Baja 1000

43rd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 world’s most legendary desert race

2010-11-21T05:16:00.001-08:00

Mexico’s son and father desert racers Gustavo Vildosola Jr. and Sr., along with the team of Kendall Norman/Quinn Cody became part of motorsports history by capturing the overall 2-wheel and 4-wheel victories in the 43rd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the granddaddy of all desert races. The 1061.69-mile 43rd edition of the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race down Mexico’s mysteriously magical Baja Peninsula ran from Ensenada from La Paz. The season finale of the five-race 2010 SCORE Desert Series ended Saturday.
Gustavo Jr., 28, and Gustavo Sr., 57, of Mexicali, Mexico have become the first Mexican national team to capture the overall title in the “Granddaddy of all Desert Racing” in their No. 21 Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck in the 43-year history of the world’s most famous desert race.
Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif. and Cody, Buellton, Calif., the JCR/Honda Racing team stars, dominated the motorcycle portion of the race on their Honda CRF450X and brothers Steve and Chris Appleton of Boise, Idaho, withstood the challenge and conquered the Baja in the unlimited class 1 in a Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheel desert race car.

After complete review of the data tracking devices used by each vehicle in the race and with time penalties assessed accordingly for course deviations and/or speeding on the brief pavement sections used as part of the race course, the results were declared official by SCORE International officials at 3:30 p.m. PST on Saturday afternoon.
As the finish line in La Paz closed Saturday morning at 10:02 a.m. PST for 201 official finishers in the 43rd annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, it was obvious that another memorable and colorful chapter had been added to the legacy of this popular desert race in the magnificent Baja California peninsula.

With 292 starters leaving the Ensenada starting line Thursday morning, competitors from 37 states and 19 countries battled the rugged terrain in cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs in 33 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes. Massive crowds reaching nearly 250,000 lined the historic Baja peninsula to gain a glimpse of the competitors. Vehicles left the start line in 30-second intervals and all vehicles had 45 hours to become official finishers of the race.
The 292 official starters represents the third highest number in the 18 years it has finished in La Paz and it is the 11th highest total in the 43-year history of the race. The 197 official finishers represents the third-highest number in the 18 years it has finished in La Paz and it is the fifth-highest total in the entire 43-year history of the event.
The finishing percentage this year was an amazing 67.5 percent considering the extremely dusty, bone-crushingly rocky and sometimes foggy conditions and the unique ruggedness of the course.
Winning the overall ATV and Class 24 title was the team led by Brandon Brown, Umatilla, Ore., who covered the course on a Honda TRX450R in 24:54:08, averaging 42.63 mph. His co-riders were Jorie Williams, Longview, Wash./Mike Kelley III, Edgewood, Wash./Kenny Sanford, Tacoma, Wash./Nick Nelson, Tehachapi, Calif.
The Vildosolas came close to the overall victory in 2007 when they placed second to winners Mark Post and Rob MacCachren in the 40th anniversary event that finished in Cabo San Lucas.
In this year’s race, Gus Vildosola Jr. started and finished and Gus Sr. drove a section in the middle the grueling route. They finished with an unofficial overall time of 19 hours and four seconds, averaging 55.67 miles per hour, marking the first time a 4-wheel vehicle has recorded a faster time than the motorcycles since 1973 in a peninsula run to La Paz and just the seventh time in the entire history of the event.
The Vildosola victory also have BFGoodrich Tires, celebrating its 35th year of SCORE Baja racing in 2010, its 24th overall 4-wheel victory in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, including the last four straight.
Norman and Cody gave Honda its 21 overall motorcycle victory including its 14th consecutive triumph, after Norman drove the first and final sections and Cody the middle to a winning time of 19:22:22 with an average speed of 54.87mph. It was the fifth overall career win for Norman and fourth straight in this race while Cody picked up his third career Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 overall motorcycle victory and second straight.
In the battle of car and truck manufacturers, Ford has increased its lead among four-wheel vehicles with its 14th overall engine win and as a chassiss with its12th overall winner.
Steve Appleton also drove the first and the final sections and Chris Appleton the middle part to finish sixth overall among 4-wheel vehicles in addition to winning Class 1 for the second time this year after his win in June at the Tecate SCORE Baja 500. Their finishing time on Friday was 20:29:48.
Defending SCORE Trophy-Truck season point champion and NASCAR Sprint Cup regular Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., was second overall 4-wheel vehicles and in SCORE Trophy-Truck, finishing unofficially 22:18 behind the Vildosolas in his No. 1 Chevy CK1500 SCORE Trophy-Truck.

Third and fourth overall in 4-wheel vehicles and among SCORE Trophy-Trucks was a battle between a pair of Nevada racers—Roger Norman and B.J. Baldwin. Norman, of Reno, appears to have finished 53 seconds ahead of Las Vegas’ Baldwin on elapsed time. Norman drives the No. 8 Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck while Baldwin teamed with Chad Ragland, Vista, Calif. in this race in the No. 97 Chevy Silverado SCORE Trophy-Truck.
Following the extremely popular finish in Baja, Gus Vildosola Jr. commented, “This race means a lot to me and my family. Every time we go out and race, I say we have the privilege of representing Mexico because we’re the only Mexican SCORE Trophy-Truck team. It’s obviously an honor to finally be able to win a race for them and for all of our fans who have been supporting us for all these years. And it is especially great for my dad, as well. He bought this SCORE Trophy-Truck eight years with the dream to win a Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 overall and today we were able to fulfill that dream.
“Everybody knows this is not a one-person sport – it’s a team sport and we’ve got over 180 people down here supporting us. It just all fit together perfectly, I think. It’s such a special day for Mexico with the bicentennial of the (Mexican) revolution and the centennial of Mexican independence, so everything just kind of fell into place and we’re very happy about it. It’s just perfect. We started second off the line and we were basically going to see what Roger’s (Norman, the first starter) pace was and what his plan was for the day and then go from there. Roger had a pretty aggressive pace off the line and we just decided to sit back and pressure him. Roger got a flat a little south of San Felipe and we were able to get around him there and really never looked back.
“We were able to set our own pace and not be pressured by anyone else. We knew this was a peninsula run and you weren’t going to win it in 500 miles – it was 1,061 (miles). We executed it perfectly and obviously we also had a little bit of luck on our side this race.”

First Mexican National team to claim the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 victory

2010-11-19T08:32:00.001-08:00

Tavo and Gus Vildolsola are the first Mexican National team to claim the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 victory in it’s 43rd edition!! Averaging 55.8 mp/h in their #21 Red Bull Trophy Truck they covered the distance of 1061 miles from Ensenada to La Paz in 19:00:04 hrs. With that Vildolsola Racing also beat the motorcycle overall time of the winning 1x Honda. Robby Gordon, in his first outing with new colors – he’s now sponsored by his own, new energy drink “Speed Energy” finished in second place. He damaged a drive shaft and had some GPS issues throughout the race. Robby Gordon claims this is what cost him the overall win.
Roger Norman and Navigator Lance Clifford piloted the Crystal Bay Casino Ford #8 Trophy Truck to a hard fought 3rd place. Alternator issues during the race been reported.
BJ “Ballistic” Baldwin in his #97 General Tire shoed Trophy Truck finishes 4th after some late race repairs (crankshaft sensor replacement about 20 miles out from the finish-line) and hard push for the front. Gary Weyhrich crosses the finish line in 5th place and is the first of the Jimco made Trophy Trucks.

At Class 1 #101 Steve Appleton takes his ironman drive seriously as he leads #103 Dan McMillin by approximately 40 minutes. AGM – All German Motorsports #108 Armin Schwarz rolled last night at RM620. Everyone is okay. They try to finish…. car is still showing “0″ speed, second Class 1 from AGM, the Chevy powered buggy with Armin Kremer is moving near Loreto.
More here...

Course change for Baja 1000 race avoid Loreto silt

2010-11-18T04:40:00.000-08:00

Score announcement: “At approximately race mile 738 just before vcp 11, the new course will make a left turn and go 2.0 miles to highway 1 just south of km 43. The new course will make a right turn onto highway 1 at km 43 and travel the highway for 7.0 miles. this is a 60 mph speed zone. The new course will make a right turn off highway 1 at km 31. at this highway exit location there is a small market with a large dirt parking lot. the new course will merge with the original course in 0.6 mile at approximately race mile 745. This course change has been marked. please follow course markers. This is a mandatory course change. all race vehicles must follow this new course.”

The silt north of Loreto approximately RM750+ looked like a parking lot. Cars and trucks stuck everywhere. One TT driver made the comment “if you’re not running 39’s you’re not getting through”.

The Oshkosh Extreme Racing Team

2010-11-17T07:49:00.000-08:00

The Oshkosh Extreme Racing Team. Oshkosh Corporation, a leading designer and manufacturer of specialty and off-road vehicles and technologies, is participating in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 for the first time. The company is racing two Light Concept Vehicles (LCV) as part of its rigorous testing for next-generation suspension and powertrain technologies. The Oshkosh Extreme Racing team includes members of California Gold Racing, led by legendary driver Glenn Harris.
The Trucks Oshkosh Corporation designed and produced the Light Concept Vehicle (LCV) racing in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
. The LCV represent leading edge technologies – the ProPulse® diesel-electric powertrain and new TAK-4® independent suspension system. Running in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the Oshkosh LCV will demonstrate the ‘art of the possible’ in one of the world’s toughest off-road races. Two LCVs, numbered the M1 and M2, are competing.
Oshkosh next-generation TAK-4 independent suspension system features:
 20 inches of independent wheel travel and larger shock absorption for off-road mobility
 A smoother ride quality at increased speeds
 Speeds up to 40 percent faster than other vehicles in its class over the same terrain
Oshkosh ProPulse diesel-electric powertrain technology features:
 Improved fuel economy compared to existing fleets
 The ability to export significant levels of electrical power
 A 400-hp engine
 Fewer components allows for increased space and crew capsule design flexibility
 Speeds up to 90 mph
The Drivers
Glenn Harris – M1
 30 years experience in motorsports
 Won numerous events and championship titles, starting with his first off-road race in 1974
 Career highlights include winning the 1991 Manufacturer’s Cup title and several international events in France, Guam, Mexico and Canada
 Team owner and manager of California Gold Racing Team
Darren Skilton – M1
 Professional driver for 17 years
 Past driver, driving instructor, team manager, truck builder, developer and North American representative for Dakar Rally
 Career highlights include six Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 wins and five Dakar Rally finishes, in addition to more than 13 wins and top finishes in other races

Robby Gordon Off-Road with new SPEED Energy sponsor.

2010-11-17T01:54:00.000-08:00

When Robby Gordon rolls into the 43rd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in Ensenada, Mexico his No. 1 Chevy CK-150 Trophy Truck will feature a brand new primary sponsor for Robby Gordon Off-Road. SPEED Energy will come on board to sponsor the 2009 Tecate SCORE International Off-Road Racing Champion in one of the most prestigious off-road races of the year. “This company is based on a commitment to SPEED, energy and relentless determination. No one personifies those values better than Robby Gordon, which makes him the perfect fit for our new SPEED Energy brand,” commented SPEED Energy Drink representative, Steve Nichols.

“I’m stoked to race at the Baja 1000 with the support of our partners: SPEED Energy, Toyo Tires, Polaris, Pro Comp to name a few,” commented Robby Gordon. “I’m proud to introduce my fan base to SPEED Energy, and I’m certain that once they try it they will be just as excited about it as I am. It’s a product that I’m really passionate about and one that I think has great potential. Each year I am amazed with how many fans we have supporting Robby Gordon Off-Road throughout the Baja Peninsula.
That support and interest in our team combine to make this race and region an excellent place to debut SPEED Energy’s sponsorship on our trophy truck.”

Several hundred competitors, including more than 35 trophy trucks, are expected to race in the Baja 1000 across a 1061.69-mile course stretching from Ensenada to La Paz, Mexico, November 17-20th. Gordon will roll off 10th in the trophy truck division for a race across the grueling terrain of the Baja Peninsula. Competitors racing in the trophy truck division will leave the grid in 30-second increments on Thursday, November 18, for the timed event. In last year’s edition of the Baja 1000 only 56% of the competitors crossed the finish line; Gordon not only took the checkered flag, but he went on to finish fourth in his class and claimed the 2009 Tecate SCORE International Off-Road Racing championship title.

“I love racing in the Baja 1000; it has been a long standing goal of mine to always compete in this event, even when I’m not able to compete throughout the entire SCORE schedule,” said the reigning Tecate SCORE International Off-Road Racing Champion, Robby Gordon. “My family’s roots are in off-road racing, so it’s a very important race for all of us. SCORE is one of the last true endurance racing series where you’re allowed to use both imagineering and engineering to make your vehicle the absolute best it can be. It’s so rare in motorsports to allow teams to use their creativity to produce a vehicle that works for their driver, but it makes for some fantastic racing and it is one of the reasons that I come back to race across the Baja Peninsula year after year.”

Baja 1000 with interesting, new twits: M-truck class

2010-10-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Since SCORE announced the new M-Truck class the guessing is going on within the race community. “What vehicles are this?” 18,000lb garbage trucks on steroids?? Dakar Rally style trucks like the Kamaz or MAN’s or slightly smaller like the 1985 Paris-Dakar Rally overall truck class winning Mercedes Unimogs??? Read more here....

Baja 1000 draw results Class 3, 5/1600, 6, 7, 8

2010-10-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

CLASS 3 (1): 301 David Moore - CLASS 5/1600 (4): 551 Dennis Webb, 552 Trevor Anderson, 553 Sergio Moreno, 579 Enrique Zazueta Jr. - CLASS 6 (5): 601 JT Taylor, 602 Marc Burnett, 603 Fernando Manzo, 600 Heidi Steele, 619 Dave Caspino - CLASS 7 (2): 701 Jackie Husmann, 700 Dan Chamlee - CLASS 7SX (1): 741 Norman Turley - CLASS 8 (4): 800 Clyde Stacy, 801 Sam Stahl, 802 Noah Ostanik , 839 Francisco Monroy
More here...

Baja 1000 draw results Class 5

2010-10-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

CLASS 5 (5)
501 Cody Kellogg, 500 Kevin Carr, 503 Drew Belk, 518 Vince Wavra,519 Tom Bird

Baja 1000 draw results CLASS 1-2/1600

2010-10-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

CLASS 1-2/1600 (8),
1601 Jay Reichert, 1602 Wes McKenzie, 1603 Harry Curtin, 1604 Arturo Velazco, 1600 Hiram Duran, 1647 Arnoldo Ramirez, 1648 Luke McMillin, 1649 Daniel Lopez

Baja 1000 draw results Class 1

2010-10-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

CLASS 1 (17)
101 Steve Appleton, 102 Kory Halopoff, 103 Daniel McMillin, 104 Josh Rigsby, 105 Cameron Thieriot, 106 Dale Lenk, 107 Dan Martin, 108 Armin Schwarz, 109 Eric Chase, 110 Juan C. Flores, 111 David Greenhill, 112 Armin Kremer, 113 Rudy Cortez, 114 Todd Romano, 115 Paul Keller, 116 Conan Barker, 117 Ikuo Hanawa

Baja 1000 draw results Trophy Trucks

2010-10-10T17:16:00.000-07:00

SCORE TROPHY-TRUCK (35)
8 Roger Norman, 21 Gus Vildosola Jr., 97 B.J. Baldwin, 31 Andy McMillin, 84 Nick Vanderwey, 71 Rick D. Johnson, 9 Mark Weyhrich, 23 Mark McMillin, 59 Craig Potts, 1 Robby Gordon, 35 Jason Voss, 74 Rob Bruce, 2 Pete Sohren, 47 James Bult, 16 Cameron Steele, 3 Mark Post, 94 Steve Strobel, 22 Damen Jefferies, 13 Ed Stout, 61 Josh Hall, 24 Adam Householder, 45 Gary Magness, 49 Troy Herbst, 88 Jerry Whelchel, 19 Tim Herbst, 54 Jesse James,
7 Scott Steinberger, 48 Jimmy Nuckles, 27 Dave Crinklaw, 73 John Harrah, 86 Mike Jenkins, 20 Rob MacCachren, 76 Jesse Jones, 30 Robbie Pierce, 95 Scott Whipple

Baja 1000 - The Story

2010-09-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

The first official race started in Tijuana, Baja California, on October 31, 1967, and was named the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally. The course length that year was 849 miles (1,366 km) and ended in La Paz, Baja California Sur, with the overall winning time of 27 hours 38 minutes (27:38) set by Vic Wilson and Ted Mangels while driving a Meyers Manx buggy. From 1967 to 1972, the race was organized by the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA). In 1973, Baja California governor Milton Castellanos handed over sanctioning of the event to a non-profit Mexican corporation called Baja Sports Committee (BSC)
. BSC renamed the event to Baja Mil (Baja 1000) and scheduled the race to run on the original dates chosen by NORRA. Though NORRA held a competing event in the United States that same weekend, BSC successfully ran the race from Ensenada to La Paz like the years prior. Unaware of the challenges, BSC found promoting Baja races more difficult than anticipated. Instead of giving up the race, the Mexican government requested help from Short Course Off-Road Enterprises (SCORE)in hosting and promoting future Baja races. Through negotiations with Mickey Thompson and his SCORE organization, the Government agreed to give exclusive rights to SCORE to hold Baja races and also reluctantly allowed SCORE to cancel the event for 1974. SCORE hired Sal Fish as president and took control of the Baja 1000 from that year on with the Baja 1000 race resuming under new control in 1975. Read the whole story of the Baja 1000: www.baja-1000-live.com/history Not only updates until the race starts but also looking back at www.baja-1000-live.com

40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Desert Off-Road Race

2010-09-25T01:24:00.000-07:00

40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race. Final event of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, November 11-16, 2007. Ensenada-Baja California, Mexico (65 miles south of U.S./Mexico Border) to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Nearly 450 entries from 43 U.S. States, and 16 countries, competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.
Total milage: 1,296.39 miles
(10 checkpoints plus the finish line). Starts on Blvd. Costero, adjacent to the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada, finishing at Campos de Futbol "Yenecamu" soccer fields in Cabo San Lucas. Starting on the Pacific Ocean side of the Baja California peninsula, the course west to Ojos Negros then southeast to the Valle de Trinidad (rm 110.98) back southwest to climb up through Mike's Sky Rancho, down by Rancho El Coyote... Find more feedback on the 2007 peninsula run to Cabo San Lucas inclusive the 2007 race map of the course at www.baja-1000-live.com/baja1000_map_2007

39th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 2006 inclusive 2006 race course map

2010-09-24T01:09:00.000-07:00

Andy McMillin and Robby Gordon in a Trophy Truck, Troy Herbst and Larry Roeseler in a Class 1 and the trio Hengeveld/Childress/Cody on a mootorcycle are winners at the 39th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Records falling as over 300,000 celebrate "Super Bowl" of desert racing down Baja California, Mexico, Peninsula Ensenada to La Paz. As the final checkered flag
dropped early Saturday morning for the last of an all-time SCORE record 234 official finishers in the 39th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, it was obvious that another incredible and colorful chapter had been added to the legacy of this popular ironman desert race down the majestic Baja California peninsula, Mexico.
Not only updates but also looking back at the race to La Paz. Find more at www.baja-1000-live.com/baja1000_map_2006 inclusive the map from the 2006 off-road race to Baja Sur.

From Ensenada in Baja California to La Paz in Baja California Sur 2004 Race and race-course map

2010-09-23T00:51:00.000-07:00

The 2004 Baja 1000 Race from Ensenada to La Paz has Troy Herbst, of Las Vegas, Nev., and Larry Roeseler, of Hesperia, Calif., in the books to lead all 4-wheel vehicles to the finish line. Their Class 1 Ford-powered Smithbuilt open-wheel desert race-car covered the challenging course in 16:18:14, and their average of 62.167 mph was the second highest in race history. Second overall among 4-wheel vehicles and winner of the marquee SCORE Trophy-Truck class for the second straight year was the Miller Racing Chevy Silverado of Mark Miller, Carefree, Ariz./Ryan Arciero
, Foothill Ranch, Calif. The pair finished only six minutes, 40 seconds behind Herbst/Roeseler. Second in SCORE Trophy-Truck and third overall were the team of Dan Smith/David Ashley, Riverside, Calif., in a time of 16:47:05 in their Enduro Racing Ford F-150. Fourth overall and third in SCORE Trophy-Truck was the team of Mark Post, San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Curt Le Duc, Cherry Valley, Calif., in the Riviera Racing Ford F-150, at 16:48:18. Finishing fifth overall and in second in Class 1 was McMillin Racing's Andy McMillin and his father Scott McMillin, of Poway, Calif., in a Jimco-Chevy, with a time of 16:54:18. Finishing sixth overall and third in Class 1 was the team of John Marking, El Cajon, Calif./Chris Harrold, Chula Vista, Calif./Bob Lofton, Westmorland, Calif. in 17:25:47 in a Jimco-Chevy.
Get more info on the 2004 race plus the 2004 race-course map from the Ensenada to La Paz Baja 1000 peninsula run here at www.baja-1000-live.com/baja1000_map_2004

Baja 1000 2002 inclusive Baja 1000 race map

2010-09-22T00:38:00.000-07:00

Looking back to the 2002 Baja 1000, a peninsula run like this years 43rd Baja 1000 Dave Ashley and Dan Smith took their Ford Trophy Truck to a record third consecutive win at the rugged Baja 1000. Owner Dick Landfield was very pleased with the triple Baja wins as he commented to Ford engineer Tom Greene; "Ford was a big part of enabling us to win this race - thanks to everyone." Landfield went on to comment on the flawless powertrain. He said it was the strongest engine
and a perfect shifting trans that supported their problem-free run in the team's Ford truck at this year's event. The team flogged the Ford at an average 62.33 mph (with some segments averaging over 80 mph). This was the fastest-ever average speed 1000 mile race clocked at just over sixteen hours (62.43 mph average). The Enduro Team finished within a minute-and-a-half of the fastest and overall winning motorcycle. Ed Herbst's Ford team finished second in Trophy Truck more than forty-five minutes behind the dominating duo of Smith and Ashley.
Find more information and the 2002 race course map here

All time Baja 1000 overall winners

2010-08-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

A listing of all Baja 1000 overall winners and the majority of all-time Baja 1000 class winners can be viewed here. Sorry for the poor quality of the copies. If time permits we will type that all into a better readable format.

SCORE Desert Series 2010 point standings

2010-08-26T16:37:00.000-07:00

In a few weeks is the next race of the SCORE desert series 2010. The point standings for the series before that race can be viewed here for the trophy truck class, Class 1 unlimited open-wheel, Class 1/2 1600 and Class 12

Baja 1000

2010-08-25T00:39:00.000-07:00

Baja 1000 - Cant wait..... ;-)