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Baja 1000 2023: Menzies wins 1st Overall--56th SCORE Baja 1000
The race, the culmination of the 50th anniversary of pioneer desert-racing organization SCORE International, started Thursday in La Paz, Baja California Sur for the first time and finished for the 29th time in Ensenada, Baja California.
the grueling race covered 1310.94 race miles as the season-finale of the four-race SCORE World Desert Championship and Menzies and his talented team finished the iconic race with a two-minute, three-second margin over another Dream Team of San Diego’s Luke McMillin (Andy’s younger cousin) and Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren.
Driving their amazing AWD No. 7 Red Bull Ford Raptor SCORE Trophy Truck built by Mason Motorsports, Menzies won for the third consecutive race in 2023 to also earn the SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship. Together, this talented trio covered the unforgiving course in a total time of 22 hours, 35 minutes, 33 seconds with an impressive average speed of 58.03 miles pour hour in this race.
Menzies also became just the 10th SCORE racer to have earned the prestigious SCORE Baja Triple Crown award for winning the overall in all the historic SCORE Baja races—SCORE San Felipe 250, SCORE Baja 500, and SCORE Baja 1000.
To all, this magnificent, magical, one and only motorsports extravaganza is known as the ‘Granddaddy of All Desert Races.’
The SCORE Baja 1000 is at the pinnacle of motorsports as the oldest, most iconic, most prestigious, toughest and longest continuously held desert race in the world.
SCORE International is well known around the globe as the ‘World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization.’ Celebrating its 50th season in 2023, this race is the flagship event of the SCORE World Desert Championship.
SHOWDOWN
This year’s epic Granddaddy of All Desert Races was a radically rugged run of 1310.94 masterful miles UP Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting for the first time in La Paz, Baja California Sur, and finishing for the 29th time in Ensenada, Baja California. Overall, this legendary event ran the length of the poetic peninsula for the 25th time in its 56-year history.
MENZIES & MORE
This triple pairing started the race from the first spot as Menzies won the SCORE Baja 400 in September which determined the starting positions for this race. Except for a couple of lead changes early in the race, Menzies and his team keep a nearly 15-minute margin most of the race.
At the finish, runner-up Luke McMillin and his driving mate Rob MacCachren closed to just one minute, 18 seconds as McMillin was trying to become the first racer to win four consecutive overall victories in this race.
Menzies started and drove to race mile 525. A. McMillin drove from race mile 525 to race mile 925, and Vildosola Jr drove from race mile 925 to the finish.
This trio now has a combined 30 career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins (McMillin-12, Menzies-11, and Vildosola Jr-7).
TOP SEVEN OVERALL SCORE TROPHY TRUCKS
Besides podium finishers Menzies/A. McMillin/Vildosola Jr, L. McMillin/MacCachren, and Walser/Polvoorde/Griffith, the top seven overall four-wheel vehicle finishers were all SCORE Trophy Trucks.
In fourth place was Andrew Myers, 43, San Marcos, Calif, in the No. 69 Toyota Tundra (Herbst/Smith) with a time of 24:23:28, fifth was Sam Baldi, 58, Beaumont, Calif, in the No. 82 Chevy Silverado (Baldi) in 24:27:14, sixth was Roberto Romo Jr, 18, Mexicali, Mexico, in the No. 33 Ford Raptor (Racer) in 24:46:16, and seventh was SCORE TT Legend driver Gustavo Vildosola Sr, 70, Mexicali, Mexico, the No. 1L Ford Raptor (Mason) in a time of 25:29:27.
Menzies said at the finish line, “This one feels really special. It’s taken me 12 years to win the SCORE Baja 1000 and to win the second-longest SCORE race in history, it feels pretty special. I had a very smooth first section, with no flats or anything, Andy had one flat in his part but did a great job too and Tavo went through San Felipe and all the bumps and the cold weather. I also wanted to thank SCORE for putting on another amazing race here in Baja.”
Source: SCORE International
Photo: Art Eugenio / Red Bull Content Pool
Helder