Baja legend Roeseler teams with D. McMillin in SCORE Trophy Truck for next week’s Golden Jubilee of BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500

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

May 25, 2018

Internationally-televised

Baja legend Roeseler teams with D. McMillin in SCORE Trophy Truck

for next week’s Golden Jubilee of BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500

 

304 entries to date from 32 U.S. States, U.S. Territories Guam & Puerto Rico; Host Mexico, Andorra,

Argentina, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Spain;

Round 2 of four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship in Ensenada, Mexico;

more golden info at http://score-international.com/raceinfo/2018-baja-500/

     ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—Conspicuous by his absence on earlier entry lists, SCORE has confirmed that legendary Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer and AMA motorcycle Hall of Famer Larry Roeseler is teaming up with third-generation desert racer Dan McMillin to form a formidable  force for next week’s Golden Anniversary of the legendary BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500.

     Pre-running on the rugged, race-record 542.12-mile course continues through Friday (June 1).

    Round 2 of the four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held next Tuesday through Sunday (May 29-June 3). The celebratory internationally-televised race will start and finish in Ensenada, the seaside port on the Pacific Ocean, located 80 miles south of San Diego.

THE SCOOP

     It is an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Saturday (June 2) will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 3:30 a.m. (PDT) and approximately 8 a.m. (PDT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs. While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in around 11 hours, all vehicles will have a 22-hour time limit from the time each starts to become an official finisher.

     Over 350 vehicles, in classes for cars, trucks, utvs, motorcycles and quads, are expected at the start line with racers from as many as 35 U.S. States and 20 countries anticipated.

     Race title sponsor BFGoodrich Tires has posted a US$25,000 contingency bonus to help commemorate this year’s race. King Shocks has posted an US$5,000 contingency bonus, Rancho Drivetrain Engineering is offering a $20,000 transmission as a contingency bonus and Tri-Ace Tires is also offering a US$25,000 contingency bonus.

LR—LIKE NO OTHER

      A member of both the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame and the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Hall of Fame, SoCal’s Larry Roeseler has earned international fame racing on a motorcycle, an open-wheel desert race car and in a SCORE Trophy Truck.

     The SCORE Baja 500 has helped earn Roeseler, 61, his many honors with his exploits that include 17 class wins and a race-high 11 overall wins in this race, including nine on a motorcycle.

     Last year in the SCORE Baja 500 Roeseler drove solo to win the new SCORE TT Legend class for drivers over 50 years old.

     This year, LR as he is known in racing circles, will share driving duties with San Diego’s Dan McMillin behind the wheel of the No. 23 Mark Racing Ford F-150 built by Racer Engineering.

     Roeseler’s 17 class wins in the SCORE Baja 500 are spread out over a remarkable 45-year period.

     While Roeseler won his first motorcycle class win in 1972 in this race, he earned the first three of his 11 overall victories while teaming with three different co-riders in three consecutive years. In 1975 Roeseler teamed with the late racing great Bruce Ogilvie on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He won in 1976 with A.C. Bakken on a Husqvarna motorcycle and again in 1977 on another Husqvarna but this time with the legendary Jack Johnson.

     His two 4-wheel overall wins in the SCORE Baja 500 came in back-to-back years in 2002 and 2003 when he split the driving with Las Vegas’ Troy Herbst in the iconic ‘Land Shark’ unlimited Class 1 open-wheel car built by Mike Smith.

     Roeseler’s monumental career includes 10 gold medals in the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in Europe. He also has 17 career class wins in the SCORE Baja 1000 including a race-record 13 overall wins (10 on motorcycles and three in 4-wheel vehicles).

     In the SCORE Baja 1000, LR won the overall back-to-back in 2004 and 2005 with Troy Herbst in the record-setting ‘Land Shark’ in Class 1 and in 2008 he earned his third 4-wheel vehicle overall as the second driver for current SCORE owner Roger Norman in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division in a peninsula race from Ensenada to La Paz.

     Roeseler was inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 1999 and was honored in like manner in 2012 by the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. In addition to his three career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins, LR also won races earlier in his lengthy racing career of nearly 50 years in the AMA National Hare and Hound Series and the AMA National Enduro Series.

THE COUNT

     The total of 304 entries to date have come from 32 U.S. States, U.S. Territories-Guam and Puerto Rico along with 14 total countries--host country Mexico, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Peru and Spain.

     States among the field range so far from Alaska, Hawaii, California, Washington and Oregon in the Pacific West, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico in the Mountain West, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut in the Northeast, Illinois, Ohio, South Dakota, Kansas and Texas in the Midwest and Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia in the South.

     The marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 950-horsepower, unlimited custom trucks has 35 official entries.

     Other classes with double-figure entries besides SCORE Trophy Truck with 35 are Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 37 entries, Trophy Truck Spec with 25, Class 10 with 22, SCORE Lites with 19, Sportsman Moto with 19 also, the unlimited Class 1 with 13 and with 10 each are Class 1/2-1600, Class 11 and Pro Moto 30.

CROSSOVER/CELEBRITY RACERS:

Among the crossover/celebrity racers entered in this year’s Golden Anniversary BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500 are:

-Larry Roeseler, AMA Hall of Famer/ORMHOF Hall of Famer, 10 golds in ISDE (No. 23, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Robby Gordon, former NASCAR Cup Series Team Owner/Driver, IndyCar racer (No. 77, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Cameron Steele, Action Sports TV Commentator/host (No. 16, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Armin Schwarz, Germany, 119 World Rally Championship starts (No. 5L, SCORE TT Legend)

-John Langley, COPs TV show Producer (No. 250, Trophy Truck Spec)

-Gary Magness, Film Producer and international businessman (No. 45, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Rhys Millen from New Zealand, champion Formula Drift racer, 3-time Pikes Peak Hill Climb Champion, precision-stunt-car driver, No. 2966, Pro UTV FI

-Ricky Johnson, former AMA Supercross all-time race winner, NASCAR driver (No. 6, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Bryce Menzies, 3-time SCORE Baja 500 champ & international rally-raid racer (No. 7, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Cyril Despres, French Rally Racer,  5-time winner of Dakar Rally-Raid (No. 7, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Larry Connor, two-time national sports car racing champion (No. 6, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Brad Lovell, six-time rock-crawling season championship, 2012 TORC class title (No. 3937, SPT UTV FI)

-Casey Currie, veteran rock-crawling and short course racing champion (No. 22, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Robbie Pierce, owner of Jimco Racing Products (No. 30, SCORE Trophy Truck)

-Don Whittington and his brother Bill Whittington, former IndyCar drivers (No. 1998, Pro UTV)

-Sara Price, Motocross and UTV champion (No. 204, Trophy Truck Spec)

-Santiago Creel, Mexico City, international motorcycle rally racer, rider of record on four entries in three moto classes, No. 4x, 66x, 100x and 360x

-Rod Lewis, Texas oil & natural gas industrialist, vintage airplane pilot/collector (No. 277, Trophy Truck Spec)

-Christine Giampaoli Zonca, Italian international rally racer lives in Spain & Las Vegas (No. 2968, Pro UTV FI)

AT THE RIVIERA…

     The Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, in the heart of Ensenada, will again be the site of many of the activities surrounding the SCORE Baja 500. Racer registration and media registration will both be held in the Red Room on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (May 30-31, June 1).

     Racer registration will be held on Wednesday (May 30) from Noon to 8 p.m. PDT along with 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT on both Thursday (May 31) andFriday (June 1). On Friday, no new entries will be accepted after 4 p.m.

     Media registration the Red Room will be held on Wednesday (May 30) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. PDT and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT on both Thursday(May 31) and Friday (June 1).

     The SCORE Media Center will be in the Red Room during the race (June 2-3) with internet access and live race updates, vehicle tracking displays including unofficial elapsed times.

     In the Cathedral Room at the Riviera 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 on Friday (June 1). The post-race awards celebration will also be in the Cathedral Room at noon PDT on Sunday (June 3).

     The start/finish line for the race will once again be adjacent to the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Blvd. Costero.

SCOREscope

     Below is the four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule. For the third consecutive year all four races are being held in Baja California, Mexico. Here is the complete 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule:

32nd SCORE San Felipe 250, April 4-April 8, San Felipe, Mexico
50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500, May 29-June 3, Ensenada Mexico
Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge, Sept. 19-23, Tijuana, Mexico
51st SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.14-18, Ensenada, Mexico

SCORE SPONSORS…

     Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire and official race title sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, 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, 4 Wheel Parts, The Satellite Phone Store, Satellite Del Norte, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, CETTO Vineyards.

     Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Baja California Sur State Government, Baja California Sur Secretary of Tourism, Mexicali Ayuntamiento, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters, McKenzie’s Performance Products, Advanced Color Graphics.

     Tijuana SCORE Desert Challenge Special Partners: XXII Ayuntamiento de Tijuana, Baja California State Secretary of Tourism, Comite de Turismo and Convenciones, Comite de Marcadotecnia Turistica, Asociacion de Hoteles del Noroeste.

     For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCOREInternational.com.