SCORE Journal

SCORE-Journal-October-2021

SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing

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A RELENTLESS PURSUIT Pro Moto And Quad Classes Try To Have A Perfect Run By Dan Sanchez, Paul Hanson, and Jose Vazquez Photos By Get Some Photo  When the Pro Moto and Quad classes left the starting line at 6:00 am race-day, the only thing on the mind of riders was to get through the course as fast and as safe as possible, but without making any mistakes along the way. Helping that effort at this race, SCORE had a helicopter to clear the course and provide aid if necessary, thanks to the efforts of Andy Kirker, Colton Udall, and other moto race teams who continue to push for the increased safety of riders.  Knowing that the course is a bit safer, riders still need to make sure they remember all the obstacles and areas of concern from pre-running, and to hit all the checkpoints and virtual checkpoints to have a clean run. But that isn’t always enough. By the time the first Pro Moto Unlimited teams crossed the finish line, the 5x team of Derek Ausserbauer and Colton Udall had run a clean race and were the first team to finish. They battled against the 22x team of Shane Redline, lead by Chris Phillips, all the way to the end and gave kudos to the team.  After a video appeared showing the 5x team chase vehicle blocking the path of a 22x rider, SCORE officials added penalties to the 5x team, leaving the 22x team with the SCORE Baja 400 win and the 5x team in second place. Despite the loss, the 5x team took the results in good sportsmanship and are looking forward to the next race. “It was a good day out there,” said Ausserbauer. “This guy (Colton Udall) did some magician moves. He handed me the bike two minutes up. We are racing on super high-speed roads. That was legendary. That fired me up to keep up the pace.”  “The magic trick is persistence, patience, and breathing a lot of dust,” said Udall. “I ended up riding 240 miles and got the bike to Derek. “Our bike is really good. We held it wide. Now the ultimate test is the SCORE Baja 1000.” Finishing in third place was the 77x team of Hosea Struiskma. “The course was pretty brutal,” said co-rider Jonathan Struiksma. I’m really tired. There were a lot of rocks. Pretty technical, but a lot of fun.” “I had most of the silty sections, so it made it a little difficult to hit those sharp corners,” said co-rider Isaac Struiskma. “But we were able to compensate in the straight sections and get some speed.”Check out all the Pro Moto Unlimited team stats on SCORE Fan Pages BELTRAN AND GILL BATTLE IN PRO MOTO LIMITED The 2nd SCORE Baja 400 Presented by VP Racing Fuels saw a hard-fought battle in SCORE Pro Moto Limited between the 100x team of Fernando Beltran and the 109x team of Christopher Gill. Both teams have first and fourth-place finishes in the last two SCORE races and were racing for a win here, and a lead starting position at the SCORE Baja 1000.   The racers would pass each other while pitting and ultimately Beltran and his co-riders Arturo Salas and Luis Flores took the lead and kept it for the class win. Pro Moto Limited Rider Profiles are on SCORE Fan Pages WINNING STREAKS CONTINUE IN PRO MOTO AGE CLASSES The 308x team of Greg Bardonexx, James Justin Shultz, Ryan Liebelt, and Shane Esposito have been on winning teams and showed their riding talents in Pro Moto 30. They rode their Yamaha WR450F to their second victory this season, but the 325x team of Jano Montoya has not made it easy. Montoya’s team won the SCORE San Felipe 250 but finished in second place behind Bardonnex in the last two races. This sets up the 54th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts as the “winner take all” for the prestigious race win and a class championship.Pro Moto Class 30 Rider Profiles are on SCORE Fan Pages Along with riding on the winning Pro Moto 30 team of Greg Bardonnex, Ryan Liebelt has his own Pro Moto 40 team with Steve Tichner on the 408x Yamaha WR450F. “It was a good race. I expected it to be faster and smoother but it was very rough and beat up,” said Liebelt. “It was an exhausting day. We are looking forward to the SCORE Baja 1000.”  The team is undefeated in class this season, but still had battles with the 424x team of William St. Laurent who has been finishing right behind them in second place. The SCORE Baja 1000 win for either team can be a deciding factor on who will take the class championship, and should make for an exciting race. SCORE Pro Moto 40 Profiles And Stats are on SCORE Fan Pages Giovanni Spinali is also on a winning streak, on his way to a perfect season if he can win again at the SCORE Baja 1000. He and co-rider Josh Griffin on the 510x Yamaha YZ450FX had some issues early on but managed to stay ahead of the 2020 Class Champion team of Vance Kennedy on the 500x Honda CRF450X.  “The course was rough. We had some issues in the first thirty miles, maybe some water in the fuel, it was popping,” said Spinali. “But then we pulled about a twenty-mile lead and we maintained it. I plan on iron-manning the SCORE Baja 1000.” SCORE Pro Moto 50 Profiles And Stats are on SCORE Fan Pages Adding to the list of riders who are on their way to a perfect season is Scott McIntosh in SCORE Pro Moto 60. Riding the 628x Honda CRF450X with Don Whittington, and Bob Kimber, the team has finished every race this season and are on their way to a class championship whether or not they succeed at the SCORE Baja 1000 in November. Nothing, however, seems to indicate they are not ready for the challenge. “ I had my best day ever today,” said McIntosh. “Don also had a great day. At this age, we are still getting better. It’s such a great sport where you can do that, you never peak out. We had a ball. It’s frustrating though when you have your best day ever but you are still back there in the pack. But we are having fun and we are finishing and feeling good about it.” SCORE Pro Moto 60 Profiles And Stats are on SCORE Fan Pages Scott Borden on the 208x bike finished first in SCORE Sportsman Moto. He and teammates Chris Welch, Dan Mastrude, and Hank Salyer, rode their Yamaha YZ450F to their first win this season. In the previous two races, the team has struggled with second-place finishes, but the effort still put them in contention for a class championship. SCORE Sportsman Moto Profiles And Stats are on SCORE Fan Pages QUADS RACERS STRUGGLE TO FINISH Half of the field of Quad teams failed to finish the SCORE Baja 400 due to the tough terrain and difficult silt that stalled many of the teams on the course. In the Pro Quad class, however, 2020 class champion Jose Luis Velez got his second win of the season. Racing with family members Felipe and Nicolas Velez, the team is close in points for a season championship, but they will have to do well at the SCORE Baja 1000. “It was a very difficult course and there was a lot of silt and dust,” said Felipe Velez. “The competition was tough, we were being challenged the whole day. We will be back together with the same team for the SCORE Baja 1000.”  The current class points leader, Ricardo Villafana on the 37a quad finished third but still has the lead going into the SCORE Baja 1000, but the next race will define who takes the win and the class championship between these two teams. SCORE Pro Quad Profiles And Stats are on SCORE Fan Pages In SCORE Sportsman Quads, the 129a team of Sergio Gutierrez took home their first win of the season. The team consisting of co-riders Luis Delfin, Juan Gonzalez, Hector Chavez, and Joel Rubalcava, on their Honda TRX450R, are now tied in championship points with the 112a team of Daniel Gaytan. Gaytan finished second and is also pushing towards a championship. Both teams are in a must-win situation to see who can reign on top at the SCORE Baja 1000, and end the season with the SCORE Sportsman Quad championship. SCORE Sportsman Quad profiles and stats are on SCORE Fan Pages

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