SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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BACK TO LA PAZ The 54th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE BaJa 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts returns as a peninsula run from Ensenada to La Paz By SCORE Journal Staff Photos by Get Some Photo It’s been four years since the SCORE Baja 1000 has had a peninsula run, but it has finally returned in 2021. The race is scheduled to take place November 15th through the 20th, 2021 and will start in downtown Ensenada and end in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. At the time of this writing, COVID protocols in Mexico have relaxed enough for government officials to allow spectators back near the start and finish lines, as well as spectating during Contingency for this race. Some measures may still be required such as wearing masks in high public areas, but SCORE officials will continue to monitor all of the state’s requirements and adhere to all mandates if they change from day to day. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE COURSE The course is slated to be a 1,227-mile point-to-point race that heads south from Ensenada will zig-zag across the peninsula starting south to Ojos Negros and Valle de Trinidad, then back to Colonet, amd south to San Quintin. The course will start heading inland to Catavina then reaching Coco’s Corner and 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 along the Sea of Cortez past Loreto. Here it continues to run southwest and back along the Pacific, past Villa Insurgentes and Ciudad Constitución until race mile 1,180 where it turns southeast and finally into the finish in La Paz. BIG PAYOUT FOR RACERS Along with the many sponsors and Contingency prizes available to racers, there are some large payouts available for this race. The first is the BFGoodrich Tires $40k prize to the Overall race winner running on BFGoodrich Tires. In addition, class winners will also receive cash and product prizes: $1000, Trophy Truck Spec $700 Class 1, Class 10 $500 Class 7, Class 7SX, Class 8, Heavy Metal, Stock Full, Pro Truck, Class 3000, Class 4400, Class 4500, SCORE Lites $300 Class 1/2-1600, Class 5 Open, Class 5-1600, Class 9, Class 11 $100 Vintage Vehicles (1982 earlier), Vintage Vehicles (1983- 1992) 2-Tires Pro UTV NA, Pro UTV FI 1 Tire Pro UTV Open, Pro Stock UTV PRO MOTO RACERS CAN GET PAID TOO Maxima Oils Mexico will payout $1000 for the Overall Moto Class Winner at the 54th SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts, will receive a $1000 check from Maxima Oils, making it one of the top payouts for the Pro Moto class. With the new Pro Moto Rally class at this race, Rottweiler Performance is also offering racers in this class a total of $5000 in cash and $400 in gift certificates to racers. 1st place: $3000 2nd place: $1,500 3rd place: $500 4th place: $250 gift certificate for RP products via website 5th place: $150 gift certificate for RP products via website A BRIEF HISTORY The SCORE Baja 1000 is the oldest and most legendary of all desert races, which began from a recorded time run from Tijuana to La Paz by Dave Ekins and Bill Roberson in 1962. Other timed events followed to gain additional publicity and in 1967, off-road enthusiast Ed Pearlman founded the National Off Road Racing Association (NORRA) and established the Mexican 1000. It started officially in Tijuana on October 31, 1967 with 68 entries. NORRA continued to organize the Mexican 1000, which came to be known as the Baja 1000, and in 1968, Pearlman moved the start of the race to Ensenada. In 1972 Mexican officials revoked NORRA’s permits to stage races in Baja. In 1973, a domestic group called the Baja Sports Committee produced the race. After the fuel crisis of 1974 forced local officials to cancel the event, SCORE International, founded by the late Mickey Thompson and headed soon after by Sal Fish (until 2012), was invited by the northern state of Baja California to hold the race in 1975. The SCORE Baja 1000 became a loop event starting and ending in Ensenada. In 1979, the government of Baja California Sur granted permission to resume the Ensenada-to-La Paz format and SCORE has used this route intermittently ever since. The 1979 race was notable for Walker Evans’ overall win in a Dodge truck, the first truck to win the overall title of the race. Roger Norman purchased SCORE International from Fish on Dec. 20, 2012. The race celebrated its 50th Anniversary in November 2017 and has been voted as USA Today’s Top Motorsports Event twice. The longest SCORE Baja 1000 from Ensenada to La Paz was in 2014 when it was 1,2275. The 2017 course was 1,134.40 miles, making it the second longest in event history for races starting in Ensenada and finishing in La Paz. Throughout the history of the Mexican 1000 and SCORE Baja 1000, there have been 23 peninsula runs. RACERS READY FOR THE CHALLENGE It’s expected that 300 racers will participate in this year’s race. Some are returning champions who have won numerous SCORE Baja 1000 races. At the top of the list is Larry Roeseler with 14 wins in this race to his name. Andy McMillin has five wins in this race while Rob MacCachren has four wins in his career. Of these three, MacCachren will start second behind SCORE Baja 400 winner Bryce Menzies, as he is teaming up Luke McMillin for this race. Alan Ampudia will start third followed by Dan McMillin, then Cameron Steele.