Next weekend in Baja Mexico SCORE changes race to 3 groups, 2 laps over 33.7-mile lap each day for Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge

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

September 9, 2018

 

Next weekend in Baja Mexico

SCORE changes race to 3 groups, 2 laps over 33.7-mile lap each day

for Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge

Pre-running this Friday & Saturday for cars/trucks/UTVs, Sunday for motorcycles and quads;

Round 3 of 4-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship is two-day, 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, some trucks, pro UTVs in Group 2, SCORE Trophy Truck,

SCORE TT Legend, Class 1, Trophy Truck Spec-Group 3--2 laps each day--33.7-mile loop course for 134.8 total race miles;

 

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

 

    ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico — Forced to re-route part of the race course because of irresolvable land-use issues, SCORE has announced a significantly changed race course and daily schedule for next week’s special format, two-day Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge.

     Starting and finishing as originally announced adjacent to the popular Rancho Casian in Southeast Tijuana, pre-running for 4-wheel classes will be held this coming Friday and Saturday and for 2-wheel and quad classes this Sunday.

      With classes for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, utvs, motorcycles and quads, registration and info regarding Round 3 of the four-race 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship is available on the SCORE website at www.SCOREInternational.com. Dates for the festivities and the race areSept. 20-23. The new course map is available under the on the Race Info page on the SCORE website.

LA RUTA NUEVA

     Starting and finishing adjacent to Rancho Casian in Southeast Tijuana, the partially new race route will still travel in a counterclockwise direction. The revised 33.7 tough terrain miles were designed and put together by SCORE Race Director Jose A. Grijalva. It covers much of the land used in last year’s 23.4-mile loop, especially in the area around Rancho San Vicente (where the race started last year), considered the roughest section of the course.

     “These things happen sometimes but for this race we hadn’t held any pre-running yet so the impact on our participants is minimal,” commented Grijalva. “A shorter track and more laps will also make for more viewing opportunities and excitement for our SCORE faithful followers. We are really excited for this event as we will have the largest field in the three years we have held the SCORE Desert Challenge in Baja.”

     There will be two full-stop checkpoints on the course. Checkpoint No. 1 will be at race-mile 16.1 and Checkpoint 2 will be at race-mile 25.8.

     The pit area for competitors will be in the area around race-mile 3.6.

     Heading back to Rancho Casian, the race course goes by the popular Rumorosita, a very popular area that is very rocky and rough.

     The final sprint of several miles back into Rancho Casian at the end of each lap is expected to be the fastest section of the race course each day.

RACE DAYS SKED

     The event features two days of racing scored as one race. SCORE Race Director Jose Grijalva has been forced to change the race route to a 33.7-mile loop course through the challenging hills in the area that each class will run two laps each day for four total laps and 134.8 total race miles. The classes will be split into three groups and will run one session each day to determine the final results.

     The elapsed-time race with a two-hour-fifty minute time limit each day for Groups 1 and 2 and 2:20 for Group 3 will start at 6:30 a.m. PT each day. Group 1 will have motorcycles, quads and a few car classes, Group 2 will have the bulk for the car and truck classes and will start their two-lap run at11 a.m. PT each day..

     Group 3 with the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck and SCORE TT Legend divisions along with Trophy Truck Spec and Hammer Trucks will run the first half of their race (two laps) on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 22) and final half (two laps) on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 23).

     Racing for those classes will start each day at 3:30 p.m. PT and racing will finish each day at approximately 6 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), at 5:30 p.m. PT for Group 1 and Group 2 and at 7:30 p.m. PT.

START/FINISH

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

PRE-RUNNING

     Pre-running on the official race course, exclusively for all car, truck and UTV classes will be held this 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 during race week (Sept. 17-21) prior to the two days of racing.

     For each of the three days, pre-running will be allowed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.

START DRAW

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

WHERE THEY’RE FROM

     With 128 official entries to date, there are racers from 21 U.S. States and seven countries. Nations are USA, host country Mexico, Austria, Canada, Germany, Italy and New Zealand. States with racers so far are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.

NEW SPONSOR

     Moving to the largest city on the Baja California peninsula last year, this race will again utilize a special split format two-day event with one lap each day 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.

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

TIJUANA START

     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. 18-22, Ensenada, Mexico
52nd SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.19-24, 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 6 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, grouping subject to change)

Each segment 2 Laps       Single Lap—33.7 miles 134.8 total race miles

Start Interval: TBA

 

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

6am-6pm               SCORE Media Center Open – Rancho Casian--Start/finish line

Group 1 - Segment 1                     Start 6:30am            Time Limit 2:50 from vehicle start

  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, 7F, SPT Buggy, SPT Unl Truck, SPT Ltd Truck

Group 2 - Segment 1                     Start 11am                Time Limit 2:50 from vehicle start

  Class 10, Class 8, SCORE Lites, 1/2-1600, Pro UTV FI, Pro UTV NA, 7, 5, HM, BC, 5/1600, Pro UTV Unltd, 3, TL, PT, SF, 7SX, Baja-e, SPT Stock UTV NA, SPT Stock UTV FI

Group 3 - Segment 1                     Start 3:30 pm           Time Limit 2:20 from vehicle start

  SCORE Trophy Truck & SCORE TT Legend, 1, Trophy Truck Spec, Hammer Trucks

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

NOTE—Sunday start order inverted from Saturday start order

6am-6pm       SCORE Media Center Open – Rancho Casian--Start/finish line

Group 1 - Segment 2                     Start 6:30am            Time Limit 2:50 from vehicle start

  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, 7F, SPT Buggy, SPT Unl Truck, SPT Ltd Truck

Group 2 - Segment 2                     Start 11am                Time Limit 2:50 from vehicle start

  Class 10, Class 8, SCORE Lites, 1/2-1600, Pro UTV FI, Pro UTV NA, 7, 5, HM, BC, 5/1600, Pro UTV Unltd, 3, TL, PT, SF, 7SX, Baja-e, SPT Stock UTV NA, SPT Stock UTV FI

Group 3 - Segment 2                     Start 3:30 pm           Time Limit 2:20 from vehicle start

  SCORE Trophy Truck & SCORE TT Legend, 1, Trophy Truck Spec, Hammer Trucks

Awards Celebration – Start/finish line area- Group 1 & 2 - 5:30 p.m., Group 3 – 7:30 p.m.