SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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BRYCE MENZIES WINS THE 2023 SCORE BAJA 500 BaJa Luck And Skill Brought Bryce Menzies A Fourth Victory Story by Stuart Bourdon Photos by Get Some Photo Bryce Menzies once again stood upon the highest point of the podium after finishing the BFGoodrich Tires 55th SCORE Baja 500. Not only did Menzies take first place in the SCORE Trophy Truck class, he piloted his all-wheel-drive Mason Motorsports-built Ford Raptor across the treacherous 473.67-mile racecourse in nine hours, three minutes, and 38 seconds with an average speed of 51.99 miles per hour. Roaring off the start third in line, Menzies took aim at SCORE 2022 Trophy Truck Champion Luke McMillin and local favorite driver Alan Ampudia. In the No. 10 SCORE Trophy Truck, Ampudia, started ahead of Menzies and led the race early but began having some trouble that ultimately took him out. Menzies pushed his truck hard and eventually got past McMillin who was also struggling with mechanical problems, mainly a power steering issue. Menzies then hung on to the lead and had a relatively clean run until late on the course when he clipped a sizeable rock that could have been a race-ender. Baja’s luck was on his side this time, and after a couple of minutes, he was back on the gas headed for the checkered flag for his fourth overall and SCORE Trophy Truck win in the SCORE Baja 500. Evermore Competitive Menzies’ first Baja SCORE Trophy Truck race was in 2010. “It was different compared to today,” he said. “Back then there were any number of drivers who could win it, and you could more easily win by 10 or 20 minutes because the trucks and all the parts on them were not as well sorted out as they are today. The competitiveness in the SCORE Trophy Truck class has grown to such a high level that races are more often won by seconds.” Most modern racers know that if you have a flat tire or some little issue with the truck now, you’re less likely to win a race because it’s so competitive. “The top competitors racing in the SCORE Trophy Truck class are putting in so much work developing their trucks, getting prepped, pre-running, and strategizing their race effort now,” said Menzies. “The level of competition is so intense that it’s much harder to win races than it was when I first started racing in the class.” Head Games Everything is important when it comes to preparing for a race like this one, and Menzies also has to be in the right mindset at the starting line, where getting ahead of Luke McMillin and staying there was a priority. “The last few years some of the teams have really stepped up their game. It seems like if it’s not Luke going to win, it’s me, or possibly a couple of other drivers. Having all-wheel-drive trucks has really changed the competition level in the SCORE Trophy Truck class. Fine-tuning the trucks so they will live through the harsh terrain we’re encountering on the racecourses in Baja these days is something both Luke and I have been working on.” Lucky Day Although Menzies made his win look like a fun day of four-wheeling, on the course, however, it wasn’t all that smooth going. “We got to the beach section on the Pacific side and our guys said we were something like 18 minutes (physically) ahead of Mike Walser, and that we could slow down the pace. But I’ve found that when I do slow down, my mind can sometimes relax a little and I have to force myself to stay focused. At one point we came over a rise and hit a massive rock with the right-rear tire. I had been around that rock many times pre-running but had taken my eye off the ball for a split second. It was such a hard hit I figured it had not only broken the wheel but the caliper and rotor too. My heart sank. It had been nine years since my last SCORE Baja 500 win. It felt like somebody punched me in the stomach. We had worked so hard to get this far and do this well during the race. That’s one of the toughest things about racing in Baja. You can be a mile from the finish and have something like that happen. I freaked out so bad that my co-driver had to tell me that he thought everything was just fine. He got out to see what damage we might have really done, and when he got back in, he told me not to worry. Everything was good, and to get going.” 500 Favorite The SCORE Baja 500 is Menzies’ favorite race of the SCORE season. “Now I’ve won the SCORE Baja 500 four times, but it’s not all about that,” he says. “From the very first time I raced in Baja, the 500 has always been sort of special for me because you get to race on and see both sides of the peninsula, from the Sea of Cortez to the Pacific Ocean and everything in between. The 500 has all the different types of terrain that Baja has to offer. The SCORE Baja 500 is also just short enough that you feel like you can push really hard all the time, but it’s also the most brutal race in my opinion. It has that really tough aspect of Baja and some really fun roads to run too. And there are thousands of people lining the racecourse cheering you on when you’re coming back into Ensenada for the finish. I’ve always felt connected to it”