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

March 29, 2019

    ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – Las Vegas’ veteran Hall of Famer Rob MacCachren has drawn the first starting position for the car/truck/UTV classes and Derek Ausserbauer has drawn the first start for the motorcycle/quad classes for next week’s 33rd annual SCORE San Felipe 250 in Baja California, Mexico. A live drawing was held for starting positions within each class Thursday by SCORE race officials.

     The season-opening event of the four-race internationally-televised 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held next Wednesday through Sunday (April 3-7) in San Felipe, the picturesque, peaceful fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif.

     Launching its 46th season as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, pre-running continues on the rugged, race-record long 349.91-mile course. All four 2019 SCORE races will be held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the fourth consecutive year.

     MacCachren will lead a SCORE-record 45 SCORE Trophy Trucks into the Baja desert in the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 950-horsepower unlimited custom trucks to launch the 46th year of SCORE International, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization.

     Most of the sport’s top stars are among the 234 official entries entering on-site late racer registration next week from 29 U.S. States, host country Mexico along with the additional countries of Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Italy, New Zealand, Peru and Thailand. Featuring Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads, the race will air domestically on the ABC Network’s World of X Games show.

     On-site, late racer registration will start at 3 p.m. PT on Wednesday (April 3) at the Costa Azul Hotel in San Felipe.  It will be held next Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT as well as Thursday (April 4) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday (April 5) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT with no new entries accepted after 3 p.m. PT next Friday.

     The winningest racer in SCORE history, MacCachren has 10 class wins in this race including six overall and in SCORE Trophy Truck. With nearly 325 career race wins in the desert, short-course and stadium off-road racing. He will be looking for a three-peat in San Felipe after driving his No. 11 Rockstar MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150 to the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck victory in both the 2017 and 2018 races.

     After several races as a co-rider Ausserbauer, Santa Ynez, Calif., will be the rider of record next Saturday on the No. 13x Honda CRF450X. Ausserbauer, 25, plans to ride solo in the race in his Pro Moto Unlimited class. Previously Ausserbauer has raced in the Pro Moto Ironman class that features only solo riders.

     Among the classes with double-figure entries, starting on the pole in their respective four-wheel vehicle classes will be Clark County Nevada Sheriff Joe Lombardo (Trophy Truck Spec), Jaime Huerta (Class 1), J.J. Schnarr (Class 10) and Ian Black (Pro UTV FI-Forced Induction).

     Besides Ausserbauer, also drawing first starts in the motorcycle classes with the most entries were Santiago Creel (Pro Moto Limited), Nick Lanning (Pro Moto 30) and Jose Armando Carrasco (Pro Moto Ironman)

     A total of 21 class winners from last year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 have entered this year, 14 in car, truck and utv classes and seven in motorcycle and quad classes.

     Leading the way is last year’s overall race winner Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas (SCORE Trophy Truck, No. 11 Ford F-150). Other car/truck/utv class winners from last year entered are Russell Buehler, Liberty, Mo. (SCORE TT Legend, No. 79L Ford Raptor), Justin Davis, Chino Hills, Calif. (Class 1, No. 185 Jimco-Chevy), William Hedrick Jr, Vicente Guerrero, Mexico (Trophy Truck Spec, No. 295 ID-Chevy), Chase Warren, Phoenix (Class 10, No. 1008 Alumi Craft-Chevy), Vincent Munoz, Yucaipa, Calif. (Class 8, No. 894 Ford Ranger), Bruce Yee, Chula Vista, Calif. (Class 1/2-1600 Barajas-VW), Luis Barragan, Mexicali, Mexico (SCORE Lites, Seagrove-VW), Mike Coleman, La Jolla, Calif. (Class 7, No. 721 Ford Raptor), Wayne Matlock, Alpine, Calif. (Pro UTV FI, No. 2971 Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo), Kristen Matlock, Alpine, Calif. (Pro UTV NA, No. 1954 Polaris RZR XP4 1000), Jesus Mendez Jr, Mexicali, Mexico (Pro UTV Unlimited, Can-Am X3), David Payne, St. Louis, Mo. (Baja Challenge BTC-Subaru) and Art Penner, Lynden, Wash. (Canada) (Class 11, No. 1156 VW Sedan).

     The motorcycle/quad class winners entered this year are Justin Morgan, El Cajon, Calif./Mark Samuels, Yucca Valley, Calif. (Pro Moto Unlimited, No. 1x Honda CRF450X), Santiago Creel, Mexico City, Mexico (Pro Moto Limited, No. 100x KTM 350EXCF), Jano Montoya, Winter Garden, Fla. (Peru) (Pro Moto 40, KTM 450XCW), Santiago Creel, Mexico City, Mexico (Pro Moto 30, No. 360x KTM 500EXCF), Giovanni Spinali, El Cajon, Calif. (Pro Moto 50, No. 500x Honda CRF450X), Francisco Septien, Ensenada, Mexico (Pro Moto Ironman, No. 730x KTM 450EXCF) and Danny Magdalena, Acton, Calif. (SPT Quad, No. 110a Honda TRX450R).

     For this year’s race, Munoz has moved Trophy Truck Spec (No. 294), Jano will be racing in Pro Moto 30 (325x) and Septien will be racing in Pro Moto 30 (No. 370x).

     An international motorcycle rally racer, Creel is entered in four classes-- Pro Moto Unlimited (4x), Pro Moto Limited (100x), Pro Moto 30 (360x) and second driver in Trophy Truck Spec (No. 260x)

     Pre-race festivities will be held in San Felipe next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday April 3, 4 and 5 with race days on April 6-7 concluding with the post-race awards fiesta at Noon PT on Sunday, April 7.

     The colorful pre-race contingency and Manufacturer’s Midway, the starting line and the finish line will be on the Malecon in the heart of San Felipe for the third straight year. Contingency will be held on two days for the first time in the history of this race with classes split with some going through the line on Wednesday (April 4) and the balance, including the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division, going through  on Thursday (April 5). The post-race awards celebration will be held on the start/finish line ramp on the Malecon.

     The motorcycle and quad classes will start at 6:20 a.m. PT next Saturday while the car, truck and UTV classes will begin their long journey starting at 9:30 a.m. PT. While the fastest vehicles in the elapsed-time race are expected to finish in approximately six and one-half hours, all vehicles will have 18 hours from the time each start to become an official finisher in the race.

     SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva has worked diligently with the government officials and ejidos of the Mexicali and San Felipe areas to develop a memorable SCORE San Felipe 250 race course of 349.91 miles, the longest in the history of this popular ‘spring break’ desert race.

     This year’s grueling race course will be another beauty to behold but a tough challenge to race on. It runs in a clockwise direction running over high-speed dry lake beds, through low-speed winding, rock-strewn, twisting canyons and trails, along quick-paced dirt roads and through three of Baja’s most infamous washes in Azufre, Matomi, and Coabuso.

     The 33rd Annual SCORE San Felipe 250 course map and GPS files are available on the SCORE website on the race page under the Race Info tab.

     For over three decades, the annual motorsports festival that has brought the largest economic impact of any single event held annually in this lightly-populated portion of the rugged, rough and bountifully beautiful Baja peninsula has been the SCORE San Felipe 250.

      BFGoodrich Tires is celebrating over four decades as a major player in SCORE Baja racing. In addition to being the official tire of SCORE International for over four decades, BFGoodrich Tires has now produced the tire of choice for 30 of the overall 4-wheel vehicle winners in the SCORE Baja 1000, including 30 of the last 33 years along with a record-run of 20 straight from 1986 through 2005. In total, BFGoodrich Tires has now be the tire of choice for the overall 4-wheel vehicle winner in 91 SCORE Baja races including 32 in the SCORE Baja 500.

     BFGoodrich Tires will also award $10,000 contingency bonus money to the overall winner of this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 who runs exclusively on BFGoodrich Tires.

     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

     SCORE has confirmed that the 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship will be televised on the ABC TV family of networks, marking the first time back on the ABC network since the 1967 and 1968 coverage of the Baja 1000 on ABC’s old Wide World of Sports show.

     The one-hour shows on the 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250, 51st SCORE Baja 500 and the 52nd SCORE Baja 1000 will be televised as part of ABC’s World of X Games year-long programming. Presented by SCORE sponsors Monster Energy and BFGoodrich Tires, the ABC World of X Games series profiles iconic action sports figures and also highlights athletes, artists, event previews and recaps.

     SCORE also announced that the inaugural Lucerna SCORE Baja 400 next September will air as a one-hour special on ESPN TV.

     Hall of Fame racer Cameron Steele’s popular ‘Trail of Missions’ show has been shown as part of ABC’s World of X Games series for the past several years.

     All of the SCORE race coverage shows will continue to air internationally in over 20 countries in Europe, Asia and South America via syndication and ESPN International.

     Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, 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.

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

Total Entries: 234 (as of 3/29/19)

11 Rob MacCachren

32 Ryan Arciero

45 Gary Magness

40 Chris Miller

83 Luke McMillin

18 Juan C. Lopez

95 Victor Gruber

54 Troy Herbst

6 Ricky Johnson

*72L Rob Reinertson

77 Robby Gordon

24 Adam Householder

50 Zak Langley

29 Enrique Murillo

30 Robbie Pierce

*1L Scott Bailey

4 Justin Matney

41 Justin Lofton

28 Corey Keysar

67 Jose L. Leon

19 Tim Herbst

99 Dale Dondel

*5L Clyde Stacy

34 Broc Dickerson

97 Robert ‘BJ’ Baldwin

2 Cameron Steele

*37L Rolf Helland

23 Dan McMillin

*79L Russell Buehler

14 Cameron Steele

27 Jonathan Brenthel

7 Bryce Menzies

10 Alan Ampudia

*55L Jose de Jesus Flores

175 Jaime Huerta

114 Al Torres

111 Eli Yee

168 Shelby Reid

155 Brad Vicic

185 Justin Davis

150 Morgan Langley

167 Rhys Millen

127 Brian Parkhouse (DOR-Cody Parkhouse)

138 Ronny Wilson (DOR-Brian Wilson)

129 Brandon Bailey

110 Josh Rigsby

100 Brad Wilson

116 Chris Paxson

105 Mason Cullen

162 Brendan Gaughan

106 Derek Fletcher

120 Kelly Ross

113 Damen Jefferies-1st RS

251 Joe Lombardo

235 Jonathan Faulkner (DOR-Derek Hunter)

207 Steve Kovach

279 Austin ‘A.J.’ Jones

204 Sara Price

270 Kelly McArthur

246 James Scully

226 Alexis Lopez-Gomez

234 Jason McNeil

253 Mike Perez

208 Andrew Entwistle

294 Vincent Munoz

209 Rafael Navarro IV

202 Chad Broughton

299 Charles Dorrance

266 Scott Biernot

211 Pat Sims

250 John Langley

247 Scott Shields

260 Luis Javier Pelayo

297 Bill McBeath

240 Bobby Patton

295 William Hedrick Jr

274 Elias Hanna

296 Alex Gonzales

232 Chelsea Magness

244 Brad Lovell

205 Joe Delucie

218 Chad Dohrman

2022 Hammond Meredith

4421 Mike Hales

1062 J.J. Schnarr

1045 Matt Rusich

1048 Kevin Price

1030 James Anderson

1068 Cody Reid

1020 Carlos Albanez

1013 Harley Meservey

1022 Rafael Aguirre

1011 Cesar Cuevas

1077 Esau Rodroguez

1016 Hiram Duran

1088 Sergio Sagado

1008 Chase Warren

1002 Clay Lawrence

1007 Cody Robinson

1078 Augie Cortez

1027 Arturo Malo-!st RS

700 Dan Chamlee

703 Scott Brady

721 Michael Coleman

722 Austin Stobaugh

8001 Richard Garcia

505 Gerardo Gonzalez Sr

509 Jose Luis Lopez

510 Gerardo Ibarra

2938 Ian Black

2905 Marc Burnett

2904 Jason Flanders (DOR-Cory Sappington)

2930 Sean Cook

2910 Scott Trafton

2912 Tony Riggs

2919 Patrick Stone (DOR-Brandon Schueler)

2977 Justin Elenberg

2925 Victor Rojas

2989 Wes Miller

2987 Edgar Garcia

2949 Alonso Lopez

2940 Erick Kozin

2995 Daniel Parker-5th RS

2983 Nicholas Gurries-4th RS

2975 Mike Cafro-3rd RS

2964 Derek McGaughy-2nd RS

2971 Wayne Matlock-1st RS

BC 1 David Payne

BC 8 Supalak Meechai

BC 2 Barry Thompson

BC 7 Jonathan Hawryluk

BC 4 Edward Muncey

BC 6 Ramon Estrada

BC 5 Christine Stern

BC 3 Don Daley

8161 Len Wansbrough

704F Aaron Celiceo

714F Justin Park

700F Brandon Walsh

724F David Cole-1st RS

751 Mike Lesle

4747 Billy Bunch

1156 Art Penner

1150 Adrian Esparza

1113 Kent Thygerson

1107 Fernando Alvarez

1152 Elmer Cayetano

1111 Eric Solorzano

1153 Ruben Osuna-1st RS

15x Lawrence Janesky

100x Santiago Creel

106x Philip Jaramillo

116x Eric Kirby

180x Fernando Beltran

444x Jason Trubey

410x Mike Kay

365x Nick Lanning

360x Santiago Creel

300x Luis M. Gomez

308x Ryan Liebelt

325x Jano Montoya

310x Enrique Fuhrken

304x Chris Racan

370x Francisco Septien-1st RS

721x Jose Armando Carrasco

729x Michael Skurkis

739x Aaron Richardson

704x Robert Rael-1st RS

500x Giovanni Spinali

262x Joel Magallenes

223x Mike Mettler

228x Mike McIntosh

212x Carlos Silva

201x Scott Borden

284x Schane Schorno

272x John Fails