the Lawrence family of Banning, Calif. that features two generations of racers a nephew and his uncle racing in two separate classes. In Ensenada the Lawrence family has one entry in SCORE Trophy Truck and one in SCORE TT Legend. Both with top finishes and championships, Mikey Lawrence, 35, is the driver of record in the No. 85 GMC truck built by Herbst-Smith Fab in SCORE Trophy Truck while his uncle Clay Lawrence, 61, is the driver of record in the No. 85L GMC truck built by Herbst-Smith Fab in SCORE TT Legend. A former SCORE class point champion (Class 10 in 2008, 2009, 2012), Mikey Lawrence opened the 2023 campaign with a 19th place finish in SCORE Trophy Truck while his uncle Clay Lawrence finished on the podium in second place in SCORE TT Legend. Mikey Lawrence finished the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship in third place in SCORE Trophy Truck points while Clay Lawrence ended up second in SCORE TT Legend points. In the 2022 SCORE Baja 500, Mikey Lawrence finished fourth and Clay Lawrence finished third in their respective classes. Mikey Lawrence has one class win in the SCORE Baja 500 (Class 10 in 2009). SIMS Branden Sims, 37, Prescott Valley, Ariz., has entered his No. 1886 Polaris Pro R in the Pro UTV Open class coming off a major victory in last year’s SCORE Baja 1000. Defeating 54 starters in five different UTV classes in last year’s SCORE Baja 1000, Sims also emerged as the Overall UTV and Pro UTV Open class winner in last year’s race. He drove his Polaris Pro R to the fastest time among the UTVs, finishing nearly 40 minutes ahead of the second-place UTV in the race. Also in 2022, Sims finished second in the Pro UTV FI class in the SCORE Baja 500. In the 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship, Sims raced twice in the Pro UTV FI class, finishing first in class in the SCORE Baja 500 and second in class in the SCORE Baja 1000. In the SCORE Baja 500, Sims also won his class in 2018 and finished second in 2017. Sims started his 2023 season by winning his UTV class in the King of the Hammers. Unfortunately, in his 2023 SCORE debut in San Felipe he endured a rare DNF. START ORDER/DRAW DEADLINE The starting order within each class for this race is being determined by the individual finishes at this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250, if the individual entry is received and all fees paid in full by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 19. All entries received and paid in full by May 19 who didn’t race in San Felipe, will be part of a drawing to determine the remainder of the start order within each class. The draw results will be posted on the SCORE website at 6 p.m. PT on Friday, May 26. Up until and 5 p.m. PT on May 24, entries will be continue accepted in person only at the SCORE Ensenada. Late, on-site racer registration will be held on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (May 31-June 2). All entries received after 5 p.m. PT on Friday, May 19, including on-site, late entries, will be given the next available starting position within their respective classes. PRE-RUNNING Official practice, or pre-running, on the official 487.52-mile race course for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500, will begin at 8 a.m. PT on Saturday, May 20 starting at race mile 33.78. The section to rm33.38 section will be open only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. only on Friday (June 2). Outbound pre-running on Friday (June 2) will start at rm4.90 to rm33.38. No inbound pre-running of this section. The official SCORE Racer Brief, Penalty brief, course map and GPS files will be available by 6 p.m. PT on Thursday, May 18 on the SCORE website under race info/SCORE Baja 500. COURSE PREVIEW With pre-running opening on Saturday, May 20 for the BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500, SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva is putting together another memorable race course to challenge the world’s best desert racers. The distance will be 487.52 miles around the northern part of the Baja California Peninsula. It will start and finish once again on Blvd. Costero adjacent to the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada. Colorful Contingency and Tech Inspection will also be held on Blvd. Costero on Friday, June 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. ON-SITE RACER REGISTRATION Being held in the Salon Rojo at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada, regular on-site and late racer registration will be held on Wednesday (May 31) from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT, on Thursday (June 1) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT and on Friday (June 2) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. No new entries will be accepted after 7 p.m. on Wednesday (May 31), 4 p.m. PT on Thursday (June 1) and 4 p.m. PT on Friday (June 2). GRAN HISTORIA This year’s SCORE World Desert Championship includes another special tribute to the iconic SCORE Baja 500. The SCORE Baja 500 is one of the top motorsports events in the world. It was started originally in 1969 by the NORRA organization. After NORRA was removed from Baja after the 1972 race, the local Baja Sports Committee produced the 1973 event. Mickey Thompson and his SCORE International organization were invited by the Mexican government to take over the event starting in 1974. Sal Fish ran and later owned and produced the SCORE Baja 500 for 39 years until he sold SCORE in December of 2012. The first Baja 500 organized and produced by SCORE was held on July 26, 1974 in Ensenada as the first of nearly 165 SCORE Baja races. This year’s SCORE Baja 500 will start for the 49th time in Ensenada and finish for the 45th time in Ensenada. BFGOODRICH TIRES UNMATCHED BFGoodrich Tires, the official tire of SCORE for 47 years, was honored after the 2022 season as the SCORE Contingency Company of the year for the 32nd time. BFGoodrich Tires has been the choice of 35 of the 54 overall winners of the popular SCORE Baja 500 and 33 of the 55 overall winners of the legendary SCORE Baja 1000. BFGoodrich Tires is also the title sponsor of both iconic races again in 2023. BFGoodrich Tires also has been the choice of 30 of the 36 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 one of the three overall winners in the SCORE Baja 400. This year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 overall victory by San Diego’s Luke McMillin marked the 103rd SCORE Baja overall race win for BFGoodrich Tires. BFGoodrich Tires has posted a contingency bonus for the overall winner of this year’s race of US$10,000. GRANDEST MARSHAL FOR GOLDEN YEAR Sal Fish, admired as the iconic ‘godfather’ of SCORE desert racing who is a foundational pillar of the organization, is the Grand Marshal of the Year for the entire four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship. Revered all over Baja California, Fish, who will turn 84 tomorrow (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. He expanded TV coverage of SCORE races and in 1994 created the SCORE Trophy Truck class, the marquee racing division in the sport of desert racing. SCORE BAJA 500 GRAND MARSHALS SCORE has announced that Ivan Stewart, Alpine, Calif., and Johnny Campbell will be the co-Grand Marshals for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500. When it comes to desert racing there is only one ‘Ironman’ standing at the top of the list of solo drivers/riders. San Diego’s iconic Ivan ‘Ironman’ will be celebrating his 78th birthday on June 4, during the conclusion of this year’s SCORE Baja 500. The ‘Ironman’ celebrated his birthday annually over the years with 17 career class wins including a race-record 10 overall 4-wheel vehicle victories in the SCORE Baja 500. The legendary Stewart has been inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (2006), the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame (2009) and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2020). Driving most of his career for Toyota Motorcycles, Stewart continues as a spokesperson for Toyota Racing Development. Campbell, 52, San Clemente, Calif., is a stellar SCORE motorcycle racing champion with six career class wins including five overall victories in the SCORE Baja 500. He also has a race-record 11 overall motorcycle victories in the SCORE Baja 1000 on his resume. Campbell is also an 11-time SCORE season point champion in the Pro Moto Unlimited class on his Honda CRF450X. He also rode in the 2001 Dakar Rally, finishing eighth overall. Campbell has been inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (2018) and the Trailblazers MC Hall of Fame (2021). Today he continues as the Off-Road Coordinator for American Honda in addition to running his own successful team—Johnny Campbell Racing/Honda (JCR) with several top desert motorcycle racers. SCOREscope 2023 GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY SCHEDULE Here are the dates for the remaining three races in the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship Golden Anniversary season, ‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’, which are being held totally in Baja California, Mexico for the eighth consecutive year:
- BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500—
- 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
- BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 1000—