SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com
August 9, 2019
Race to air on ESPN

McMillin Bros, MacCachren, Steele, Ampudia, Sourapas Bros,
Baldwin early entries for Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400

     ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—With online racer registration only open less than four days, the early entry field for the upcoming Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 already includes superstar SCORE Trophy Truck racers Luke McMillin, Dan McMillin, Rob MacCachren, Cameron Steele, Alan Ampudia, brothers Brett and Christian Sourapas along with B.J. Baldwin.
Celebrating its 46th year as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization , the new race will be held Sept. 18-22 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
Online racer registration continues on the SCORE website for Round 3 of the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship. Entries from all across the United States and around the world are anticipated for the upcoming internationally-televised desert race in Mexico’s Baja California. The race and pre-race festivities will be held in and around the heart of Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of San Diego.
HARD CHARGERS
With 35 early entries from 10 U.S. States, host Mexico and Denmark, SCORE Trophy Truck leads the way with 14 entries so far. Third generation desert racers from San Diego, Luke McMillin, 26 and his brother Dan McMillin, 31, are currently second and third in SCORE season points for the featured SCORE Racing Division behind their cousin Andy McMillin who leads the SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck point standings after winning the first two races of the year.
Luke McMillin drives the No. 83 Ford F-150 (Racer-built) and his new second driver for this race will be Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Larry Roeseler, 62, Imperial, Calif. Dan McMillin, who will have Las Vegas’ Justin B. Smith, 35,  as his second driver for this race, drives the No. 23 Ford F-150 (Racer).
Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Rob MacCachren, 54, Las Vegas, is the defending SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion and he pilots the No. 11 Ford F-150 (Geiser).
TV action sports announcer and another member of the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, Cameron Steele, 51, San Clemente, Calif., who won the last two races of the 2018 season, drives the No. 16 Ford Raptor (Geiser).
Mexico’s Alan Ampudia, and his brothers Aaron Ampudia and Rodrigo Ampudia, all from Ensenada, are tied for fourth in this year’s season points and will share the driving in their No. 10 Ford Raptor (ID).
Second-generation twin brothers from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Brett Sourapas and Christian Sourapas, 23, are making their SCORE debut with their own team in their No. 88 Ford Raptor (Geiser). Their third driver for this race will be SCORE motorcycle champion Ricky Brabec, 28, Hesperia, Calif.
Las Vegas’ B.J. Baldwin, 40, a three-time SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion, drives the No. 97 Toyota Tundra (ID) and his second driver will be short-course racing star Todd LeDuc, 40, Peoria, Ariz.
GREEN FLAG
It is an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Saturday (Sept. 21) will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 6:20 a.m. (PDT) and approximately 10 a.m. (PDT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs. While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in around eight hours, all vehicles will have a 16-hour time limit to become official finishers in the race.
DETAILS
Over 200 vehicles are expected at the start line for this first-time SCORE race with racers from as many as 20 U.S. States and 10 countries anticipated. SCORE major sponsor BFGoodrich Tires has posted a US$5,000 contingency bonus for the race winner to help commemorate the start of this newest race on the SCORE schedule.
The race will air domestically on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on the World of X Games program on ESPN 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 producer Bud Brutsman.
START GRID-SCORE BAJA 1000
The results of this race will also determine the start order for November’s iconic season-ending 52nd SCORE Baja 1000.
ONLINE RACER REGISTRATION
Online registration, by class, for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads, is ongoing through the SCORE website. Information on all SCORE races can be found on the home page under the Race Info tab.
For more info, visit http://score-international.com/raceinfo/lucerna-score-baja-400-sept-18-22-2019/.
Official entries received after the drawing will be given the next available starting position within their respective classes. Online entries will be accepted until 8 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday, Sept. 7.
MORE EARLY ENTRIES
Early entries in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 950-horsepower unlimited custom trucks have reached14 of these monsters of the desert (including one in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50) to date. Besides the McMillins, MacCachren, Steele, Ampudias, Sourapas bros and Baldwin in this inaugural race in SCORE Trophy Truck so far are SCORE TT Legend entry Scott Bailey/Gus Vildosola Sr along with SCORE Trophy competitors Robbie Pierce/Ramon Bio, Bobby Pecoy, Michael Lawrence, Tod Tuls, David Kleiman and Mike Walser.
Among the other earliest entries for this race in other classes are: Shelby Reid (unlimited Class 1), Austin A.J. Jones (Trophy Truck Spec), Charles Dorrance (Trophy Truck Spec), Cody Reid (Class 10), Kaden Wells (Pro UTV NA), Spencer Morgan (Class 8), Eric Solorzano (Class 11) and Giovanni Spinali (Pro Moto 50).
DRAW DEADLINE
The starting order within each class for this race will be determined by a drawing for those entries received online and paid in full by 8 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday, Sept. 7.
No new entries will be accepted after 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7. Late, on-site racer registration will be held on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Sept. 18, 19, 20).
‘LIVE’ DRAWING AT BajaHQ
Open to the racers, teams and the general public, SCORE will hold a ‘live’ drawing for starting positions, by class, on Tuesday, Sept. 10 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. (PDT) at Cameron Steele’s BajaHQ Company which is located at 32981 Calle Perfecto in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
GRAN HISTORIA
The first Baja 500 organized and produced by SCORE was held on July 26, 1974 as the first of over 150 SCORE Baja races.
Ensenada is the heart and soul of the SCORE Baja races. Ensenada has hosted the start line 46 times and the finish line 42 times for the SCORE Baja 500. For the iconic SCORE Baja 1000, Ensenada will be hosting the start line this November for the 45th time and the finish line for the 26th time.
PRE-RUNNING
Official practice, or pre-running, on the official race course for this year’s Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7. Pre-running will start at race mile 38.4 and finish at race mile 354. The first 38.4 miles, which will be used in both directions during the race, will be available for pre-running only on Thursday (Sept. 19) and Friday (Sept. 20) and only in the outbound direction.
MAIN COURSE
The race will feature a course, when finalized over the next couple of weeks by SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva of approximately 400 miles. After the shared start of 19.6 miles, the course will run in a clockwise direction.
When completed, the historic race course will be another memorable example of all that Mexico’s Baja California has to offer, including high-speed dirt trails, sandy, rocky and silty natural terrain, majestic Baja washes and canyons, stretches along the seashore with elevations from sea level to over 3,000 feet. The course will be another jewel reflecting the stark beauty of Baja California.
A HAPPENING…
Colorful race week festivities will start on Wednesday, Sept. 18 to help celebrate this newest SCORE Baja race.
Chassis inspections will be held on Wednesday (Sept. 18) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT as well as pre-tech/Stella bracket check and installation on Playa Hermosa south of the city on Highway 1.
On Friday (Sept. 20) evening will be the Monster Energy Papas Y Beer street party on Avenida Ruiz from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight.
Thursday (Sept. 19) and Friday (Sept. 20) will see the two day-long, pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency festival in the start finish line area in Ensenada. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day contingency row will be held for specific classes. Tech inspection on both of those days will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the end of the manufacturer’s row.
During the race on Saturday, Sept. 21 until the course closes on Sunday morning, Sept. 22, the start/finish line compound will include the massive double-sided SCOREvision LED screen broadcasting race festivities and start and finish line interviews. Popular Rat Sult and veteran Dave Arnold will once again serve as hosts of the SCORE Live streaming.
All of the week’s festivities will be aired both live and same-day including the race, airing via the internet on the SCORE website.
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 Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400. Racer registration and media registration will both be held in the Red Room on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (Sept. 18-20).
Racer registration will be held on Wednesday (Sept. 18) from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. PDT along with 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PDT on both Thursday (Sept. 19) and Friday (Sept. 20). On Friday, no new entries will be accepted after 3 p.m.
Media registration the Red Room will be held on Wednesday (Sept. 18) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. PDT and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT on both Thursday (Sept. 19) and Friday (Sept. 20).
The SCORE Media Center will be in the Red Room during the race (Sept. 21-22) with internet access and live race updates, vehicle tracking displays including unofficial elapsed times.
On Friday (Sept. 20) at the Torre Lucerna Hotel in Ensenada will be pre-race media conference at 11:30 a.m. PDT as well as the mandatory pre-race racer’s meeting at 7 p.m. PDT. The post-race awards celebration will also be at the Torre Lucerna Hotel at noon PDT on Sunday (Sept. 22).
The start/finish line for the race will be in front of the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Blvd. Costero.
SCOREscope
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
ABC TV IN 2019
The 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship is being televised on the ABC TV family of networks, marking the first time back on the ABC network since the 1967 and 1968 coverage of the Baja 1000 on ABC’s old Wide World of Sports show.
The one-hour shows on the 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250, 51st SCORE Baja 500 and the 52nd SCORE Baja 1000 will be televised as part of ABC’s World of X Games year-long programming. Presented by SCORE sponsors Monster Energy and BFGoodrich Tires, the ABC World of X Games series profiles iconic action sports figures and also highlights athletes, artists, event previews and recaps.
The inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 in September will air as a one-hour special on ESPN TV, also on the World of X Games programming.
All of the SCORE race coverage shows continue to air internationally in nearly 25 countries in Europe, Asia and South America via syndication and ESPN International.
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, 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, The Satellite Phone Store.
Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Mexicali Ayuntamiento, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters.
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCOREInternational.com.