SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/997748
Race, Win, Repeat Pro Moto teams in various classes seem to have Baja down to a science, but it’s still anyone’s championship By Dan Sanchez Photography by Get Some Photo With 41 starters and 34 finishers within all of the Pro Moto classes, riders gave SCORE fans a race to remember, especially with most of their favorite riders taking home another victory within the 2018 SCORE World Desert Championship season. Perhaps it was the fact that all of the motorcycle riders at the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500, had a long time between the start of the motorcycle riders and the start of the SCORE Trophy Trucks. For many class riders, it made the difference in relieving some pressure and allowing them to concentrate more on the changing course conditions. Salvador Sainz in the 420x team came in second place in Pro Moto 40, while Michael Wolffs 402x team finished third For the 400x team of Jano Montoya, Alberto Ruiz, Jeff Kawell, and Sergio Vega, it was perhaps one of the reasons for them to earn another 2018 SCORE victory, after their first place class finish at the SCORE San Felipe 250. “The course changed a lot and I got beat up between pre-running days and the actual race day,” said Jano Montoya. “We knew going in that certain sections would be rough, but they also changed after the Trophy Trucks pre-ran it. I am happy to be finishing in front of the Trophy Trucks and not racing behind them.” Another repeat victory at the 50th BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500 was Giovanni Spinalli and the 510x team consisting of Earl Roberts, Troy Pearce, and John Griffin. The win puts the 510x team well ahead of their competitors towards a possible 2018 SCORE class championship. Likewise, in the Pro Moto 60 class, the 649x team of Guy Laycraft, Doug Smith Craig Adams, Dave Potts and Bob Johnson, repeated with another class victory, finishing ahead of the 602x team of Oscar Ochoa. Right and Below: In Pro Moto 50 the 506x team of Mark Adams finished in second place, followed by the 550x team of Bill Sekeres below right : Rylan Liebelt’s 300x team won the Pro Moto 30 class While several teams repeated victories, the Pro Moto 30 division had the 300x team of Ryan Liebelt, Greg Bardonnex, Andrew Puckett and Justin Schultz win the class over the 360x team of Santiago Creel who finished third behind the 333x team of Chad Thornton. With the changing conditions of the course, the 300x team also had a difficult time re-negotiating across the terrain, but with skill and luck on their side, they managed to come out on top. “The course was nothing like when we pre-ran,” said Liebelt. “It was very, very different. The track was silty and it was rough and it changed a lot. The team has had pretty good luck staying healthy during the training for this race.” The Pro Moto Limited team of Philip Jaramillo (106x), beat out the SCORE San Felipe winners on the 100x team of Santiago Creel. The 106x team, consisting of Jaramillo, Sergio Garza, Jorge Ramirez, and Arturo Salas finished a very close race with the 100x Mexican team consisting of Creel, Alberto Heredia, Larry Serna, Ricardo de la Pena, Ulises Fierro, Miguel Munoz and Marco Higuera. With a difference of fewer than two minutes, the teams battled the conditions and each other in one of the closest Pro Moto finishes of the race. “This was a very difficult and long course which makes it really interesting for us,” said Creel. “It was a very good day because we managed to get first place. We had some issues there that cost us some time and we missed the podium, but we are happy with no injuries and had a good time in Baja.” Sanchez Repeats In Pro Quad Within the Pro Quad class, it seems like there’s no beating Said Sanchez and the 1a team. Sanchez’s team consisted of Jose Mesa, Javier Robles Jr and Felipe Veles riding on the Honda TRX450R. The 15a team of Juan Sanchez, Francisco Corona, and Edgar Moreno finished in second place. Within the Sportsman Quad division, it was the 103a team of Oakar Espinoza, Marcos Cousino, Hector Orozco, Jorge Recio and Osman Arce who finished in first place, followed by the 110a team of Danny Magdelena and the 148a team of Alejandro Amador who finished in third. The Sportsman Moto Class had a large field of 21 starters, with 19 of the teams finishing the race. With many racers on the course, it was difficult for teams to pass and stay out of the way of the four-wheel vehicles, but ultimately the 212x team of Carlos Silva, Oswaldo Moncada, and Jose Leal, all from Mexico, won the class. SJ In Sportsman Quad the 103a team finished first, followed by the 110a team