CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico — Celebrating its 42nd year as the World Foremost Desert Racing Organization by making more motorsports history, racers from 12 U.S. States and five countries are in Baja California Sur for this week’s history-making Inaugural Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500 desert race. The southern state of Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula is hosting the first SCORE race entirely run on the southernmost part of the peninsula. Pre-race festivities start Wednesday for Round 2 of the five-race internationally-televised SCORE World Desert Championship.
GREEN FLAG/CHECKERED FLAG
The green flag will drop first in the elapsed-time race for motorcycles and quads at 6:45 a.m. (MT) on Saturday. With a minimum of a four-hour gap in between the start of the motorcycles/quads, the cars, trucks and UTVs will get the green flag starting at 11:15 a.m. (MT) The start line will be in the Cabo San Lucas Wash at the Yenecamu Fields and the finish line will be on the Malecon in Loreto in front of La Mision Hotel-Loreto, SCORE race headquarters in Loreto. While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in less than nine hours, all vehicles will have a 17-hour time limit to be an official finisher.
FINISH LINE CELEBRATION
In Loreto, La Mision Hotel is the race headquarters with the finish line in front of the resort on the Malecon alongside the Sea of Cortez. In the finish line area on Saturday, the Bud Light Finish Line Party will also be held. SCOREvision, the massive LED screens, will also be part of the finish line area in Loreto displaying finish line interviews with the racers. The awards celebration will conclude the festivities on the Malecon in front of La Mision Hotel-Loreto on Sunday at 11 a.m. (MT).
A SPECTACULAR FIRST
Following two years of negotiations and finalization of details by SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman with Mexican officials, SCORE, known worldwide as trail blazers in the sport of desert racing, will present the inaugural Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500 this week. The race will start at the luxurious tourist destination of Cabo San Lucas on the southernmost tip of the peninsula and finish in the picturesque ‘Pueblo Magico’ city of Loreto on the glistening Sea of Cortez on the east side of the peninsula.
SCORE was founded in 1973, SCORE Baja racing began in 1974 and SCORE is celebrating its 42nd year in 2015. With three races held annually for nearly 30 years in Baja, this race is the historical first time a SCORE Baja race will start and finish exclusively in the southern state of Baja California Sur. Previously the legendary SCORE Baja 1000 desert race has finished 20 times in La Paz (most recently in 2014) and twice in Cabo San Lucas (2000 and 2007).
LATE ENTRIES
With late entries accepted up to 5 p.m. on Friday, over 100 entries from 15 US States and five countries expected to enter the inaugural race that will features multiple Pro and Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and quads.
HISTORIC COURSE
A magnificent 424.52-mile course has been plotted with five physical checkpoints along the route from the start in Cabo San Lucas to the finish on the Malecon in Loreto. Much of the race course has never been used before in the 22 times SCORE has finished a race in either La Paz or Cabo San Lucas.
The exciting and challenging course runs northwest along the Pacific Ocean up through Todos Santos before moving northeast and inland at race mile 120. As the race enters the La Paz area it moves alongside the Sea of Cortez where it heads north to San Evaristo at race mile 220. From there, the course turns sharply southeast, heading back into the center of the peninsula. At Las Golondrinas (rm 260) the course turns back northwest and then north into Loreto passing near Cd. Constitucion and Cd. Insurgentes on the way up through Santo Domingo and San Javier into the finish on the Malecon in Loreto.
SCORE TROPHY TRUCK ENTRIES
Southern gentleman Clyde Stacy, of Bristol, Va., has received the honor of drawing the first starting position for the inaugural race in his No. 5 RPM Racing Chevy Rally Truck that will race in the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck division for high-tech, 850-horsepower, unlimited production trucks.
Stacy and his protégé Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez of Tecate, Mexico, finished third in January in the season-opening Bud Light SCORE San Felipe 250 in Baja, Mexico.
Led by Mexico’s Gus Vildosola Jr, who has 80 season points after winning the SCORE season opener in San Felipe in the No. 21 Branix Mexicana Logistics Ford Raptor, will start third in Cabo San Lucas, behind Las Vegas’ B.J. Baldwin who finished second in San Felipe in the No. 97 Monster Energy Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado.
Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren, who finished 10th after leading three-fourths of the race in San Felipe, drew the fourth starting position in the No. 11 Rockstar Energy MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150.
Eduardo Laguna, Mexicali, Mexico, will start fifth in the No. 17 RPM Racing Chevy Silverado.
Defending SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion Steven Eugenio of El Centro, Calif. and new teammate Armin Schwarz of Germany, drew the eighth starting spot in the No. 1 Galindo Motorsports Chevy Silverado.
Also entered in SCORE Trophy Truck is veteran Mark Post of Las Vegas, racing with another former SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion in Jesse Jones, of Phoenix, in the No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150. Post teamed with MacCachren to win the 2007 SCORE Baja 1000 when the 45th anniversary of the iconic race finished in Cabo San Lucas, in the same spot Saturday’s race is starting.
MACCACHREN MARVELS
Following his first pre-run of the course this week, MacCachren said he was inspired by the rugged beauty of the course. MacCachren commented, “This is a very tight and technical course in many areas along with some very high-speed sections as well, but besides being run on land SCORE has never raced on before, the course runs through some of the greenest and most remote and picturesque sections in all of the Baja California Peninsula.”
“Pre-running is a real key for this race because of the difficulty but those that do their homework will do well and will have enough new photos to fill a scrapbook. We go through arroyos, ranches, valleys, hills and even down the ‘mini summit’ that we have run many times during the SCORE Baja 1000. I salute SCORE for putting this event together and Roger Norman for designing a race course that will be one of our most memorable of all time. I am really looking forward to making some history with SCORE.”
M/C & CLASS 1
Drawing the first start among the open motorcycle class was Colton Udall, Oceanside, Calif., who won the season-opener in San Felipe in January on a Honda CRF450X. First off the line in the unlimited Class 1 will be George Peters, Newbury Park, Calif., who finished third in class in San Felipe in a Chevy-powered Racer open-wheel desert race car.
PRE-RACE FESTIVITIES
The colorful pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway, contingency and tech inspection of the vehicles in the race will be held on Friday. Contingency will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and tech from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Yenecamu Fields in Cabo San Lucas.
Racer registration will be held from noon to 7 p.m. on Wednesday for late, on-site entries, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday in the Pericues Ballroom at the Villa del Palmar Beach Resort and Spa, the race headquarters in Cabo San Lucas.
Both held prior to the start of the race, the Monster Energy SCORE Baja Sur 500 Party will be held at the Baja Brewery at the Marina on Wednesday from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. and the pre-race Bud Light SCORE Kick-off Party will be held on Thursday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the The Office on the Beach on Playa El Medano.
SCORE MEDIA CENTERS
In Cabo San Lucas, the official pre-race SCORE Media Center will be in the Pericues Ballroom at the Villa del Palmar Resort and Spa on Thursday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (MT) and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (MT).
In Loreto, the SCORE Media Center will be in the event center on the fourth floor at the La Mision Hotel-Loreto in front of the finish line on the Malecon. It will be open on Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (MT), Saturday from 10 a.m. to Midnight (MT) and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. (MT).
KEY MEXICAN OFFICIALS
Working diligently with SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman and international liaison Oscar Ramos to make this dream race a reality have been numerous individuals in Baja California Sur, here is the team from Mexico that have been working tirelessly to prepare for this historic inaugural event:
Marcos Alberto Covarrubias Villasenor, Governor of the State of Baja California Sur; Gil Cueva Tabardillo, Baja California Sur State Congressman; Jose S. Jassen, President of the Mexican Motorsports Federation; Ruben Reachi Lugo, Secretary of Tourism of Baja California Sur; Jose Antonio Agundez Montano, Mayor of Los Cabos, Baja California Sur; Francisco Monroy Sanchez, Mayor of La Paz, Baja California Sur; Jorge Aviles Perez, Mayor of Loreto, Baja California Sur and Venustiano Perez Sanchez, Mayor of Comondu, Baja California Sur.
SCOREscope
In its 42nd year as the world’s foremost desert racing organization in 2015, the five-race 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship series includes four special events in Baja California, Mexico, and one in the United States.
Here is the 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship schedule:
· 29th Bud Light SCORE San Felipe 250, held Jan. 22-25, San Felipe, Mexico
· Inaugural Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500, April 15-19, Cabo San Lucas to Loreto, Mexico
· 47th Bud Light SCORE Baja 500, June 4-7, Ensenada Mexico
· 3rd SCORE Imperial Valley 250, Sept. 24-27, Coyne Powersports Motorplex-Plaster City, Calif.
· 48th Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000, Nov.18-21, Ensenada, Mexico
CBS SPORTS NETWORK COVERAGE
All races in the 2015 SCORE World Desert Championship series, along with the special SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience and qualifying for the Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will once again be aired in the USA and Canada on the CBS Sports Network. New for 2015, in addition to SCORE Trophy Truck coverage, the shows will also feature top action and highlights from many other classes of trucks, buggies, motorcycles, quads and UTVs – making sure that the most exciting footage and most compelling stories are now part of each race event broadcast.
Capping off the 2015 broadcast season, the Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 broadcast on CBS Sports Network will be expanded to a full two-hour program – providing the most expansive television coverage of the “Main Event” of all desert races ever, allowing all the major class action to be showcased around the globe to the SCORE International fan base.
2015 CBS Sports Network Original Broadcast Schedule (subject to change, check local listings)
· Bud Light SCORE San Felipe 250 (first telecasts-Tuesday, March 17, 7 p.m. ET & 11 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja Sur 500 (first telecast-Sunday, May 31, 9 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 500 (first telecast-Sunday, July 26, 9 p.m. ET)
· SCORE Imperial Valley 250 (first telecast-Sunday, November 15, 9 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 Qualifying @SEMA SCORE Baja 1000 Experience (first telecast-Sunday, January 10, 2016, 9 p.m. ET)
· Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 (two-hour special-first telecast-Sunday, January 17, 2016, 9 p.m. ET)
CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.
SCORE SPONSORS
Official Sponsors: Bud Light-Official Beer/Official Race Sponsor, Monster Energy-Official Energy Drink, BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire, Rigid Industries LED Lighting-Official Lights, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber, Polaris-Official UTV, Vision Wheel – Official Wheel, Axial R/C-Official R/C Vehicle, CBS Sports Network-Official Television Partner, Coca-Cola-Official Soft Drink, Coyne Powersports-Official Powersports Supplier,Wide Open Excursions- Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.
Associate Sponsors: All Road Satellite, Symons Ambulance Company, Aero Calafia, Tessco.
Additional SCORE Partners: Proturismo Ensenada, Visit Baja California Sur, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, Baja California Sur State Government, Mexicali Ayuntamineto, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Cruz Roja Mexicana, Corporate Helicopters, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, GoPro, PCI Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products, Advanced Color Graphics.
For more information, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCORE-International.com.