Rosarito Beach Course: Unique. Demanding. Picturesque.

SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, dominiccnv@aol.com

August 12, 2016

Race to air on CBS Sports Network
Unique, demanding, picturesque race course set
for Rosarito Beach 20th SCORE Desert Challenge

Challenging 32.8-mile loop race course in Baja foothills near Pacific Ocean;
reduced entry fees for Round 3 of four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship
internationally-televised race to be held Sept. 14-18 in Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico;
more info at http://score-international.com/raceinfo/rosarito-desert-challenge/

ROSARITO, Mexico—With a growing number of entries continuing to be processed, SCORE has announced some additional specifics regarding the loop race course to be used for next month’s internationally-televised Rosarito Beach 20th SCORE Desert Challenge.
Round 3 of the four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held Sept. 14-18 in Mexico’s Baja California Norte, starting and finishing just south of Rosarito, the colorful resort area on the Pacific Ocean, just 19 miles from the U.S. Border south of San Diego.
Many of the world’s best desert racers, competing in classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads will be in action at this year’s Rosarito Beach 20th SCORE Desert Challenge.
START DRAW DEADLINE
The deadline to enter the race in order to be included in the drawing for starting positions is Wednesday, Sept. 7. The drawing, to determine the start order within each class, will be held on Thursday, Sept. 8. Because of the nature of the event and location, there will be no qualifying for any classes, giving even more importance to the start draw.
ENTRY FEES LOWEST IN 20 YEARS
Online registration, by class, for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads, is ongoing through the SCORE website. SCORE has announced that entry fees for this year’s race have been reduced to the lowest amount in 20 years. The SCORE website has information on all SCORE races which can be found on the home page under the Race Info tab.
For more info, visit http://score-international.com/raceinfo/rosarito-desert-challenge/
Official entries received after the drawing will be given the next available starting position within their respective classes. Online entries will be accepted until Sunday, Sept. 10. Late entries after that date must all be completed at registration in Rosarito.
HISTORIC COURSE
The race features a colorful course, finalized by SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman along with Race Director Jose A. Grijalva of 32.8 miles through the foothills and around a mountain to the south and east of central Rosarito.
This historic race course will be another memorable example of Baja California Norte diversity in terrain starting near sea-level and climbing up twice to around 2,000 feet. The course will be another unique jewel reflecting the majestic beauty of Baja California going through more ranches than most SCORE race courses.
Unique for SCORE, the race format will have all classes racing a total of four laps over a surprisingly rugged 32.8-mile race course (131.2 total miles) split into two, two-lap sessions.
For cars, trucks and UTVs, they will be divided into four groups, running their first two laps on Friday (Sept. 16) and their final two laps on Saturday (Sept. 17).
The motorcycle and quad classes will run as one large group, running all of their laps on Sunday (Sept. 18), their first two in the morning and the final two in the afternoon following a break.
It is an elapsed-time race with vehicles in each group starting in 30-second intervals.
Racing for the cars, trucks and UTVs will start at 6:20 a.m. on Friday (Sept. 16) and Saturday (Sept. 17) and the course will close each day at 6 p.m. The featured SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 850-horsepower unlimited production trucks will start their laps along with the Trophy Truck spec class each day at 12:40 p.m.
On Sunday (Sept. 18), motorcycles and quads will start their first two laps at 9:30 a.m. and their final two laps at 12:40 p.m. with their course closing at 2:35 p.m.
The race course will include three physical, full-stop checkpoints, checkpoint No. 1 at race-mile 9.7, CP No. 2 at rm 18.9 and CP No. 3 at rm 27.1.
Traveling in a clockwise direction, the race course weaves its way through washes, on existing trails, up and over a ridgeline at the top of two hills and back down into the start/finish line area off of the old Highway 1 south of Rosarito.
Filled with farms and ranches, the race course goes through areas like Piedra Azul, Panchos, Loma Del Gato and Loma Bonita while racing around the famous El Coronel mountain in areas where SCORE has never before held a race.
SCORE COMMENTS
“We are extremely grateful to the governments of Baja California Norte and Rosarito to allow SCORE to hold its first event in the Rosarito Beach area,” commented Jose A. Grijalva, SCORE Race Director. “This will be a wonderful event and we are proud to have it become part of the SCORE World Desert Championship series. We have received remarkable cooperation from all of the local land owners as well and the unique race course fits well with our format for this race and our competitors are in for a very remarkable adventure.”
PRE-RUNNING
Nearly 150 total entries are expected at the start line with entries from 20 U.S. States and five countries anticipated.
Official practice, or pre-running, on the official race course will be held only for entries with fully-paid entry fees. The pre-running will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10-11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each of those two days.
A HAPPENING…
Colorful race week festivities will start Thursday (Sept. 15) with the day-long, pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and contingency festival starting on Blvd. Benito Jaurez and will travel along the beach in front of the famed Papas & Beer beach club and finishing on Blvd. Benito Juarez almost in front of the legendary Rosarito Beach Hotel. SCOREvision will stream contingency activities and racer interviews from the beach in front of Papas & Beer.
SCORE sponsor partners Monster Energy and Bud Light are finalizing plans for their respective pre-race parties to be announced in the near future.
During the race days of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the massive double-sided SCOREvision LED screen will be streaming finish line interviews from the race course to the beach in front of Papas & Beer beach club. Pre-race interviews on Friday and Saturday will also be held for the final three race groups on the SCORE ramp at the Papas & Beer beach front. After staging at Papas & Beer, the three groups each day will parade with a police and SCORE escort to the start line 9.5 miles south of town.
All of the week’s festivities will air live, including the three race days, via the internet on the SCORE website.
BIENVENIDA A ROSARITO
Race headquarters will be the iconic Rosarito Beach Hotel, the historical landmark in the heart of Rosarito that opened in 1925. The SCORE World Desert Championship will be visiting the popular Playas de Rosarito for the first time in its long and storied history. Contingency will start on the beach in front of the massive Papas & Beer Beach Club, just a block away from the Rosarito Beach Hotel.
Located 19 miles south of the border near San Diego, this scenic location between the alluring beaches of the Pacific Ocean and majestic coastal foothills of Baja California Norte helps to make Rosarito one of the leading resort towns in all of Mexico.
The main urban district of Rosarito is a four mile stretch along the beach on Boulevard Benito Juarez that is filled with hotels, condominiums, restaurants, night clubs and gift shops.
ROSARITO BEACH HOTEL
The iconic Rosarito Beach Hotel, in the heart of Rosarito, will be the site of many of the activities surrounding the Rosarito Beach SCORE Desert Challenge. Racer registration and Media registration will be held at the hotel on from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 15) the pre-race driver’s meeting for the car, truck and UTV classes will be at the hotel at 7 p.m. (Sept. 15).
MOTO/QUAD REGISTRATION
Rider registration for motorcycle and quad classes will be part of regular racer registration on Thursday (Sept. 15) at the Rosarito Beach Hotel as well as a special rider registration, tech and SPOT tracking installation for moto and quad classes only will be held from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 16) at the start/finish line area.
SPECTATOR AREA
Local organizations sponsoring and supporting the Rosarito Beach 20th SCORE Desert Challenge are developing a unique and slightly-elevated spectator area with line-of-sight viewing of the start line, finish line, hot pits and first and last portions of the race course. The spectator area will also include food and beverage stands and novelty vendors. The spectator area will also have its own access road with ample directional signage to the area.
The rest of the course will be closed to spectators as it is entirely fenced in with gate guards as the challenging course winds through several private ranches in the area.

HISTRIONICS
While this will be the first time in Rosarito, the SCORE Desert Challenge has been held 19 previous times since it first began in 1995. It was held in Laughlin, Nev., USA, from 1995 through 2012 and in Plaster City, Calif., USA, in 2014.
CBS SPORTS NETWORK COVERAGE
All races in the four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship, along with the special SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience and qualifying for the SCORE Baja 1000 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway are once again airing in the USA and Canada on the CBS Sports Network. The spectacular shows feature not only SCORE Trophy Truck coverage, but also top action and highlights from many other classes of trucks, cars, UTVs, motorcycles and quads – making sure that the most exciting footage and most compelling stories continue as part of each race event broadcast.
Capping off the 2016 broadcast season, the SCORE Baja 1000 broadcast on CBS Sports Network will air as a full two-hour special for the second straight year.
ON THE AIR
2016 CBS Sports Network Original Broadcast Schedule (subject to change, check local listings)
· SCORE San Felipe 250 (first telecast-Sunday, April 17, 9 p.m. ET)
· SCORE Baja 500 (first telecast-Sunday, July 24, 9 p.m. ET)
· Rosarito Beach SCORE Desert Challenge (first telecast-Sunday, Nov. 13, 9 p.m. ET)
· SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying @SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience (first telecast-Sunday, Dec.18, 9 p.m. ET)
· SCORE Baja 1000 (two-hour special) (first telecast-Sunday, December 25, 9 p.m. ET)
CBS SPORTS NETWORK
CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
SCOREscope
The four-race 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship includes four special events and for the first time all four are being held in Baja California, Mexico. Here is the complete 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule:
· 30th SCORE San Felipe 250, Feb. 25-28, San Felipe, Mexico
· 48th SCORE Baja 500, June 1-5, Ensenada Mexico
· Rosarito Beach 20th SCORE Desert Challenge, Sept. 14-18, Rosarito Beach, Mexico
· 49th SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.16-20, Ensenada, Mexico
SCORE SPONSORS…
Official SCORE Sponsors: Bud Light-Official Beer, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Vision Wheel – Official Wheel, Axial R/C-Official R/C Vehicle, Muck Daddy-Official Hand Cleaner, CBS Sports Network-Official Television Partner, Wide Open Excursions- Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.
Official SCORE Partners: 4 Wheel Parts, Coca Cola, The Satellite Phone Store, PCI Race Radios.
Additional SCORE Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Visit Baja California Sur, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Baja California Sur State Government, Mexicali Ayuntamineto, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, McKenzie’s Performance Products, Advanced Color Graphics.
Rosarito Beach SCORE Desert Challenge Special Partners: Vi Ayuntamiento de Playas de Rosarito, Cotuco de Playas de Rosarito, Comite de Mercadatecnia Playas de Rosarito, Baja California Secretary of Tourism.
For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCORE-International.com.