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Helland among new entries for 22 SCORE Baja 1000
SCORE MEDIA CONTACT: Dominic Clark, Dominic@SCORE-International.com October 24, 2022 Race week Nov. 15-20 BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts Helland, Thompson, Wilson Motorsports, Muncey, Weiland, Sarabia, Gus Vildosola, Ampudia, Blurton, Novelo, Huckins, Chamlee, Montoya adds to entries Pre-running opens Saturday on rugged 828.25-mile course around Baja California for iconic season-finale of four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship; starting and finishing adjacent to Ensenada’s Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center SCORE Moto champ, Hall of Famer Scot Harden selected Grand Marshal; More information under race info tab on www.score-international.com NOTE: Current Unofficial numerical entry list, by class at bottom of text ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—As entries continue soaring in from across the USA and around the world, Rolf Helland, Kevin Thompson, Brad Wilson, Kyle Quinn, Edward Muncey, Austin Weiland, Hector Sarabia, Gustsavo Vildosola Sr, Alan Ampudia, Phil Blurton, Gerardo Novelo, Boe Huckins, Daniel Chamlee and Juan Montoya are all among the latest early entries for November’s iconic internationally-televised season-ending BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, the season finale of the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship. Starting and finishing in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, race-week festivities and the race itself will be held Nov. 15-20. The SCORE Baja 1000 is at the pinnacle of motorsports as the most iconic, oldest, prestigious, toughest and longest continuously held desert race in the world. This year’s race will be a loop race of 828.25 miles around Baja California, starting and finishing in Ensenada. ONLINE RACER ENTRY APPLICATIONS Racer entry applications are now available at www.SCORE-International.com under Race Info on the SCORE Baja 1000 page. Questions should be directed to SCORE Registration and Membership Director Eduardo Kawanishi at 775. 852.8907. Online racer entry applications will be accepted through 5 p.m. PT on Wednesday, November 2. The SCORE Ensenada office will accept walk-in entries up to Friday, Nov. 4. EARLY ENTRIES With nearly 275 entries anticipated at the start line, as of today 131 total early entries have been received for the Granddaddy of All Desert Races, with racers representing 30 U.S. States, and nine countries. The countries with at least one racer so far are United States, host country Mexico, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand and Peru. DOUBLE DIGITS Leading the list of entries with double-digit lineups so far are SCORE Trophy Truck with 25 entries (including eight in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old), Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) with 12 entries, Trophy Truck Spec with 10 entries and among two wheels, Pro Moto Ironman (solo riders) with 18 entries to date. LATEST EARLY BIRDS Among the continuing list of early entries for this year’s race are Rolf Helland/Rick D. Johnson in SCORE TT Legend, Kevin Thompson/Harley Letner in SCORE Trophy Truck, Brad Wilson in the unlimited Class 1, Kyle Quinn/Ronny Wilson in the unlimited Class 1, Edward Muncey/Roger Norman in Baja Challenge, Austin Weiland in Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction), Hector Sarabia’s team in Class 11, Gustavo Vildosola Sr/Ricky Johnson in SCORE TT Legend and Alan Ampudia/Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr in SCORE Trophy Truck. Also among the growing list of early entries are Phil Blurton in Pro UTV FI, Gerardo Novelo in Class 7F, Boe Huckins in Pro Moto Ironman, Daniel Chamlee in Class 7 and Jano Montoya in Pro Moto 30. 55th SCORE BAJA 1000 Most of the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s massive BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. The 2022 season-finale will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on ESPN2’s World of X Games programming. Race week activities will be held Nov. 15-20. Nearly 275 vehicles are expected at the start line the field as of today racers from nearly 35 U.S. States and as many as 15 countries anticipated. Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads will be competing in the Granddaddy of All Desert Races. This year’s SCORE Baja 1000 will be a loop race of a demanding 828.25 miles starting and finishing in Ensenada in the northern state of Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula. Ensenada, “The Off-Road Capital of the World” is a coastal city on the Bahia de Todos Santos area of the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of the U.S. border at San Diego. It will start for the 48th time in Ensenada and finish there for the 28th time. This race is annually the finale of the SCORE World Desert Championship, which has been held exclusively for the past seven years in Baja California. NORSEMAN RACING Leading one of the top teams in the SCORE TT Legend class for SCORE Trophy Truck drivers over 50 years old is Rolf Helland, 63, a prominent businessman in the trucking industry from Morris, Ill. Somewhat of a late bloomer in starting to compete in SCORE Baja racing the last several years, Helland and his driving teammate veteran champion SCORE racer Rick D. Johnson, 57, Barstow, Calif., are the reigning SCORE TT Legend class point champions after a brilliant undefeated four-race season in the 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship. This season, Helland is third in the current SCORE TT Legend class points after finishes of second, fourth and an untimely DNF in the first three races on the 2022 calendar. Helland and Johnson, who has one career SCORE Trophy Truck class win (2009 SCORE Baja 500), split the driving in Helland’s No. 37L Norseman Racing Ford Raptor built by Mason Motorsports. In the SCORE Baja 1000, Helland finished won in 2019 and he also won his class in this race on the way to his undefeated season and SCORE TT Legend season point championship last year. CONCRETE MOTORSPORTS After struggling to reach the finish line for a few years, back in SCORE Baja races after a short sabbatical, Kevin Thompson and Harley Letner split the driving in the SCORE Trophy Truck class in their No. 70 Concrete Motorsports Chevy Silverado built by SoCal’s Herbst/Smith Fab. In the season opener this year in San Felipe, the pair finished in 14th position out of 34 starters. Working hard to build their resume as a team in SCORE Baja racing, Thompson, 48, New Braunfels, Texas and third-generation SCORE racer Letner have won several races and titles in domestic races in the U.S. So far in this year’s SCORE races, the team finished 14th in San Felipe followed by two DNFs heading into this race. Letner and his late cousin Kory Halopoff teamed for years in SCORE racing, winning several titles and races, including the overall victory in the 2009 SCORE Baja 500. WILSON MOTORSPORTS One of numerous prolific third-generation desert racing teams competing with SCORE, Wilson Motorsports has once again entered two race cars in the unlimited Class 1 for open-wheel desert race cars. Both race cars are Chevy-powered Jimco vehicles. Brad Wilson, 33, of Long Beach, Calif., is the driver of record for the No. 153 race car while long-time additional driver Kyle Quinn, 34, Lakewood, Calif. will be the driver of record for this year with SCORE in the No. 138 Wilson Motorsports race car. Brad Wilson’s cousin, Brian Wilson, 37, has always been the DOR but Brian Wilson will not be able to make all of the races this year so Quinn is the official DOR for the team. In this year’s King Shocks 35th SCORE San Felipe 250, Wilson Motorsports claimed two of the podium positions in the unlimited Class 1. Quinn teamed with Brad’s father Ronny Wilson, 60, also of Long Beach, Calif., to win the Class 1 over 10 starters in the class for unlimited open-wheel cars and Brad Wilson finished in third place. In June’s SCORE Baja 500, Quinn finished on the podium in third with Ronny Wilson while Brad Wilson finished sixth in class. In September’s SCORE Baja 400, Quinn/R. Wilson stayed consistent with their third straight podium, finishing in third place in Class 1 while Brad Wilson was the victim of equipment failure. Entering the SCORE Baja 1000, Quinn/R. Wilson continue to lead the Class 1 point standings while Brad Wilson currently is fourth in the point standings for the class for unlimited open-wheel desert race cars. BAJA CHALLENGE Looking to earn a three-peat as the Baja Challenge class season point champion, Edward Muncey is once again driver of record in his No. BC4 Subaru-powered BTC (Baja Touring Car) open-wheel desert race car. With a variety of additional drivers over the years, including several family members and several retired military personnel, Muncey, 51, San Diego, will once again have as his primary second driver with his brother Roger Norman, 59, San Diego. Norman has two career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins, both in 2008. This season the brothers opened with a second-place in class in San Felipe and followed that podium finish by winning their Baja Challenge class in the next two races to lead their class in the season point standings. Muncey spent 11 years as the Senior Vice-President, Technology for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and now is part of Stream Enforcement, LLC in Las Vegas. WEILAND Hoping to cap his SCORE race season with a third straight win in the Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) class, Austin Weiland, El Cajon, Calif., will be driving his No. 2954 Can-Am X3 in this year’s season-finale. A third-generation desert racer who started out in motocross then went to go-karts and dirt car racing, Weiland returned to SCORE Baja racing in 2020 and has quickly made his presence felt in the UTV class with the most entries each race. After a tough dnf in this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250, Weiland, 30, came back with a vengeance, winning the next two SCORE races in his class this season—over 24 starters in the SCORE Baja 500 and 23 starters in his class in the SCORE Baja 400. Weiland has now won his class two straight years in the SCORE Baja 400. His primary additional driver this season is Dylan Schmoke, 29, El Cajon, Calif. and his navigator is Justin Wragg, 30, El Cajon, Calif. Weiland commented after his most recent SCORE Baja class win, "It's super fun to do SCORE races in Mexico because you're able to pre-run, which allows us to drive harder and find lines," Weiland answered. "We had about 2,000 notes, just marking rain rut right, rain rut left, drop off, you can jump over this, go left here." SARABIA Hector Sarabia, 61, of Ensenada, has been a long-time friend of SCORE who over the years has assisted SCORE in numerous ways in dealing with the government, ejidos and local communities in Baja California. Sarabia has raced periodically over many years in several classes with SCORE. In 2000 he won Class 9 in the SCORE World Desert Championship and this year is leading the points in Class 11 in 2022 with a pair of second-place finishes followed by the class win in September’s SCORE Baja 400. campaign. He and his multi-member Espiritu de Ensenada race team drive the No. 1145 Stock VW Sedan. MEXICANA LOGISTICS Considered the first family of Mexican desert racers, Gustavo Vildosola Sr and his son Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr are both entered in the SCORE Baja 1000. From Mexicali, Gus, 68, and Tavo, are both veteran SCORE racers with numerous race wins and season point titles on their impressive resumes. For this year’s SCORE Baja 1000, they will be in differen trucks, one in SCORE TT Legend (SCORE Trophy Truck drivers over 50 years old and the other as a second driver in SCORE Trophy Truck (see next section). Gustavo Vildosola SR will drive the No. 21L all-wheel drive Ford Raptor built by Mason Motorsports in SCORE TT Legend. Vildosola Sr is leading the points in SCORE TT Legend (drivers over 50 years old) following three straight victories in the SCORE San Felipe 250, the SCORE Baja 500 and the SCORE Baja 400. Vildosola Sr, won the SCORE TT Legend season point championship in 2018 with Scott Bailey as a second driver. He won in San Felipe and the two Ensenada races this year with help from legendary Hall of Fame racer Ricky Johnson, 57, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. who drove the first half of each race. Vildosola Sr also has three career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins in his illustrious career in SCORE desert racing. Vildosola Sr, who has raced in many classes in his illustrious career, has four career class wins in the SCORE Baja 1000, including two in SCORE Trophy Truck, one in SCORE TT Legend and one in Class 5/1600. AMPUDIA/TAVO Combining two of the marquee Mexican racing families for this adventure, Alan Ampudia of Ensenada and Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr, Mexicali, have teamed up for this year to split the driving in Vildosola’s AWD Ford Raptor built by Mason Motorsports. The truck, new this season, will have Ampudia, 31, as the driver of record and will wear the No. 10 as Ampudia is currently third in the SCORE Trophy Truck season point standings entering the season finale. Ampudia and his younger brother Aaron drove to victory the 2019 SCORE Baja 1000 while Vildosola, 41, has six career SCORE Trophy Truck race victories including 2010 when he made history driving with his father (Gustavo Vildosola Sr) to become the first Mexican nationals to win the SCORE Trophy Truck and Overall title in the SCORE Baja 1000, which was a peninsula run that year. BLURTON Four-time UTV World Champion and defending SCORE Overall point champion Phil Blurton has returned for this year’s SCORE Baja 1000. After last year’s stunning season, Blurton didn’t race with SCORE this year for the first two races and then had a dnf at last month’s SCORE Baja 400. Climbing the ladder race-by-race, noted Northern California racer Phil Blurton enjoyed his first season competing full-time in SCORE by winning the SCORE Overall, SCORE UTV overall and Pro UTV FI class point championships in the 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship. Starting cautiously with a fourth place in class in the 2021 season opener, Burton, of Auburn, Calif. and his driving teammate Beau Judge, Rockland, Calif., finished in second place in each of the next two races and culminated their championship campaign by winning their class in the season-ending legendary SCORE Baja 1000 to earn their season crowns. Blurton, 35, and Judge, 44, may have been SCORE rookies last season, but they have been honing their UTV driving skills competitively for over four years before their big splash in last year’s SCORE series. Finishing his rookie season in SCORE racing, four-time UTV World Champion Blurton, a second-generation SCORE desert racer, was the driver of record in winning his first SCORE Baja 1000 title and his first overall UTV race win over 62 starters in four UTV classes while winning the Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) class. He was timed over the formidable 1226.35-mile race course in 26 hours, 58 minutes and 57 seconds in his No. 2944 Can-Am X3. SENIOR STATESMAN Born in Ensenada, Mexico, prominent businessman and long-time government official, Gerardo Novelo, 56, returns again for this year’s SCORE Baja 1000. Long a champion of SCORE Baja racing, Novelo was one of the key individuals that helped establish the SCORE strategic tourism alliance with the Mexican government in 2019. Novelo and his team will drive the No. 702F Nissan Hardbody King Cab in Ensenada in Class 7F. Team manager James Murphy, 61, of Lomita, Calif., will share driving duties with Novelo. Novelo is a two-time SCORE season Class point champion, having won titles in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018. Part of the family that owns the luxurious Estero Beach Resort south of Ensenada, Gerardo Novelo was selected as the 2019 SCORE Person of the Year for his continuing contributions to the welfare of SCORE International in Mexico. In both of this year’s races, Novelo and his team have had rare did not finishes. In long SCORE racing career, Novelo has three career class victories in the SCORE Baja 1000 (1994, 1995 and 2019). BOE MAN RETURNS Boe Huckins, won Pro Moto Limited class in 2014 and the Pro Moto Ironman class in 2015 in the SCORE Baja 1000 CLASS 7 MASTER Veteran SCORE champion Daniel Chamlee, 60, of Montecito, Calif. has entered again in Class 7 in his No. 700 The Factory Racing Ford Ranger in this year’s SCORE Baja 1000. Chamlee has driven consistently to earn 17 SCORE Class 7 season point championships in the last 18 years. In this year’s season-opener in San Felipe, Chamlee was on the podium again, finishing third in Class 7. In June’s SCORE Baja 500, Chamlee earned another Class 7 victory to add to his legacy and in September he earned his third consecutive victory in the three-year old SCORE Baja 400. In his career has also earned seven Rod Hall SCORE Milestone Awards, for racers who complete every required mile for that season. Chamlee enters this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 leading the points in Class 7 with one second place followed by two straight race victories. In the SCORE Baja 1000, the ultra-dedicated Chamlee has recorded 11 Class 7 victories between 2006 and 2020. MONTOYA Veteran SCORE motorcycle champion Jano Montoya, 51, enters this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 leading the points as the rider of record with his team in the Pro Moto 30 class for riders over 30 years old. In the 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship, Montoya and company are undefeated having won all three races so far. Montoya has three career SCORE season class point titles (2016, 2017 and 2018). Riding as teammates with Montoya for this year have been Bryce Stavron, 32, San Clemente, Calif., Kyle Tichenor, 31, Mesquite, Nev. and David Zarate, 35, La Paz, Mexico. Joining them for this race will be legendary Mexican motorcycle champion Francisco Septien, 44, Ensenada, Mexico. In the SCORE Baja 1000, Montoya has three Pro Moto 40 class wins (2016, 2017, 2018). Septien was part of Montoya’s team the first two years. Multi-time SCORE Motorcycle champion Septien is fresh from winning the Pro Ironman class in September’s SCORE Baja 400. Montoya and his team will be riding on the No. 325x KTM 450EXC motorcycle. PRE-RUNNING Pre-running on the official race course of 828.25 miles will open this Saturday, Oct. 29. The first section of the race course to the Ojos Negro area will not be available for pre-running from the start until Wednesday of race week when it will be open only for vehicles traveling outbound. SCORE LIVE During contingency on Wednesday and Thursday and the race on Friday until the course closes on Sunday early morning, live streaming will be broadcasting race activities and start and finish line interviews as well as live action from Drones and ground cameras from around the race course. Popular Rat Sult, who has been the voice of SCORE over the last seven seasons, will once again serve as host and lead announcer of the expansive SCORE Live streaming. Assisting Sult will be veteran voice Dave Arnold. Sult and Arnold will be announced from the SCORE start/finish ramp while the show will also include SCORE studio announcers back at in El Cajon, Calif., providing life info throughout the race. SCORE live may be launched from the home page of the SCORE website. STARTING POSITIONS For this year’s SCORE Baja 1000, starting positions for all entries that raced in September’s SCORE Baja 400, finishing positions determined their respective starting positions if they have fully entered by the close of online racer registration on Nov. 2. All entries that arrive by Nov. 2 online or by Nov. 4 in person (SCORE Ensenada Office), will be placed in a drawing for start positions with the results being posted on the SCORE website on Thursday, Nov. 10. After that date, late, on-site racer registration will be held in the Red Room at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada for three days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (Nov. 15-17). All late, on-site entries will receive the next available starting position within their respective classes. THE RACE COURSE Identified, designed and plotted by SCORE President/Race Director Abelardo Grijalva, the 828.25-mile race course for the BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, runs in a clockwise after the first part to and then back and back from Ojos Negros. The magnificent course features three physical, full-stop checkpoints and 285 virtual checkpoints. The course also has 18 speed zones for a total of 70.6 race miles. Checkpoint 1 is at race-mile 200.22 (El Chinero), Checkpoint 2 is at rm 579.98 (Ejido Jaramillo) and Checkpoint 3 is at race-mile 726.57 (El Alamo). After Ojos Negros, the course goes up and over the Cordillera de Molina to drop into the desert around Rm 115. After reaching the La Ventana area it will run south to the El Chinero road crossing highway 3 at Km 192 and will keep going south to Matomi wash. Halfway into Matomi Wash it exits and goes north to Azufre Wash, then to Huatamote wash, Chanate Wash and up to Morelia Junction. From there the course will exit the desert and go to San Matias Pass road and Mike’s Sky Rancho, down to Rancho La Jolla and will run on the San Pedro Martir road to Meling Ranch. After Meling it will run to the Pacific Coast to Ejido Jaramillo and north to just below San Vicente where it will cross back to Valley de Trinidad then back to Ojos Negros and onto to the finish line in Ensenada. For safety reasons, all of the Sportsman 4 Wheel Vehicle classes along with Class 11 and Class 7SX will run a reduced course of 695.79 miles and the Sportsman Motorcycle and Quad classes will race on a reduced course of 760.91 miles. This year’s course map is available on the SCORE website under race info on the SCORE Baja 1000 page at www.SCORE-International.com. GREEN FLAG The SCORE Baja 1000 will be an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the green flag on Friday, November 18 will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 3:30 a.m. (PT) and 9:15 a.m. (PT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs. While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in around 17 hours, all vehicles will have a 36-hour time limit to become official finishers in the elapsed-time race. BFGOODRICH TIRES UNMATCHED BFGoodrich Tires, the official tire of SCORE for 46 years, received two awards for the 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship. BFGoodrich Tires was honored after the 2021 season as the SCORE Contingency Company of the year for the 31st time as well as being voted the SCORE Pit Support Team of the Year for the 33rd time. BFGoodrich Tires has been the choice of 35 of the 54 overall winners of the popular SCORE Baja 500 and 32 of the 54 overall winners of the legendary SCORE Baja 1000. BFGoodrich Tires is also the title sponsor of both of the iconic races again in 2022. BFGoodrich Tires also has been the choice of 29 of the 35 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 the first SCORE Baja 400. This year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 overall victory by San Diego’s Luke McMillin marked the 100th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja overall race win. BFG BIG BONUS SCORE major sponsor BFGoodrich Tires has posted a US$25,000 contingency bonus for the overall 4-wheel race winner to help commemorate this newest race on the SCORE schedule. GRAND MARSHAL—SCOT HARDEN SCORE has announced that the Grand Marshal for the BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts, will be Hall of Fame SCORE motorcycle champion Scot Harden. Harden, 66, born and raised in Las Vegas and currently living in Menifee, Calif., is a legendary professional desert motorcycle racer with a 50-year career as a world champion racer and motorcycle industry executive. In his racing career Harden captured two SCORE Baja 1000 overall victories, three SCORE Baja 500 wins, two wins in the SCORE Parker 400, one Mexicali 300 win and he also won the 1979 SCORE Pro Moto Unlimited (Class 22) season point championship. In addition, he has numerous overalls at other major desert events, In international competition Harden is a three-time International Six-Day Enduro (ISDE) medalist, earning a gold, silver and bronze in the early 1980s. As a result of his illustrious career, Harden has been inducted into three halls of fame, the American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame in 2008, the Trailblazers HOF in 2020 and the Hot Shoe HOF in 2020. SCOREscope 2022 FINALE
- BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—
- King Shocks 36th SCORE San Felipe 250—
- BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—
- 4th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—
- BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—