Busy pre-running begins Friday in Mexico on rugged 432.51-mile race course for 41st Tecate SCORE Baja 500

June 4-7 event in Ensenada has entries from 24 States, 12 countries;

course map available at www.score-international.com



LOS ANGELES—With the release of the official course map, GPS files and course notes this past weekend, pre-race activity steps up significantly starting Friday when the world’s best desert racers officially begin their pre-running and course logistics activities for next month’s 41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500, the second-oldest desert race in the world.

Round 3 of the five-race 2009 SCORE Desert Series, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series, will feature over 275 entries, competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, will be held June 4-7 in Ensenada, Mexico. Traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule, over 100,000 spectators are expected to enjoy the world’s best desert racers in action at this year’s 41st anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500.

With late entries accepted up to race morning, over 275 entries are expected for the 432.51-mile race from 25 U.S. States from Hawaii to Vermont along with the additional countries of Mexico, Austria, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan and Portugal.

The green flag will drop for the race at 6 a.m. on Saturday (June 6) for the motorcycle and ATV classes in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, followed by the car and truck classes three hours after the last ATV at approximately 10 a.m. With vehicles starting one every 30 seconds in the elapsed-time race, it will start and finish in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Boulevard Costero in the heart of Ensenada, leaving and returning into the city through the spectator-laden Arroyo Wash.

The talented field of veteran desert racers heading to Baja includes 16 defending class winners out of the 25 Pro classes that had finishers in last year’s race, including the three overall winners—B.J. Baldwin (4-Wheel), Kendall Norman (2-Wheel) and Wayne Matlock (ATVs). Four of last year’s class winners will be racing this year in different classes.

Also entered are the drivers who won the last seven overall 4-Wheel vehicle titles and the riders who have won the last nine overall 2-Wheel vehicle titles.

Driving the No. 1 Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck, B.J. Baldwin of Las Vegas, won the closest 4-wheel overall battle in SCORE Baja history last year when he defeated the team of Mark Post, Laguna Beach, Calif./Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, by a mere seven seconds. The Post/MacCachren duo is entered again in the No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck.

As SCORE CEO/President Sal Fish announced prior to the start of this season, the rugged course 432.51-mile course is a near-duplicate of last year’s, accept just under 10 miles shorter. To help reduce the costs of pre-running, the course, which runs in a clockwise direction, resembles a deflating balloon, winding east to Ojos Negros, down to near San Felipe, back West to the Pacific Ocean near San Vicente and back north east through Santo Tomas on the way back to Ojos Negros and then Ensenada.

The only pre-running that will be allowed on the first 36.8 miles of the course will be outbound only and only on Thursday and Friday, June 4 and 5. No inbound pre-running on the last 36.8 miles of the course will be allowed. Pre-running of the rest of the course will start and finish in the Ojos Negros area.

The four official race checkpoints, where all vehicles are required to make a quick stop, will be located at race mile 87.32 (Santa Catarina), rm199.17 (Borrego), rm 296.81 (San Vicente) and rm389.76 Rancho San Antonio. All vehicles are also required to run International Rally Consultants tracking devices.

Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif., returns as the three-time defending overall motorcycle champion, but he will have a new teammate this year on his Johnny Campbell Racing Honda CRF450X. Riding with Norman this year will be Timmy Weigand, Santa Clarita, Calif.

The pair opened this season with an overall motorcycle win in March at the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 while the veteran Campbell, 38, San Clemente, Calif., who has five overall two-wheel wins in this race, is listed as a possible third rider, if needed, on both the Norman entry and his other American Honda-supported JCR team led by Colton Udall, who is also from San Clemente.

Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif., is back as the defending overall ATV champion and will lead a four-rider team on a Honda TRX700XX. Riding with him again this year will be Harold Goodman, Brownstown, Mich., along with new teammates Wes Miller, Fallbrook, Calif. and Josh Caster, El Cajon, Calif. The Matlock/Goodman/Caster trio won this year’s ATV overall title at the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250.

While late entries will be accepted up to race morning, as of today, the Pro 4-Wheel vehicles classes with the most entries are: SCORE Trophy-Truck (24), Class 1 (17) and Class 1-2/1600 (16).

Leading the Pro Motorcycle classes in entries so far are Class 22 (17), Class 30 (12) and Class 21 (11). Class 24 leads the Pro ATV classes with 11 entries to date.

Among the Sportsman classes, SPT Motorcycles over 250cc has 27 entries and SPT Motorcycles under 250cc has 13. There are also 13 SPT ATVs to date.

This popular SCORE early summer race began in 1969 under the auspices of the old NORRA organization and SCORE began its enduring run with it on July 26, 1974. This year will be the 36th anniversary of the first SCORE race in Baja.

Included in nearly $400,000 in contingency posting and the cash purse for the race, Sunoco Race Fuels, the official race fuel of SCORE, has posted a special US$5,000 cash contingency bonus for the overall 4-wheel vehicle winner.

Besides B.J. Baldwin, Kendall Norman and Wayne Matlock, the other drivers and riders who will be attempting to defend their class wins from last year are: Kevin Carr, San Diego (Class 5, VW Baja Bug), Dan Chamlee, Carpenteria, Calif. (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Daniel Reyes Jr., Calexico, Calif. (Class 9, Venegas-VW), Jesus Gonzalez, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 10, Dunrite-Honda), Rick St. John, Encinitas, Calif. (SCORE Lite, Duvel-VW), Brett Helm, Poway, Calif. (Class 40, Honda CRF450X), Jim O’Neal, Simi Valley, Calif. (Class 50, Honda CRF450X) and Donald Lewis, Marlborough, Conn. (Class 60, Honda CRF450X.

Heidi Steele, San Clemente, Calif., is one of four female driver/rider of record this year and she is also one of the five racers who won their respective classes last year but will be competing in a different class this year. In Steele’s case, however, she will be competing in two classes. After winning Class 7SX last year, she is racing with teammates in both Class 6 and Class 7 this year in different Ford Rangers.

Besides Heidi Steele, the other four racers who will be in different classes this year are Luis Ramirez Jr., Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, who is the second driver this year for Damen Jeferries in SCORE Trophy-Truck after winning Class 1 last year; Adam Pfankuch, Carlsbad, Calif., who is the second driver in SCORE Lite for Rick St. John this year after winning Class 1-2/1600; Connor Penhall, Corona, Calif., who will lead a team in Class 22 after being the second rider for Chad Black while winning Class 20 last year; and Scott Myers, Sun City, Calif., who is the rider of record in Class 40 this year’s for Brett Helm’s team after leading a team to victory last year in Class 30.

For the second straight year and just the second time in the 41-year history of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert race, the colorful pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and Contingency, the start and finish line will all be located in the heart of Ensenada, Mexico on Boulevard Costero adjacent to the historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. It will be first time in race history that both the pre-race activities and the finish will be held on this historic boulevard.

The SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, June 5 on Blvd Costero. Racer registration will again be held in the Grand Ballroom of the San Nicolas Hotel. Registration hours will be from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 4 and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday June 5.

The awards celebration will be held poolside at the San Nicolas Hotel on Sunday, June 7 at 10 a.m.

In addition to season point class point championships, drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also racing to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season. Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 24th consecutive year, a total of 32 drivers remain eligible after Round 2 of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series.

Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuels -official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance, Slime-official tire sealant and Red Bull--official energy drink. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Enthusiast Advertising, American Suzuki, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

Additional sponsors for this race are the Baja California Department of Tourism and ProTurismo de Ensenada.

For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.



41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500

June 4-7, 2009--Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

Total Entries: 252 (as of 5/18/09)

(24 States; Mexico, Austria, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Portugal)

Pro Cars & Trucks

SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK (24)

11 Greg Nunley

3 Mark Post

1 B.J. Baldwin

12 Brian Collins

19 Tim Herbst

77 Robby Gordon

24 Adam Householder

35 Robbie Pierce

13 Ed Stout

4 Gus Vildosola Jr.

2 Pete Sohren

84 Nick Vanderwey

8 Roger Norman

39 Ron Whitton

22 Damen Jefferies

38 Garron Cadiente

16 Cameron Steele

71 Rick D. Johnson

96 Bobby Baldwin

28 Alan Pflueger

47 James Bult

53 Jason Voss

51 Kory Scheeler

74 Rob Bruce

CLASS 1 (17)

101 Randy Wilson

102 Armin Schwarz

103 Ronny Wilson

104 Julio Herrera

105 Richard Boyle

106 Troy Herbst

107 Josh Rigsby

108 Dale Lenk

109 Jerry Penhall

110 Armin Kremer

111 Todd Romano

112 Rob Bruce

113 Josh Daniel

114 Harley Letner

115 Brian Parkhouse

117 Kenny Farmer

118 Enrique Bujanda

CLASS 1-2/1600 (16)

1601 Samuel Araiza

1602 David Caspino

1603 Hector Sarabia

1604 Mario Gastelum

1605 Arnoldo Ramirez

1606 Cisco Bio

1607 Brian Wilson

1608 Roman Pereyra

1609 Arturo Velazco

1610 Brad Wilson

1611 Luis Martinez

1612 Justin Smith

1613 Hector Garcia

1647 Eric Duran

1648 Ramiro Escobedo

1649 Marco Gallo

CLASS 3 (2)

348 Darren Skilton

349 Gerardo Barragan

CLASS 5 (3)

501 Shaun Dunbar

500 Kevin Carr

519 Carlos Albanez

CLASS 5/1600 (6)

551 Alonso Angulo

552 Oscar Venegas

553 Pedro Athie

577 Sergio Moreno

550 Marcos Nunez

579 Gustavo Avina

CLASS 6 (4)

601 Benjamin Wright

602 Heidi Steele

603 Marc Burnett

604 Robert Pickering

CLASS 7 (8)

701 Einer Gomez

700 Dan Chamlee

703 Bill Kunz

704 Jose Canchola Jr.

705 Heidi Steele

706 Brandon Walsh

707 Igor Galvan

708 Aaron Celiceo

CLASS 7SX (3)

741 Brandt Anderson

758 John Holmes

759 Eduardo Gonzalez

CLASS 8 (6)

801 Rodrigo Ampudia Jr.

802 Ted Hunnicutt Jr.

803 Clyde Stacy

804 Beny Canela

805 Rick Sanchez

806 Juan C. Lopez

CLASS 9 (3)

901 Luke Babb

902 Pancho Bio

900 Daniel Reyes Jr.

CLASS 10 (7)

1001 Scott Gailey

1002 Sergio Salgado

1003 Javier Robles

1004 Jesus Gonzalez

1000 Mike Lawrence

1006 Corey Keysar

1007 Will Higman

SCORE LITE (6)

1201 John Langley

1202 Lee Banning

1200 Rick St. John

1205 Brent Parkhouse

1206 Aaron Payne

1207 Michelle Bruckmann

CLASS 11 (3)

1101 Eric Solorzano

1102 Rene Rodriguez

1149 Gustavo Garayzar

STOCK FULL (2)

878 Justin Matney

879 Joe Bacal

STOCK MINI (1)

779 Gavin Skilton

PROTRUCK (2)

250 Gary Magness

240 Rob Kittleson

PRO MOTORCYCLES

CLASS 22 (17)

2x Ryan Penhall

3x Chuck Neugebauer

4x Kendall Norman

5x Connor Penhall

6x Steve Hengeveld

7x Terence Montelongo

8x Cameron Corfman

9x Guy Larocque

11x Adam Thissen

12x Adrian Butler

13x Gabriel Williams

14x Tony Navarro

15x Colton Udall

16x Ivan Ramirez

17x Mark Bradford

18x A.J. Stewart

19x Adam Neuwirth

CLASS 21 (11)

101x Baron Pickett

102x Jorge Perez

103x Bill Boyer

104x Dan Troy

105x Elias Hanna

106x Shane Esposito

107x Ronnie Wilson

108x Chad Thornton

109x Jeremy Purvines

110x Evan Heath

111x Carlos Becerril

CLASS 20 (5)

151x Marco Bernaldez

152x Hector Castillo

153x Manuel Reyes

150x Anna Cody

155x Jesus Rios

CLASS 30 (12)

301x Sean Bradley

302x Sol Saltzman

303x Mike Johnson

300x Jim O’Neal

305x Kurt Funk

306x Jean-Paul Cyr

307x Javier Hernandez

308x Miguel Caetano

309x Andy Padulo

310x Marc Haldeman

311x Sergio Villapando

349x Todd Melinn

CLASS 40 (8)

401x Hisahide Ueno

402x Glen McGuire

400x Scott Myers

404x Brian Campbell

405x Mike Prunty

406x Tom Vogt

448x Rodolfo Sanchez

449x Julio Abril

CLASS 50 (3)

501x Charlie Marshall

502x Eizaburo Karasawa

500x Jim O’Neal

CLASS 60 (2)

600x Donald Lewis

609x Richard Jackson

PRO ATVs

CLASS 25 (5)

2a Santos Perez

3a Adolfo Arellano

1a Wayne Matlock

5a Nick Nelson

6a Felipe Velez

CLASS 24 (11)

101a Benjamin Lopez

102a Victor Lopez

100a Craig Christy

104a Abraham Romero

105a Shawn Robins

106a Jose Juarez

107a Brian Harris

108a Roberto Ruiz

109a Luis Berumen

110a Jorge Valenzuela

111a Miguel Arellano

CLASS 26 (2)

201a Reid Rutherford

219a Rob Ransford

SPORTSMAN

SPT CAR (1)

1400 Peter Lang

SPT TRUCK (4)

1501 Miguel Jimenez

1502 Ken Fraizer

1503 Joe Aguayo

1549 Randy Swink

SPT UTV (5)

1801 Martin Aguirre

1802 Peter Hajas

1803 Reid Nordin

1804 Thomas Graves

1805 Brian Hewett

SPT M/C< (13)

201x Miguel Montenegro

203x Gregg Betz

204x Matt Ladendorf

205x Francisco Teran

207x Brody Kunz

208x Walter Lemonovich

209x Fred Sobke

210x Ryan Carville

212x Humberto Valle

213x Marco Cornejo

247x Patrick Williams

248x Louie Montano

249x Greg Willitts

SPT M/C> (27)

251x Eric Anderson

252x Peter Penttinen

253x Mike Murray

254x Mark Adams

255x Jeff Leonard

256x Albert Valenzula

257x Don Wadsworth

258x Cliff Morgan

259x Erik Litzenberg

260x Stephen Legate

261x Ron Tolman

262x Dennis Anderson

263x Craig Anstine

264x Thierry Mas

265x Warner Blom

266x Oscar Fazz

267x Vince Leonis

269x Akihiro Saito

270x Kenji Oikawa

271x Carlos Gracida

272x Tibi Imbuzan

273x Cornelio Garcia

274x Odin Moncada

275x Octavio Valle

276x Salvador Sainz

277x Levi Colton

278x Enrique Guerra

SPT ATV (13)

50a Joselito Muro

51a Angel Hoyos

52a Luciano Parada

53a Raul Arciniega

54a Adrian Valdez

55a Javier Guerrero

56a Alberto Maya

57a Juan Gonzalez

58a Ray Arriaga

59a Manuel Jimenez

60a Daniel Montano

61a Fernando Amador

99a Gustavo Ameca