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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | October 2007 
2007 SCORE Baja 1000 Course Map
 SCORE International
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| | The bane of every Baja motorcycle racer is the dreaded trophy truck. Last year's winner Robby Gordon will be back to cause even more trouble this time around. |
Promising to add even more colorful lore to the already legend-filled desert race, SCORE International released Saturday the official 1,296.39-mile race course map for November's 40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. To be held Nov. 10-16, this year's historic 40th anniversary odyssey of the world's most famous desert race will be a grueling and memorable adventure down Mexico's mysterious Baja California peninsula starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Sur.
The announcement was made from the SCORE Baja 1000 40th anniversary display at the first day of the massive Off-Road Expo being held through Sunday at the Fairplex in Pomona, Calif.
An amazing total of 377 vehicles are entered to date and the length of the course is second only to the SCORE Baja 2000, the over 1,700-mile journey that started the new millennium that also was the only other time the race finished in Cabo San Lucas in its storied history.
This year's memorable internationally-televised adventure will cover the length of the rugged and tortuous Baja California peninsula, starting on the Pacific Ocean side and stretching across and down the majestic peninsula to the Sea of Cortez side and back to the Pacific before hugging the coastline to the finish line on the southernmost tip of Baja.
Over 400 entries from 40 U.S. States and 15 countries, competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs are expected to be part of this year's 40th anniversary tribute to the world's richest and most famous desert race. The granddaddy of all desert races is the season-finale of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series, the world's foremost desert racing series.
"There are a couple of sections that have never been run before in the history of this great race and another section that was used only in 2000 so this will be a course for the ages," said Sal Fish, SCORE CEO and President since soon after the Los Angeles-based SCORE International was founded in 1973. "Picture an artist's canvas and imagine painting every type of terrain from petrified rocks to silty sand to high-speed trails to tight-twisty mountain passes and you'll begin to capture the essence of what this incredible 40th anniversary race course will be like. Without a doubt, history will be made on a course that promises a thousand more SCORE Baja memories."
With massive crowds reaching over 300,000 anticipated to again be spread out along the point-to-point course, the race will start for the 33rd time in Ensenada and will finish for only the second time in Cabo San Lucas.
Open pre-running starting at race-mile 37.67 begins next Saturday (Oct. 13). Practice on the first section of the course will be allowed Nov. 9 through Nov. 12.
The motorcycle and ATV classes will start their journey at 6:30 a.m. (PST) (Tuesday, Nov. 13) with the car and truck classes starting at approximately 11 a.m. (PST), or three hours after the last ATV leaves the line. The starting line will be on Blvd. Costero in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada. Vehicles will leave in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race and while the fastest finishers are expected to complete the course in approximately 22 hours.
The finish line area in Cabo San Lucas will be inside the Campos de Futbol "Yenecamu" soccer fields next to the Villa del Palmar Resort, the official SCORE race headquarters. The SCORE Media Center and SCORE Race Operations will both be located at the Villa del Palmar. Passing times from all BFGoodrich Tires pit locations, of all vehicles, will be posted there as well to assist in monitoring the race progress.
Pre-race festivities on Monday, Nov. 12, for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, including tech and contingency and the SCORE Manufacturer's Midway will be held from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (PST) adjacent to Nico Saad's San Nicolas Hotel, the official SCORE race headquarters in Ensenada. The pre-race mandatory driver/rider briefing will be held Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. (PST) at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. Racer registration will be held at the San Nicolas from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (PST) on Sunday, Nov. 11 and from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. (PST) on Monday, Nov. 12.
The post-race Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Award's Celebration will be held during the SCORE Fiesta in at the Playa Cascadas (adjacent to the Villa del Palmar) at noon on Friday, Nov. 16.
The four-wheel vehicle classes with the most entries to date are SCORE Trophy-Truck (32), Class 1 (29), Class 5/1600 (22), Class 1-2/1600 (21), Baja Challenge (18), SCORE Lite (15), and Protruck (12).
The motorcycle classes with the most entries in the drawing were: Class 22 (22), Class 40 (16) and Class 30 (11).
Leading the six Sportsman classes in the race is Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc which has 45 entries to date.
This year's race course will feature 10 outlying checkpoints where each vehicle is required to quickly stop before continuing on. The checkpoints will be located as follows: Checkpoint No. 1--Santa Catarina (race mile 85.05), No. 2--San Telmo Road (rm 177.71), No. 3--El Rosario Wash (rm 306.21), No. 4-Coco's Corner (rm 441.97), No. 5-Bahia de Los Angeles (rm 519.09), No. 6-San Ignacio (rm 695.15), No. 7-Loreto (rm 867.59), No. 8-Insurgentes Crosssing @ KM 30 (rm 1,015.03), No. 9-Rancho Santa Fe (rm 1,120.38) and No. 10-El Refugio (rm 1,243.47)
NASCAR Nextel Cup team owner/driver Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., whose roots are in SCORE desert racing, drew the fourth starting position in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the Team Gordon No. 71 Chevy CK1500. Gordon will again pull double-duty, driving the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 before flying to Homestead, Fla., to race in the NASCAR Nextel Cup season finale.
Also scheduled to return to their racing roots are NASCAR Truck Series regular Brendan Gaughan, Las Vegas, and NASCAR Grand National West Series regular Brian Ickler, Poway, Calif.
Among the other cross-over racers who are entered to date include World Rally champion Armin Schwarz, NASCAR Nextel Cup racer Boris Said, former IndyCar star Danny Sullivan, former NASCAR and open-wheel racer turned TV commentator Wally Dallenbach, actor/racer Patrick Dempsey, star of the ABC TV hit show `Grey's Anatomy', former IndyCar racer Scott Atchison, Supercross motorcycle legends Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Johnson, Freestyle Motorcross superstar Mike Metzger, father and son Pike's Peak Hill Climb champions Rod and Rhys Millen, Snowmobile racers Paul Thacker and Chris Burandt, Snowboarder Luke Trembath, Rally racer Ken Block, TV show creator/producer Bud Brutsman, and BMX racer/TV personality Dave Mirra.
In his first full season in the SCORE Desert Series, TV personality Jesse James, of Monster Garage fame, will drive his new No. 54 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck.
Among the other early entries are Rod Hall, Reno, Nev., and Ron Bishop, Escondido, the only two individuals who have raced in all 39 previous Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 races.
The legendary Hall, 69, of Reno, Nev., has a race-record 18 career class wins in this race and is the only driver to have competed every year in a car or truck class. Hall returns this year as the defending season point champion in a Hummer H3 in the Stock Mini class. His son's Chad and Josh will complete the Team Hummer entry, each driving different Hummers in the Stock Full Class.
Bishop, 64, who will lead a five-rider team as rider of record this year in Class 22, is the only racer who has competed every year on a motorcycle. He will be racing on a KTM 525XC motorcycle.
The Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 race course will be marked and open for pre-running on Saturday, October 13th.
Garron Cadiente in SCORE Trophy-Truck and Richard Lancaster in Class 22 for open motorcycles drew the pole positions for the 40th anniversary of the desert racing classic at a `live' drawing for starting positions at the Lake Elsinore (Calif.) Casino on Sept. 22.
Cadiente, 31, of Mesa, Ariz., was the 2006 SCORE Rookie of the year and is third in this year's SCORE Trophy-Truck season point standings after winning September's SCORE Terrible's Primm 300 in the No. 38 G&R Racing Ford F-150. There are 32 entries so far in the SCORE Trophy-Truck, the marquee SCORE racing division for 800-horsepower, high-tech, unlimited production trucks.
Lancaster, 29, Santa Margarita, Calif., will lead 21 entries (to date) in Class 22 for open motorcycles on the No. 2x Honda XR650R. His additional riders are Peter Hardy, Pozo, Calif., John Kaisersatt, Los Osos, Calif., Fred Jowett, Atascadero, Calif., and Chris Whalley, Topanga, Calif.
Drawing the first start in the ATV classes was the championship team led by Danny Prather, 27, Ramona, Calif., who will ride the No. 1a American Honda factory Honda TRX450R in Class 25. His teammates are Mike Cafro, Bonsall, Calif., Levi Marana, Ramona, Calif., and Marc Speath, Warner Springs, Calif.
It's the oldest and most well known of all desert races, and it remains as the single most appealing accomplishment to a driver. Since 1967, the mother of all desert races has been run over the mysterious Baja California peninsula.
This year's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour NBC Sports special for the fourth consecutive year, airing on Dec. 30 on the NBC Television Network. It will also air on a delayed basis outside of the U.S. on ESPN International.
The 2007 SCORE Desert Series also includes the chase for the $75,000 Kartek Off-Road contingency bonus to be awarded to several 2007 SCORE Class point champions along with the run for the $12,000 Toyota True Grit and Toyota Milestone Awards.
The race will also include the special $40,000 cash contingency purse provided by Volkswagen of America.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels/Bryant Petroleum-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Volkswagen-official vehicle, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, American Racing ATX Series-official wheel, Slime-official tire sealant, Red Bull--official energy drink and Bosch Power Tools-official power tool. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Communications, Kartek Off-Road, Fram, Autolite, Prestone, Bendix, American Suzuki, NAPA Chassis, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie's Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402.
Motorcycle/ATVs
CLASS 22 (22)
2x Richard Lancaster
3x Mark Simpson
4x Kevin Johnson
5x Joe Desrosiers
1x Robby Bell
7x Jared Johnston
8x Rodney Thornton
9x Quinn Cody
10x Jimmy N. Roberts
11x Luke Dodson
12x Jason Edie
13x Kyle Abney
14x Tim Morton
15x Gabriel Williams-S
16x Ron Bishop
17x Dan Walsh
18x Kenny Atkins
19x Jesse Sharpe
20x Ned Suesse
21x Scott Bloom
23x Cameron Steele
24x Ron Macrae
CLASS 21 (7) 101x Carlos Casas
102x Joey Lane
103x Ryan Gustine
104x Chad Erl
105x Jeremiah Kolbensvik
106x Makato Kurashita
107x Francisco Arredondo
CLASS 20 (2)
151x Ryan Penhall
152x Brett Grimsley
CLASS 30 (11)
301x Jim Thomson
302x Jim O'Neal
303x James Filanc
304x Dan Roush
305x David Potts
306x Scott Hofmann
307x Gerardo Rojas
308x Fred Brown
309x James Curzon
310x Eiji Sugiyama
311x Tom Bacon
CLASS 40 (16)
401x Bill Boyer
402x Steve Downey
403x Scott Atchison
404x Ryan Armitage
405x Brett Helm
406x John Hodel
407x David Lunden
408x Richard Deaveau
409x Steve Cole
410x John Carmona
411x Derrick Paiement
412x Manuel Luna
413x Brian Campbell
414x Julio Abril
448x Donald Connelly
449x Lukas Lundin
CLASS 50 (5) 500x Jim O'Neal
501x Charles Wallace
502x Keith Speir
548x Oscar Legaspy
549x Chris Haines
CLASS 60 (3)
601x Donald E. Lewis
608x Al Perrett
609x Richard Jackson
PRO ATVS
CLASS 25 (8)
1a Danny Prather
2a Josh Row
3a Javier Beltran
4a Jerry Cook
5a Wayne Matlock
6a Cody Mitchell
7a Carmen Cafro
8a Jeff Hancock
CLASS 24 (4)
101a Sergio Alvarado
102a Adolfo Arellano
103a Francisco Servin
104a Daniel Marin Jr.
SPT M/C 250< (7)
202x Rey Heredia
203x Garrett Tolman
205x Justin Wiberg
206x Yasuki Nunohiro
207x Jesus Rios
248x Joy Biran-S
249x Katsuhisa Mikami
SPT M/C 250> (45)
251x Tibi Imbuzan-S
252x Nick Imbuzan-S
253x Rip Woodard
254x Duncan Ragsdale
255x Byron Kolitz
256x Jesse Beck-S
257x Joe West-S
258x Jeffrey Crochiere
259x Jeff Chapman
250x Jeff Leonard
261x Luke Terry
262x Steve Williams
263x Sean Hoernke
264x John Kelly
265x Erik Schroeder
267x Javier Hernandez
268x Michael Ott-Eulberg-S
269x Lyman Scherer
270x Ray Grupp
271x Michael Kay-S
272x Erik Litzenberg
273x Mark Fishburn
274x Jeff Johnson
275x Rene Lorentz
276x Mike Gilbert
277x Beau James
278x Brandt Anderson
279x Kevin Kosiorek-S
280x Brendan Baker
281x Todd Harrison
282x Chad Thornton
283x Bill Eddings
284x Kiyonari Otsuka
285x Kevin Cheney
286x David Patterson-S
287x Craig White
288x Tomoki Hayashi
289x Tim Cooper
290x Colby Brinnon
291x Doug Holmes
296x Takeo Oshima
297x Petrus Uys
298x Steve Hansen
299x Andrew Vela-S
SPT ATV (10)
51a Anthony Baker
52a Reid Rutherford
53a Craig Christy
54a John Corwley
56a JV Lattimore
57a Michel Genest-LaHaye
95a Yoav Regev
96a Mike Penland
97a Shawn Robins
99a Joao de Barros |
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