SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1497814
BEATING THE HEAT . UTV Racers Give It Their All On The Extremely Dusty And Hot Course . By Larry Saavedra, Paul Hanson, Guilherme Torres, and Ariana Medrano Photography by Get Some Photo . . Racing the No. 2910 Can-Am Maverick, Rodrigo Ampudia, in the Pro UTV Forced Induction class, captured UTV Overall and first in class at the King Shocks 36th San Felipe 250 Presented by Baja Vida Snacks. Ampudia said it came down to the last sixty miles of the race. “The car kept shutting off coming into the final stretch for the course. We had to troubleshoot it on the fly, reset the whole system, and lost valuable time.” . While 2022 Pro UTV FI Champion Matt Burroughs in No. 2948 Can-Am Maverick was in the hunt for another class victory, he cited suspension issues early on as the reason for his sixth-place finish in class. “We got a rock in our wheel which broke it,” he said. “Then we broke a shock and that slowed us down. It was a lot of fun on the rocks with no suspension.” . Edgar Garcia Leon in the No. 2987 Can-Am Maverick pulled off a second-place finish in class. “It was super dusty and hot,” he said. “My wife Nancy was my co-driver and we had a couple of CV issues, brake problems, and the GPS failed. Then we had two flat tires, but we managed to pull off a podium finish.” . PJ Jones was another Pro UTV FI favorite racing for Can-Am but settled for third place in class. “It was a tough race,” he said. “We had a trouble-free run except for one flat. The jack broke and that cost us time. Other than that, we just cruised into third.” . . . . Pro UTV Open . Over in Pro UTV Open, all eyes were on the newly established Polaris Factory team headed by Craig Scanlon in the No. 1831 Polaris RZR. The field in this race was made up of seventeen starters in class, but only thirteen were able to finish. . As the boss of team Polaris, Scanlon managed to take first in class, but couldn’t make up the eight-minute gap between him and Ampudia racing for an Overall win. “It was great to take first in class, “ Scanlon said. “We finished with the same four BFGoodrich tires we started with and all the same parts. For the last seven miles, we were running out of fuel. I just held the wheel, and my navigator, Max Eddy Jr., won this race for us. He kept us calm when we needed to be calm, he called every single line perfectly, I was just driving around with my buddies.” . Always a fan favorite, Wayne Matlock in No. 1871 Polaris RZR decided to race solo and took second behind Scanlon. “We had some issues like vapor lock, but overall the guys at the shop did a great job,” he said. “We’ll be ready for the next race.” . Baja veteran Mike Cafro in the No. 1876 Polaris said that if it weren’t for a hidden rock that took out his UTV, he would have finished higher than third in class. “It screwed us for the day after hitting it,” he said. “The course was beat-up and super tough.” . Cayden MacCachren in the No. 1821 Polaris said he didn’t know what to expect, considering it was his first race in the new Polaris Factory Pro R car. “It was a little intimidating at San Felipe,” he said. “I lost radio communications, but the fans along the course convinced me I was leading by cheering me on. Brandon Sims passed me, then crashed. Then I got passed by Scanlon when I was changing a tire. Then we broke some wheel studs and had to limp to the finish in fourth place.” . In the No. 1838 Polaris, Kolton Hustead was on MacCachren’s tail coming into the finish but lost his four-wheel drive system and only managed to pull off a fifth-place finish. “It happened about 125 miles into the race,” Hustead said. “Our shocks were getting really hot. Then we blew a belt and had to get pulled out of the silt. It was mostly a solid race until the end.” . Pro UTV Naturally Aspirated . Pro UTV NA had six starters and only 4 finishers. After suffering three flat tires, Joe Bolton overcame the challenge and took first in class in the No. 1957 Polaris RZR. “I drove solo and it happened in the second half of the race,” he said. “There were no other problems other than the tire issues.” . Polaris racer Gabe Matthews in the No. 1980 Polaris RZR clocked a respectable second-place finish in class. “It was a solid race and I want to thank our pit crews,” he said. “It was rough and bumpy, but it was fun. I have to thank my wife for letting me do this stuff.” . . Pro Stock UTV . Consistently in the top three in the Pro Stock UTV class is Factory Polaris Mexico’s Anibal Lopez in the No. 3900 Polaris RZR. He pulled off a first-place finish in this race for a great start to the SCORE 2023 season. His co-driver Daniel Gonzalez said they had only one flat tire on the rocky course. “We had some overheating issues but got that fixed,” he said. “Then something happened in the electrical suspension that caused it to go bad, and that was really challenging in the whoops.” . Randy Emberton in the No. 3933 Polaris RZR agreed with Gonzalez and said the course was rough. Emberton managed second place in class and drove solo. “It was beaten up and there were race cars littering the course,” he said. “I’m not sure how many made it to the finish. The car ran great all day. I can’t complain. We had a few issues like tire failures around mile marker seventy and mile marker 145. I have to thank Pepinos Race Prep in Mexicali for doing such a great job.” . Manuel Norzagary in the No. 3967 Can-Am confirmed how difficult the course was, stating it was “intense.” “It was crazy challenging,” he said. “We paced ourselves from the start and that helped. It’s a short Baja course, but it’s still a marathon on a UTV. We passed a lot of race cars that had broken down, and then we began to overheat but repaired the issues and continued on. The whoops were difficult, with speeds ranging from eighty miles per hour to thirty. It was an awesome course because you got everything from whoops to sandy washes and desert sections where you could go flat out.”SJ . . OFFICIAL FINISHERS . PRO UTV OPEN (two-seat open UTV open-displacement) (17 Starters, 13 Finishers) . 1. 1831 Craig Scanlon, 49, Orange, CA (Helena, Mont.)/Max Eddy Jr, 40, Barstow, CA, Polaris RZR Pro R, 6:22:56, (44.27 MPH) . 2. 1871 Wayne Matlock, 45, Alpine, CA, Polaris RZR Pro R, 6:31:19 . 3. 1876 Mike Cafro, 53, Temecula, CA/Jamie Kirkpatrick, 42, Olympia, Wash., Polaris RZR Pro R, 6:35:34 . 4. 1821 Cayden MacCachren, 21, Las Vegas, Polaris RZR Pro R, 6:48:28 . 5. 1838 Kolton Hustead, 23, St. George, UT/Mitch Johnson, 25, St. George, UT, Can-Am X3, 6:56:15 . 6. 1827 Austin Weiland, 30, El Cajon, CA, Polaris RZR Pro R, 7:21:53 . 7. 1867 Mike Pratt, 55, Draper, UT/Dodge Poelman, 23, Orem, UT/Tristen Powell, 20, Las Vegas/Gavin Pratt, 20, Draper, UT, Polaris RZR Pro R, 7:25:06 . 8. 1885 Tyler Backus, 39, Canada/Trent Backus, Canada, Polaris RZR Pro R, 7:29:35 . 9. 1868 Bernie Gomez, 54, Huntsville, AL./, Polaris RZR Pro R, 7:29:59 . 10. 1896 Brock Heger, 23, El Centro, CA/Ethan Groom, 16, Temecula, CA, Polaris RZR Pro R, 7:35:35 . 11. 1869 Justin Lambert, 47, Bakersfield, CA/Matt Scarpuzzi, 42, Alpine, CA, Polaris RZR Pro R,9:04:57; 12. 1850 Paul Barnhart Jr, 70, Houston/Jeff Stone, FL/Paul Barnhardt III, Houston, Polaris RZR Pro R, 12:14:53 . 13. 1895 Kaden Wells, 24, Hurricane, UT, Polaris RZR Pro R, 12:54:19 . PRO UTV FI . (two-seat Forced Induction, OEM engine UTVs)—(30 Starters, 21 Finishers) . 1. 2910 Rodrigo Ampudia, 38, Ensenada, MX/Juan Guenary, 29, Ensenada, MX, Can-Am X3 XRS Turbo RR, 6:16:18, (45.05 MPH) . 2. 2987 Edgar Garcia Leon, 35, Trabuco Canyon, CA/Nancy Garcia, Trabuco Canyon, CA, Can-Am Maverick X3, 6:32:30 . 3. 2998 PJ Jones, 53, Cave Creek, AZ/Kyle Vestermark, 53, Aliso Viejo, CA, Can-Am X3, 6:35:16 . 4. 2996 Jessica Lopez, 19, Tecate, MX/Alexis Lopez, 23, Tecate, MX, Can-Am Maverick X3, 7:11:52 . 5. 2915 Rickey Arslanian, 41, Livermore, CA/Brian Cooper, 27, Santa Rosa, CA/Jason DeMeulernaere, Livermore, CA, Polaris RZR XP1000, 7:17:25 . 6. 2948 Matt Burroughs, 54, Norco, CA/Zachary Burroughs, 22, Norco, CA/Bradley Howe, 34, Leona Valley, CA, Can-Am X3, 7:19:20 . 7. 2938 Michael MacFayden, 16, Yucaipa, CA/Jeremy Gray, 36, Hinkley, CA, Can-Am XRS RR, 7:23:48 . 8. 2928 Carlos Quezada, 48, Mexicali, MX/Carlos Quezada Jr, 21, Mexicali, MX/Cesar Castillo, 38, Mexicali, MX, Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Max, 7:36:18 . 9. 2935 Tomas Cantor, 37, Los Cabos, MX/Jose Carrillo, Los Cabos, MX, Can-Am X3, 7:42:19 . 10. 2932 Adam Lovell, 16, Colorado Springs, Colo./Brad Lovell, 46, Colorado Springs, Colo., Polaris RZR Turbo S, 8:16:19 . 11. 2976 Jesus Mendez Jr, 25, Mexicali, MX/Jesus Mendez Sr, 56, Mexicali MX/Felix Juan Garcia, 24, Mexicali, MX, Can-Am Maverick XRS, 8:17:25 . 12. 2917 Jason Murray, 40, North Tustin, CA/Derek Murray, 43, Yorba Linda, CA, Can-Am X3, 8:35:01 . 13. 2949 Alonso Lopez, 49, Murrieta, CA/Mario Amezcua, 46, Tijuana, MX/Leobardo Gomez, 41, Tijuana, MX, Can-Am Turbo, 9:10:53 . 14. 2930 Sean Cook, 57, Twain Harte, CA/Crew Kudrna, Reno, NV, Can-Am X3, 9:20:51 . 15. 2978 Jose Juarez, 38, Chula Vista, Calif/Jose Juarez Jr, 21, San Diego, Cam-Am Maverick X3, 9:57:38; 16. 2999 Tim Sullivan, 30, Goodyear, AZ/John Kizziah, 36, El Centro, CA/Bob Jablonsky, 46, Fountain Hills, CA, Can-Am X3, 10:05:11; 17. 2920 Roberto Ruiz, 49, El Centro, CA/Oscar Ruiz, 24, El Centro, CA, Can-Am Maverick X3, 10:07:36 . 18. 2979 Cameron Ornelas, 48 Leona Valley, CA/Kyle Hidalgo, 36, Sylmar, CA, Can-Am X3, 10:10:24 . 19. 2962 Clint Shue, 45, Lake Tahoe, NV/Jared Minghini, 34, Lake Tahoe, NV/ Charles Manchester, 60, Lake Tahoe, NV/Mark Winkelman, 63, Cypress, Texas, Can-Am Maverick X3,, 11:06:13 . 20. 2905 Marc Burnett, 52, Chula Vista, CA/Aaron Johnston, 42, San Diego/Simon Terzian, 33, Valencia, CA, Can-Am X3, 12:26:38 . 21. 2942 Michael Shell, 33, Idaho Falls, Idaho/John MacDowell, 46, Boise, Idaho, Can-Am X3 RS Turbo, 12:39:07 . PRO UTV NA . (two-seat Normally Aspirated, OEM engine UTVs) . (6 Starters, 4 Finishers) . 1. 1957 Joe Bolton, 65, Corona, CA/Ian Lyons, 21, National City, CA/Austin Bolton, 27, Corona, CA, Polaris RZR XP1000, 7:30:01, (37.67 MPH) . 2.1980 Gabe Matthews, 40, Lakeside, CA/Ryan Conery, 35, Lakeside, CA, Polaris RZR XP1000, 7:40:34 . 3. 1909 Quirino Gutierrez, 39, San Diego/Carlos Salazar, 36, Tijuana, MX/Jesus Chavarin, 32, Tijuana, MX, Polaris RZR XP1000, 10:49:39 . 4. 1914 Larry Janesky, 58, Middlebury, Conn./Dustin Gebers, 37, Chapmansboro, Tenn., Honda Talon, 12:18:48 . PRO UTV STOCK . (Stock UTVs, FI or NA) . (13 Starters, 11 Finishers) . 1. 3900 Anibal Lopez, 40, Mexicali, MX, Polaris RZR Turbo R, 7:42:19, (36.66 MPH) . 2. 3933 Randy Emberton, 64, Prescott, AZ, Polaris RZR Turbo S, 8:19:19 . 3. 3967 Manuel Norzagary, 32, Casa Grande, AZ/Jesus Norzagary, 55, Coolidge, Ariz, Can-Am Maverick X3, 8:59:40 . 4. 3908 Scott Bergen, 41, Ramona, CA/Broc Kelly, 37, El Cajon, CA/Zack Hydeman, 31, Kansas City, Kansas/Mike Fore, 39, Guthrie, Okla., Can-Am X3, 9:22:02 . 5. 3939 Brett Franson, 38, San Antonio, Texas/Dale Hodges, 52, Dallas/Jane Steidel, 38, San Antonio, Texas, Can-Am X3, 10:15:07 . 6. 3913 Carolina Sanchez, 36, Calexico, CA/Daniel Reyes, 36, Mexicali, MX, Can-Am XR3, 10:17:52 . 7. 3930 Douglas Cornwell, 58, Haslet, Texas/Trent Kirby, Fallbrook, CA, Polaris RZR XP1000 Turbo S, 10:35:58 . 8. 3959 Antonio Mendez, 57, Puebla, MX/Alonso Gonzalez, 40, Ensenada, MX, Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo S, 11:14:21 . 9. 3936 Jorge Cano, 49, Culiacan, MX, Raul Peraza, 25, Ensenada, MX, Can-Am Turbo XRC, 11:14:34 . 10. 3911 Victor Esparza, 34, Yuma, AZ/Luis Verduzco, 32, Tijuana, MX/Victor Barajas, San Diego, Can-Am X3, 12:02:09 . 11. 3928 Endy Chavez, 27, Mexicali, Mexico/Yoshua Morquecho, 28 Mexicali, Mexico, Can-Am Maverick X3, 12:43:15