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Entries from 26 States, 11 Countries for 55th SCORE Baja 500
SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com May 26, 2023 ‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’ Next Week in Mexico BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500— Entries from 26 US States, 11 Countries in Starting Draw for Round 3 of 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship Late, on-site racer registration May 31-June 2 at Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Off-Road Racing Capital of the World—Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico; Pre-running continues on blistering 473.67-mile course around No. Baja California Sal Fish Grand Marshal—2023 season, Stewart, Campbell—SCORE Baja 500 SCORE Live, vehicle tracking at www.score-international.com, Rat Sult anchor host; #SCORE Baja 500 NOTE: Current number/name entry list in start order, by class at bottom of text ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico – ‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’ this year, most of the start positions were determined by the finishing order from the previous race and the balance of the starting positions for the first 231 entries were determined this week as racers from around the world are heading to Baja California, Mexico for the legendary BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500. FAST FACTS Round 2 of the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held May 31-June 4 in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Ensenada, ‘The Off-Road Racing Capital of the World,’ is located 80 miles South of the U.S. Border near San Diego. With nearly 300 entries expected from 30 U.S. States and 20 countries, 45 competition classes are offered for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads. Most the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s celebration of one of the top 10 motorsports events in the entire world. All four 2023 SCORE races are being held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the eighth consecutive year. SCORE, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, is celebrating its 50th season in 2023. TOP FIVE STARTERS As a result of their respective finishes in April’s King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250 in San Felipe, Mexico, the top five SCORE Trophy Truck racers will be first five vehicles to start this year’s SCORE Baja 500. Starting first in the elapsed time race with 60-second intervals between starters will be Luke McMillin, San Diego (No. 1), followed second by Alan Ampudia, Ensenada, Mexico (No. 10), Bryce Menzies, Las Vegas (No. 7) third while fourth will be Andrew Myers, San Marcos, Calif. (No. 69) and completing the top five starters will be Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr (No. 21) next Saturday (June 3). SCORE Trophy Truck, launched by former SCORE owner Sal Fish in 1994, is the marquee racing division in the sport for high-tech, 1000 horsepower, unlimited custom trucks. The first motorcycle to start the race will be the team lead by Ciaran Naran who was the Overall motocycle and Pro Moto Unlimited class winner in San Felipe. This week’s start draw was held for all the racers who have entered to so far that did not finish or didn’t race in the season-opening SCORE San Felipe 250. PRE-RUNNING Official practice, or pre-running, on the official 473.67-mile race course for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500, started last Saturday and continues starting at race mile 33.41. The section to rm33.41 section will be open only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. only on Friday (June 2). Outbound pre-running on Friday (June 2) will start at rm4.89 to rm33.41. No inbound pre-running of this section. The official SCORE Racer Brief, Penalty brief, course map and GPS files are available on the SCORE website under race info/SCORE Baja 500. ENTRIES With nearly 300 entries anticipated at the start line, 231 total entries have been received so far for this historic event, with racers representing 26 U.S. States, U.S. Territory Puerto Rico, and 11 countries. The countries with at least one racer so far are United States, host country Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Finland, Japan, New Zealand, and Peru. DOUBLE DIGITS With double-digit entries to date are the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck (high-tech, unlimited, 1000-horsepower, custom trucks) with 32 (including six in SCORE TT Legend for SCORE Trophy Truck drivers over 50), Trophy Truck Spec, (SCORE Trophy Trucks with crate engines) with 32, Class 10 with 15, Pro UTV Open with 20, Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 21, and Pro UTV Stock with 10. Among 2-wheel vehicles, Pro Moto Ironman (for solo riders) has 11 entries. MORE FIRST STARTS Among the other racers who will start first in their respective four-wheel vehicle classes in this year’s SCORE Baja 500 after winning their respective classes in the season-opening SCORE San Felipe 250 are Gustavo Vildosola Sr, Mexicali, Mexico/Ricky Johnson, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. (SCORE TT Legend, No. 21L), Cody Parkhouse, Long Beach, Calif./Brian Parkhouse, Long Beach, Calif. (Class 1, No. 127), Thor Herbst, Las Vegas. (Trophy Truck Spec, No. 219), Justin Buckley, Long Beach, Calif. (Class 10, No. 1064), Daniel Chamlee, San Felipe, Mexico (Montecito, Calif.) (Class 7, No. 700), Craig Scanlon, Orange, Calif. (Helena, Mont.) (Pro UTV Open, No. 1831), Joe Bolton, Corona, Calif. (Pro UTV NA, No. 1957), Eric Pavolka, Sonoita, Ariz. (Classs 1/2-1600, No. 1625), Justin Park, Encinitas, Calif. (Class 7F, No. 714F), and Oliver Flemate, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 11, No. 1105. Among the other motorcycle first starts will be the teams led by Ryan Liebelt, Reedley, Calif. (Pro Moto 40, No. 400x), Jano Montoya, Winter Garden, Fla. (Peru) (Pro Moto 30, 300x), Fernando Beltran, Ensenada, Mexico (Pro Moto Limited, No. 100x), and Juan Zunino, Argentina (Pro Moto Ironman, No. 793x). ON-SITE RACER REGISTRATION Being held in the Salon Rojo at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada, regular on-site and late racer registration will be held on Wednesday (May 31) from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT, on Thursday (June 1) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT and on Friday (June 2) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. No new entries will be accepted after 7 p.m. on Wednesday (May 31), 4 p.m. PT on Thursday (June 1) and 4 p.m. PT on Friday (June 2). COURSE PREVIEW With pre-running opening last Saturday (May 20), SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva has put together another memorable race course to challenge the world’s best desert racers. The final distance is 473.67 miles. It will be starting and finishing again on fan-friendly Blvd. Costero adjacent to the iconic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada. Pre-race Contingency will also be held on Blvd. Costero on Friday, June 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. The course runs in a clockwise direction out of and back to the start/finish line compound in Ensenada, traveling through such noted areas as Ojos Negros, Santa Catarina, the Summit, Cohabuzo Junction, Saldana, La Ventana access, Las Cuevitas Wash, San Matias Pass, Valle de Trinidad, Llano Colorado, Cerro Solo, San Vicente Wash, Erendira, Santo Tomas, Uruapan, Los Encinitos, Rancho El Mezcal and Ojos Negros. The course has two complete stop physical checkpoints, 187 total virtual checkpoints and 13 speed zones for a total of 58.27 miles. Checkpoint 1 is located at race mile 211.62 (Laguna Amarga) and Checkpoint 2 is at rm326.64 (Llano Colorado). All Sportsman classes, Class 11 and Class 7SX will run a reduced course of a total of 440.72 miles. This will be the first time since the 2016 SCORE Baja 1000 that a SCORE race course has gone over the Summit (around race mile 108.23) and it will be the first time since the 2019 SCORE Baja 1000 that the course will go through Ejido Nativos between Erendira and Santo Tomas. Colorful Contingency and Tech Inspection will also be held on Blvd. Costero on Friday, June 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. GRAN HISTORIA This year’s SCORE World Desert Championship includes another special tribute to the iconic SCORE Baja 500. The SCORE Baja 500 is one of the top motorsports events in the world. It was started originally in 1969 by the NORRA organization. After NORRA was removed from Baja after the 1972 race, the local Baja Sports Committee produced the 1973 event. Mickey Thompson and his SCORE International organization were invited by the Mexican government to take over the event starting in 1974. Sal Fish ran and later owned and produced the SCORE Baja 500 for 39 years until he sold SCORE in December of 2012. The first Baja 500 organized and produced by SCORE was held on July 26, 1974 in Ensenada as the first of nearly 165 SCORE Baja races. This year’s SCORE Baja 500 will start for the 49th time in Ensenada and finish for the 45th time in Ensenada. BFGOODRICH TIRES UNMATCHED BFGoodrich Tires, the official tire of SCORE for 47 years, was honored after the 2022 season as the SCORE Contingency Company of the year for the 32nd time. BFGoodrich Tires has been the choice of 35 of the 54 overall winners of the popular SCORE Baja 500 and 33 of the 55 overall winners of the legendary SCORE Baja 1000. BFGoodrich Tires is also the title sponsor of both iconic races again in 2023. BFGoodrich Tires also has been the choice of 30 of the 36 overall winners of the SCORE San Felipe 250, all three SCORE Desert Challenge races, the lone SCORE Challenge of Champions in San Felipe, the one SCORE Baja Sur 500 and one of the three overall winners in the SCORE Baja 400. This year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 overall victory by San Diego’s Luke McMillin marked the 103rd SCORE Baja overall race win for BFGoodrich Tires. BFGoodrich Tires has posted a contingency bonus for the overall winner of this year’s race of US$10,000. SCORE LIVE SCORE Live will be streaming throughout race week on the SCORE website. Colorful Rat Sult is in his eighth season as the host and lead announcer of SCORE Live. Assisting him again at this race will be veteran voice Dave Arnold. GRANDEST MARSHAL FOR GOLDEN YEAR Sal Fish, admired as the iconic ‘godfather’ of SCORE desert racing who is a foundational pillar of the organization, is the Grand Marshal of the Year for the entire four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship. Revered all over Baja California, Fish, who will turn 84 tomorrow (May 2), is a former publisher of Hot Rod Magazine and a 2006 inductee into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame. He led SCORE for 38 years, from 1974 until he sold the organization on Dec. 20, 2012. His footprint left an indelible mark on all of desert racing as he was an extraordinary innovator and visionary for SCORE and the entire world of desert racing. He expanded TV coverage of SCORE races and in 1994 created the SCORE Trophy Truck class, the marquee racing division in the sport of desert racing. SCORE BAJA 500 GRAND MARSHALS SCORE has announced that Ivan Stewart, Alpine, Calif., and Johnny Campbell will be the co-Grand Marshals for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500. When it comes to desert racing there is only one ‘Ironman’ standing at the top of the list of solo drivers/riders. San Diego’s iconic Ivan ‘Ironman’ will be celebrating his 78th birthday on June 4, during the conclusion of this year’s SCORE Baja 500. The ‘Ironman’ celebrated his birthday annually over the years with 17 career class wins including a race-record 10 overall 4-wheel vehicle victories in the SCORE Baja 500. The legendary Stewart has been inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (2006), the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame (2009) and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2020). Driving most of his career for Toyota Motorcycles, Stewart continues as a spokesperson for Toyota Racing Development. Campbell, 52, San Clemente, Calif., is a stellar SCORE motorcycle racing champion with six career class wins including five overall victories in the SCORE Baja 500. He also has a race-record 11 overall motorcycle victories in the SCORE Baja 1000 on his resume. Campbell is also an 11-time SCORE season point champion in the Pro Moto Unlimited class on his Honda CRF450X. He also rode in the 2001 Dakar Rally, finishing eighth overall. Campbell has been inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame (2018) and the Trailblazers MC Hall of Fame (2021). Today he continues as the Off-Road Coordinator for American Honda in addition to running his own successful team—Johnny Campbell Racing/Honda (JCR) with several top desert motorcycle racers. SCOREscope 2023 GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY SCHEDULE Here are the dates for the remaining three races in the four-race 2023 SCORE World Desert Championship Golden Anniversary season, ‘Celebrating 50 Years of SCORE Desert Racing Excellence’, which are being held totally in Baja California, Mexico for the eighth consecutive year:
- BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500—
- 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
- BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 1000—
(Start order, by class)
Pro Cars/Trucks/UTVs
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK (32*)
1 Luke McMillin
10 Alan Ampudia
7 Bryce Menzies
69 Andrew Myers
21 Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola
51 Steve Olliges
43 Larry Roeseler
*1L Gustavo Vildosola Sr
24 Rob MacCachren (DOR-Adam Householder)
33 Roberto Romo Jr
82 Sam Baldi
70 Kevin Thompson
87 Mike Walser (DOR-Dallas Luttrell)
19 Tim Herbst
58 Tracy Graf
*85L Clay Lawrence
*61L David Payne
23 Dan McMillin
45 Gary Magness
16 Cameron Steele
85 Mikey Lawrence
27 Jonathan Brenthel
46 Paul Weel
*37L Rolf Helland
*53L Wade Porter
60 Cole Potts
6 Dan Myers
28 Ryan Daniel
35 Kevin Adler
*65L Greg Adler
66 Chris Hertsch
*55L Jose Flores
*SCORE TT LEGEND
CLASS 1 (9)
127 Cody Parkhouse
153 Brad Wilson
168 Cody Reid
102 Adam Castaneda
101 Al Torres
100 Kyle Quinn
162 Brendan Gaughan
178 Kevy Nott
121 Damen Jefferies-1st RS
TROPHY TRUCK SPEC (32)
219 Thor Herbst
234 Jason McNeil
277 Travis Williams
236 Michael Marsal
238 Elijah Kiger
263 Ryan Millen (DOR-EJ Herbst)
211 Pat Sims
282 Brent Fox
204 Christopher Polvoorde
205 Joe Delucie
246 Ethan Hagle
217 Joe Belt
260 Santiago Creel
244 Oliver Flemate
207 Mason Cullen
249 Dustin Swanson
225 Scott McNeil
284 Jose Contreras
266 David Ziegler
240 Chris Miller
227 Jack Olliges
289 Tanner Rust
273 Jordan Brenthel
228 Ryan Hancock
270 Jimmy Diaz
299 Charles Dorrance
275 Juan Sanchotena
285 Justin Davis
232 Chelsea Magness
280 Bryan Scheible
226 Juan C. Lopez
231 Carlos Ramos
CLASS 10 (15)
1064 Justin Buckley
1091 Francisco Vera
1020 Carlos Guillen
1079 Manlio F. Diaz
1016 Hiram Duran
1006 Stan Potter
1077 Dale Ebberts
1027 Arturo V. Malo
1057 Steve Myers
1075 Eliseo Garcia
1082 Carlos Jimenez
1061 Arturo Garza
1014 Bruce Yee-3rd RS
1000 J. David Ruvalcaba-2nd RS
1023 Britney Myers-1st RS
PRO UTV OPEN (20)
1831 Craig Scanlon
1871 Wayne Matlock
1821 Cayden MacCachren
1827 Austin Weiland
1867 Mike Pratt
1885 Tyler Backus
1896 Brock Heger
1869 Justin Lambert
1850 Paul Barnhart Jr
1895 Kaden Wells
1854 Kristen Matlock
1886 Branden Sims
1866 Harison Weiss
1881 Douglas Mittag
1888 Roger Norman
1859 Josh Row
1876 Mike Cafro
1870 Brandon Walsh
1837 Ronnie Anderson
1868 Bernie Gomez-1st RS
PRO UTV UNLIMITED (1)
3993 Richard Fant
PRO UTV FI (21)
2987 Edgar Garcia Leon
2998 PJ Jones
2996 Jessica Lopez
2915 Rickey Arslanian
2948 Matt Burroughs
2935 Tomas Cantor
2976 Jesus Mendez Jr
2917 Jason Murray
2999 Tim Sullivan
2920 Roberto Ruiz
2905 Marc Burnett
2995 Matt Monteith
2927 Justin Smith
2903 Seth Quintero
2944 Phil Blurton
2985 Austin ‘AJ’ Jones
2962 Clinton Shue
2911 Aaron Aguilar
2951 Austin Johnson
2991 Rodrigo Arriagada-2nd RS
2986 Adrian Orellana-1st RS
CLASS 7 (3)
700 Daniel Chamlee
716 Gaspar Espindola
709 Ethan Ebert
SCORE LITES (2)
1211 Oscar R. Alvarez
1203 Oliver Flemate
PRO UTV NA (7)
1957 Joe Bolton
1980 Gabe Matthews
1914 Lawrence Janesky
1952 Hector Crespo
1951 Mike Podratz
1925 Zach Sizelove
1911 Carlos Waumann-1st RS
CLASS 1/2-1600 (3)
1625 Eric Pavolka
1644 Roman Pereyra
1606 Matt Willert-1st RS
PRO UTV STOCK (10)
3900 Anibal Lopez
3933 Randy Emberton
3967 Manuel Norzagaray
3908 Scott Bergen
3936 Jorge Cano
3930 Douglas Cornwell
3959 Antonio Mendez
3940 Jeff Jacobs
3953 Nick Bruce
3911 Victor Esparza-1st RS
CLASS 8 (1)
852 Spencer Morgan
CLASS 5 (3)
508 Mike Sullivan
525 Martin Anguiano-2nd RS
511 Eli Yee-1st RS
CLASS 5-1600 (1)
579 Edgar Ruiz
BAJA CHALLENGE (2)
BC4 Edward Muncey
BC7 Randy Slezak
CLASS 7F (4)
714F Justin Park
700F Gerardo Novelo
719F Cesar Gutierrez
704F Aaron Celiceo
STOCK FULL (1)
8103 John Marshall
TROPHY LITE (1)
6049 Chase Swanson
CLASS 11 (4)
1105 Oliver Flemate
1145 Esteban Ruiz
1143 Eric Brandt
1111 Eric Solorzano
Pro Motorcycles
PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (8)
3x Ciaran Naran
15x Eric Holt
18x Aaron Volle
13x Adrian Ortiz
11x Arturo Salas Jr
17x Kevin Holt
9x Connor Eddy
1x Juan Carlos Salvatierra
PRO MOTO 30 (4)
300x Jano Montoya
319x David Smith
328x Jose Ochoa Acosta
320x Jorge Garcia
PRO MOTO LIMITED (8)
100x Fernando Beltran
114x Ely Ramirez
102x Patrick Pennington (ROR-Steven Abrams)
120x Courtland Miller
117x Jeffrey Row
119x Oscar Garcia
133x Julio de Pena
103x Giovanni Aviles
PRO MOTO 50 (1)
501x Robert Creemers
PRO MOTO 40 (3)
441x Alirio Amado
455x David Garza
400x Ryan Liebelt
PRO MOTO IRONMAN (11)
793x Juan Zunino
700x Brandon Wright
718x Kurt Steever
785x Fabricio Fuentes
768x Toby Burchfield
771x Risto Niemi
795x Jason Alosi
726x Greg Galbreth
778x Aaron McDowell
723x Edgar Cota
753x Jose Hannan-1st RS
PRO MOTO 60 (3)
628x Scott McIntosh
643x Steven McQuerry
644x Kevin Ward-1st RS
Pro Quads
Pro Quad (3)
1a Nicolas Velez
21a Jose Castro
4a Juan Gonzalez
Pro Quad Ironman (2)
83a Faelly Lopez
86a Javier Guerra
Sportsman
SPT M/C (8)
290x Gerardo Rubio
233x Eluminio Berrelleza
270x Brent Phillips
202x Mariano Sanchez
236x Andy Valencia
257x Luis Rivera
249x Armando Ortiz
253x Kazuhiro Nakamura
SPT QUAD (8)
105a Francisco Valle
139a Sergio Jimenez
106a David Huezo
109a Brayan Alonso
123a Eva Hernandez
191a Juan Cota
125a Alfredo Rodriguez
138a Gabriel Vazquez (ROR-Jose Hernandez)