Pre-running opens Saturday on rugged 326.7 mile Race course for 34th annual SCORE San Felipe 250

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominic@score-international.com
March 12, 2020
Season Opener March 24-29

Pre-running opens Saturday on rugged 326.7 mile
Race course for 34th annual SCORE San Felipe 250

 

ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – Launching its 47th season as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, pre-running opens Saturday on the rugged, near race-record long 326.7-mile course for this month’s 34th annual SCORE San Felipe 250 in Baja California, Mexico.
The season-opening event of the four-race internationally-televised 2020 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held March 24-29 in San Felipe, the peaceful fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif. All four 2020 SCORE races will be held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the fifth consecutive year.
Domestically, the race will be televised on a delayed basis on the World of X Games show on the ABC Television Network as co-produced by SCORE International and award-winning BCII TV of Los Angeles.
The 326.7-mile course has been plotted and marked, GPS files created with several sections not used before or not in several years as 189 total entries to date have come from 22 U.S. States along with host country Mexico, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru and Spain.
ANOTHER AWESOME COURSE
SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva has worked diligently with the government officials and ejidos of the Mexicali and San Felipe areas to develop a memorable SCORE San Felipe 250 race course of 326.7 miles, the second longest in the history of this popular desert race. Sportsman Classes and a few of the slower Pro classes will bypass one section of the course and run a reduced course of 279.7 total miles.
This year’s grueling race course will be another beauty to behold but a tough challenge to race on. It runs in a counterclockwise direction running over high-speed dry lake beds, through low-speed winding, rock-strewn, twisting canyons and trails, along quick-paced dirt roads and through five of Baja’s most gloriously infamous washes in this order: Las Cuevitas, Chanate, Huatamote, Azufre and the last half of Matomi.
There will be three full stop checkpoints in addition to the start/finish line which will be located for the just the fourth time in the history of this race on the Malecon along the Sea of Cortez in the heart of San Felipe. There will also be 141 virtual checkpoints and six speed zones for 16.3 miles total.
Checkpoint 1 will be located at El Chinero (race mile 76.3), the second at Morelia Road crossing (rm 160.3) and the third will be on the old Puertecitos Road South of the Sulphur Mines (rm 293.7).
This year’s course will run north out of San Felipe through Las Cuevitas Wash and back around up to Checkpoint 1 at El Chinero. From there it heads North by Northwest, back north and turns south at race mile 100 where it goes through Laguna Amarga and then south through Laguna del Diablo to checkpoint 2 at Morelia Junction.  From Morelia it head due south and then east through Chante Wash and back around to go southeast through Huatamote Wash, back around west  through Azufre Wash.
From Azufre, the course loops south down to head through the last half of Matomi Wash, north on Old Puertecitos Road up through Checkpoint 3 and then parallels Old Puertecitos on the west side for over 30 miles to the finish.
While the race has a 16 hour time limit this year, the fastest car/truck is expected to finish in just under six hours and the fastest motorcycle is expected to finish in about six hours, 30 minutes.
COURSE MAP/GPS
The 34th Annual SCORE San Felipe 250 course map is posted already and GPS files along with the Racer’s Brief will be available by 8 p.m. PDT tonight (Thursday, March 12) on the SCORE website on the race page under the Race Info tab.
DRAW DEADLINE
The deadline to enter online on the SCORE website under Race Info at www.SCOREInternational.com for Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. Deadline to enter in order to be in the drawing for start positions within each class is 8 p.m. PT on Friday, March 13.
DOUBLE DIGITS
The race includes 32 entries in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division (Including eight SCORE TT Legend vehicles for SCORE Trophy-Truck drivers over 50 years old), the marquee racing division for high-tech, unlimited custom trucks with up to 1000-horsepower.
Besides SCORE Trophy Truck, the other classes with double figure entries to date and their totals are Pro UTV FI (22), Trophy Truck Spec (20), Class 10 (20) and the unlimited Class 1 (13).
QUALIFYING
For just the second time in the history of this popular ‘Spring Break’ race, SCORE will hold a qualifying session starting at 8 a.m. PT on Wednesday, March 25 to determine the starting positions within each class for the SCORE Trophy Truck, SCORE TT Legend, Class 1 and Trophy Truck Spec classes. Entries in these classes must also be completed by Friday, March 13 to be eligible to qualifying.
Starting positions for the other classes will be determined by a random drawing after the close of online racer registration which is at 8 p.m. on Friday, March. 13.
Late, on-site entries will receive the next starting position within the class entered.
The first time qualifying was held for this race was in 2017 when Rob MacCachren, Cameron Steele and Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez were the top three qualifiers in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 950-horsepower, unlimited custom trucks.
Qualifying will again be held on a four-mile section of the race course northeast of the San Felipe airport, which is located on the south end of San Felipe.
RACER REGISTRATION
A special on-site racer registration will be held on Tuesday (March 24) from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT only for the racers who will be part of qualifying.
Regular on-site racer registration and late-registration for new entries will start at 2 p.m. PT on Wednesday in San Felipe.  It will be held Wednesday (March 25) from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT as well as Thursday (March 26) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday (March 27) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT with no new entries accepted after 3 p.m. PT on Friday. All racer and media registration will be held at the Stella del Mar Hotel (old Cortez Hotel) on Av. Mar de Cortez Sur.
SCORE FIESTA TIME
Colorful pre-race festivities will be held in San Felipe during race week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with race days on Saturday and Sunday concluding with the post-race awards celebration at Noon PT on Sunday.
The colorful pre-race contingency and Manufacturer’s Midway, the starting line and the finish line will be on the Malecon in the heart of San Felipe for the fourth straight year.
Contingency will be held on two days for the second time in the history of this race with classes split with some, including all UTVs, motorcycles and quads going through the line on Thursday and the balance, including the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division, SCORE TT Legend, Class 1 and Trophy Truck Spec, going through  on Friday. Contingency will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT each day with pre-race tech lasting until 6 p.m. PT on both Thursday and Friday (March 27-28).
The post-race awards celebration will be held on the start/finish line ramp on the Malecon on Sunday (March 29) at Noon PT.
GREEN FLAG SATURDAY
The motorcycle and quad classes will start at 6:20 a.m. PT Saturday (March 28) while the car, truck and UTV classes will begin their journey starting at 9:30 a.m. PT (March 28). SCORE Trophy Truck and the Pro Moto Unlimited classes will start one vehicle every 60 seconds race while all other classes will start one every 30 seconds.
While the fastest vehicles in the elapsed-time race are expected to finish in approximately six hours, all vehicles will have 16 hours from the time each starts to become an official finisher in the historic race.
BFGOODRICH TIRES UNMATCHED
As part of their massive SCORE Contingency program for 2020, long-time SCORE sponsor partner BFGoodrich Tires is offering a large contingency bonus for each overall winner in the 2020 SCORE World Desert Championship. For the 34th annual SCORE San Felipe 250, the contingency bonus is US$10,000. BFGoodrich Tires is entering its 44th year as the Official Tire of SCORE and in 2020 the company will also be the title sponsor of both the 52nd SCORE Baja 500 and the 53rd SCORE Baja 1000.
Presenting sponsor of both of those iconic races will be 4 Wheel Parts.
BFGoodrich Tires is celebrating over four decades as a major player in SCORE Baja racing. In addition to being the official tire of SCORE International for over four decades, BFGoodrich Tires has now produced the tire of choice for 30 of the overall 4-wheel vehicle winners in the SCORE Baja 1000, including 30 of the last 34 years along with a record-run of 20 straight from 1986 through 2005. In total, BFGoodrich Tires has now be the tire of choice for the overall 4-wheel vehicle winner in 92 SCORE Baja races including 32 in the SCORE Baja 500.
EL BANCO
For over three decades, the annual motorsports festival that has brought the largest economic impact of any single event held annually in this lightly-populated portion of the rugged, rough and bountifully beautiful Baja peninsula has been the SCORE San Felipe 250.
SCOREscope
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 24-29, 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 AGAIN IN 2020
For the second straight year, the 2020 SCORE World Desert Championship aired on the ABC family of networks. The four-races air as one-hour specials on ABC TV’s World of X Games program with replays on ESPN2.
ABC first covered the 1967 and 1968 Baja 1000 races on the old ABC Wide World of Sports show with Jim McKay and again in the late 1980s with veteran motorsports journalist Sam Posey.
All of the SCORE race coverage shows also 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, Ford-Official Truck and SUV, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, RACELINE Wheels-Official Wheel, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel, 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, Lucerna Hotel.
Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Baja California Secretary of Sustainable Economy and 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.

34th SCORE San Felipe 250

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (32*)
1 Andy McMillin
2 Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez
7 Bryce Menzies
10 Alan Ampudia
11 Rob MacCachren
14 Bobby Pecoy
16 Cameron Steele
17 Dan McMillin
19 Tim Herbst
21 Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildsola
24 Adam Householder
26 Dave Taylor
27 Kyle Jergensen
32 Ryan Arciero
38 Eric Hustead
40 Chris Miller
41 Justin Lofton
45 Gary Magness
50 Zak Langley
71 Josh De Jong
77 Robby Gordon
83 Luke McMillin
85 Mike Lawrence
97 Robert ‘BJ’ Baldwin
*TOTAL INCLUDES LEGEND
SCORE TT LEGEND (8)
25L Mark Winkelman
37L Rolf Helland
47L Jim Bult
50L John Langley
55L Jose de Jesus Flores
72L Rob Reinertson
79L Russell Buehler
81L David Westhem
CLASS 1 (13)
100 Mason Cullen
114 Al Torres
121 Rodimiro Amaya
123 Broc Dickerson
135 Ronny Wilson
138 Brian Wilson
143 Javier Robles Jr
150 Morgan Langley
153 Brad Wilson
162 Brendan Gaughan
163 Ruben Torres
168 Shelby Reid
179 Mario Fuentes
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (20)
208 Andrew Entwistle
209 Rafael Navarro IV
211 Pat Sims
213 Karl Ebdrup
219 Tony Murray
220 Craig Christie
223 Neal Drickey
234 Jason McNeil
244 Brad Lovell
260 Santiago Creel
261 Jeff Bader
264 Pierce Herbst
272 Victor Calderon
273 Jordan Brenthel
274 Elias Hanna
277 John Currier
294 Vincent Munoz
295 William Hedrick Jr
298 Jorge Sampietro
299 Charles Dorrance
CLASS 10 (20)
1000 Hiram Duran
1002 Clay Lawrence
1004 Ben Hagle
1005 Arnoldo Gutierrez Jr
1006 Freddie Willert
1009 J. David Ruvalcaba
1011 Cesar Cuevas
1012 Luis Barragan
1013 Harley Meservey
1026 Hugo Becerra
1027 Arturo Malo
1045 Matt Rusich
1048 Kevin Price
1051 Adam Gonzalez
1062 J.J. Schnarr
1075 Eliseo Garcia
1078 Augie Cortez
1081 Matt Winslow
1087 Ivan Tagle
1088 Chase Warren
PRO UTV FI (22)
2904 Cory Sappington
2910 Scott Trafton
2912 Tony Riggs
2914 Martin Christensen
2918 Justin Lambert
2919 Brandon Schueler
2920 Roberto Ruiz
2926 Christine Giampaoli Zonca
2930 Sean Cook
2931 Craig Scanlon
2936 Jacob Carver
2940 Erick Kozin
2949 Alonso Lopez
2975 Mike Cafro
2978 Jose Juarez
2983 Nicholas Gurries
2987 Edgar Garcia Leon
2988 Brian Cyrus
2989 Wes Miller
2998 Cameron Ornales
2971 Wayne Matlock- RS
SCORE LITES (8)
1202 Matias Arjona IV
1205 Miguel Cortez
1211 Oscar Alvarez
1216 Matt Ferrato
1229 Doug Satterfield
1234 Phillip Jones
1237 Jesus de la Torre
1255 Darren Walsh
PRO UTV NA (6)
1910 Jose Angulo
1912 Rickey Arslanian
1965 Fernando Ramirez
1978 T. Bradley Millner
1995 Kaden Wells
1954 Kristen Matlock- RS
CLASS 1/2-1600 (2)
1616 Eli Yee
1696 Chris Racan
PRO UTV STOCK (6)
3911 Victor Esparza
3922 Pete Cate
3930 Douglas Cornwell
3933 Randy Emberton
3954 Bailey Cole
3955 Mike Cafro
CLASS 8 (2)
802 Scott Ulrich
852 Spencer Morgan
HEAVY METAL (0)
CLASS 7 (4)
700 Daniel Chamlee
703 Scott Brady
710 Mike Shaffer
727 Rhys Millen
CLASS 4700 (0)
HAMMER TRUCK UNLTD (1)
4421 Mike Hales
PRO UTV UNL (0)
CLASS 5 (5)
500 Gerardo Ibarra
501 William Hernquist
502 Mark McNeil
507 Greg Sullivan
528 Victor Cesena
CLASS 3 (1)
313 David Orzolek
CLASS 5-1600 (2)
553 Cesar Iniguez
571 David Heredia
BAJA CHALLENGE (1)
BC 4 Edward Muncey
CLASS 7F (3)
704F Aaron Celiceo
714F Justin Park
720F Doug Siewert
CLASS 7SX (1)
741 Gerardo Novelo
STOCK FULL (0)
CLASS 2 (0)
CLASS 11 (3)
1108 Luis Garcia
1156 Art Penner
1196 Alex Gonzales

SPT UNLTD TRUCK (1)
1414 Jessalyn Sells
SPT OPEN-WHEEL (0)
SPT UTV UNLIMITED (2)
1830 Byrnes Lambert
1840 Jason Willett
SPT UTV STOCK (1)
3978 Chris Clifton

PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (3)
4x Ray Dal Saglio
14x Ian Luenberger
66x Santiago Creel
PRO MOTO 30 (5)
3XXx Jacob Nieder
308x Greg Bardonnex
325x Jano Montoya
365x Nick Lanning
370x Francisco Septien- RS
PRO MOTO LIMITED (0)
PRO MOTO 50 (3)
500x Giovanni Spinali
501x Robert Creemers
505x Steve Hatch
PRO MOTO 40 (1)
496x TJ Joun
PRO MOTO IRONMAN (4)
716x Roger Bowie
727x Louie Montano
735x Dustin Ashe-Everest
771x Risto Niemi
PRO MOTO 60 (1)
611x Mark Winkelman

Pro Quad (2)
1a Adolfo Arellano
37a Ricardo Villafana

SPT M/C (6)
201x Scott Borden
203x Giovanni Aviles
213x Bradley Loveday
215x Carlos Guereca
218x Sean Willitts
275x Albert Devora
SPT QUAD (8)
101a Ery Sandoval
102a Andres Pak
105a Francisco Valle
112a Daniel Gaytan
123a Hector Camacho
124a Ruben Ramos
127a Marco Sanchez
148a Alejandro Amador