SCORE Journal

SCORE Journal - June 2019

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

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The Three Kings The reigning Pro Moto Champions continue their domination By Dan Sanchez Photos by Jack Wright After another winning performance at the 51st SCORE Baja 500 race, can anyone beat the 1X team of Justin Morgan, Mark Samuels, and Justin Jones? After their second win of the 2019 SCORE season, and including their perfect win record during the 2018 season, the team has won an incredible six SCORE races in a row. After finishing first in the Pro Moto Unlimited class at the SCORE San Felipe 250, the 1X team started first at the 51st SCORE Baja 500. With Justin Jones sitting out due to a minor injury, it was up to Morgan and Samuels to set a fast pace for the other Pro Moto Unlimited riders to follow. At the start, Morgan carried a large lead over the rest of the challengers, but it didn’t go without any mishaps. “Near mile marker 180 I fell but was only down for about a minute,” said Morgan. Fortunately, it was near where Samuels got on the 1X Honda and rode it to mile 450. “There was a lot of silt areas of the course but luckily I didn’t have to be behind anyone,” said Samuels. “I plowed through it and kept it going.” Samuels gave the bike back to Morgan who rode it into the finish line. “ The team was riding a new Honda 450X that proved to do well for them. “The bike was awesome and we want to give a big thanks to all our crew who come down here to help us pit,” said Samuels. “Not many people realize we pit every 50 miles so it takes a lot of people, coordination and commitment to make a win like this happen.” The 4X team of Ray DalSaglio had to deal with their team leader breaking a femur while pre-running. The team was left with Nick Garvin, Troy Vanscourt and Dylan Gillespie to handle the riding duties. The 4X team didn’t encounter any issues and ran a clean race, but it was only enough for them to finish in second place. Finishing third was the 66x team of Santiago Creel. The team riders included Mitch Andeson, Brandon Prieto, Massimo Mangini, and Taylor Stevens. The riders had a difficult time and had to make an unscheduled rider switch after Prieto went down. “Brandon broke both of his wrists and we had to switch up our strategy,” said Andeson. “We added 40 plus mile s to each of our sections and I rode it to the finish.” Prieto had surgery and was able to meet with the team at the finish line to thank them for a job well done. Creel Wins Pro Moto Limited The reigning Pro Moto Limited champions, the 100X team of Santiago Creel, once again were successful in winning the class over the tough competition. With co-riders Alejandro Sardi, Larry Serna, and Carlos Casas, the team came from starting at the back of the pack and Sardi experienced a crash. “ We broke the lights and front fender after I crashed at mile 70,” said Sardi. “The rest of the team got everything perfect. We had to pick off the competition one by one and when I crashed I thought it was over. Finishing second place in class was the 110X team of Carlos Miranda, with Tucker Hopkins, Miguel Munoz, and Sergio Garza. Taking third place in class was the 120X team of Marco Pena, who finished first at the SCORE San Felipe 250. Pena was aided by co-riders Josh Wiperman, Diego Lopez, Mauri Herrera, Brian Wiperman, and Miguel Cordovez. Janesky Hangs On To Win Pro Moto Ironman For the solo riders in Pro Moto Ironman, only two riders didn’t finish from a field of seven starters. Battling silt, dust and conditions that limited their visibility, Tanner Janesky on the 775X Honda battled with Jose Carrasco for most of the course, but “Viking” Mike Skurkis in the number 729X bike lead most of the race. Skurkis had an accident on the course that he didn’t see, which cost him the lead. Carrasco managed to finish first but Janesky had the slightly better time, finishing slightly over five minutes ahead of Carrasco on time. Following both riders was Michael Skurkis on the 729X bike who still manage to finish in third, followed by Larry Janesky on the 714X bike who finished in fourth. Jose Janas on the 708X bike finished in fifth. Age Means Nothing In BaJa Within the Pro Moto age divisions, racers such as Giovanni Spinali have managed to retain their championship title and are riding true to form. Spinali has dominated the Pro Moto 50 division and is not letting up this season. He won the SCORE San Felipe 250 and dominated the class again at the 51st SCORE Baja 500. Spinali was aided by co-riders Earl Roberts, Troy Pearce, John Griffin, and Jim O’Neal. “I was the only rider on our team with an accident,” said Spinali. “During the last 10-miles I hit a really silty downhill section and my front wheel popped out. It was an easy fall, but I wane down and filled my glove with silt and got back on the bike.” Finishing second place in class was the 508X team of Eizaburo Karasawa. The Japanese team consisted of Karasawa, Tadad Ezure, and Susumi Ishii. The Pro Moto 40 class also saw some good competition during the 51st SCORE Baja 500, where all of the three teams that started battled hard for the lead while dealing with traffic jams and the silt. Ultimately the 420X team of Paul Thomas, Andy Kirker, and Steve Roberts finished with the fastest time to take first place in class. They were followed by second-place finishers Jason Turbey, Chad Thornton, Paul Luce, Steve Tichenor and Dennis Belingeri on the 444X bike. Finishing third place in class was the 436X team of Bobby Wilbanks, John Wilbanks, James Huckabee, and Hames Ellis. Pro Moto 30 riders saw the return of the 370X team of Francisco Septien. Septien posted a DNF during the SCORE San Felipe 250 but returned at the 51st SCORE Baja 500 to win the class with co-rider Shane Esposito. “We’re two stubborn old guys,” said Septien. “Shane crashed on mile 5 and then I crashed just after I got on the bike at mile 116. Other than that, everything went well. We just tried to keep it on two wheels and we did okay.” Finishing second in the Pro Moto 30 class was the 325X team of Jano Montoya, with co-riders Alberto Ruiz, Roberto Villalobos, and Jeff Kawell. They managed to battle hard against the 308X team of Ryan Liebelt, Greg Bardonnex, Morgan Crawford, Justin Schultz, and Brandon Wright. Sanchez Retains Pro Quad Crown When it comes to dominating riders, Said Sanchez and the 1a team of Javier Robles Jr., Felipe Velez, Cristian, Vera, Mike Sloan, and Luiz Velez continue to win in the Pro Quad class. This win at the 51st SCORE Baja 500 is two-in-a-row for Sanchez, who looks to dominate the class again and is headed towards another class championship. Finishing second in class was the 21a team of Adolfo Arellano, and Edwin Lopez, followed by the 3a team of Oakar Espinoza, Marcos Cousino, Evan Spooner, and Jorge Recio. Sportsman Classes Compete In Big Crowds The Sportsman Moto racers came out in large teams to compete at the 51st SCORE Baja 500. A total of 11 teams signed up for the Sportsman Quad class, in which six of the multi-man teams were able to finish the race. Among these, the 148a team of Alejandro Amador, with co-riders Oscar Arce, Jorge Perez, Francisco Garcia, and Alexis Vera finished first in class. The 130a team of Nakol Hernandez, Oscar Rosea, Francisco Martinez, Ivan Espinoza, Francisco Villinueva and David Nunez finished in second place. Finishing third was the 127a team of Marco Sanchez with Will Salazar, Manuel Soto, Efran Montoya, and Omar Murillo. Within the Sportsman M/C class, 10 teams battled the desert and each other to take home a prestigious win. After more than 12-hours of combined riding, the 284x team of Shane Schorno won the class victory. Schorno was aided by co-riders Don Crane, Tyler Evangelista, Nick Robertson, Steve Herstad, and Dakota Hilbride. In second place was the 234x team of Clay Adams, with co-riders Brad White and Mike Rynhard. In third place was the 212X team of Carlos Silva, with Oswaldo Moncran, Javier Salazar, Joel Leal, and Hector Cardenas. SJ

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