Star Racers preparing for 2023 SCORE WDC

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com
 
January 12, 2023
 
Season Opener in San Felipe, Baja
‘Celebrating 50 years of Desert Racing Excellence’
PART  1: Steele, K. Matlock, Burroughs, Liebelt getting
prepared for 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship
 
Season opener will be King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250
set for March 29-April 2 along azure waters of the Sea of Cortez
 
    ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—While there is an off-season for the fans, racers and teams are diligently preparing physically and mentally for the launch of the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship in Baja California, Mexico.
     ‘Celebrating 50 years of Desert Racing Excellence’ in 2023, the season-opener will be the King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250, March 29-April 2 in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico.
The World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization will be presenting its entire series for the eighth consecutive year on the Baja California peninsula.
Racers and teams have a variety of methods to get themselves and their amazing desert racing machines ready to attack the majestic, mysterious, foreboding Baja California peninsula. Here are the comments from several top SCORE racers regarding their varied approaches to the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season.
Certainly, there are numerous developing stories regarding drivers with new teams or changes in classes, but here is PART 1 of a sampling of comments gathered from SCORE superstars Cameron Steele (SCORE Trophy Truck), Kristen Matlock (Pro UTV Open), Matt Burroughs (Pro UTV FI) and Ryan Liebelt (Pro Moto 40)…
CAMERON STEELE, San Clemente, Calif.—No. 16 Desert Assassins Ford Raptor: SCORE Trophy Truck
What are you doing to get yourself physically and mentally ready for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season?
     “I am doing something a little different with my Moto riding buddies. In December we each did 3000 push-ups in a challenge one of the guys threw out. Now we are all committed to 3k push ups per month for 36,000 for the year. If anyone misses a month at 3,000 they will make a donation to Rancho Santa Marta orphanage and school. Mentally I’ve been working hard for about seven years to overcome anxiety and made great strides more recently in 2021 and 2022.”
What is your team doing to prepare/upgrade/change your vehicle for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season?
“We are cutting up our Geiser TT a little and making some motor, transmission and under drive changes. We led the 2022 Baja 1000 from about mile 305 through mile 422 so we have a lot of belief in our ‘Little Mule’.”
What testing plans do you have planned heading into the 2023 SCORE San Felipe 250?
“We are testing quite a bit after our major changes but that will come in early March. We are doing driver training work at King of the Hammers.”
Are you planning having an additional driver(s)/rider(s) for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season and if so, who will they be?
     “Race engineer Mike Craft returns as does Ryan Arciero joins us in the #16 again in 2023 and we have Mitchell Alsup returning in our Can-Am UTV with us. There are others we are talking with but so far we are not able to talk about those team ups.”
Knowing that 2023 is the 50th anniversary season of SCORE racing, what does SCORE mean to you as a racer in the SCORE World Desert Championship.
     I have been going to the Baja races since SCORE first started (1973) and I have grown up with SCORE. My first navigating with my dad and Johnny Johnson was back in 1982 and I started driving at the SCORE Parker 400 in 1985. SCORE is like family to me and I am proud to be a long-time member of the SCORE family.”
“My dad, and Wife are also score class winners and my wife is a 4 time SCORE champion. The Steele family has been fortunate to win in classes 5-1600, 1600, 7 4x4, 7s, 8, 6, 12 and in TT. We have also been blessed with great team success adding Desert Assassins wins in class 22 (OX) 10 (Hardesty) and others.”
“Congratulations to SCORE on an amazing milestone. My life and SCORE’s history are parallel paths and I’m proud to say it’s been awesome.”
KRISTEN MATLOCK, Alpine, Calif.—No. 1854 Polaris RZR Pro R Pro: Pro UTV Open
What are you doing to get yourself physically and mentally ready for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season?
“I wake up every morning at 4am in order to be at CrossFit by 5am, it really sets the tone for my entire day. Working out affects my mental health just as much as my physical. I’ve noticed on the days I don’t go to the gym I don’t seem to accomplish quite as much.”
What is your team doing to prepare/upgrade/change your vehicle for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season?
“I am currently building a brand-new Polaris RZR Pro R for this season that will be debuted at the 2023 SCORE San Felipe 250. After racing one last season, there were a few modifications that I wanted to make and it was just easier to start from scratch rather than to modify that one.”
What testing plans do you have planned heading into the 2023 SCORE San Felipe 250?
“As soon as possible, I will be heading out to Plaster City (Calif.) where we do most of our testing for the initial shakedown and then to San Felipe for suspension testing because the whoops down there are like no other and I prefer to test in the exact terrain that the vehicle will be raced on.”
Are you planning having an additional driver(s)/rider(s) for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season and if so, who will they be?
“No, not until I earn the Overall UTV title at each SCORE Baja race as an Ironwoman, I have no plans of having anyone share driving duties with me.”
Knowing that 2023 is the 50th anniversary season of SCORE racing, what does SCORE mean to you as a racer in the SCORE World Desert Championship.
“I am beyond grateful to have the opportunity to race in the SCORE World Desert Championship year after year, in fact this is my eighth consecutive season and Baja has yet to disappoint. Besides the breathtaking beauty that Baja’s terrain has to offer, it is the people and their wild west lifestyle that I have developed a love for through the years. Additionally, the progression of vehicle development and competition levels rising annually, keeps my desire to win in the red. I am honored to race against some of the best desert racers in the world at this year’s 50th anniversary of the SCORE World Desert Championship. See you all in Baja!”
MATT BURROUGHS, Norco, Calif.—No. 2948 Monster Energy Can-Am X3: Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction)
What are you doing to get yourself physically and mentally ready for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season?
“I took a really long break after the SCORE Baja 1000 to almost Christmas.  Needed the time to focus on the family and just get away from the grind of racing a bit.”
What is your team doing to prepare/upgrade/change your vehicle for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season?
“We took the car down to the frame and did a complete inspection.  Everything is new for the upcoming season.”
What testing plans do you have planned heading into the 2023 SCORE San Felipe 250?
“We should start testing sometime mid-January.  Working to get the suspension and clutching a bit better.  Car was amazingly reliable in 2022 so we can now just focus on performance.  We will race two US races leading up to the SCORE San Felipe 250.”
Are you planning having an additional driver(s)/rider(s) for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season and if so, who will they be?
“Bradley Howe will again split the driving duties again.  We will also have Dustin Jones join us for the 1000 this year.”
Knowing that 2023 is the 50th anniversary season of SCORE racing, what does SCORE mean to you as a racer in the SCORE World Desert Championship.
“We absolutely love racing SCORE.  It is the ultimate challenge.  We are now a two-time SCORE Overall UTV Champion and will be pushing for a hard for third one in 2023.  To be a SCORE Champion is the pinnacle in desert racing.
RYAN LIEBELT—No. 400x Yamaha WR450F: Pro Moto 40 (Riders over 40 years old)
What are you doing to get yourself physically and mentally ready for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season?
“Well physically not much will change, the team will continue to ride as much as they can. All of us are pure moto to the core guys, so if we can get out and ride, we usually do. Off the bike most of us work day in and day out, so whatever we can sneak in besides the normal daily life routine we do. We as the 400x from time to time challenge ourselves with some local racing to stay fit, and to just generally come together to hang out. On the mental side of things there really is never a true break. Planning to win a SCORE Baja 1000 is a year-long event, so turning the page on the current season is usually about three weeks after we finish the B1k. The race bikes get torn down to the frame and we begin the process of prepping and testing anything we think may benefit the bike for the following year and getting the bikes ready to roll.
What is your team doing to prepare/upgrade/change your vehicle for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season?
“Well our bikes get torn down, and basically every part gets thrown off to the side for a pre-runner, and new parts go back on the bike to ensure that something basic won’t hopefully fail on us. We plan to run the same Yamaha bike we have for years, it’s showed its true colors. The Platform has been good and we believe it in.”
What testing plans do you have planned heading into the 2023 SCORE San Felipe 250?
“Since we will add a Pro Moto Unlimited team this year, we will get together in February with the riders and make sure Travis from TBT suspension gets the boys feeling good. In fact, we already had a small test the first week of January with and things looked good.”
Are you planning having an additional driver(s)/rider(s) for the 2023 SCORE Baja racing season and if so, who will they be?
“For the 400x team, the plan will be much of the same. Maybe we will add our amazing Ironman Brandon Wright 700x back into the mix with Justin Shultz, Steve Tichenor and Jason Trubey. We will go easy with efforts for the first three races with the 400x bike, since we plan to bring a new 8x to Baja with Bryce Stavron. But the SCORE Baja 1000, we will put a full effort into getting two bikes on the overall podium we hope come November.”
Knowing that 2023 is the 50th anniversary season of SCORE racing, what does SCORE mean to you as a racer in the SCORE World Desert Championship.
“Honestly, the SCORE World Desert Championship is a great series and winning means leaving a legacy behind in the long run. But it is the people that we do this with, the people of Baja, the friends that we have met, the sponsors that have become family, the times pre-runinng that took too long, the stories that will be told forever. The places that we have visited, that is what SCORE racing truly means to us.
SCOREscope
2023 GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY SCHEDULE
Here are the dates for the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship Golden Anniversary season, ‘Celebrating 50 Years of Desert Racing Excellence’, which will be held totally in Baja California, Mexico for the eighth consecutive year:
King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250—
March 29-April 2, San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico
BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—
May 31-June 4, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
September 12-17, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—
November 13-18, La Paz, Baja California Sur to Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
ESPN TV NETWORKS AGAIN IN 2022
For the fourth straight year, the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship races aired on the ESPN family of networks. The four-races aired as specials 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 journalists Sam Posey and Jack Arute.
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. The shows are co-produced by SCORE International and SoCal’s award-winning BCII TV.
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire and Race Title Sponsor, 4 Wheel Parts-Official Off-Road Retailer and Race Presenting Partner, Ford-Official Truck and SUV, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber and Race Title Sponsor, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel and race presenting sponsor, Optima Batteries-Official Batteries, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino and PCI Race Radios.
SCORE Official Partners: The Satellite Phone Store, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Lucerna Hotel.
Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Baja California Secretary of Tourism, MEXICO Secretary of Tourism, San Felipe Foundational Municipal Council, Ensenada Municipal Government, San Felipe Marketing Tourism Committee, Ensenada Marketing Tourism Committee, Ensenada Hotel and Motel Association, Proturismo Ensenada and Cruz Roja Mexicana.
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCORE-International.com.