COPs Racing, Gordon, Tavo, Davis, Apdaly, Price all in-SCORE Baja 400

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominic@score-international.com
August 29, 2019
Live Start Draw on Sept. 10

COPs Racing, Robby Gordon, Gustavo Vildosola Jr, Ju. Davis
Among new entries for Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400

 

     ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—Three Langley family racers from their COPs Racing Team, North Carolina’s former NASCAR and IndyCar and second-generation desert racing champion Robby Gordon, Mexico’s second-gen desert ‘ganador’ Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr, SoCal young gun champ Justin Davis, Mexico’s second-gen champ Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez and husband, SoCal’s Sara Price and wife champion racers Wayne Matlock and Kristen Matlock have joined the growing field for next month’s Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 as racers to date have come from 18 U.S. States and seven countries.
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 in ongoing through 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.
LATEST ENTRIES
With 108 early entries to date that includes racers from 18 U.S. States, host Mexico, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Peru and Spain, SCORE Trophy Truck leads the way with 30 entries. Besides the featured SCORE Trophy Truck, other classes with double-figure entries so far are Trophy Truck Spec with 12 and the unlimited Class 1 with 10 entries so far.
Entries from the USA include racers from Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
All from Manhattan Beach, Calif., COPs Racing features three race vehicles led by affable family patriarch John Langley, 76, who is also the creator and executive producer of the phenomenal award-winning COPs TV show, and his sons Zak Langley, 44, and Morgan Langley, 45.
Making their debut in the 2008 SCORE Baja 1000, COPs Racing has been a regular part of the SCORE World Desert Championship ever since. With multiple race wins between each of the drivers, COPs Racing was also selected the SCORE entry sponsor of the year in both 2009 and 2010.
COPs Racing has also sponsored several other vehicles over the years that are part of the official race team.
For the Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400, John Langley will be the driver of record in the No. 250 COPs Racing Chevy-powered Mason-built in the Trophy Truck Spec class with veteran SCORE Baja motorcycle champion Steve Hengeveld, Flagstaff, Ariz. as his second driver. They are currently tied for eighth in season points out of 36 total starters in Trophy Truck Spec.
Zak Langley will drive the No. 50 COPs Racing Ford F-150 (ESM built) in SCORE Trophy Truck with Kyle Jergensen, Oak Hills, Calif., as his second driver. They are currently 17th in points out of 47 total starters in SCORE Trophy Truck.
Morgan Langley will drive the No. 150 COPs Racing ESM-Chevy with Paul Keller, El Cajon, Calif., as his second driver in the unlimited Class 1. They are currently eighth in points out of 20 total starters in Class 1.
Over the years, part of the COPs Racing team often as driver of record in another race vehicle have been two Clark County (Nev.) Sheriffs—former Sheriff Bill Young and current Sheriff Joe Lombardi. Lombardi is scheduled to race again in the season-ending SCORE Baja 1000.
Originally from SoCal, second-generation desert racer Robby Gordon, 50, Charlottesville, N.C., has raced in many forms of motorsports from IndyCar to NASCAR to the Dakar Rally, but has never left his desert-racing roots. He races in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division where he has earned a career 11 race wins in SCORE Trophy Truck, which has him tied for second with brothers Ed Herbst/Tim Herbst, Andy McMillin and Larry Ragland.
Gordon won the season point championships in SCORE Trophy Truck in both 1996 and 2009 as SCORE Trophy Truck is in its 26th season in 2019. Gordon has four career victories in the SCORE Trophy Truck class in SCORE Baja races.
Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr, is another second-gen SCORE Trophy Truck superstar and he is the only Mexican national who has won the SCORE Baja Triple Crown in the featured racing division and one of only nine racers who has ever accomplished the feat of winning the overall in SCORE San Felipe 250, the SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 1000.
With six career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins, Vildosola Jr, 37, of Mexicali, Mexico, is finishing a new Vildosola Racing truck and is currently 28th in season points in his No. 21 Vildosola Racing Ford F-150.
Another of the ‘Young Guns’ of SCORE desert racing, Justin Davis, 26, of Chino Hills, Calif., is tied for first place in points in the unlimited Class 1 this season with Brad Wilson as both young racers have each won one of the two 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship races.
Driving the No. 185 Green Army Motorsports Jimco-Chevy, Davis is also a two-time SCORE season point champion, having won the SCORE Lites class in 2010 and Class 1 in 2011. This season his second driver is veteran desert racer Larry Job, 59, Las Vegas.
Two of RPM Racing’s ‘Young Guns’ have also entered to date with Carlos Apdaly Lopez and Sara Price.
Lopez, 24, Tecate, Mexico, won the SCORE Trophy Truck season point title three consecutive years (2015-17) in the No. 9 Geiser-Built Chevy Rally Truck and he has two career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins. He is currently 16th in the 2019 points in his class.
Price, 26, of Canyon Lake, Calif., is leading the point standings this year in a field of 36 total starters in the super-competitive Trophy Truck Spec class. Price, a former motocross and short-course racing champion, Price has driven solo to second place in both races this season in RPM Racing’s No. 204 Geiser-Chevy.
From Alpine, Calif., husband/wife racers Wayne Matlock, 41, and his wife Kristen Matlock, 38, are both leading the respective UTV classes in 2019 points midway through the season.
Both solo drivers, both with one race win this season so far and both driving Polaris RZR UTVs, Wayne Matlock drives the No. 2971 Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo in the Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) class while Kristen Matlock drives the No. 1954 Polaris RZR XP4 1000 in the Pro UTV NA (Naturally Aspirated) class. Tied with Kristen Matlock in Pro UTV NA class is Kaden Wells as both drivers have each won one race this season.
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
Including Zak Langley, Robby Gordon, Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr and Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 950-horsepower unlimited custom trucks now shows 30 of these monsters of the desert (including three in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50) to date.
Leading the other newest entries in this race in other classes are Rafael Navarro IV (Trophy Truck Spec), Hiram Duran (Class 10), J.J. Schnarr (Class 10), Marc Burnett (Pro UTV FI), Christine Giampoali Zonca (Pro UTV FI), Jano Montoya (Pro Moto 30), Gerardo Novelo (Class 7SX), Mike Lesle (Class 7SX), Luis M. Gomez (Pro Moto 30).
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.
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.
GREEN FLAG
The Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 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.
AIRING ON ESPN
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. Announcers are SCORE racers Cameron Steele and Aaron Ampudia.
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.
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. The first 19.6 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.
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. SCORE live announcers will once again by Rat Sult assisted by Dave Arnold.
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.
MAIN COURSE
The race will feature a course, when finalized in the next few days by SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva of approximately 400 miles. After the first 19.6 miles which will be used in both directions for the race, the course will run in a clockwise direction. There will be three physical checkpoints and 103 virtual checkpoints on the race course.
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.
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.
SCOREscope
2019 REMAINING SCHEDULE
Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400, Sept. 18-22, Ensenada, Mexico
52nd SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.19-24, Ensenada, Mexico
2020 SCHEDULE
Here is the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship and for the fifth consecutive year all races will be held in Baja California, Mexico:
34th SCORE San Felipe 250, March 25-29, San Felipe, Mexico
52nd SCORE Baja 500, June 3-7, Ensenada, Mexico
2nd SCORE Baja 400, Sept. 16-20, Ensenada, Mexico
53rd SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.16-21, Ensenada, Baja California to La Paz, Baja California Sur
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.

 (Numerical order, prior to start draw)

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (30)
*1L Scott Bailey
7 Bryce Menzies
9 Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez
10 Alan Ampudia
11 Rob MacCachren
14 Bobby Pecoy
16 Cameron Steele
19 Tim Herbst
21 Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola
23 Dan McMillin
27 Jonathan Brenthel
28 Corey Keysar
30 Robbie Pierce
31 Andy McMillin
33 Todd Tuls
*37L Rolf Helland
40 Chris Miller
41 Justin Lofton
50 Zak Langley
54 Troy Herbst
62 Ryan Peolman
70 Kevin Thompson
*72L Rob Reinertson
77 Robby Gordon
80 David Kleiman
83 Luke McMillin
85 Mike Lawrence
88 Brett Sourapas
89 Mike Walser
97 Robert ‘BJ’ Baldwin
*SCORE TT LEGEND
CLASS 1 (10)
100 Brad Wilson
105 Mason Cullen
127 Cody Parkhouse
129 Brandon Bailey
130 James Anderson
138 Brian Wilson
150 Morgan Langley
162 Brendan Gaughan
168 Shelby Reid
185 Justin Davis
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (12)
204 Sara Price
208 Andrew Entwistle
209 Rafael Navarro IV
240 Bobby Patton
246 James Scully
250 John Langley
260 Luis Pelayo
270 Kelly McArthur
274 Elias Hanna
279 Austin ‘A.J.’ Jones
293 Ryan Peacock
299 Charles Dorrance
CLASS 2 (0)
HAMMER TRUCK UNLTD (1)
4421 Mike Hales-RS
CLASS 10 (6)
1002 Clay Lawrence
1016 Hiram Duran
1022 Rafael Aguirre
1027 Arturo V. Malo
1062 J.J. Schnarr
1068 Cody Reid
CLASS 7 (1)
703 Scott Brady
CLASS 5 (0)
PRO UTV FI (8)
2905 Marc Bunett
2914 Malcolm Mitchell
2926 Christine Giampaoli Zonca
2930 Sean Cook
2931 Craig Scanlon
2957 Erik Davis
2971 Wayne Matlock -RS
2987 Edgar Garcia Leon
SCORE LITES (3)
1202 Matias Arjona IV
1206 Freddie Willert
1234 Steve Jones
PRO UTV NA (4)
1908 John Andrew Entwistle
1954 Kristen Matlock -RS
1978 T. Bradley Millner
1995 Kaden Wells
CLASS 1/2-1600 (1)
1689 Marco Venegas
PRO UTV UNLIMITED (0)
PRO UTV STOCK (0)
CLASS 8 (3)
810 Jose Contreras
818 Jesus Beltrones Hurtado
852 Spencer Morgan
CLASS 3 (1)
313 David Orzolek
BAJA CHALLENGE (1)
BC4 Edward Muncey
CLASS 5-1600 (3)
554 Rigoberto Cabrera
571 David Heredia
582 Rodolfo Martinez-RS
CLASS 7F (1)
714F Justin Park
CLASS 7SX (2)
751 Mike Lesle
740 Gerardo Novelo RS
CLASS 3700 (0)
CLASS 11 (3)
1111 Eric Solorzano
1113 Mario Vazquez (DOR-Kent Thygerson)
1152 Elmer Cayetano
Sportsman
SPT UNLTD TRUCK (1)
1414 Jessalyn Sells
SPT LTD TRUCK (0)
SPT OPEN-WHEEL (0)

PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (2)
1x Justin Morgan
66x Santiago Creel
PRO MOTO LIMITED (2)
100x Santiago Creel
180x Fernando Beltran
PRO MOTO 40 (1)
444x Jason Trubey
PRO MOTO 30 (5)
300x Luis M. Gomez
308x Ryan Liebelt
325x Jano Montoya
360x Santiago Creel
370x Francisco Septien
PRO MOTO IRONMAN (3)
709x Lukas Spies
729x Michael Skurkis
734x Bob Kimber
PRO MOTO 50 (1)
500x Giovanni Spinali

Pro Quad (1)
1a Said Sanchez

SPT QUAD (2)
100a Danny Magdalena
125a Brisa Fernanda Ochoa
SPT M/C (0)