The 43rd running of the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 kicks off tomorrow morning, with the bikes heading off the starting line in Ensenada first at 6:30 a.m. with ATVs to follow. Typically the trucks and other four-wheeled vehicles will leave four hours later, but this year they will stagger them another hour back to give most of the dirt bikes and ATVs more of a running start for the 1061.69-mile course that will conclude down the Baja peninsula in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

First off the line in Class 22 (Pro Motorcycles) tomorrow morning is the 2x bike of Gabriel Williams. Although there are a surprisingly low number of pro entries at 12, there looks to be some great competition in the class. KTM is creating quite a bit of buzz with its five-rider team that it hope will put an end to Honda’s dominance in the class. The 7x KTM530XCW will be ridden by David Pearson, Mike Childress, Ivan Ramirez, Shane Esposito and Steve Hengeveld hope to cross the finish line in La Paz first. The Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR) / Honda team will field two teams: the 1x bike will feature 2010 AMA Hare and Hound Champion Kendall Norman and Quinn Cody (Johnny Campbell is also on the list in case he needs to hop on), and he 8x bike piloted by Colton Udall, Justin Imhoff and Timmy Weigand.

In the Trophy Truck class, Roger Norman will be the first racer off the line, and he plans to ironman the race. Second off the line will be the Mexican team of Gus Vildosola Jr., Gus Vildosola Sr., and Rodrigo Ampudia, as they look to be the first Mexican National team to win the 1000. BJ Baldwin is third off the line followed closely by the father-and-son team of Scott and Andy McMillin. Other notable racers are Robby Gordon, in his new Speed Energy Drink truck, Cameron Steele, Ed Stout, Jesse James, Troy Herbst, Rick D. Johnson and many more. It’s a packed field, and with a race this long … anyone can win it.

Check back for more updates tomorrow when the race kicks off.

Just as a quick note, SCORE also released its 2011 schedule for the series if you missed it. Check it out:

2011 SCORE Desert Series Schedule of Events
Date--Event/Location

Jan. 14-16--17th SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge
Laughlin, Nevada

March 11-13--25th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 
San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico

June 2-5--43rd Tecate SCORE Baja 500
Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

Aug./Sept.--To Be Determined

Nov. 17-20--44th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
Baja California, Mexico