Online racer registration opens Monday, Feb. 7, closes Friday, March 11
Series airing for fourth straight season on ESPN2 World of X Games;
Qualifying for SCORE Trophy Truck, SCORE TT Legend,
Class 1 amd Trophy Truck Spec on Thursday, March 31

Beginning its 49th year in 2022 as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization, SCORE International is continuing to develop and expand the very special strategic SCORE Alliance with the tourism branch of the government of Mexico.
Signed in Ensenada in November of 2019, this unique motorsport tourism alliance issued by Mexico includes only Formula 1, NASCAR and SCORE.
The joint agreement launches for this year with the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship being held in Baja California. The season opener will be the 35th SCORE San Felipe 250, March 30-April 3 in San Felipe.
San Felipe is 125 miles south of the U.S. Border at Calexico, Calif. on the eastern side of the Baja peninsula along the azure waters of the Sea of Cortez. All four 2021 SCORE races will be held on Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula for the seventh consecutive year.

SCORE COMMENT
“In 2019 SCORE invited by the Mexican Federal Government through the Secretary of Tourism, to sign a Strategic Alliance to promote Mexico and the SCORE Baja races which is a unique and tremendous honor for SCORE International,” commented Juan Tintos Funcke, SCORE General Manager.
“This agreement with the Mexican government brings even greater support and promotion of our SCORE Baja races with mutual dual branding efforts by both SCORE and Mexico. SCORE loves Mexico and Mexico loves SCORE.”

THE AGREEMENT
Orchestrating this agreement was Baja California Federal Senator Gerardo Novelo, who himself is a champion SCORE desert racer. Executing the agreement in November of 2019 was Miguel Torruco Marques, Secretary of Tourism of Mexico at a special announcement ceremony in Ensenada’s Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center during race week for that year’s SCORE Baja 1000.

SCORE ELABORATES
Tintos Funcke continued his comments saying, “Baja California is the ideal place to organize the best desert races in the world because of the unique combination of deserts, mountains, valleys and the coasts of both the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez, unpredictable weather, significant government and private sector support, as well as amazing fan involvement along with ideal destinations to start and finish races.
“SCORE International is also singular among races promotors in Baja California after a long and distinguished involvement of nearly 50 years which started with two races, then three and finally all four as part of the internationally recognized SCORE World Desert Championship.
In addition to the massive economic impact of the races, since 2013 SCORE has been promoting Baja California including the host cities as well as the communities along the race routes and the many and different tourism attractions and services that Baja offers. SCORE does this through articles, spots, videoclips, as well as its cuisine, natural attractions, sport fishing, etc.
Through the vibrant SCORE Journal monthly digital magazine, SCORE Live at its races, super-sized SCOREvision LED Screens at contingency and the races, YouTube videos, press releases and on TV's ESPN2 World of X Games show SCORE diligently promotes Mexico as well as the SCORE racers, sponsors and events.
No other desert racing organization in Baja California promotes the state and country like SCORE does because we believe that if they come for the four SCORE Baja races they return to visit Mexico all year long.”

SCORE TRIPLE CROWN OF BAJA
Together, the SCORE San Felipe 250, SCORE Baja 500 and SCORE Baja 1000 are the three traditional SCORE Baja races that form the coveted SCORE Triple Crown of Baja award given to racers who have won the overall in each of these massive events.
The nine racers who have won the overall victory in all three of these races are David Ashley, Robby Gordon, Rob MacCachren, Andy McMillin, Scott McMillin, Larry Ragland, Dan Smith, Ivan Stewart and Gustavo Vildosola Jr.

Source SCORE International

It was an overall 1-2 finish for King Shocks in Saturday’s Parker 425, the season-opening event for truck classes running for the 2022 Best in the Desert title. BJ Baldwin’s three-lap time of 5:45:55.050 was good for the Trick Truck class and overall victories, while Conner McMullen topped the 6100 class with a time of 5:53:09.094.

Baldwin’s winning time was more than 13 minutes faster than anybody else in the Trick Truck class. Only minor mechanical issues on the final of three laps on the long Parker course prevented him from an even more substantial victory. After finishing fourth in series points last year with a consistent run across all five rounds, Baldwin leaves Parker with the championship lead going into the Silver State 300 in April.

“Leveling the playing field has given us an unfair advantage,” Baldwin said after the victory. “My marketing partners and my team made it happen. We’ve never been stronger. This is going to be an awesome race season.”

McMullen, meanwhile, made the most of his first BITD start in the 6100 division for spec trucks. After laying down the fourth fastest time in event time trials, the former Class 10 champion pushed to the front of the field in a spirited battle for top honors in one of desert racing’s deepest classes. In the end, the 21-year-old’s margin of victory over three 128.5-mile laps of a challenging Parker course was just under three minutes, marking his first BITD class victory since last year’s Laughlin Desert Classic in a 6200 car.

“Congratulations to BJ Baldwin and Conner McMullen for sweeping their classes and the top two overall spots in this year’s Parker 425,” said King Shocks owner and president Brett King. “They each had what it took to conquer two deep fields of the world’s best desert racers, and chose to ride on King Shocks to take them to victory. We’re looking forward to another great racing season with both of them pushing for class championships on King!”

Racing, prerunning or just having fun, whatever your application; King Shocks has the shock for you with the performance, reliability, precise tuning and adjustability you need. King Shocks, The Leader in Off-Road Technology!

Source Mad Media

Casey Currie, Dustin Jones earn premier class victories

It may have run in December instead of March, but 2021 was another edition of the Mint 400 to remember for Monster Energy athletes. Dustin Jones kicked off the festivities with an overall UTV victory on Friday, while on Saturday, Casey Currie scored top honors in his Trophy Jeep in Class 1 after qualifying first for the Great American Off-Road Race.

Befitting the Mint 400’s status as one of the most prestigious in the entire sport of desert racing, scoring the UTV Pro Turbo win was anything but easy. Jones was engaged in a battle for the top spot with half a dozen other racers, including fellow Monster teammate Phil Blurton, through four laps on a grueling 100-mile course. In the end, the driver who won his first Mint 400 in his very first try six years ago finally added another win here with a time of 8:28:31.149, more than 10 minutes faster than any other entry in Friday’s Limited races.

That set the stage for Saturday’s Unlimited races, which ran their qualifying segments on a separate but adjacent course on Friday while the Limited races ran. Currie qualified first in Class 1 and never looked back, posting laps that were well faster than any of the other competitors in the class. When all was said and done, Currie’s time of 8:18:01.855 was more than an hour faster than any other driver in the division.

Other Monster-backed athletes to finish on Friday included Blurton, who overcame mechanical difficulties to score a sixth place result in the UTV Pro Turbo class, and UFC fighter-turned off-road racer Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, who scored the runner-up finish in the UTV Rally class. On Saturday, meanwhile, Bailey Campbell joined Currie in Class 1 and added another top five finish to the Monster haul for the weekend.

For those who can’t get enough of the Mint 400, never fear: after pandemic concerns postponed this year’s race until December and added nine months to the wait, racers and fans won’t need to be patient for nearly as long next time around. The Great American Off-Road Race returns to its traditional second week in March for its 2022 running, with numerous Monster Energy athletes preparing to return to the Nevada desert once again to add to the trophy haul.

Source Monster Energy

Just a few short weeks ago, Rob MacCachren and Luke McMillin were teammates celebrating a victory in Baja. On Saturday, at the 2021 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400, they were fierce adversaries. But only one could take the victory in the latest edition of the Great American Off-Road Race, and unofficially it was 2017 winner MacCachren over 2020 winner McMillin in a battle that went down to the very end of the day—and included contact between them just miles away from the checkered flag.

“It was an unbelievable race,” an emotional MacCachren said on the podium. “We were just chasing Luke around, and it was materializing into a last lap battle, and the wind slowed down and the dust started hanging really low, which was weird. Sometimes you see the fog and it’s high, but on the dry lake, we couldn’t see the ground. We had a 90 degree left, a 90 degree right, and then my son said ‘that’s Luke, right there.’ We turned the lights off on him and followed him through the speed zone and over the bridge.

“We got in the dirt and some chicanes before the last couple of miles, and I don’t know what happened, but we got into the back of him in the dust and tipped him over. I was pretty bummed about it—we stopped and wanted to help him get back over. He’s the last person I’d want that to happen to. They’re an incredible family and an incredible team.”

McMillin launched alone at the start-finish line in Primm to start the day as the top qualifier, with MacCachren following alongside Harley Letner soon after. When Letner suffered a mechanical failure on the first lap that led to a DNF, most of the day came down to a battle on corrected time between the Baja teammates, with MacCachren looking to keep the gap on course as small as possible.

But just a handful of miles short of the finish, the entire complexion of the race changed. After contact between the two racers as MacCachren caught up, McMillin suffered a spectacular wreck that saw his truck take heavy damage. MacCachren stopped on course, where McMillin confirmed that he was alright and encouraged MacCachren to continue. McMillin was then able to recover to finish third, with Ryan Arciero completing the podium between them.

“I said ‘Rob, if I’m not going to go win this deal, you go get it, you earned it,’” said McMillin, who joined MacCachren on the podium for the post-race celebrations. “There are absolutely no hard feelings.”

Full live timing and scoring (including live unofficial results), as well as the replay of both days’ livestreams, can be found at live.themint400.com.

The Mint 400 has held the title of the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America since 1968 when it was first run. Initially, the race was a public relations event promoting the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt. but what started out as a hotel promotion soon grew into a legitimate desert race. Since its 2008 revival, “The Great American Off-Road Race” has only gotten bigger and more prestigious, and deeper fields every year only make it tougher to win.

Source The Mint 400

The battle for two-wheel supremacy in the 2021 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 saw Danny Cooper and Jacob Argubright go head-to-head and wheel-to-wheel for much of the race, but in the end, only one could take top honors. Cooper would outlast Argubright and the Pro Moto Open field for the unofficial victory, completing six laps in just over nine hours.

A total of 115 riders, including more than 30 Sportsman Open Ironman riders who planned to solo the event, took the green flag from Primm at 8AM on Saturday. The Pro Open quartet of Cooper, Argubright, Jesse Canepa, and Scott Moses would launch first. Argubright led early on, but the duo would later trade the lead on course in one of the more impressive battles of the event.

Cooper would secure the top spot for good as Argubright suffered setbacks later in the race, and he would run uncontested in the standings for the second half of the race. The final margin of victory was 28 minutes and 14 seconds, a difference that doesn’t fully tell how closely matched the two racers had been earlier on. More than half of that difference came from the final lap.

Full live timing and scoring (including live unofficial results), as well as livestream and Weatherman radio coverage, can be found at live.themint400.com.

The Mint 400 has held the title of the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America since 1968 when it was first run. Initially, the race was a public relations event promoting the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt. but what started out as a hotel promotion soon grew into a legitimate desert race. Since its 2008 revival, “The Great American Off-Road Race” has only gotten bigger and more prestigious, and deeper fields every year only make it tougher to win.

The 2021 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 continues in Primm with the conclusion of today’s Unlimited, Motorcycle, and Youth races. More information on the event for racers and spectators is available at TheMint400.com, or follow the event on Facebook and Instagram.

Source The Mint 400

In one of the closest finishes of the entire 2021 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 race weekend, Brayden Krah took the victory in the Youth 1000 class during Saturday’s events. Besting a field of 13 drivers over 11 laps on this year’s Youth course, Krah’s margin of victory over TJ Siewers was a razor-thin .894 seconds.

Behind them, Ryan Bedoya was third, earning his own podium finish by just .192 seconds over Brock Hanmer. Chaden Zane Minder completed the top five, while first place starter Ethan Groom posted the fastest lap of the race with a 2:26.475 on the way to a ninth place finish, last among the group to complete every lap.

The Youth races started with 14 entries taking to the course in the 170 Production race, with Siewers kicking off the day by lapping all other drivers except for Dexter Warren. Next up were the 250 and 170 Open divisions racing together, with Chaden Zane Minder earning the overall win in a 250 and Wyatt Cotter bringing home the 170 Open win over Taylor Foerster. Finally, in the 570 class, Jedi Jack Mamelli scored the victory over Taylor Bedoya.

Full live timing and scoring (including live unofficial results), as well as livestream and Weatherman radio coverage, can be found at live.themint400.com.

The Mint 400 has held the title of the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America since 1968 when it was first run. Initially, the race was a public relations event promoting the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt. but what started out as a hotel promotion soon grew into a legitimate desert race. Since its 2008 revival, “The Great American Off-Road Race” has only gotten bigger and more prestigious, and deeper fields every year only make it tougher to win.

Source The Mint 400

“The Great American Off-road Race” triumphantly returns to Sin City

The BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 returns to Las Vegas, Nevada this week, December 1st-5th. The Great American Off-Road Race™ will be held this Friday, December 3rd and Saturday, December 4th in Primm, NV with pre-race festivities beginning earlier in the week with the Mint 400 Off-road Festival on Thursday, December 2nd on Fremont Street East in downtown Las Vegas with The massive field of over 360 race teams including car, truck, motorcycle and youth classes. The world-famous Mint 400 has always attracted celebrities and racers from around the globe.  UFC superstar Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Motorcycle builder Jesse James,  and Monster truck stars Cynthia Gauthier and Todd Leduc will all join the field of racers.

The inaugural “Mint 400 Desert Rally” was held in Las Vegas in 1968 as a way to promote The Mint Hotel and Las Vegas Gun Club. The race has a rich and storied history and has once again become the largest and most important off-road race in the world. The event attracts over 65,000 spectators to Las Vegas for the race and week-long activities. It features a massive field of five hundred and fifty teams competing across an incredible fifty individual classes, including motorcycles which have be reintroduced to the Mint last year for the first time since 1976. The 100-mile loop that extends from the California-Nevada state line in Primm to the Southern edge of Las Vegas in Jean, NV is considered the most grueling and challenging off-road race course in America. With five massive spectator areas, The Mint 400 puts fans safely in front of thrilling off-road racing action.

The Mint 400 is the ultimate family-friendly motorsport event. Start/Finish Line Tickets in Primm, NV are $15 online or $20 at the door. Parking tickets are $50 per vehicle for access to the five dedicated spectator areas in Jean, NV.  BFGoodrich VIP hospitality suite packages are available for race days at the official Primm Valley Resorts Start/Finish Line. Led by Michelin star chef Drew Deckman, the Mint 400 VIP package is the ultimate way for fans to experience the event featuring premium food, drink, and comfort.

The Mint 400 will kick off on Wednesday, December 1st when 125 of the planet’s toughest off-road race vehicles parade down the world-famous Las Vegas Strip during the Mint 400 Vehicle Parade led by Mint 400 Grand Marshal Las Vegas Sheriff and newly announced Nevada Gubernatorial Candidate Joe Lombardo. The parade will begin near Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino and stretch all the way to the Fremont East District in downtown Las Vegas. Over forty-million dollars of machinery will be on display. Immediately following the parade the official Mint 400 party kicks off at CraftHaus Brewery at 5pm followed by The Dinner of Champions at 7pm at Main St Provisions featuring Chefs Justin Kingsley Hall And Drew Deckman.

The Mint 400 Off-road Festival will be held Thursday December 2nd, from 8am to 8pm and feature hundreds of the top aftermarket off-road companies on Fremont Street East from Las Vegas Boulevard to 11th Street. Each of the three hundred and sixty plus teams will parade in front of twenty-five thousand off-road fans daily, on their way to technical inspection at the end of the festival. This year’s off-road festival will feature new custom Mint 400 merch available for purchase onsite.  The event is free and open to the public.

The Mint 400 will feature two days of exciting races on both Friday, December 3rd and Saturday, December 4th. The 2021 Mint 400 Grand Marshal Las Vegas Sheriff and newly announced Nevada Gubernatorial Candidate Joe Lombardo will be at the start line to waive the green flag, launching the massive field of racers into the brutal Nevada desert. The race day starts at 9am with the Mint 400 Gridwalk where fans can get up close and personal to all the racers and their incredible vehicles. The Limited four wheel race kicks off at 10am and includes the massive field of UTVs, Class 5, Trophylites, Jeepspeeds, Class ½ 1600s, and more.

New for this year the ultra exciting Mint 400 Qualifying will take place on Friday, December 1st at 12:00 PM immediately after the start of the Limited race to set race day starting positions for over sixty Unlimited Truck, Class 1, and Unlimited Spec Truck racers. For the first time, Fans can watch qualifying in person at Start/Finish Line in Primm or via the Livestream online for free at Themint400.com.

On Saturday, for the third time since 1976, the motorcycles are returning to The Great American Off-Road Race™ and will start off the line at 8:00AM. The bikes will race on their own rough and technical 58 mile loop. Saturday at 11:30am, the entire weekend culminates with the unlimited truck race for all the glory.

The Mint 400 has expanded their live stream coverage to include two days of fantastic race action. The two-day format will build on the storied events wildly successful live stream roll out, that reached over a quarter of a million unique visitors in 2018. This year’s program will be available on TheMint400.com as well as select sponsor websites, YouTube and Facebook, and fans will be able to tune in on their computers and handheld devices from anywhere in the world to follow The Great American Off-Road Race™. On air talent will include Mint 400 CEO Matt Martelli, off-road cultural icon Bob Bower, Ultra-4 competitor and KOH announcer Jim Marsden, and roving pit reporters Tiffany Stone and Ryan Thomas. You can watch the livestream for free on live.TheMint400.com or download the Mint 400 app from the Apple app store.

Source: The Mint 400

 
299 official starters in finale of four-race 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship

In a race full of ‘SCORE Super Teams’, admired as the G.O.A.T. in desert racing, Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren was driver of record for San Diego’s budding youthful super star Luke McMillin rose above the rest in a field of 299 starters Friday to win the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck title in the legendary season-ending BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts.
Starting second physically on the road in the elapsed time race and splitting the driving in McMillin’s Big Blue M racing machine all-wheel drive 4 Wheel Parts/BFGoodrich Tires No. 11 Chevy Silverado, the dynamic duo patiently worked their way to the front of the pack and finished the beautifully bodacious 1,226.35-mile race down Mexico’s majestic Baja peninsula in a stunning time of 20 hours, 45 minutes and 59 seconds with an astonishing average speed of 59.05 miles per hour.
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 48th season in 2021, this race is the flagship event of the SCORE World Desert Championship.

SHOWDOWN

This year’s Granddaddy of All Desert Races was a peninsula run of 1226.35 masterful miles down Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur. It started and finished under strict BioSecurity health and safety protocols in both Mexican states.

ROB MAC & THE BIG BLUE M MACHINE

One of several ‘Super Teams’ competing in this race primarily because of the length of the course, Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee MacCachren, 56, stabled his aging two-wheel drive thoroughbred when invited to join the Big Blue M race team for this historic race and drive Luke McMillin’s AWD Chevy Silverado built by Mason Motorsports.
Using Luke McMillin’s No. 1 SCORE Trophy Truck, the McMillin family decided to give the popular Mac Attack a shot at winning another SCORE Trophy Truck season point championship. MacCachren entered the race just two points behind Larry Roeseler so the McMillins graciously allowed MacCachren to be the driver of record and run MacCachren’s No. 11 on the No. 1 truck of the McMillins.
A third-generation desert racer, Luke McMillin, 28, and venerable veteran ‘Rob Mac’ started second behind another ‘Super Team’ of Las Vegas’ Bryce Menzies and Luke McMillin’s cousin Andy McMillin, also of San Diego.
With A. McMillin at the wheel, the motor let go over just before race mile 700 in the grueling race in the No. 7 AWD SCORE Trophy Truck. The No. 7 started first and was being following closely by the No. 11 truck of MacCachren/L. McMillin.
Stalking their prey like a hungry jaguar, MacCachren stayed the course, with L. McMillin taking over the wheel around race mile 700, quickly taking the lead from A.McMillin/Menzies, and never looking back the rest of the way to La Paz.
Luke’s brother Daniel, who won the 2019 SCORE Baja, 500 fell out of the race as the result of damage from a significant rollover in the first 175 miles with Las Vegas’ Justin B. Smith at the wheel.

FAMILY LEGACY

With an enduring legacy started by the late family patriarch Corky McMillin, Luke McMillin added to the Big Blue M rich history with his second career victory in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division.
With his victory, McMillin also earned a US$40,000 contingency bonus from long-time SCORE sponsor and race title sponsor BFGoodrich Tires offered to the winner of this year’s race. The victory also marked the 32nd overall victory in this race for vehicles equipped with BFGoodrich Tires.
Besides his late grandfather Corky, Luke McMillin’s champion family members include his brother Daniel McMillin, his dad Mark McMillin, his uncle Scott McMillin, and his cousins Andy McMillin and Jessica McMillin. As a family, the McMillins now have earned a race-record 14 overall victories in the SCORE Baja 1000.
While Luke McMillin earned his second (straight) SCORE Baja 1000 overall, his father Mark has five as does his cousin Andy and his uncle Scott has two overalls in this storied race.

Source Score International
Photo from Luke McMillin

Following late on-site registration, 302 official entries for Thursday’s BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000
 

• 1226.35-mile race in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, Season finale of the four-race 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship;
• Start/finish, with no spectators allowed Northeast of downtown;
• motorcycles/quads start at 2 a.m. PT, cars/trucks/utvs at 9 a.m. PT

 
LIVE streaming, vehicle tracking at www.score-international.com;

Following late on-site racer registration that finished on Wednesday,302 total vehicles have officially entered Thursday’s start of the internationally televised BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. The season finale of the four-race 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship will be held over a rugged race course down Mexico’s magnificent and majestic Baja California peninsula of 1226.35 miles.
The race will start in Ensenada, Baja California and finish in La Paz, Baja California Sur.
With classes for Pro and Sportsman cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads, racers from 35 U.S. States and 18 countries have entered. The elapsed-time race will start at 2 a.m. PT on Thursday for the motorcycle/quad classes followed by the start of the car/truck/UTV classes at 9 a.m. PT.
While the fastest finishers are expected to finish in approximately 22 1/2 hours, all vehicles will have a 50-hour time limit from the time each starts to become an official finisher in the exciting elapsed-time event.
Live internet streaming from the start/finish line as well as vehicle tracking is available at www.score-international.com.
With increased live race coverage from along the race route, popular Rat Sult, who has been the voice of SCORE over the last six seasons, will once again serve as emcee and lead announcer of the SCORE Live streaming. Assisting Sult will be veteran Dave Arnold along with Matt Moghaddam and Morgan McBride.
Closed to the public because of the BioSecurity health protocols in Baja California, the start of the race on Thursday will be held in the SCORE compound located in a new site alongside the Marina in Ensenada, just across from the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center.
 With the exception of the SCORE compounds in Ensenada and La Paz, spectators, following health protocols, will be able to watch the race from a safe distance away from the entire race course all the way down the awe-inspiring Baja California peninsula.
The race will air as a one-hour special on the World of X Games programming on ESPN2 and be syndicated to nearly 25 countries around the globe. It is scheduled to air first on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022.
The race includes 29 entries in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division (Including seven SCORE TT Legend vehicles for SCORE Trophy-Truck drivers over 50 years old), the marquee racing division for high-tech, 1000-horsepower unlimited custom trucks.
Besides SCORE Trophy Truck, the other Pro classes with double figure entries and their totals are Pro UTV FI with 30 entries, Trophy Truck Spec with 28 entries, Class 1 (10), Class 10 (23), Pro UTV NA (12), Class 1/2-1600 (14) and Pro UTV Stock (14) and Class 11 (12).
Among two-wheel classes, this race has Pro Motorcycle Ironman (solo riders) with 14 entries and among sportsman classes, SPT Motorcycle has double figures with14 official entries.

More information here: https://score-international.com/

Sorce Score International
Photo Baja Jerky
 

Topped by multiple ‘SCORE Super Teams’ 29 SCORE Trophy Trucks, aka ‘Monsters of the Desert’, are prepped and ready to rock ‘n’ roll down Mexico’s Baja California peninsula next week as racers from around the world are in Baja California, Mexico for the internationally-televised BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts.
The marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 1000 horsepower, unlimited custom trucks was created by revered former SCORE owner Sal Fish in 1994.
With entries so far from 35 U.S. States, the U.S. Territories of Guam and Puerto Rico along with 18 countries, this year’s Granddaddy of All Desert Races will be a peninsula run of 1226.35 masterful miles down Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur.
Starting and finishing under strict BioSecurity health and safety protocols in Baja California, Mexico, the final round of the four-race 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship race-week festivities and the Granddaddy of All Desert Races itself will be held this Sunday through next Saturday.

BAJA MIL

While every year for the Granddaddy of All Desert Races is mesmerizing, a peninsula run down Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula is, for lack of a better term, hypnotizing.
This year’s race is a peninsula run of 1226.35 miles down majestic Baja California, starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur.
Most of the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s massive BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. The 2021 season-finale will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on ESPN2’s World of X Games programming.  First air date domestically is scheduled for January 9, 2022. Lead announcer will once again by Hall of Fame racer/SCORE Trophy Truck race champion Cameron Steele.
Race week activities will be held Nov. 14-20.
Nearly 300 vehicles are expected at the start line with racers from nearly 40 U.S. States and as many as 20 countries anticipated. Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads will be competing in the Granddaddy of All Desert Races.
Ensenada, “The Off-Road Capital of the World” is a coastal city on the Bahia de Todos Santos area of the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of the U.S. border at San Diego.
La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur, is the gateway to the Sea of Cortez and 1,000 miles south of the U.S. Border at San Diego.
This monstrous race will start for the 47th time in Ensenada, finish for the 22nd time in La Paz, 24th time overall to run down the peninsula as 2000 and 2007 finished in Cabo San Lucas. It will be the first peninsula run since the 50th SCORE Baja 1000 in 2017.
This race is annually the grand finale of the SCORE World Desert Championship, which has been held exclusively for the past six years in Baja California.

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK ANNIVERSARY

Celebrating its 28th anniversary, SCORE Trophy Truck, developed and launched by former SCORE owner Sal Fish in 1994, is the marquee racing division in the sport—for high-tech, 1000 horsepower unlimited custom trucks and SCORE TT Legend, which debuted in 2017, is for SCORE Trophy Truck drivers at least 50 years old.

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK CHAMPS

A total of 13 of the last 15 SCORE Trophy Truck SCORE Baja 1000 race winners are entered in this year’s race, including the last seven straight. And 26 racers are entered in this race who have combined to earn 116 career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins (out of 140 total races).
Also entered are 11 racers who have combined for 17 SCORE Trophy Truck season point championships in the first 27 years of the marquee SCORE racing division.
Leading the way among the former SCORE Trophy Truck season point champs are Ed Herbst and his brother Tim Herbst with four titles each (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003), three-time consecutive titles in Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez (2015, 2016, 2017), three-time champion Rob MacCachren (1994, 2007, 2018) and two-time SCORE Trophy Truck season point champ Robby Gordon (1996, 2009).
Individually, Rob MacCachren leads the most career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins with 17, followed by other race entries Robby Gordon (11), Ed and Tim Herbst (11 each), Andy McMillin (11), Larry Ragland (11), Bryce Menzies (7), Mark Post (7), Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr (6), Larry Roeseler (5), Ryan Arciero (4), Curt LeDuc (4), Gus Vildosola Sr (3), Juan C. Lopez (20), Roger Norman (2), Cameron Steele (2) and entered with one each career SCORE Trophy Truck race win are Alan Ampudia, Josh Daniel, Pat Dean, Steven Eugenio, Rick D. Johnson, Daniel McMillin, Luke McMillin, Justin B. Smith and Billy Wilson.

‘SUPER TEAMS’ START FIRST 3

As a result of their finishes in September’s SCORE Baja 400 in Ensenada, SCORE Trophy Truck racers Las Vegas’ Bryce Menzies (No. 7), Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren (No. 11) and Mexico’s Alan Ampudia (No. 10will be the first three 4-wheel vehicles to start.
To enhance their odds all three first starts in SCORE Trophy Truck have gone from being solid favorites to odds-on favorites for top finishes as each has joined forces with other top racers to form ‘SCORE Super Teams’ for this year’s race.
Menzies has teamed with San Diego’s Andy McMillin, MacCachren will race with San Diego’s Luke McMillin and Ampudia will race with young gun Jax Redline, 26, Amarillo, Texas and celebrity racer/TV personality Ken Block.

GREEN FLAG

The SCORE Baja 1000 will be an elapsed-time race with staggered starts as the ceremonial green flag on Thursday, Nov. 18 will drop first for the motorcycles and quads at 2 a.m. (PT) and 9 a.m. (PT) for the cars, trucks and UTVs. While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish the monstrous race in around 22 1/2 hours, all vehicles will have a 50-hour time limit to become official finishers in the elapsed-time race.

ENTRIES TO DATE

With nearly 300 entries anticipated at the start line, 282 total entries have been received for the Granddaddy of All Desert Races, with racers representing 35 U.S. States, U.S. Territory Puerto Rico and 18 countries.
The countries are the United States, U.S. Territories Guam and Puerto Rico, host country Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, India, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Spain and Sweden.

DOUBLE DIGITS

Of the first 282 entries to date, in the ultimate desert race, 214 are cars, trucks or UTVs and 68 are motorcycles or quads.
Led by the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division with 29 entries (including seven in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old), 11 classes have double-figure entry totals.
Among 4-wheel classes, besides SCORE Trophy Truck the classes with double-figure entries are Class 1 (10), Trophy Truck Spec (28), Class 10 (18), Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) (29), Pro UTV NA (Naturally Aspirated) (12), Class 1/2-1600 (13), Pro UTV Stock (12) and the venerable Class 11 for stock VW sedans (12).
Among the 2-wheel classes, Pro Moto Ironman (solo riders) has 13 official entries and Sportsman Motorcycle also has 13.

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK POINT LEADER

Celebrating its 28th season as the marquee racing division in the sport, leading the season points in the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division is the legendary Larry Roeseler, 64, Imperial, Calif. With five career SCORE Trophy Truck race victories, in the SCORE Baja 1000, ‘Mr. Baja’ has 18 career class wins (second all-time) including a race-record 14 overall victories, including 10 on a motorcycle and two each in open-wheel race cars and SCORE Trophy Truck.

Source SCORE International
Photo: Luke McMillin

 
Late, on-site racer registration Nov. 15-17 in Ensenada for peninsula run;
Pre-running continues on rugged 1226.35-mile course down Baja California;
Epic season-finale of four-race 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship;

Sports car racing legend Romain Dumas along with Indy Car racing champ Alexander Rossi, rally racer Ken Block, NASCAR Cup race winner Casey Mears and motorcycle rally champion Toby Price are all among the large group of crossover/celebrity racers who are leaving their ‘comfort zones’ to challenge Mexico’s Baja California peninsula next week as racers from around the world are in Baja California, Mexico for the internationally-televised BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts.
With entries so far from 35 U.S. States, the U.S. Territories of Guam and Puerto Rico and 18 countries, this year’s Granddaddy of All Desert Races will be a peninsula run of 1226.35 masterful miles down Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur.
Starting and finishing under strict BioSecurity health and safety protocols in Baja California, Mexico, the final round of the four-race 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship race-week festivities and the Granddaddy of All Desert Races itself will be held this Sunday through next Saturday.

2021 CROSSOVER/CELEBS

The legendary SCORE Baja 1000 has always attracted crossover/celebrity races to leave the pavement and hit the desert and this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000 is clearly no exception to the historical rule. Nearly 25 of the multi-discipline stars are lining up for this year’s bodacious run down the Baja California peninsula.
Leading the crossover celebs this year is clearly Romain Dumas, 43, of France. A factory Porsche driver since 2004, Dumas is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of LeMans in his homeland and is the current record holder in the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb in Colorado. He is an additional driver for this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 for driver of record Darren Skilton in Class 1 in the No. 122 Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG) that has evolved with several modifications from the original SCG that won Class 2 in both 2019 and 2020.
Alexander Rossi, 30, of Nevada City, Calif., the 2016 Indy 500 race winner as a rookie is an additional driver again this year with DOR Jeff Proctor in Class 7 in the No. 709 Honda Ridgeline.
Ken Block, 53, of Park City, Utah, is a profession Rally racer, action sports athlete and TV personality. He will be one of three drivers competing in SCORE Trophy Truck with DOR Alan Ampudia of Ensenada, Mexico, in the No. 10 Monster Energy Hoonigan Racing Chevy G-6 built by Geiser Brothers of Phoenix. Third driver on this ‘super team’ is young gun 16-year old Jax Redline, of Amarillo, Texas.
Anyone in motorsports has heard of the ‘Mears Gang’ of Bakersfield, Calif. Casey Mears, 43, of Scottsdale, Ariz., returns to the desert after spending several seasons in IndyCar racing and 15 years in NASCAR Cup racing.
Son of Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Roger Mears, Casey Mears will be an additional driver for DOR Robby Gordon, 52, of Charlotte, N.C., who himself is a celeb racer after his lengthy careers in both IndyCar and NASCAR Cup racing. They will be driving in Gordon’s No. 77 custom-built Chevy truck in SCORE Trophy Truck.
Officially debuting in the desert in 2019 after years of pre-running and spectating other Mears’ family racers including his father Roger, uncle Rick, brother Roger Jr, cousin C.J. and grandfather Bill, Casey Mears was DOR in that year’s SCORE Baja 1000, finishing 12th out of 28 starters.
Coming to Baja from Australia, Toby Price, 37, arguably is the most-accomplished motorcycle racer of all-time from the Land Down Under.
Price, a two-time Dakar Rally overall motorcycle champion finished second overall and in SCORE Trophy Truck in the 2019 SCORE Baja 1000 as the second driver with fellow-Dakar champion four-wheel racer Nasser Al Attiyah of Qatar.
In this year’s race he will be one of three drivers in Trophy Truck Spec on the team led by 2018 class point champion Bryce Swaim of El Cajon, Calif. and rising star Eliott Watson, 20, El Centro, Calif., who won his UTV class in last year’s SCORE Baja 1000.

Source Score International
Photo Ken Block

 
Race week Nov. 14-20; Pre-running continues on rugged 1226.35-mile peninsula run 
Starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur for legendary season-finale of four-race 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship

While SCORE clearly recognizes three overall group winners, the endless bar-stool debates on whether two-wheel or four-wheel vehicles are fastest in the desert will play out once again at this month’s iconic internationally-televised season-ending BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts—the Granddaddy of All Desert Races.
The SCORE Baja 1000 endures at the pinnacle of motorsports as the oldest, most iconic, most prestigious, toughest and longest continuously held desert race in the world.
This year’s race is a peninsula run of 1226.35 miles down Mexico’s majestic Baja California, starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur.
There will be SCORE Overall 4-Wheel, SCORE Overall 2-Wheel and SCORE Overall UTV champions at this year’s race—awarded to the vehicle with the fastest elapsed time in each of the three groups of classes. But the never-ending debate will rage on way past the final checkered flag on whether the 4-wheel vehicles or the 2-wheel vehicles are the fastest in this legendary international motorsports treasure.

BIO SECURITY UPDATE

Closed to the public because of the BioSecurity health protocols in Baja California, pre-race Contingency/Tech will be held (Nov. 16 and 17) along with the start of the race (Nov. 18) in the SCORE compound located in a new site alongside the Marina in Ensenada, just across from the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. No spectators will be allowed around the SCORE compound.
Spectators, adhering to the protocols, will be allowed to watch the race from down the entire length of the race route.
SCORE Racer and SCORE Media Registration will be held next Monday through Wednesday (Nov. 15-17) in the Red Room at the Riviera.
SCORE International is well known around the globe as the ‘World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization.’ Celebrating its 48th season in 2021, this race is the flagship event of the SCORE World Desert Championship.

BAJA MIL

While every year for the Granddaddy of All Desert Races is mesmerizing, a peninsula run down Mexico’s magnificent Baja California peninsula is, for lack of a better term, hypnotizing.
Most of the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s massive BFGoodrich Tires 54th SCORE Baja 1000, presented by 4 Wheel Parts. The 2021 season-finale will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour special on ESPN2’s World of X Games programming.  
First air date domestically is scheduled for January 9, 2022. Lead announcer will again be Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee/TV commentator/SCORE Trophy Truck race champion Cameron Steele.
Race week activities will be held Nov. 14-20.
Nearly 300 vehicles are expected at the start line with racers from nearly 40 U.S. States and as many as 20 countries anticipated. Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads will be competing in the Granddaddy of All Desert Races.
Ensenada, “The Off-Road Capital of the World” is a coastal city on the Bahia de Todos Santos area of the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles south of the U.S. border at San Diego.
La Paz, the capital of Baja California Sur, is the gateway to the Sea of Cortez and 1,000 miles south of the U.S. Border at San Diego.
With a total time-limit of 50 hours in the elapsed-time race, the motorcycle and quad classes will start at 2 a.m. (PT) on Thursday, Nov. 18 and the car, truck and UTV classes will follow with their start on at 9 a.m. (PT).  While the fastest vehicles are expected to cover the course in approximately 22 1/2 hours, all vehicles will have 50 hours from the time each starts to become an official finisher.
This iconic race will start for the 47th time in Ensenada, finish for the 22nd time in La Paz, 24th time overall to run down the peninsula as 2000 and 2007 finished in Cabo San Lucas. It will be the first peninsula run since the 50th SCORE Baja 1000 in 2017.
This race is annually the grand finale of the SCORE World Desert Championship, which has been held exclusively for the past six years in Baja California.

NUMBERS SAY—BIKES RULE????

Statistics relate a telling story and while the endless debate continues on who is the fastest of the fastest overall in the iconic SCORE Baja 1000, motorcycles have had the fastest, fastest time overall 38 times in this race while car/truck classes have produced 15 overall, overall fastest times.
Interestingly, car/truck vehicles won six of the first seven years of the legendary behemoth race as well as nine of the last 11 years, but in between, the fastest, fastest overall times in the race have gone to motorcycles except in 1993 when Ivan ‘Ironman’ Stewart was the fastest, fastest in his unlimited Class 1 Toyota SR5 truck.
The longest motorcycle streak has been 18 consecutive years with the fastest, fastest overall time in this race from 1975 through 1992.
With help first from factory teams from Kawasaki and later from American Honda, motorcycles also had another run of fastest, fastest overall times for 16 years from 1994 through 2009.
In 2010, Mexico’s Gustavo Vildosola and his son Gustavo ‘Tavo’ Vildosola Jr broke the motorcycle streak by becoming the first Mexican Nationals to win the featured SCORE Trophy Truck division and be the fastest of the fastest in the peninsula run from Ensenada to La Paz.
With the course distance and actual terrain different each year, times between years can’t be accurately compared.
Individually, a trio of legendary SCORE Baja desert racers have recorded the fastest, fastest overall times in the iconic event. Johnny Campbell leads the way with 11 top times on Honda motorcycles. His 11 fastest of the fastest times were earned in just a 12-year period from 1997 through 2008.
Next is Larry ‘Mr. Baja’ Roeseler with 10 top times on three different motorcycles—Husqvarna, Yamaha and his final five on Kawasaki. Roeseler earned his fastest of the fastest between 1976 and 1994.
Steve Hengeveld earned seven fastest of the fastest top times all on Honda motorcycles in an eight-year period between 2000 and 2007.
Recording fastest of the fastest times in eight of the last 11 years have been SCORE Trophy Truck, the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 950 horsepower, unlimited custom trucks. Pacing this group has been Rob MacCachren who won three consecutive times (2014, 2015, 2016) in his No. 11 Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy Truck.
In 2020, the team of Luke McMillin and Larry Roeseler captured the overall victory in McMillin’s No. 83 Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy Truck.

STATES, COUNTRIES

Included in the firs t279 official entry applications of the nearly 300 anticipated starters for this year's renewal of the world's most iconic desert race are racers from 35 U.S. States and 18 countries.
U.S. States represented in the field of competitors to date are from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
The countries are United States, U.S. Territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, host country Mexico, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, India, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Spain and Sweden.

DOUBLE DIGITS

Of the first 280 entries to date, in the iconic race, 213 are cars, trucks or UTVs and 68 are motorcycles or quads.
Led by the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division with 30 entries (including seven in SCORE TT Legend for drivers over 50 years old), 11 classes already have double-figure entry totals.
Among 4-wheel classes, besides SCORE Trophy Truck the classes with double-figure entries so far are Class 1 (10), Trophy Truck Spec (28), Class 10 (18), Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) (29), Pro UTV NA (Naturally Aspirated) (12), Class 1/2-1600 (12), Pro UTV Stock (12) and the venerable Class 11 for stock VW sedans (12).
Among the 2-wheel classes, Pro Moto Ironman (solo riders) has 13 official entries and Sportsman Motorcycle also has 13.

LA RUTA

The race features a course, designed and plotted by SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva, of 1226.35 miles of raucously rugged Baja California terrain.
The challenging race course is another memorable example of all that Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula has to offer, including high-speed dirt trails, sandy, rocky and silty natural terrain, beautiful Baja washes and canyons, stretches along the ocean and the seashore with elevations from sea level to over 3,000 feet. The course is another jewel reflecting the stark beauty of Baja California.
It runs east from Ensenada to Ojos Negros, south to Valle de Trinidad, back southwest to Colonet, south to San Quintin. The course starts heading inland to Catavina then south to Coco’s Corner to Bahia de Los Angeles. From there it heads inland to San Ignacio and back to the Pacific Ocean at race mile 750.
At about race mile 825 it heads east to the Sea of Cortez at race mile 880 and down along the Sea of Cortez past Loreto. After Loreto it runs southwest and back along the Pacific past Villa Insurgentes and Ciudad Constitucion until race mile 1180 were it turns southeast and finally into the finish in La Paz.
The historic race course features three physical checkpoints, 236 virtual checkpoints, including 23 speed zones (37 or 60 miles per hour) for a total of 196.18 miles.
The three physical (full stop) checkpoints will be Checkpoint No. 1 at Chapala (race mile 421.30), Checkpoint No. 2 at the Vizcaino road crossing (race mile 633.31) and at Insurgentes (race mile 999.91).
All Sportsman classes, Class 3, Class 7SX, Class 11, Vintage Trailblazer and Baja Challenge will run reduced course of 1,214.01 miles.
The official course map, course notes, racer brief, penalty bulletin and GPS files are posted on the SCORE website under race info for the SCORE Baja 1000.

Source SCORE International