Ford honoring Rod Hall with Bronco R race prototype at upcoming BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 1000

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominic@score-international.com
November 4, 2019
Race presented by 4 Wheel Parts

Ford honoring Rod Hall with Bronco R race prototype
at upcoming BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 1000

    ENSENADA, Mexico—As a tribute to the late, great, legendary Rod Hall and his overall win with Larry Minor in the 1969 Mexican 1000 in a 4X4 Ford Bronco, Ford Performance is teasing its launch of the new Ford Bronco next year by entering the purpose-built Bronco R race prototype into this month’s iconic BFGoodrich Tires 52nd annual SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts.

This year’s Granddaddy of All Desert Races will start and finish in the heart of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico with race-week festivities and the race itself being held Nov. 19-24.
BRONCO R
The Bronco R—developed by Ford Performance in collaboration with builder Geiser Brothers and 2018 SCORE Baja 1000 4-wheel champion Cameron Steele—drops heritage-inspired design and proportion hints of what enthusiasts can expect to see when the future Bronco makes its world premier next spring.
“Like the original Bronco, we kept Bronco R’s design authentic and simple, with a roll cage on a production-style frame, and a five-piece lightweight body on top,” said Brian Novak, Ford Performance Off-Road Racing Supervisor. “For the endurance needs of Baja’s grueling race miles, we built in a limited number of race-focused parts. But even the twin turbos of the EcoBoost® engine are representative of what the production Bronco will offer.”
SCORE COMMENTS
“SCORE is honored to be part of this special tribute to Rod Hall, a pioneer of desert racing who was one of the greatest desert racers of all-time,” commented Jim Ryan, SCORE Marketing and Sales Director. “Rod’s legacy is unmatched as the only person to have raced in all of the first 50 SCORE Baja 1000 races and it will be hard to surpass his race-record of 25 class wins in the Granddaddy of All Desert Races. SCORE is also pleased to be able to provide this special platform for Ford Performance to help introduce the new Ford Bronco to the public.”
THE RACE
The SCORE Baja 1000 endures at the pinnacle of motorsports as the most iconic, oldest, prestigious, toughest and longest continuously held desert race in the world.
Late in the online registration process, entries to date have come from 33 U.S. States and 19 countries.
Many of the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s massive BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4Wheel Parts. The race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on ABC TV’s World of X Games programming.
Ensenada, “The Off-Road Capital of the World” is a coastal city on the Bahia de Todos Santos area of the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of the U.S. border at San Diego.
Over 250 vehicles are expected at the start line with racers from nearly 35 U.S. States and as many as 20 countries anticipated. Long-time SCORE sponsor BFGoodrich Tires has also posted a US$40,000 contingency bonus for the overall 4-wheel winner to help commemorate the renewal of this legendary SCORE race.
This year’s SCORE Baja 1000 will be a loop race of 800.5 miles in the northern state of Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula.
It will start for the 45th time and finish for the 26th time in Ensenada and the race is annually the finale of the four-race SCORE World Desert Championship, which has been held exclusively for the past four years on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
The race and its festivities will be held primarily in and around the historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada and the start and finish of the legendary race will be adjacent to the Riviera.
With a total time limit of 34 hours in the elapsed-time race, the motorcycle and quad classes will start at 3 a.m. (PT) on Friday, Nov. 22 and the car, truck and UTV classes will follow with their start on at 10:30 a.m. (PT).  While the fastest vehicles are expected to cover the course in approximately 16 hours, all vehicles will have 34 hours from the time each starts to become an official finisher.
BRONCO R ENTRY
The Bronco R will race in Class 2 at the SCORE Baja 1000, and will carry the vehicle number of 2069 to honor the class but more importantly the year that Hall and Minor became the only 4-Wheel drive vehicle to win the overall in the world’s most prestigious desert race.
Veteran Hall of Fame SCORE Trophy Truck racer Cameron Steele has been announced as the driver of record in memory of Rod Hall in the No. 2069 and Rod Hall’s granddaughter Shelby Hall has been confirmed as one of the additional drivers for portions of the course. An experienced desert racer, Shelby Hall drove several times with Rod Hall in the race he loved so much that he competed in it for 50 consecutive years.
Other drivers announced for this special vehicle are SCORE Trophy Truck champion Curt LeDuc, legendary SCORE Baja motorcycle champion Johnny Campbell, champion racer Steve Olliges, and multi-time rock crawling and SCORE Baja 1000 class champion Brad Lovell.
SOME BRONCO R SPECS
Bronco R features an independent front suspension with 14 inches of travel and a production-based five-link rear chassis design with up to 18 inches of travel, plus custom Fox shocks, 17-inch beadlock-capable aluminum wheels and 37-inch BFGoodrich Tires.
With its exterior inspired by the 1969 Baja 1000 Bronco livery, the Ford Performance Bronco R race prototype pays tribute with its red, white and black colors accented by its blue space frame. No. 2069 stretches across its rear quarter-panel and wing.
STATES, COUNTRIES
Included in the first 217 official entries to date of the more than 250 anticipated for this year’s renewal of the world’s most iconic desert race are competitors from 33 U.S. States and 19 countries.
U.S. States represented in the field of competitors to date are from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington.
Besides the United States and host Mexico, countries represented to date in the total entry field are from Australia, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, England, Finland, France, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Qatar and Spain.
RACER REGISTRATION
Racer Registration is open at www.SCORE-International.com under Race Info on the SCORE Baja 1000 page. It closes at 8 p.m. PT on Monday, Nov. 11. Any questions, contact SCORE Registration Director Audreonna Garcia at 775. 852.8907.
PRE-RUNNING
Pre-running on the official race course opened on Oct. 26. After the two-way section out to the Ojos Negros area, the course runs in a counter-clockwise direction down to along the Pacific Ocean and around Mike’s Sky Rancho down through Laguna Del Diablo, Morelia Junction and Matomi Wash and Amarillas Wash before heading North near San Felipe and back up through Laguna Salada, and then down South to Ojos Negros and the finish line in Ensenada.
Pre-running will start at race-mile 39.10 and finish at rm765.9.
Outbound only, the first section of the race course will be open for pre-running only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of race week (Nov. 19-21).
This year’s course map, GPS files and course notes are available on the SCORE website under race info on the SCORE Baja 1000 page at www.SCORE-International.com.
SCOREscope
2019 REMAINING SCHEDULE
BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, Nov.19-24, Ensenada, Mexico
2020 SCHEDULE
Here is the four-race 2020 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
BFGoodrich Tires 52nd SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, June 3-7, Ensenada, Mexico
2nd SCORE Baja 400, Sept. 16-20, Ensenada, Mexico
BFGoodrich Tires 53rd SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.16-21, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, 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 are being 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 held in September aired as a one-hour special on ESPN2 TV, also on the World of X Games programming.
All of the SCORE race coverage shows will continue to air internationally in nearly 25 countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and South America via syndication and ESPN International.
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire and Race Title Sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, 4 Wheel Parts-Official Off-Road Retailer and Race Presenting Partner, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, RACELINE Wheels-Official Wheel, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel, Lucerna Hotels & Resorts-Official Hotel, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.
SCORE Official Partners: PCI Race Radios, The Satellite Phone Store, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance.
Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Baja California Secretary of Tourism, XXIII Ensenada Municipal Government, XXIII Mexicali Municipal Government, Mexicali and San Felipe COTUCO, Cruz Roja Mexicana.
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCOREInternational.com.