SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/812217
SAMUELS TAKES THE LEAD WITH COLTON UDALL STILL OUT FROM INJURIES, MARK SAMUELS LEADS THE 1X CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM TO VICTORY Within the SCORE Pro Moto divisions, everyone was hoping to see Colton Udall return to the race after a shoulder injury prevented him from racing the 49th SCORE Baja 1000. After another injury that broke his back, however, it was clear Udall wouldn’t be participating in this race. Nevertheless, Mark Samuels put together the team of Daymon Stokie, and Ryan Penhall to take the 1X team to the first SCORE Pro Moto win this season. “The course was really brutal,” said Samuels. "I was worked today. We deployed people to where they are best suited and we choose teammates that get along.” Co-rider Ryan Penhall also thought the course was tough on the motorcycle riders, and had a tip-over, but continued to ride smart. “This was the roughest course I’ve ever ridden in San Felipe,” said Penhall. “More rocks are showing up in the sand washes and the whoops are getting deeper.” The 1x team looks to continue their championship 2016 season and feels they have the right riders to make that happen. “We've got a good team bond,” said Samuels. “We have a good time and we all work together to make the job happen.” The 45X team of Francisco Arredondo, Shane Esposito, Justin Morgan and Roberto Villalobos finished in second place, but also have the talent to challenge the 1x team this year. Limited Pro Moto Divisions Have Their Day In the Pro Moto 30 division, the 333x team of Chad Thornton along with co-riders Dennis Belingheri, Sal Hernandez, and Chris Brown won the class with their KTM 450XCF, while the 401x team of Kevin Johnson won Pro Moto 40 with the help of co-rider Ryan Gustine on their Husqvarna 501. The Pro Moto Limited class saw long-time San Felipe racer Jim O’Neal win the class with co-riders Kevin Murphy and Morgan Crawford in a Husqvarna 350. Meanwhile, in Pro Moto 50, the 510x team of Giovanni Spinali, along with Earl Robert, and Troy Pierce won the class in their Honda CRF450x. Pro Moto 60 class winners were the 609x team of Donald Lewis, and his co-riders Don Dugan, and Robert Koch. Always a difficult course to run solo, the SCORE Ironman division had five competitors at this year’s San Felipe race. Despite the challenges, Jose Armando Carrasco won the class over Dominic Fagundes and third place finisher Tony Gera. The Pro Quad division was missing 2016 SCORE class champion, Javier Robles, leaving Said Sanchez in the 13a team to take the win in San Felipe in a Honda TRX450R. The 12a team of Oscar Ruiz came in second place, followed by the 22a team of Edwin Lopez. Sportsman Take The Challenge Within the Sportsman Moto and Quad classes, each had a high level of competition between each other, and the tough San Felipe course. With eight starters and five finishers in the Sportsman M/C class, the 207x team of Sidney Marchand, with Kevin Gravett, Jim Morton, Caleb Bertrand, and Nick Lanning won the class. The 212x team of Mike Mettler came in second, followed by the 217x team of Herman Johnson who finished in third. The Sportsman Quad class also had eight starters with six teams finishing. In the end, it was the 109a team of Juan Dominguez on a Honda TR450R that won the class. Dominguez was aided by co-riders Oskar Espinoza, Osman Acre, and Rusty Repass. Finishing in second was the 129a team of Israel Jimenez, followed by the 120a team headed by Carlos Napoles who finished third. SJ