Toyota to debut 2010 4Runner at Baja 1000 - With Ivan Stewart

Toyota 2010 Model Year 4Runner Slated for the SCORE Baja 1000
The Fifth Generation 2010 Toyota 4Runner to run in the "Stock mini" Class

TORRANCE, Calif. (Nov.4, 2009) Toyota will make history by entering its 2010 Model Year Fifth Generation 4Runner in the internationally renowned SCORE Baja 1000. With over 672 milesin length and a time limit of 31 hours, the Baja 1000 is one of the toughest desert races in the world.

Over 325 entries are expected from around the world to compete in the 42nd Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 the last desert race of the season scheduled for November 20-21, in Ensenada, Mexico.

Toyota will test its newest 4Runner and showcase the SUV's capabilities and durability in the Mexican desert's treacherous terrain. "Historically, only half of the racers finish this incredible test of man and machine, but we're confident the Fifth Generation 4Runner will be a major contender in the stock mini class and can handle the grueling course", said Les Unger, Toyota's national motorsports manager.

One of the scheduled drivers will be the legendary Ivan "Ironman" Stewart 22-time SCORE Baja race winner. Stewart has successfully conquered the toughest obstacles in off-road racing and was inducted into the Off- Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006. "I'm thrilled to have been chosen to be one of the drivers to once again prove the toughness and durability of Toyota vehicles. I'm sure the Fifth Generation 4Runner will be tough enough to survive even my Iron foot", said Stewart. Co-driving the 4Runner will be the teams of Bob Ditner/Zach Zwillinger from the start line to Borrego Junction, Ken Ziesemer/Mark Sasaki throughout the San Felipe loop, Joe Nolan/Paul Williamsen from Borrego to Valle De La Trinidad, and Ivan Stewart/Bob Ditner from Valle De La Trinidad to the finish line. The 4Runner will run on General Tires and utilize the famous Baja Pits Organization throughout the course.

The 2009 Baja 1000 will be a single loop race starting and finishing in Ensenada on the Pacific Ocean side of the magnificent peninsula and run through Mexican villages -- luring in tens of thousands of spectators.

The Fifth Generation 4Runner
The fifth generation 4Runner has an improved V6 engine with better fuel economy and 34 more horse- power than the previous V6. It also adds 17 inch wheels and two additional airbags-for a total of eight, providing buyers more than $1,700 worth of added content. However, the price of the popular four wheel drive V6 SR5 remains unchanged at $30,915. Vehicles will begin arriving at dealerships in late-November. For Fifth Generation 4Runner specs visit: www.toyota.com/4runner/specs.html

SCORE Baja 1000 PreRun Advance

November 3, 2009





Sal Fish signature race course

Pre-running starts Friday on rugged 672.85-mile course

For November’s 42nd Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race



303 Racers entered to date, including 34 SCORE Trophy-Trucks, from 38 States and 13 countries

In internationally-televised Granddaddy of all desert races; finale of five-race 2009 SCORE Desert Series

To be held in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, Nov. 19-22;

GPS data, course map available at www.score-international.com



LOS ANGELES—Adventurers and the world’s best desert racers will begin practicing Friday as official pre-running starts for November's 42nd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race.

With over 325 entries expected to compete in 29 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, the granddaddy of all desert races will be held Nov. 19-22 in Ensenada, Mexico. Completing its 36th year as the World’s foremost desert racing sanctioning body, the event is the finale of the five-race 2009 SCORE Desert Series. To date entries have come from 38 U.S. States and 13 countries.

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 Granddaddy of all desert races has been run over the mysterious Baja California peninsula. Because of the economics and logistics involved, some years it is a peninsula run while most years it is a loop race, starting and finishing in Ensenada.

This year’s 672.85-mile race will start for the 35th time and finish for the 20th time in Ensenada. The motorcycle and ATV classes will start their journey at 6:30 a.m. (PST, Friday, Nov. 20) with the car and truck classes starting at approximately 10:30 a.m., or three hours after the last ATV leaves the line. 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 14 hours. All vehicles will have a 31-hour time limit to become official finishers in the legendary adventure.

The race will start and finish on Boulevard Costero adjacent to the picturesque Bahia de Todos Santos in front of the historical Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in the heart of Ensenada.

Pre-running on the 672.85-mile loop course will officially begin on Saturday. Pre-running will be allowed from Ojos Negros and back, starting at race mile 43.3. One way pre-running from the start to Ojos Negros will be allowed only on Wednesday and Thursday of race week (Nov. 18 and 19). During the race, the first section of the course, approximately 40 miles, will be used leaving the city and returning to Ensenada.

While late entries are accepted up to race day, a total of 303 entries have officially been accepted for the race as of today which will put the starting field in the top 10 in the 42-year history of the storied event.

“We have been able, with the dedication and cooperation of many of our friends in Baja California, to develop a race course for the 42nd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 that will challenge even the most experienced of our great SCORE desert racers,” commented Sal Fish, SCORE President/CEO since soon after it was founded in 1973. “This great, great course presents the competitors with all of the variety of terrain and elevation changes you could possibly hope for along with the dramatic beauty of Baja. This spectacular race course features the best of the courses we have used in our last three SCORE Baja races.”

With massive crowds reaching nearly 250,000 anticipated to again be spread out along the rugged course that travels from Ensenada, down Laguna Salada to San Felipe, down through the legendary Matomi Wash, around Mike’s Sky Ranch, through both Rancho El Trachis and Rancho El Coyote, down the infamous Simpson’s Hill and back to the Pacific Coast below San Vicente and up through Santo Tomas, Uruapan and back to Ojos Negros, covering much of the northern half of the majestic Baja California peninsula to and from Ensenada.

From the start in Ensenada the course will go east to Ojos Negros for almost 40 miles which will be raced in both directions during the race. From Ojos Negros, the course will travel in a clockwise direction. From Ojos Negros, the course turns South to El Alamo and then east up through the Summit and makes a South turn at Cohabuzo Junction and on to the the infamous Laguna Salada, paralleling Mexican Highway 5. Next is San Felipe loop where the course will cover some of the rugged Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 course including the magnificent Matomi Wash.

After the San Felipe loop, which travels in a counterclockwise direction from and back to Borrego, the course will head north and northwest, joining Highway 3 for a short distance to the Mike’s Sky Ranch turnoff. Then the course heads behind Mike’s and around Rancho Trachis and Rancho Coyote and down the challenging Simpson’s hill. From this point the course is very similar to the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 heading north along the Pacific Ocean below San Vicente and past Erendira, back inland up through Santo Tomas then turning northeast just past Uruapan winding its way back to Ojos Negros for the final charge back to Ensenada. In the Erendira area, the course avoids the rocky section along the Pacific, taking instead a high plateau east of that area.

The course features six checkpoints, where vehicle numbers and passing times are recorded to help verify the information gathered on the electronic recording devices that are mounted on all vehicles in the race.

The locations of the six checkpoints are: Checkpoint 1 (race-mile 90.03, North of Santa Catarina), CP2 (rm213.27-southwest of Borrego), CP3 (rm309.80-South of San Felipe), CP4 (rm401.94-Southwest of Borrego), CP5 (rm 535.32-San Vicente Vineyards) and CP6 (rm631.25-Ojos Negros).

Pre-race festivities on Thursday, Nov. 19, for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, including the vastly popular tech and contingency of all vehicles and the SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway will be held from 19 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Boulevard Costero in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. The pre-race mandatory driver/rider briefing will be held Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Cathedral Room at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. Racer and media registration will be held at the San Nicolas Resort Hotel from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18 and from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19.

While entries will be accepted up to race morning (Friday, Nov. 20), late entries will be assigned the next available number and starting position within each class.

The post-race Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Survivor’s Celebration will be held poolside at the San Nicolas Resort Hotel at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22.

The car and truck classes with the most entries to date are SCORE Trophy-Truck (34), Class 1 (23), Class 1-2/1600 (13) and Class 10 and SCORE Lite (10 each).

Among the motorcycle and ATV classes, the open motorcycle Class 22 has the most entries to date with 18 followed by Class 30, riders 30 years old and over, which has 13.

Leading the six Sportsman classes in the race is Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc which has 35 entries and Sportsman Motorcycle under 250cc which has 14 entries to date.

The defending overall champions are all in this year’s field: Roger Norman, Reno, Nev./Larry Roeseler, Boulevard, Calif., in the No. 8 Norman Motorsports BFGoodrich Tires Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck, the No. 1x Class 22 open motorcycle team led by Robby Bell, Sun City, Calif., on a Kawasaki KX450 and the No. 1a Class 24 open ATV team led by Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif., on a Honda TRX700XX.

Among the many other talented entries from all over the world is the venerable Rod Hall, Reno, Nev., who is only individual who has raced in all 41 previous Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 races.

The legendary Hall, 70, of Reno, Nev., has a race-record 19 career class wins in this event and is the only driver to have competed every year (all in a car or truck class). Hall will be looking for two class wins this year as he is entered as the second driver for his sons Josh and Chad Hall in Hummer H3 vehicles in both the Stock Mini and Stock Full classes.

This year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour NBC Sports special, in association with SCORE and Aura360, for the sixth consecutive year. It is scheduled to air on NBC at 2 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, Dec. 19 on the NBC Television Network. It will also air on a delayed basis outside of the U.S. on ESPN International.

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 16 drivers remain eligible after Round 4 of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series.

This race also features the prestigious Sal Fish SCORE IronRider awards presented to each motorcycle or ATV rider who completes the course within the time limit while riding solo. To date, 24 individuals have officially declared that they will be attempting to complete the course riding solo.

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, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

Additional associate sponsors for the 2009 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 are Proturismo de Ensenada and the State Tourism Department of Baja California.

For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.



2009 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000

Final round of five race 2009 SCORE Desert Series

Nov. 19-22 -- Ensenada, Mexico

TOTAL ENTRIES: 303 (38 States, 13 Countries)(as of 11/3/09)

PRO CARS & TRUCKS

SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK (34)

2 Pete Sohren

71 Rick D. Johnson

96 Bobby Baldwin

7 Scott Steinberger

12 Brian Collins

84 Nick Vanderwey

1 B.J. Baldwin

77 Robby Gordon

19 Tim Herbst

8 Roger Norman

24 Adam Householder

3 Mark Post

9 Mark Weyhrich

16 Cameron Steele

23 Mark McMillin

4 Gus Vildosola Jr.

59 Craig Potts

28 Alan Pflueger

31 Andy McMillin

74 Rob Bruce

76 Jesse Jones

78 Jesse Ashcraft

51 Kory Scheeler

13 Ed Stout

22 Damen Jefferies

47 James Bult

30 Robbie Pierce

20 Rob MacCachren

58 Ronnie Wilson

35 Jason Voss

39 Ron Whitton

10 Greg Nunley

79 Mike Mastro

75 Jerry Zaiden

CLASS 1 (23)

101 Armin Schwarz

102 Harley Letner

103 Jerry Penhall

104 Armin Kremer

105 Brian Parkhouse

106 Randy Wilson

107 Robert LeMaster

108 Todd Welling

109 Rudy Cortez

110 Troy Herbst

111 Dale Lenk

112 George Thieriot

113 Josh Daniel

114 Eric Chase

115 Brad Fouvre

116 Richard Boyle

117 Brendan Fikes

118 Brad Etter

119 Charles Rudolph

120 Jesse Hooker

121 Josh Rigsby

147 Chuck Dempsey

148 Chuck Sacks

CLASS 1-2/1600 (13)

1601 Cody Robinson

1602 Jose Fernandez

1603 Arturo Velazco

1604 Wes McKenzie

1605 Daniel McMillin

1606 Gerardo Iribe

1643 Alejandro Lozano

1644 Eliseo Garcia

1645 Eric Duran

1646 Corbin Harris

1647 Brian Wilson

1648 Justin Smith

1649 Arnoldo Ramirez

CLASS 3 (4)

300 Donald Moss

301 Scott Barnes

302 Daniel Wright

349 Darren Skilton

CLASS 5 (7)

500 Kevin Carr

501 Drew Belk

502 Chris Willis

503 Shaun Dunbar

517 Carlos Albanez

518 Vince Wavra

519 Che Corlett

CLASS 5/1600 (9)

551 Jonathon Knight

552 Alonso Angulo

553 Oscar Venegas

554 Mark Low

555 Erich Reisen

556 Ernesto Arambula

577 Armando Garcia

578 Pedro Athie

550 Marcos Nunez

CLASS 6 (8)

601 Richard Blunk

602 Marc Burnett

603 Robert Pickering

604 Jose Acuna Jr

616 Steve Kovach

617 Heidi Steele

618 John Townsend

619 Gregg Hempel

CLASS 7 (6)

701 Scott Ulrich

700 Dan Chamlee

703 Bill Kunz

704 Brandon Walsh

705 Jose Gonzalez

706 Igor Galvan

CLASS 7SX (3)

741 Norman Turley

742 Brandt Anderson

759 John Holmes

CLASS 8 (4)

801 Rodrigo Ampudia Jr.

802 Juan C. Lopez

803 Dave Crinklaw

839 Clyde Stacy

CLASS 9 (3)

901 Zack Burkett

902 Chuck Krumm

949 Ulises Morquecho

CLASS 10 (10)

1001 Jesus Gonzalez

1000 Mike Lawrence

1003 Javier Robles

1004 Justin Davis

1005 Lars Ferry

1006 Scott Gailey

1007 Sergio Salgado

1008 Steve Restivo

1048 David Greenhill

1049 Jose Lynch

SCORE LITE (10)

1201 Luis Barragan

1202 Brent Parkhouse

1203 Morgan Langley

1204 John Langley

1205 Rob Smith

1206 John Padgett

1207 Mark Fusting

1200 Rick St. John

1248 Greg Gustin

1249 Roberto Encinas

CLASS 11 (5)

1101 Eric Solorzano

1102 Michael Brown

1103 Dolores Casarez

1104 Jim Graham

1149 Gustavo Garayzar

STOCK FULL (3)

860 Chad Hall

878 Joe Bacal

879 Justin Matney

STOCK MINI (3)

761 Josh Hall

778 Robert Ditner

779 Gavin Skilton

PROTRUCK (4)

250 Gary Magness

234 Rob Reinertson

260 Nils Castillo

240 Rob Kittleson

CLASS 17 (3)

1701 Eric Filar

1702 Mike Shaffer

1749 Cliff Cook

BAJA CHALLENGE (4)

BC1 Christian Hammarskjold

BC2 Jay Culbertson

BC3 Brian Valentine

BC4 Mike Cassling

CLASS 2 (1)

209 William Erickson

PRO MOTORCYCLES

CLASS 22 (18)

2x Adam Thissen

3x Jason Lulis

4x Cameron Corfman

5x James Hall-S

1x Robby Bell

7x A.J. Stewart

8x John Kaisersatt

9x Dunn Voyer-S

10x Mark Bradford

11x Ivan Ramirez

12x Kendall Norman

13x Chuck Neugebauer

14x Chad Black

16x Brad Williscroft

17x Aaron Lindsey-S

18x Colton Udall

19x Adam Neuwirth

20x Matt Eddy

CLASS 21 (5)

101x Dan Troy-S

102x Ronnie Wilson

103x Bill Boyer

104x Chris Parker

105x Jeremy Purvines

CLASS 20 (6)

151x Manuel Reyes

150x Anna Cody

153x Jesus Rios

154x Tony Gurule

155x Marco Bernaldez

169x Hector Castillo

CLASS 30 (13)

301x Mike Johnson

302x Sean Bradley

303x Jean-Paul Cyr

304x Alejandro Ventosa

305x Eric Alfaro

306x James Dickinson

307x Robert Boyle

308x Sol Saltzman

309x Ron Wilson-S

310x Miguel Jimenez

311x Sergio Villalpando

312x Talya Dodson-S

349x Mike Kay

CLASS 40 (6)

401x Brian Campbell

402x Brad Turnidge

403x Tom Vogt

400x Scott Myers

405x Mike Prunty

449x Julio Abril

CLASS 50 (5)

501x Hugh Graffunder

502x Gary Barr-S

503x Craig Wear

504x Charles Wallace

500x Jim O’Neal

CLASS 60 (2)

601x Richard Jackson

600x Donald E. Lewis

PRO ATVS

CLASS 25 (5)

2a Patrick Christensen

1a Wayne Matlock

4a Greg Row

5a Felipe Velez

6a Nick Nelson

CLASS 24 (8)

101a Brian Harris

100a Craig Christy

103a Cesar Chanate

104a Tom Wright

105a Roberto Ruiz

106a Christian Vera

108a Luis Berumen

109a Benjamin Lopez Jr.

CLASS 26 (4)

201a Chuck Neugebauer

202a Reid Rutherford

218a Mike Penland

219a Rob Ransford

SPORTSMAN

SPT CAR (6)

1401 George Jackson

1400 Peter Lang

1403 Raymond Calore

1404 Gary Hewett

1448 Rory Ward

1449 Peter Ramseier

SPT TRUCK (4)

1501 Nick Tonelli

1502 Ken Fraizer

1503 Tim Smith

1549 Randy Swink

SPT UTV (4)

1801 Dave Roberts

1802 Thomas Graves

1803 Reid Nordin

1819 John Crowley

SPT M/C 250< (14)

201x Charles Shortt

202x Matt Ladendorf

204x Joel Blockson

205x Miguel Montenegro

206x Seppo Saarinen

208x Fred Sobke

209x Doron Kollan-S

210x Zachy Moritz-S

211x Tibi Imbuzan-S

212x Greg Willitts

213x Humberto Valle

214x Francisco Teran

248x Louie Montano-S

249x Nathan Barlow-S

SPT M/C 250> (35)

251x Craig Anstine

252x Salvador Sainz

253x Jeff Leonard

254x Cliff Cook

255x Craig Campbell

256x Oscar Fazz

257x Eric Anderson-S

258x Jeb Boynton

259x Dave Bervin

260x Michael Powell

261x Mike Kaplan-S

262x Andrew Siegmund

263x Ricardo De La Pena

264x Gary Gonzales

265x Doug McCrady-S

266x Shohei Himeno

267x Bob Gumser

268x Ray Grupp

270x Mike Mensinger

271x Trent Burgiss

272x Hideaki Sasski-S

273x Ebara Shuji

274x Brian Garrahan

275x Tatsushi Asaga-S

276x Yvan Perroud-S

277x Christian Chapman

278x Duncan Ragsdale

279x Don Wadsworth

280x Dan Dooling-S

281x Davy Patterson

282x Blake Ribbe-Tanner

283x Octavio Valle-S

297x Ken Kosiorek-S

298x Yoram Lavee-S

299x John Lowe

SPT ATV (11)

51a Dennis Lemare-S

52a Howie Orona

53a Adrian Valdez

54a Edgard Saldivar

55a Daniel Wehr-S

56a Yuval Sharon

57a Daniel Montano

58a Brad McLean

59a Manuel Jimenez

60a Alberto Maya

99a Gustavo Ameca

S-Indicates Solo Rider

Toyota to pull out of Formula One

Full Story

Toyota's exit from Formula One racing is imminent, Japanese media reported Wednesday.

Toyota was widely expected to follow Honda as the second major Japanese automaker to withdraw from the sport. Honda pulled out last December, citing a slowdown in the global economy. Brawn GP, which took over the old Honda team, won the 2009 F1 championship.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, is seeking to cut costs as it expects to post an operating loss for the six months ended Sept. 30. It is due to report earnings Thursday.

The company posted its worst ever loss in the financial year ended March.