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Ensenada Proclaims annual 'SCORE International Day'
SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.
May 23, 2023
‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’
Ensenada proclaims ‘SCORE International Day”
For first Saturday of June, starting next week
BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500, Round 2 of four-race
2023 SCORE World Desert Championship being held next week
in Off-Road Racing Capital of the World—Ensenada, Baja California
#SCORE Baja 500
ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – ‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’ this year, next week’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500 and SCORE International will be honored by the government of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico which has proclaimed the first Saturday of June as ‘SCORE International Day’ in Ensenada starting with next Saturday’s legendary race.
THE RACE
Round 2 of the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held next Wednesday through Sunday (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.
With over 300 entries expected from 30 U.S. States and 20 countries, 45 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.
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.
THE UNIQUE PROCLAMATION
The Ensenada City Council unanimously voted in March to proclaim that the first Saturday in June is henceforth now designated as ‘SCORE International Day.’
The vote passed the city council, so at the BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500, Ensenada Mayor Armando Ayala Robles and City Council Member Ericka Gonzalez Pickett, will present SCORE with the declaration during the official pre-race starting ceremony starting at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 3.
The City Council gave several reasons for issuing this declaration of SCORE International Day. SCORE is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, after starting in 1973.
SCORE organizes the SCORE Baja 500, SCORE Baja 400, and SCORE Baja 1000 races in Ensenada, Mexico, which brings the largest number of visitors and generates the most revenue for Ensenada. Each SCORE race attracts an average of 150,000 visitors and produces an estimated $12 million over a 20-day period as it generates a 95 percent hotel occupancy rate, and brings a wide value chain from city-wide services.
SCORE races are promoted nationally and internationally through television, traditional media, and social media. In 2017, the Ensenada City Council approved the designation of Ensenada as the ‘Off-Road Racing Capital of the World.’
SCORE COMMENT
Juan Tintos Funcke, SCORE General Manager commented, "As SCORE International celebrates its 50th Anniversary in 2023 we share this distinctive honor with all of the racing teams, our sponsors, the government and private sector representatives and of course our staff all of which make it possible to put on our races.”
“We sincerely thank Mayor Armando Ayala Robles, City Council Woman Ericka Gonzalez Pickett and the rest of the Ensenada City Council for this incredible and amazing singular honor."
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
Among the other elements in the declaration include that the SCORE International races promote both nationally and internationally the attractions and tourism services of Ensenada through Television, traditional media and social media which is the reason that Federal Secretary of Tourism of Mexico signed a Strategic Marketing and Promotion Alliance with SCORE International in 2019."
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.
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.
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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—
May 31-June 4, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
· 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
September 12-17, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
· BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 1000—
November 13-18, La Paz, Baja California Sur to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCORE-International.com.