Post Race Quotes and Notes
2007 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
November 13-15, 2007 Ensenada, Baja California to Cabo San Lucas, BC Sur Mexico
Round 6 of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series
Post-Race Quomily: 'Times New Roman'">40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
November 13-15, 2007 Ensenada, Baja California to Cabo San Lucas, BC Sur Mexico
Round 6 of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series
Post-Race Quotes and Notes
General SCORE Baja 1000 Quotes and Notes
Sal Fish, SCORE CEO and President
It’s very special being here at the 40th anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. I hope I can do this for another 10 years and be here or in
Notes:
-The 424 starters were the second most in race history (431 last year).
-The 239 finishers were the most ever in race history (previous record 234 last year)
-The 56.4% finishing rate is the 10th highest all-time for this race. Of the 40 races, the finishing rate has ranged from 25.6% (in 1978) to 70.2% (in 2000). This marked the 19th time that at least 50% of the starters have finished. The aggregate percentage for the 40 races is 49.59% (5,053 finishers, 10,189 finishers).
-The field set a SCORE all-time race record for both number of states (44; all except for Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota) and number of countries (20; Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States of America, Yugoslavia, Wales).
This year 27 racers attempted to finish the course as a solo driver or rider, and six successfully accomplished their goal (15x Gabriel Williams, 48x Greg Godfrey, 281x Todd Harrison, 290x Colby Brinnon, 54a John Crowley, 309x James Curzon). Last year 37 individuals attempted to finish the 1,048 miles by themselves, with 16 succeeding.
-Four vehicles averaged at least 50 miles per hour for the entire course; 1x Robby
-The 2007 SCORE Baja 1000 finished in Cabo San Lucas for just the second time in the history of this race. There were six individuals who have won both times the course has done the Ensenada-Cabo San Lucas route; Troy Herbst (Class 1), Steve Hengeveld (Class 22), Johnny Campbell (Class 22), Craig Adams (Class 40), Chris Haines (Class 40 in 2000, Class 50 in 2007) and Richard Jackson (Class 50 in 2000, Class 60 in 2007).
Pro Cars & Trucks
SCORE Trophy-Truck
3 Mark Post (first place in class, second overall finisher)
We had very little mechanical error on the truck this year. We had five wins this year. To win the overall SCORE Baja 1000 in the SCORE Trophy-Truck is a dream come true. The entire team did a flawless job. This is very exciting for Riviera Racing.
Co-driver, Rob MacCachren:
This has allowed me to do what I want to do, to do what I love doing, come here and win the 40th anniversary of the SCORE Baja 1000. To come here and win the overall is pretty cool. I have never had the overall win and I finally got that done. In the middle of the night there are fires all along the course and it really keeps you motivated, you see everyone yelling out there. One thing I learned about Baja is up and down the
NOTES: Post and MacCachren claimed their third class win of the season (along with the SCORE Baja 250 and the
4 Gustavo Vildosola (second place in class, fourth overall finisher)
I think we had a great race. It was definitely a very tough race. I am very proud of (my son) Tavo. Glad to be here. Our goal for this race was to be the first Mexican team to win overall. We were really close. We lost the brakes and that’s when it went downhill.
Co-driver, Tavo Vildosola:
My dad gave me the truck at race mile 321 and I think we were in seventh place. We got going and took an easy pace. We were the third truck on the road out of San Ignacio. We lost the rear brakes and we had to stop and figure out what we were going to do and lost some time. We had to run with only the front brakes. Once we got onto the technical stuff with the flat roads the truck wouldn’t turn.
2 “Pistol” Pete Sohren (fourth place in class)
We were nursing a broken third member for 100 miles. We never ever thought we’d make it.
12 Larry Ragland (fifth place in class)
The oil pump fell off. There were a few things under-prepped that let us down. The engine was perfect. Drove good and ran great all day.
38 Garron Cadiente (sixth place in class)
Co-driver, Todd LeDuc:
The ring and pinion went so we had to change it. We didn’t realize the rear-end had a crack. We found the crack and welded it and got to the next pit. I am glad I stuck it out. The guys did an awesome job. They got me going again.
1 BJ
I lost transmission when I got to the highway. There was water in the bottom of the fuel tank. I drove from start to San Ignacio and we had some transmission problems.
Notes:
16 Cameron Steele (11th place in class)
It was awesome. This is the first time that I have ever had a truck that was ready to go win. At race mile 200 we were in the top five. The throttle stuck going into a corner and I missed the turn and I got stuck. The mechanical issue we had all day was alternator problems. We had to spend some time changing belts. That was our only downfall.
33
Co-driver Danny Sullivan:
We are a very new team. I get in and the computer doesn’t work. For the first miles we had no waypoints. We got stuck in the silt. I kinda like driving without the GPS; it’s like the old days. I love it down here. I enjoy it. It’s a different challenge. I had a goal to get to the finish. As a new team I can’t complain. Today was a really big accomplishment for us.
General SCORE Trophy-Truck Notes: Nineteen vehicles finished out of the 29 starters, the most finishers in this class in race history. In 2006, 16 of 31 starters crossed the finish line while in 2005, 17 of 30 did so. In 2004, 14 of 24 took the checkered flag and in 2003, 13 of the 24 finished. This marked the fourth straight year that a different SCORE Trophy-Truck team has won the SCORE Baja 1000 following a stretch of five years (2000-2004) which saw just two different winners.
Class 1
100 Larry Roeseler (first place in class, sixth overall finisher)
That was one heck of a race. We literally came through the pack and were third physically. The car was fantastic. With the little bit of rain we had there were mudholes all over the place but minimal dust. We lost pressure with our shifter and we broke a shock.
Co-driver, Troy Herbst:
We are really happy to be here. No flats today. Larry Roeseler started the day and did a heck of job.
Co-driver, Ed Herbst:
I want to thank all the fans across the course who were cheering and waving. I am just glad to be a part of this family and this organization.
Notes: Roeseler won his third class title this season (along with the SCORE Baja 250 and Terrible’s Primm 300).This was also his 16th SCORE Baja 1000 victory, good for the second most ever, extending the winning streak to four straight years here.
118 Steve Strobel
We raced very conservative all day, we had no tire issues. A year of preparation for the 40th Baja anniversary is what we planned for, so it was quite exciting to get to the finish. Our goal was to finish. I raced the first 700 miles with my co-driver.
General Class 1 Notes: Billy Gasper finished in fifth place in this race, which ensured him the 2007 season points championship for the class. He entered the race with a 16-point lead over Roeseler, Ronny Wilson and Eric Chase. Roeseler’s victory earned him 15 more points than Gasper, leading to a one-point margin for the season total in Gasper’s favor. Gasper was one of only three racers to have completed every event, and with the exception of the Terrible’s Primm 300 he had a top 10 finish each time (one of only two racers with five top-10 placings).
Class 1-2/1600
1647 Arnoldo Ramirez (first place in class)
It was very tough. Many times we were in the front. I took the car from El Rosario to San Ignacio. I took the car again from Santa Rita to the finish. I had a lot of problems. The rear tortion bars don’t work anymore. I drove all night around eight to nine hours. It was very fun. I brought the car in first place. The last section was super slow. We got traction and we made it. This is my first year in the car.
Notes: Ramirez became the sixth different driver to collect a class win this season (in six races). In the SCORE Baja 1000 history of this class, there have been different winners in each of the last six years. Ramirez won by a slim margin of just 70 seconds.
1609 Dan McMillin (fourth place in class)
It was long; it took us over 30 hours. I did the first 470 miles. It took me 13 hours. We are excited to be here. We had two flat tires and a couple clutch problems. I pre-ran my section four times.
1602 Ramsey El Wardini (solo driver, did not officially finish as he missed the cutoff by minutes)
It started with losing my tortion bars. I drove over to Urapan adding 80 miles to my race in order to get that fixed. My chase crew put on the new ones. I had to go back to the race course.
(Ramsey wore a helmet signed by past overall winners- Walker Evans, Larry Ragland, Ivan Stewart, Jimmy Smith, Spencer Murray, Vic Wilson, Bruce Meyers, Johnny Johnson, Rod Hall, Mark McMillin, Andy McMillin). I wore it the whole way. This is the seventh time I finished here in Baja Sur and it’s probably the last time. It’s been a long day. A lot of stuck cars, people in the way. You spend a lot of time. You can’t go anywhere, you gotta push other people.
Class 3
Notes: For the sixth straight season, Donald Moss has won this class in the SCORE Baja 1000 race. Moss also was victorious in this year’s SCORE Baja 500 and Terrible’s Primm 300, but this ended a run of five consecutive season point championships, with that honor belonging to Dylan Evans (who placed second in the SCORE Baja 1000). Moss also won his 25th career class victory.
Class 5
Notes: Drew Belk became the fourth different racer to win a class title in the five races this season. This was his fourth consecutive top-five finish in the SCORE Baja 1000, having finished second, fifth and fourth leading up to this year.
Class 5/1600
569, Ernesto Arambula (first place in class)
Co-driver, Adolpho Arambula :
We had two flats. We ran out of gas two times. We have a 22-gallon tank. We got lost for two hours. We couldn’t find the pit. The last miles are very tiring.
Notes: Ernesto Arambula won a SCORE Baja 1000 class title for the fourth time. He won in this class twice before (in 1987 and 1996), while claiming a Class 7 victory in 1988. In the past four years in the SCORE Baja 1000 he has placed fourth, second, seventh and third before getting the win this season.
553 Gregorio Villarino (second place in class)
Co-driver, Carlos Iribe:
It was a long race. I drove from
Class 7
Notes: Don Chamlee sealed the points championship with his second victory of the season (also having won the SCORE Baja 500). After placing second two straight times in the SCORE Baja 1000 (in 2003 and 2004), Chamlee has now won for the second consecutive year.
Class 7S
Notes: Mike Horner won for the third time this season, adding to his trophies from the SCORE Baja 250 and the
Class 7SX
Notes: Noe Sierra became the fourth unique winner (out of five races) in the 2007
Class 8
810 Glen Greer (first place in class)
It takes a lot of effort to do this. I got stuck out there so bad it was unbelievable. I didn’t think we were going to dig our way out. There was a right hand turn we didn’t have marked on our GPS and we went down a wash and buried it. We have been digging and scraping for an hour and a half. It was hard. I wanted to win this race because I have never won the SCORE Baja 1000. This is an accomplishment. We fought back. We couldn’t see anything from
Notes: Glen Greer ended the year strong, winning both the Terrible’s Primm 300 as well as the SCORE Baja 1000.
Class 9
Notes: The course was not kind to Class 9 vehicles, as of the three starters, only one made it to the first BFG pit (race mile 121), and the one that did, Gary Dixon, was unable to reach the third pit (race mile 321).
Class 10
1003 Matt Cullen (first place in class)
I started and I finished. I got it back in the lead in good shape so we just had to keep it. We had one flat and a lot of silt. We pre-ran the course but it got a little more tore up than it was in pre running. The rain up north helped me because I got out front and the silt wasn’t a problem. (The win) is huge for us.
Notes: Cullen was bound to win the SCORE Baja 1000 after improving from eighth place in 2004 to third in 2006 to his first place finish this year. He is the fourth unique winner among this year’s six races.
SCORE Lite
1200 Tim Noe (first place in class, first VW-powered finisher)
Co-driver, Vic Bruckman:
The car has had no third gear since mile 200. It was pretty tough. No flats. I got stuck just before Todos Santos in the silt. Getting to the finish line was the best part about this race. This is my seventh SCORE Baja 1000 win.
Notes: Noe entered the SCORE Baja 1000 with a lead in the season points race despite the fact he had yet to win this year, as five others had won the five competitions. Noe had all top 10 finishes this season, including four in the top four. With his second straight SCORE Baja 1000 victory, he became the first ever defending champion to repeat since the class started in 1997.
Class 11
Notes: Ramon Fernandez must have wanted to be the last official finisher of the 40th anniversary of the SCORE Baja 1000 – what else could explain his finish time of 53 hours exactly, which just happens to be the time limit for every vehicle (meaning one second later and he would not have been considered an official finisher).
Stock Full
863 Chad Hall (first place in class)
That was 37 Hours of fun. We had no problems at all. We got stuck in Santa Rita silt beds but I never got out of the car. We paid a guy 100 bucks to tow us out with a tractor. The transfer case didn’t work and we didn’t have 4-wheel drive.
Notes: Chad Hall ended the season the same way his brother Josh began the year – by winning a Stock Full race. Josh won in Laughlin in January, while
862 John
After nine years in a Hummer, this is my first full season in this. This is much more fun to drive. This is much faster but I’m not use to getting stuck. This is like sitting in your couch in the living room. I won five championships and in 20,000 race miles I was never stuck until today. Driving that (his old vehicle) was like crashing an airplane. We had an hour lead at checkpoint 7. We lost the rear-end. We had great race going here. These tires are too aggressive for the course. I ran the first 300 miles and then the last 300 miles.
Stock Mini
760 Rod Hall (first place in class)
To pull off 40 in a row is pretty amazing. We had a great race but it was probably the most stressful race I’ve ever had. If I had to do another like that I’ll quit. Thanks to our sponsors, they allow a working man to be able to come down here. Now it’s time to relax and enjoy. I was able to flag off the first few SCORE Trophy-Trucks (Hall served as one of the race’s Grand Marshals). That was my first time seeing the start. There is so much energy at the start line.
Notes: Rod Hall won for the fourth time in five races this year in Stock Mini. The all-time leader in class championships in SCORE Baja 1000 races, Hall extended his title total to nineteen. He won in the first ever edition of this race (in Production, 4wd class) in 1967, and with the exception of 1970-1977, has never gone more than three years without winning a SCORE Baja 1000 title. He is one of just two racers to compete in all 40 SCORE Baja 1000 races.
Protruck
236 Rick L. Johnson (first place in class)
Co-driver, Jimmy Nuckles:
They gave me the truck in the lead and all I had to do was win it – I had the easy part. I drove the third section.
Notes: Johnson became the fourth different winner in the five races this season. He won the SCORE Baja 1000 for the third time in four years, also crossing the line first in 2004 and 2006, meaning he has won the last three times the course has ended in Baja California Sur. Nuckles was also part of the winning team in 2005 (with Jeff Dickerson).
Class 17
Notes: Mike Shaffer became the first in Class 17 to finish a race this year, taking the checkered flag ahead of the only other competitor to complete a race this season (Norman Cesena Jr.). Shaffer also won the SCORE Baja 1000 last year, and his two wins are the most by any racer in this class (which began in 2003 but had no official finishers in 2004 or 2005).
Jeepspeed
Notes: Ted Holt was the only starter in the inaugural Jeepspeed race in the SCORE Baja 1000, but was unable to finish.
Baja Challenge
17 Jim Christensen (first place in class)
Started out good, we got a good lead. We had a few issues and my son (Matt) brought it home for us the last 300 miles. Rich Benga led by about 70 miles at one time but then it got real tight. We won by 85 miles, kind of blew the field away. We got hit early by a SCORE Trophy-Truck, it was backing up trying to get out of a rut so that set us back. That happened eight miles into the race. After six years it’s nice to get a win – we’ve had a second, two fifths and a sixth.
Notes: Jim Christensen became the fourth different winner in this class in the last four years of the SCORE Baja 1000. Amazingly, all 18 starters were able to complete the course in the allotted time, doubling the finish rate from 2006 (last year 10 of the 20 starters were able to finish).
Pro Motorcycles
Class 22
No. 1x Robby
Co-rider, Steve Hengeveld:
I got on the bike at Loreto and we were out in front by about a half hour. We were leading by (BFG) Pit 1. I went through the mountains of San Javier and soon as I hit Insurgentes, it was like blackout through the fog all the way to Santa Rita and it was really difficult. You don’t know where the livestock is and the lights don’t pick them up. It was one of the most hectic times of the ride and then it cleared up again and I got going on the pace, and I just tried to ride as smooth as possible to bring it in safely without any mistakes. The bike ran flawless, the Honda 450x is an awesome machine. The engineers at
Co-rider, Johnny Campbell:
We got blessed with some rain up north which helped us out. Everything we did in planning all year worked out. It takes a team to be successful down here.
Co-rider, Kendall Norman:
I have never done this before all the way to Cabo. We had a flawless run. The rain made the best conditions I have ever seen in Baja. No dust. It made a different race. Everything was perfect. The course was amazing and I am really thankful to be here right now.
Co-rider, Robby
Getting a little bit of rain made it a lot safer off the start. We had the best team and the best bike. We tried to not make any mistakes and get in the lead and get clean air. My teammates did an awesome job.
Notes: The American Honda team won by a “mere” one hour, 18 minutes and 55 seconds over the next fastest motorcycle. Bell completed the sweep this season of the three races in Baja, winning each one. As has been the case every year since 1993 (when Ivan Stewart was the fastest overall finisher), a motorcycle clocked the fastest time in this race. This year’s margin was over an hour quicker than the first SCORE Trophy-Truck, marking the biggest time difference since 1991. The win was the 18th time a Honda has won the SCORE Baja 1000 and extended the streak to 11 straight years.
Individually, the riders padded their impressive resumes with this victory. Johnny Campbell claimed his 10th SCORE Baja 1000 title, and all 10 times he was the overall fastest finisher. Hengeveld kept pace with him with his 10th victory in this race, and extended his current winning streak to six consecutive years. This was the seventh time Hengeveld was part of the overall fastest team, second only to
14x Tim Morton (second place in class, third overall finisher)
I am the oldest finisher so far (physically was the second finisher); I am 41. It feels good to be here ahead. I have ridden some pretty cool bikes before and this was really special. I want to thank Johnny Campbell and Bruce Ogilvie for having the faith in me to ride one of their bikes. It was a really good race. We passed the KTM and had heck of race. We put a little bit of time on them.
9x Quinn Cody (third place in class, fifth overall finisher)
Co-rider, David Pearson:
We have a competitive team and a competitive bike. We will be back next year. At mile marker 320 we got a flat tire. That really put us back 45 minutes. We played catch up and kept it on two wheels.
11x, Luke Dodson (14th place in class)
At race mile 308, Todd Hafler, our second rider on the bike, crashed. Our first rider got turned around. Everyone was riding unfamiliar course since we all moved up but we got to the finish. Todd has some injuries. He ended up with a broken wrist and broken jaw. His cat scan turned out okay. We don’t know exactly what he hit. Quick response by SCORE for the airlift. SCORE got the rider into a class A hospital. Absolutely outstanding. They airlifted him on a helicopter and transferred him to an airplane and got him to
48x Greg Godfrey (19th in class, solo rider)
My light quit, so I had to stop for an hour and half and wait for daylight. I slept that long, it was the only break I got. You kind of decide you are going to try it (SCORE Baja 1000) and when you actually do it, it’s pretty cool. It’s very special. It’s a big privilege. It makes it worth it. It was fun and long. I have never been on a motorcycle that long.
Class 21
107x Francisco Arredondo (first place in class)
Co-rider, Kent Pfeiffer:
We had some problems that got us late but we had less problems than the rest of the guys in our class. We had some first time guys riding with us. Brett (Harding) gave us a 20-minute lead right out of the gate. Our rider of record (Francisco Arredondo) broke his hand the day before the race.
Notes: Arredondo got the win, quite an improvement over his 11th-place showing at the SCORE Baja 500. Second-place finisher Carlos Casas had won the other two races this season. This marked the third straight SCORE Baja 1000 race with a different winner, following a period of six years with just two different winners.
Class 20
Notes: This class was reinstated as part of the SCORE Baja 1000 last year after an 11-year hiatus. Ryan Penhall took the checkered flag, completing his sweep of the three races this season.
Class 30
302x Jim O’Neal
Co-rider, Mouse McCoy:
I had the best time, just an awesome ride. I’ll have a much better time once about four minutes goes by (to ensure the class victory). I got on around Santa Rita and brought it in.
Notes: Jim O’Neal took a stab at Class 30, after winning three classes in last year’s SCORE Baja 1000, and the result was the same – another victory. Combined with his 2004 and 2005 wins, he now has claimed six SCORE Baja 1000 victories in four different classes. The 61-year old rider has won in Class 30, 40, 50 and 60. All 11 starters completed the course in the allotted time, compared to 11 of 15 last year.
Class 40
Notes: Brett Helm led the pack, with a class victory of over one hour faster than the next competitor in Class 40. Helm is the only racer to win since 1998 other than Chris Haines (winner every year between 1999 and 2003) and Jim O’Neal (winner in 2004, 2005, 2006) in this class. All 15 starters were official finishers, a vast improvement from last year’s 40% rate (four of 10 starters completed the race).
Class 50
549x Chris Haines (first place in class)
We had a really great team and everybody did an outstanding job and we’re happy with the results. SCORE put on a great race for the 40h anniversary and I think it’s going to be one people remember for a long time. I don’t know how many years of riding I have left. The best part is being teamed up with a great bunch of guys with all their experience and the camaraderie of it.
Co-rider, Jimmy Sones:
It was fast and flawless. I just rode to get to the finish line because we had an hour and half lead and I wanted to make zero mistakes. You got to play it real safe so you don’t throw away a win.
Notes: Chris Haines’ win meant that three unique racers won the three different races on this year’s schedule. Haines is starting a new win streak in the SCORE Baja 1000 as he collected his 13th career victory in this race. First winning in 1987, he added four more victories in a five-year span before reeling off seven consecutive from 1999 to 2005.
Class 60
609x Richard Jackson (first place in class)
I didn’t do everything I could but it was enough. I raced with Chris Haines last year but never saw the bike. So this was the first time testing everything (since his accident in the 2004 SCORE Baja 1000 in which he broke his arm). The day before the race this year one of the Co-riders says he had too much to ride so I pre-ran an additional section, about 50 miles through some rough course. Bill Nichols got it at about race mile 1100 to the finish. He is 67 years old and I cannot wear him down. He is a tough old bird and quite an asset to the sport.
Notes: This class saw three different winners in the three races this season. Jackson outlasted Donald Lewis, the winner of both last year’s SCORE Baja 1000 as well as this season’s SCORE Baja 250.
Pro ATVS
Class 25
1a Danny Prather (first place in class)
Co-rider, Mike Caffron:
This was definitely a big win for us. It’s been a rollercoaster ride but one of the best days of my life. We overcame some huge problems at first and had a little luck on our side and everything just fell into place. We ran out of gas a couple of times. We were down two hours at one point.
Notes: Prather won all three races this season, giving him five consecutive victories in SCORE races (also won last year’s SCORE Baja 500 and SCORE Baja 1000). This marks the first time since 1991-92 that a racer has been able to successfully defend their title in Class 25 in the SCORE Baja 1000. His margin of victory was less than 10 minutes.
Class 24
103a Francisco Servin (first place in class)
Co-rider, Rocky Merino:
It was a great day today. No flats. No problems on the bike. Great course but rough. This race was flawless.
Notes: Francisco Servin posted nearly an eight-hour victory over the next fastest finisher in the class. Servin won for the second time this year, as he was also victorious in the next longest race, the SCORE Baja 500.
SPORTSMAN
SPT CAR
1409 Paul Bailey (first place in class)
Co-rider Steve Cossey:
We continued on the second leg and went to mile 530. The car ran flawless, no flat tires. Ten members were in the car, everybody that raced the car chased the car. When they weren’t racing, they were chasing. At race mile 1,200 we broke the front arm. The last 70 miles, we strapped it down with a tie down and limped it in. We were up with the pack of 1600’s. We managed to get it in here and get it finished. This is our first SCORE Baja 1000.
SPT M/C<250cc>207x Jesus Rios (first pace in class)
We did it - finish it and win. I started from the start to mile 110. My sections were very technical. I did three trips to pre-run. This is my second SCORE race.
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