Advance online racer registration ends Wednesday for upcoming Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com

September 11, 2018

 

Next week in Baja Mexico

Advance online racer registration ends Wednesday for upcoming

Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge

Pre-running this Friday & Saturday for cars/trucks/UTVs, Sunday for motorcycles and quads;

Round 3 of 4-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship is two-day, four-lap SCORE Baja race;

colorful pre-race Contingency Friday (Sept. 21)--Avenida Paseo de los Heroes in Zona Rio area of Tijuana;

 

motos, quads, some 4-wheel classes race in Group 1; cars, some trucks, pro UTVs in Group 2, SCORE Trophy Truck,

SCORE TT Legend, Class 1, Trophy Truck Spec-Group 3--2 laps each day--33.7-mile loop course for 134.8 total race miles;

 

start/finish line at Rancho Casian in Southeast Tijuana, more info at www.SCOREInternational.com

 

    ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico — Advance racer registration concludes on Wednesday for entries into this month’s special format Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge.  Pre-running for 4-wheel classes will be held this Friday and Saturday and for 2-wheel and quad classes this Sunday.

      With classes for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, utvs, motorcycles and quads, registration and info regarding Round 3 of the four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship is available on the SCORE website at www.SCOREInternational.com. Dates for the festivities and the race areSept. 20-23.

START DRAW

     With no qualifying for any classes in this race, the drawing for starting positions within each class will be announced this Friday, Sept. 14. To be included in the start draw, online racer registration will close at 8 p.m. PT tomorrow (Wednesday). Late, on-site racer registration will be held at Hotel Lucerna Tijuana on Thursday and Friday (Sept. 20 and 21).

PRE-RUNNING

     Pre-running on the official race course, exclusively for all car, truck and UTV classes will be held this Friday (Sept. 14) and Saturday (Sept. 15) and pre-running exclusively for motorcycle and quad classes will be held on Sunday (Sept. 16). There will be no pre-running on the race course allowed during race week (Sept. 17-21) prior to the two days of racing.

     For each of the three days, pre-running will be allowed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.

NEW SPONSOR

     Moving to the largest city on the Baja California peninsula last year, this race will again utilize a special split format two-day event with one lap each day as the Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge.

    Hotel Lucerna Tijuana on Avenida Paseo de los Heroes in the Zona Rio area of Tijuana is the official event hotel and the hospitality group (Lucerna Hotels & Resorts) is the SCORE Official Hotel for the SCORE World Desert Championship.

WHERE THEY’RE FROM

     With 138 official entries to date, there are racers from 22 U.S. States and eight countries. Nations are USA, host country Mexico, Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and Peru. States with racers so far are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.

ENTRIES ADDED FROM COPS, RPM, MENZIES, MCMILLIN

     Prominent SCORE desert racing teams COPS Racing, Santa Monica, Calif. and RPM Racing of Bristol, Tenn. have each entered three high-powered vehicles in this year’s SCORE Desert Challenge. Also among the recent entries is Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas champion racer and third-generation SoCal champion racer Luke McMillin.

      SoCal’s COPS Racing is a family of drivers led by patriarch John Langley and includes his sons Zak Langley and Morgan Langley. The largest team in the SCORE World Desert Championship, RMP Racing has entered three trucks so far in this race.

     John Langley, 75, drives the No. 250 COPS Racing Mason-Chevy in Trophy Truck Spec, Zak Langley, 43, is driver of record in the No. 50 COPS Racing ESM-Ford F-150 in SCORE Trophy Truck and Morgan Langley, 44, drives the No. 150 COPS Racing ESM-Chevy open-wheel desert race car in the unlimited Class 1.

     RPM Racing has one entry in SCORE Trophy Truck, one entered in SCORE TT Legend along with another truck in the Trophy Truck Spec class.

     Leading the RPM stable of thoroughbreds is Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, 23 of Tecate, Mexico and the three-time defending SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion in the No. 1 RPM Racing Geiser-built Chevy Rally Truck. In the last two years of this race Apdaly has finished third and second.

     Clyde Stacy, 73, Bristol, Va., who is co-owner of RPM, is the driver of record in the No. 5L RPM Racing Geiser Chevy Rally Truck and his second driver is WRC veteran Armin Schwarz, 54, who is from Germany but lives in Austria.

     Sara Price, 25, Lake Elsinore, Calif., is the newest member of the RPM team as she is driving solo this year in the Trophy Truck Spec class the No. 204 RPM Racing Geiser-Chevy.

     Bryce Menzies, 31, Las Vegas and Jesse Jones, 52, Litchfield Park, Ariz., have entered the No. 7 Red Bull Menzies Motorsports Ford Raptor in the SCORE Trophy Truck division. Menzies was the 2011 SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck point champion as well as the 2011 SCORE Rookie of the Year.

     Menzies has five career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins while Jones, the 2010 SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck point champion, has two career race wins in SCORE Trophy Truck.

     Also among the latest entries is San Diego’s third-generation desert racer Luke McMillin, 25. Luke McMillin drives the No. 83 Mark Racing Ford F-150 built by Racer Engineering in the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division. Currently second is season points, the youngest of the racing McMillins, Luke McMillin is second in season points in SCORE Trophy Truck behind undefeated Rob MacCachren with a pair of podium finishes—third in San Felipe in April and second in Ensenada in June.

START/FINISH

     The unique-format race will be held in an area with a spectator-friendly start/finish line area located on the southeast outskirts of Tijuana at the popular Rancho Casian off of Boulevard 2000 (Highway No. 201) at Km 22.

LA RUTA NUEVA

     Starting and finishing adjacent to Rancho Casian in Southeast Tijuana, the partially new race route will still travel in a counterclockwise direction. The revised 33.7 tough terrain miles were designed and put together by SCORE Race Director Jose A. Grijalva. It covers much of the land used in last year’s 23.4-mile loop, especially in the Rancho San Vicente area (where the race started last year), considered the roughest section of the course.

     There will be two full-stop checkpoints on the course. Checkpoint No. 1 will be at race-mile 16.1 and Checkpoint 2 will be at race-mile 25.8.

     The hot pit area for competitors will be in the area around race-mile 3.6.

     Heading back to Rancho Casian, the race course goes by the popular Rumorosita, a very popular area that is very rocky and rough.

     The final sprint of several miles back into Rancho Casian at the end of each lap is expected to be the fastest section of the race course each day.

RACE HQ/CONTINGENCY

     Race headquarters will be the Hotel Lucerna in the heart of the Rio Zona area of Tijuana on Avenida Paseo de los Heroes. Racer registration will be held in the hotel on Thursday, Sept. 20 (2 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT) and Friday, Sept. 21 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT).

     Media registration will be held at the Hotel Lucerna on Thursday, Sept. 20, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT and on Friday, Sept. 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.

     Contingency will be held in directly in front of the headquarters hotel on the historic Avenida Paseo de los Heroes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT on Friday (Sept. 21) with tech inspection lasting one hour longer until 6 p.m.

     Both being held at the Hotel Lucerna on Friday (Sept. 21), the mandatory aircraft pilot safety meeting will be held at 6 p.m. PT followed by the mandatory racer meeting will be held at 7 p.m. PT

RACE DAYS SKED

     The event features two days of racing scored as one race. SCORE Race Director Jose Grijalva has been forced to change the race route to a 33.7-mile loop course through the challenging hills in the area that each class will run two laps each day for four total laps and 134.8 total race miles. The classes will be split into three groups and will run one session each day to determine the final results.

     The elapsed-time race with a two-hour-fifty minute time limit each day for Groups 1 and 2 and 2:20 for Group 3 will start at 6:30 a.m. PT each day. Group 1 will have motorcycles, quads and a few car classes, Group 2 will have the bulk for the car and truck classes and will start their two-lap run at11 a.m. PT each day..

     Group 3 with the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck and SCORE TT Legend divisions along with Trophy Truck Spec and Hammer Trucks will run the first half of their race (two laps) on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 22) and final half (two laps) on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 23).

     Racing for those classes will start each day at 3:30 p.m. PT and racing will finish each day at approximately 6 p.m.

     Celebrating its 25th year as the featured SCORE racing division for high-tech, 950 horsepower unlimited trucks, SCORE Trophy Trucks, the post-race awards celebration will be held in the start/finish line area on Sunday (Sept. 23), at 5:30 p.m. PT for Group 1 and Group 2 and at 7:30 p.m. PT.

TIJUANA START

     Prior to last year’s SCORE Desert Challenge, only two races in SCORE history had started in Tijuana. The first was the inaugural SCORE Baja 1000 (then called Mexican 1000) in 1967 and then again in 1995.  In both of those years the SCORE Baja 1000 finished in La Paz.

SCOREscope

2018 REMAINING SCHEDULE

• Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge, Sept. 19-23, Tijuana, Mexico
• 51st SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.14-18, Ensenada, Mexico

2019 SCHEDULE

     Here is the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship and for the fourth consecutive year all races are being held in Baja California, Mexico:

• 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250, April 3-7, San Felipe, Mexico
• 51st SCORE Baja 500, May 29-June 2, Ensenada, Mexico
• Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400, Sept. 18-22, Ensenada, Mexico
• 52nd SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.19-24, Ensenada, Mexico

TV TIME

     SCORE races are airing this year on the El Rey Network. The El Rey Network is a 24-hour, English-language lifestyle network and is available in 45 million homes across the country through cable and OTT providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 341 and Dish Network Channel 253. For more information on how to watch El Rey visit http://elreynetwork.com.

SCORE SPONSORS…

     Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire and official race title sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, RACELINE Wheels-Official Wheel, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel, Lucerna Hotels & Resorts-Official Hotel and official race title sponsor, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.

     SCORE Official Partners: PCI Race Radios, 4 Wheel Parts, The Satellite Phone Store, Satellite Del Norte.

     Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Mexicali Ayuntamiento, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters, McKenzie’s Performance Products, Advanced Color Graphics.

     Lucerna Hotels & Resorts 22nd Tijuana SCORE Desert Challenge Special Partners: XXII Ayuntamiento de Tijuana, Baja California State Secretary of Tourism, Comite de Turismo and Convenciones, Comite de Marcadotecnia Turistica, Lucerna Hotels and Resorts, Asociacion de Hoteles del Noroeste.

     For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCOREInternational.com.

Lucerna Hotels and Resorts Tijuana

22nd SCORE Desert Challenge

Sept. 22-23, 2018—134.8 total miles (4 laps, 33.7-mile loop course, two laps per day)

Round 3 of four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico (Rancho Casian)

Total Entries: 138 (as of 9/11/18)

(from 22 U.S. States, Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru)

(numerical order by class—prior to start draw)

 Pro Cars & Trucks

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (12)

1 Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez

*5L Clyde Stacy

7 Bryce Menzies

10 Alan Ampudia

11 Rob MacCachren

*12L Gustavo Vildosola Sr

15 Billy Wilson

16 Cameron Steele

28 Corey Keysar

40 Chris Miller

50 Zak Langley

83 Luke McMillin

  *SCORE TT LEGEND

CLASS 1 (6)

100 Brian Wilson

129 Brandon Bailey

150 Morgan Langley

153 Brad Wilson

168 Shelby Reid

185 Justin Davis

TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (13)

200 Elias Hanna

204 Sara Price

208 Andrew Entwistle

225 Brian Trotter

242 Austin Jones (DOR-Bruce Swaim)

245 Mark Winkelman

250 John Langley

252 Gonzalo Pirron

266 Scott Biernot

267 Hammond Meredith

276 Gerardo Iribe

295 William Hedrick Jr

299 Charles Dorrance

HAMMER TRUCK UNLTD (2)

4400 Joshua Bertschy

4422 Casey Currie

CLASS 10 (11)

1002 Clay Lawrence

1016 Hiram Duran

1018 Miguel Tornel Z-A

1022 Rafael Aguirre

1023 Broc Dickerson

1030 Vic Bruckmann (DOR-Jim Anderson)

1049 Ty Godde

1062 J.J. Schnarr

1063 Ruben Torres

1068 Cody Reid

1081 Matt Winslow (DOR-Todd Winslow)

CLASS 8 (2)

849 Gabriel Arce

894 Vincent Munoz

CLASS 1/2-1600 (4)

1603 Oscar Alvarez

1613 Dana Jussila

1614 Bruce Yee

1644 Cesar  Fiscal

SCORE LITES (6)

1210 Luis Barragan

1218 Gustavo Pinuelas

1240 Miguel Bonilla

1255 Darren Walsh

1258 Jeremy Davis

1269 Robert Archibald

CLASS 5 (1)

501 Mark McNeil

Pro UTV FI (18)

2900 Marc Burnett

2903 Juan Martinez

2904 Cory Sappington

2912 Tony Riggs

2916 Cody Rahders

2919 Brandon Schueler

2920 Dan Eckardt

2922 Aldo Salazar

2937 Alex Nicholas

2940 Erik Kozin

2946 Jose Juarez

2949 Alonso Lopez

2966 Rhys Millen

2975 Mike Cafro

2968 Paul Kraus (DOR-Christine Giampaoli Zonca)

2971 Wayne Matlock

2978 Luis Fontanel

2989 Wes Miller

Pro UTV (5)

1954 Kristen Matlock

1955 Paul Champion

1956 Joe Bolton

1985 Adrian Arellano

1995 Kaden Wells

CLASS 7 (2)

700 Dan Chamlee

711 Carlos Diaz

CLASS 5-1600 (4)

553 Cesar Iniguez

577 Luis Herrera

580 Luis Macias

596 Mark Winston

CLASS 11 (4)

1100 Dennis Hollenbeck

1104 Viry Felix

1111 Eric Solorzano

1113 Mario Vazquez

Sportsman

SPT TRUCK UNLIMITED (1)

208 Andrew Entwisle

SPT CAR (2)

1502 Clay Lawrence

1577 Diane Gianelli

SPT UTV UNLIMITED (1)

1818 Jessalyn Sells

SPT UTV STOCK NA (1)

3975 Torrey Rush

Pro Motorcycles

PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (10)

1x Shane Esposito

4x Santiago Creel

5x Colton Udall

6x Brandon Prieto

7x Justin Morgan

25x Massimo Mangini

30x Nic Garvin

33x Garrett Poucher

37x Roberto Villalobos

66x Santiago Creel

PRO MOTO LIMITED (4)

100x Santiago Creel

117x Fernando Beltran

151x Edgar Cota (ROR-Juan Lopez)

171x Luis Flores

PRO MOTO 30 (5)

300x Ryan Liebelt

303x Edgar Espinoza (ROR-Luis Gomez)

304x Michael Garger (ROR-Chris Racan)

310x Enrique Fuhrken

360x Santiago Creel

365x Nick Lanning

PRO MOTO 40 (2)

400x Jano Montoya

427x Salvador Sainz

PRO MOTO 50 (1)

510x Giovanni Spinali

PRO MOTO IRONMAN (4)

714x Lawrence Janesky

721x Jose Carrasco

722x Liz Karcz

730x Francisco Septien

PRO MOTO 60 (1)

649x Guy Laycraft

Pro Quads

Pro Quad (1)

1a Said Sanchez

Sportsman

SPT QUAD (4)

105a Cristian Esparza

110a Danny Magdaleno

123a Ismael Hernandez

125a Cristobal Quezada

SPT M/C (10)

200x Miguel Pena

201x R. Hank Salyer

211x Luis Esquivel

212x Carlos Silva

213x Bradley Loveday

216x Luke Berlet

238x Rolando Cabrera

247x Michael Boge

284x Schane Schorno

291x Tyler Cash