MacCachren tops early entries from 15 U.S. States, Italy and Mexico for Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge

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

August 21, 2018

 

Sept. 20-23

MacCachren tops early entries from 15 U.S. States, Italy and Mexico

for Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge

Round 3 of 4-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship is split-format, two-lap SCORE Baja race;

colorful pre-race Contingency Friday (Sept. 21)--Avenida Paseo de los Heroes in Zona Rio area of Tijuana,

 

motos, quads, some 4-wheel classes race in Group 1; cars, trucks, pro UTVs in Group 2 with first half on Saturday,

(Sept. 22) second half Sunday (Sept. 23) for two total laps over 68.0-mile loop course for 136 total race miles;

 

start/finish line at Rancho Casian in Southeast Tijuana, more info at www.SCOREInternational.com

 

    ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico — Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer Rob MacCachren heads the list of early entries from 15 U.S. States, host Mexico and Italy for next month’s Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge. Racer registration continues online for Round 3 of the four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship on the SCORE website at www.SCOREInternational.com. Race dates and race-week festivities are Sept. 20-23.

     Moving to the largest city on the Baja California peninsula last year, this race will again utilize a special split format, two-lap event as the Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge.

    Hotel Lucerna Tijuana on Avenida Paseo de los Heroes in the Zona Rio area of Tijuana is the official event hotel and the hospitality group (Lucerna Hotels & Resorts) is the SCORE Official Hotel for the SCORE World Desert Championship.

MAC ATTACK

     With 67 career SCORE class wins among 309 total victories in his illustrious desert, short-course and stadium racing career, MacCachen, 53, of Las Vegas, has eight all-time class wins in the SCORE Desert Challenge.

     In this year’s SCORE World Desert Championship, MacCachren is undefeated as he won the overall and featured SCORE Trophy Truck title in both the season-opening 32nd SCORE San Felipe 250 and the BFGoodrich Tires 50th SCORE Baja 500.

     MacCachren drives his reliable No. 11 Rockstar MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150 Geiser Bros-built SCORE Trophy Truck in the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 950-horsepower unlimited custom trucks.

     In San Felipe, it was his 10th class win in race history and sixth overall title and in the SCORE Baja 500 his 2018 overall win was his second among seven career class wins in this race.

TOP MOTO ENTERED

     Also already entered is the undefeated top 2018 SCORE motorcycle team of Justin Morgan, El Cajon, Calif. and Mark Samuels, Yucca Valley, Calif. Racing in the Pro Moto Unlimited class as a new team this season, Morgan/Samuels were the first overall motorcycle finishers in the first two races of the year on their No. 7x Honda CRF450X.

START/FINISH

     The unique-format race will be held in an area with a spectator-friendly start/finish line and ‘hot pit’ area located on the southeast outskirts of Tijuana at the popular Rancho Casian off of Boulevard 2000 (Highway No. 201) at Km 22.

CREEL, KARCZ, REID FAMILY MAS EARLY BIRDS

     International motorcycle rally racer Santiago Creel, of Mexico City has already entered four KTM motorcycles as rider of record and three more where he is listed as a co-rider for a total of seven entries under his name.  Creel is rider of record in the Pro Moto Unlimited class in both No. 4x and No. 66x along with No. 100 in Pro Moto Unlimited and No. 360x in Pro Moto 30.

     He is also listed as a co-rider on two motorcycles in Pro Moto Unlimited and one in Pro Moto 30. In Pro Moto Unlimited, Creel is listed on the No. 6x of Bandon Prieto, Ensenada, Mexico and the No. 37x of Roberto Villalobos of Tecate, Mexico.  In Pro Moto 30, Creel is listed on No. 310x of Enrique Fuhrken of Mexico City.

     Among the other entries to date is Liz Karcz in the Pro Moto Ironman motorcycle class. Karcz, 33 a New Jersey transplant, is an ICU nurse at the University of New Mexico Medical Center in Albuquerque. She finished the season-opener in San Felipe and unfortunately was a DNF at the SCORE Baja 500 and she is committed to finish the rest of the season in the class for solo riders as she races for the DA8 Strong Foundation.

     Both former SCORE World Desert Championship season class point champions, also entered are a mother and son racing team from Apple Valley, Calif. Shelby Reid is entered in the unlimited Class 1 and her son Cody Reid is entered in Class 10.

START DRAW

     With no qualifying for any classes in this race, the drawing for starting positions within each class will be held on Friday, Sept. 14. To be included in the start draw, online racer registration will close at 8 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Sept. 12. Late, on-site racer registration will be held at the host hotel on Thursday and Friday (Sept. 20 and 21).

PRE-RUNNING

     Pre-running on the official race course, exclusively for all car, truck and UTV classes will be held on Friday (Sept. 14) and Saturday (Sept. 15) and pre-running exclusively for motorcycle and quad classes will be held on Sunday (Sept. 16). There will be no pre-running on the race course allowed on Sept. 17-21.

RACE HQ/CONTINGENCY

     Race headquarters will be the Hotel Lucerna in the heart of the Rio Zona area of Tijuana on Avenida Paseo de los Heroes. Racer registration will be held in the hotel on Thursday, Sept. 20 (2 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT) and Friday, Sept. 21 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT).

     Media registration will be held at the Hotel Lucerna on Thursday, Sept. 20, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT and on Friday, Sept. 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.

     Contingency will be held in directly in front of the headquarters hotel on the historic Avenida Paseo de los Heroes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT on Friday (Sept. 21) with tech inspection lasting one hour longer until 6 p.m.

     Both being held at the Hotel Lucerna on Friday (Sept. 21), the mandatory aircraft pilot safety meeting will be held at 6 p.m. PT followed by the mandatory racer meeting will be held at 7 p.m. PT

RACE DAYS

     The event features two days of racing scored as one race. SCORE Race Director Jose Grijalva has put together a 68-mile loop course through the challenging hills in the area that each class will run a total of two laps over for 136 total race miles.

     In the elapsed-time race with a three-hour time limit each day, starting at 7 a.m. PT each day, motorcycles, quads and several car classes will race their two sessions first on Saturday (Sept. 22) and second half on Sunday (Sept. 23).

     The other car and truck classes, including the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck and SCORE TT Legend divisions will run the first half of their race (one lap) on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 22) and final half (one lap) on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 23).

     Racing for those classes will start each day at 12:15 p.m. PT and racing will finish each day at approximately 5 p.m.

     Celebrating its 25th year as the featured SCORE racing division for high-tech, 950 horsepower unlimited trucks, SCORE Trophy Trucks, the post-race awards celebration will be held in the start/finish line area on Sunday (Sept. 23), starting at 6:30 p.m.PT.

TIJUANA

     Tijuana is one of the five largest and fastest-growing metropolitan areas in all of Mexico. The city has also experienced tremendous growth in recent years, attracting investments by electronics, aerospace and medical tourism firms and is also regarded as one of the top cuisine destinations in the world, including craft beer production.

     Prior to last year’s SCORE Desert Challenge, only two races in SCORE history had started in Tijuana. The first was the inaugural SCORE Baja 1000 (then called Mexican 1000) in 1967 and then again in 1995.  In both of those years the SCORE Baja 1000 finished in La Paz.

SCOREscope

2018 REMAINING SCHEDULE

Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge, Sept. 19-23, Tijuana, Mexico
51st SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.14-18, Ensenada, Mexico

2019 SCHEDULE

     Here is the four-race 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship and for the fourth consecutive year all races are being held in Baja California, Mexico:

33rd SCORE San Felipe 250, April 3-7, San Felipe, Mexico
51st SCORE Baja 500, May 29-June 2, Ensenada, Mexico
Inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400, Sept. 19-23, Ensenada, Mexico
52nd SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.12-17, Ensenada, Mexico

TV TIME

     Next on the broadcast airwaves for SCORE, the BFGoodrich Tires 50th SCORE Baja 500 race coverage show is scheduled to debut on the El Rey Network at 3 p.m. PT on Sunday, Sept. 9.

     El Rey Network is a 24-hour, English-language lifestyle network and is available in 45 million homes across the country through cable and OTT providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 341 and Dish Network Channel 253. For more information on how to watch El Rey visithttp://elreynetwork.com.

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, Lucerna Hotels & Resorts-Official Hotel and official race title sponsor, 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.

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

     Lucerna Hotels & Resorts 22nd 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, Lucerna Hotels and Resorts, Asociacion de Hoteles del Noroeste.

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

Lucerna Hotels and Resorts Tijuana

22nd SCORE Desert Challenge

Round 3 of four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship

Sept. 20-23  Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

Brief Schedule of Events (All times PDT)

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018

Noon-5pm                  SCORE Chassis Inspection and Pre-Tech – Location TBA

1pm-6pm                    Media Registration – Hotel Lucerna-Tijuana

2pm-8pm                    Racer Registration – Hotel Lucerna-Tijuana

Friday, Sept. 21, 2018

9am-4pm                    Racer Registration – No late, on-site walk-in entries after 3 pm – Hotel Lucerna-Tijuana

9am-5pm                    Media Registration - Hotel Lucerna-Tijuana

9am-5pm                    Contingency Row     - In front of Hotel Lucerna on Avenida Paseo de los Heroes

9am-6pm                    Tech Inspection/Transponder Checks – at Contingency-Avenida Paseo de los Heroes

6pm                             Mandatory Aircraft Pilot Safety Meeting – Hotel Lucerna-Tijuana

7pm                             Mandatory Racer Meeting – Hotel Lucerna-Tijuana

 

Race Days Schedule (All times PDT - Schedule subject to change)

Each Segment one Lap        Single Lap—68.0 miles         Start Interval: One vehicle every 30 seconds

 

Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018 – (Start/finish at Rancho Casian)

6:30am-6pm SCORE Media Center Open – Start/finish line area

Group 1 - Segment 1                     Start 7am                  Time Limit 3:00

            Pro Moto Unlimited, Pro Moto Limited, Pro Moto 30, Pro Moto 40, Pro Moto 50, Pro Moto Ironman, Pro Moto 60, Pro Quad, SPT Quad, SPT Moto

Class 3, PT, SF, 7F, 7SX, Jeepspeed, 9, 11, SPT Buggy, SPT Unl Truck, SPT Ltd Truck, SPT Stock UTV NA, SPT Stock UTV FI

Group 2 - Segment 1                     Start 12:15pm                      Time Limit 3:00

SCORE Trophy Truck & SCORE TT Legend, 1, Trophy Truck Spec, 2, H Trucks; 10, 8, Pro UTV NA, SL, 1/2-1600, Pro UTV FI, HM, BC, 7, 5, 5-1600, Pro UTV UNL, 3000, TL, Baja-e

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018 – (start/finish at Rancho Casian)

NOTE—Sunday start order inverted from Saturday start order

 

6:30am-6pm             SCORE Media Center Open – Start/finish line area

Group 1 - Segment 2                     Start 7am                  Time Limit 3:00

            Pro Moto Unlimited, Pro Moto Limited, Pro Moto 30, Pro Moto 40, Pro Moto 50, Pro Moto Ironman, Pro Moto 60, Pro Quad, SPT Quad, SPT Moto

Class 3, PT, SF, 7F, 7SX, Jeepspeed, 9, 11, SPT Buggy, SPT Unl Truck, SPT Ltd Truck, SPT Stock UTV NA, SPT Stock UTV FI

Group 2 - Segment 2                     Start 12:15pm                      Time Limit 3:00

SCORE Trophy Truck & SCORE TT Legend, 1, Trophy Truck Spec, 2, H Trucks; 10, 8, Pro UTV NA, SL, 1/2-1600, Pro UTV FI, HM, BC, 7, 5, 5-1600, Pro UTV UNL, 3000, TL, Baja-e

 

6:30 p.m.                   Awards Celebration – Start/finish line area