The first round of the 2025 SCORE World Desert Championship was won overall and in the SCORE Trophy Truck by the new Mexican Off-Road star
San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico – San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico – Alan Ampudia, 34, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, won the overall race in the King Shocks 38th SCORE San Felipe 250, and in the SCORE Trophy Truck, after an epic battle throughout the day with Luke McMillin, during the first round of the 2025 SCORE World Desert Championship.
Ampudia drove his No. 1 Ford Raptor Mason AWD Team Papas and Beer heroically, recovering from a flat tire in the last miles of the 250.06-mile race course, winning the SCORE San Felipe 250 for the second consecutive year with an official time of 3 hours, 55 minutes, and 13 seconds, at an average speed of 63.77 miles per hour.
Few Mexicans have managed to win the overall in the SCORE San Felipe 250 in trucks and cars, a list that now includes Alan Ampudia alongside names like Juan Carlos Ibarra, Gustavo Vildosola Sr., and Gustavo Vildosola Jr. Additionally, Ampudia earned a special $10,000 bonus from King Shocks, the official sponsor of the race, for winning the overall, as well as using shock absorbers from the company led by Brett King.
luke McMillin, 32, San Diego, Calif., finished second overall and in the ‘Desert Monsters,’ driving his No. 83 Chevy 1500 Mason AWD, crossing the finish line at San Felipe Malecon in 3:56:02, earning important points for the 2025 championship.
Rob ‘THE G.O.A.T’ MacCachren, 60, Las Vegas, Nevada, finished third overall and in the SCORE Trophy Trucks, driving the No. 11 Chevrolet Silverado Jimco Fastball Racing, with a time of 3:56:13 along the sandy deserts of San Felipe.
A total of 251 teams started the race at the San Felipe Malecon, from 26 states in the United States, the host country Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Argentina, Australia, France, and New Zealand. 191 teams officially finished the race, resulting in a 76 percent finish rate in the SCORE San Felipe 250.
San Felipe is located 125 miles south of the U.S. border in Calexico, California, on the east side of the Baja California Peninsula, along the blue waters of the Gulf of California.
The four SCORE races in 2025 will take place in the magnificent Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, something that has happened over the last ten years.
STEELE AND A HISTORIC WIN
Cameron ‘PAB’ Steele became the first winner in the history of the new class, SCORE Trophy Truck 2WD, for single-drive trucks, driving spectacularly his No. 16T Ford F-150 Geiser Desert Assasins, finishing in the top 11 overall in the SCORE San Felipe 250.
Steele, a passionate fan of the Baja California Peninsula and former ESPN X Games commentator, crossed the finish line with a time of 4:18:02, without needing a driver change in his truck.
NOBODY STOPS ‘GUS’ AND JOHNSON
Gustavo Vildosola Sr., 71, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, and Ricky Johnson, 60, El Cajon, California, achieved their 13th consecutive win in the SCORE Trophy Truck Legend class, in addition to finishing ninth overall in the SCORE San Felipe 250.
‘Gus’ and Johnson shared driving duties of the No. 1L Ford Raptor Mason AWD Vildosola Racing, throughout the 250.06-mile race course, stopping the clock at 4:10:54, aiming for a new championship in the class for drivers 50 years and older in a SCORE Trophy Truck.
SAMPIETRO, A SAN FELIPE SPECIALIST
Jorge Sampietro, 34, Ensenada, Baja California, has already won the SCORE San Felipe 250 five times. His most recent success was this week in the Trophy Truck Spec class, within a field of 31 drivers, driving his No. 297 Chevrolet Mason JS Racing, with a time of 4 hours, 14 minutes, and 20 seconds.
It was a flawless race for Sampietro, who had a very intense battle with Justin Davis, 31, Chino Hills, Calif., who finished in second place in the Trophy Truck Spec class, driving his No. 285 TSCO-Chevy Green Army Motorsports.
HEGER SHINES IN UNSTOPPABLE MODE
Brock Heger, 25, El Centro, California, celebrated another victory in the deserts of the magical and epic Baja California Peninsula by winning the SCORE San Felipe 250 in the Pro UTV Open class, as part of the Polaris factory team/SCI Motorsports team.
Heger, who won the last SCORE Baja 1000 in November, is dominating his rivals, having also won the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia this past January, in addition to other major off-road events in the United States, capturing the checkered flag in 4:37:47, driving the No. Polaris RZR Pro R Factory number 1896.
This was the race with the most UTVs in SCORE International history, with 91 amazing vehicles, divided into five different classes, surpassing last year's total of 69 UTV competitors in the SCORE San Felipe 250.
Source: Score International
Picture: GetSome Photo.
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