SCORE Journal

SCORE Journal - June 2019

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

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The Best Persevere Class 1 and Class 10 Racers survive a tough course and mechanical issues By Dan Sanchez Photos by Get Some Photo Of the eight Class 1 racers that finished the brutal course at the 51st SCORE Baja 500, the reigning 2018 champion Brad Wilson in the number 100 car started first and ran well until he got to the bottleneck at the silt bed. But that wasn’t the only thing keeping Wilson at bay during this race. “There was a bottleneck at mile two and although we made it through, it was a nightmare,” said Wilson. “We also had some throttle issues that we managed to fix early on, but a bad sensor in the motor is what really kept us back. We pushed where we could and held back at other points but you have to race with the cards that you are dealt with.” It was the same for the Wilson Team’s second vehicle, car number 138 driven by Brian Wilson. “We got stuck in the bottleneck at the silt hill,” said Brian Wilson. “We were locked with a Trophy Truck that backed into our bumper and it cost us 10 minutes, but after that, it was smooth sailing.” The team’s efforts resulted in Brian finishing second behind Justin Davis, and 2018 class champion Brad Wilson finishing in third. With a first-place finish at this year’s SCORE San Felipe 250 in April, Brad Wilson, and Justin Davis are extremely close in points towards a 2019 class championship. Shelby Reid, who finished second in San Felipe, had mechanical issues and DNF’d this race. Rhys Millen, who competed last year in Pro UTV FI and finished first at the 2018 SCORE Desert Challenge, competed in Class 1 in this race and drove the number 167 RMR-Ford with co-driver Michael Carpenter, and finished in fourth place. Cody Reid Wins In Class 10 Class 10 racers see their division as a “driver’s class” as most of these buggies are maxed out for suspension and horsepower. So it’s a huge deal when a driver wins a race like the 51st SCORE Baja 500, and this time it was Cody Reid at the top of the pack. Reid in the number 1068 car with co-driver Bud Ward, started in the fourth position. Ward started the first leg from the starting line, side-by-side with Hiram Duran in the number 1016 car. “Bud has short course experience so he was able to get out of the Lucas Oil Off-Road Stadium infield first and drove fast until he got to the bottleneck around mile 10 or 15,” said Cody Reid. “We were stuck there for about 15-20 minutes, but after that, we had a clean run until I got in the car at mile 257 right outside San Matias.” Other than experiencing a bent tie-rod that they quickly changed, Reid had a clean run all the way before reaching the hills nearing the finish line. “About 15-miles out from the finish, we came around a corner and encountered the silt where the vehicles were piled up again,” said Reid. “We were stuck there for an agonizing 30-minutes. Roberto Romo (1062 car) came by us and we finally got the car unstuck. We pushed hard and although Romo physically finished first, we had the time to win the class. We made sure to hit every single VCP and after had a flawless run on the rest of the course. That’s what eventually helped us win the race.” Roberto Romo would finish in second place with co-driver Andrew Meyers. He was followed by the 1016 Hiram Duran car co-driven by Francisco Arriaga and Evan, Eric, and Eric Fernando Duran, who finished third in class. With the 51st SCORE Baja 500 now in the record books, Class 1 racers now prepare for the Lucerna SCORE Baja 400, where they can battle for a win and be in a good starting position for the 52nd SCORE Baja 1000 race in November. The Lucerna SCORE 400 race, however, will be a major turning point for those who are also seeking a class championship. It will be a challenge between Brad Wilson and Justin Davis in Class 1, along with Cody Reid and Hiram Duran in Class 10.SJ

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