SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1465106
MAKING IT TO THE FINISH Most All Pro Moto And Quad Racers Conquer BaJa By Dan Sanchez, Paul Hanson, and Jose Vazquez Photos by Get Some Photo The King Shocks 35th SCORE San Felipe 250 had many challenges, but for the Moto and Quad classes, nearly all but seven of the 62 teams that competed across all Pro and Sportsman classes finished the race. SCORE’s President and Race Director Jose A. Grijalva had these classes take a different route than the car and truck classes to avoid any vehicle-to-vehicle accidents. In addition, a helicopter dedicated to the moto and quad racers was on-hand to clear and warn of obstacles and provide emergency assistance if needed. Although the moto and quad racers completed the same mileage as the other vehicles, 277-miles, the course wasn’t any easier. Despite this, motorcycle and quad racers finished the SCORE San Felipe 250 in quick time. Among the first was Juan Carlos Salvatierra with his newly formed 10x team of himself, Shane Logan, and Arturo Salas. The team crossed the finish line first to take the Overall and Pro Moto Unlimited win on their KTM 450SXF. Behind the 10x team was the 4x team of Jason Alosi with Wyatt Brittner, and Ray Dal Solgio on their Husqvarna FE501. “We were in second place on the course when I got on the bike, but I had a few struggles on my section and a couple of crashes and lost some positions, but it is what it is,” said Alosi. “The course was challenging. Ray dealt with low light and a lot of rocks and that kept him on his toes. I had a section too where there were quite a few rocks and I had to ride cautiously. I’m glad to be at the finish.” Finishing in third place was the 2021 Pro Moto Unlimited Champion, Derek Ausserbauer, who rode the entire course by himself. “I like to think this course was extra rough, but this place is just super gnarly. If someone was wondering what the whoops felt like to me, I’d compare it to doing box jumps barefoot on concrete and just stomping as hard as you could every time,” said Ausserbauer. “That’s my most accurate sensation about how I felt for the last two and a half hours. But it was fun, I had a good time. The course wasn’t so chewed up by all the cars, so it was more realistic with the pre-running we’d been doing for the entire week. If it’s something that continues on with SCORE, that would definitely intrigue me to keep racing for a long time.” PRO MOTO 30 Jano Montoya and his team of four riders repeated his 2021 race victory here with another in Pro Moto 30. Riding the 325x KTM 450EXCF, his team finished with a blistering time of 6:03:54, two minutes behind Juan Carlos Salvatierra in the Pro Moto Unlimited class. “The SCORE San Felipe 250 gets more difficult every year,” said Montoya. “It was a very technical course and there were a lot of hidden rocks. We did a great job in pre-running and felt really comfortable on the race today. The motorcycle section was a really good idea. It didn’t change much for the fastest bikes, but for the ones that come from behind, it’s a lot safer to get through the course in better condition. I hope SCORE can keep it for the next races.” 2021 Class Champion Greg Bardonnex on the 300x Yamaha WR450F finished in second place with co-riders Shane Shorno, Andrew Puckett, and Ryan Liebelt. Finishing third in class was the 377x team of Joseph and Anthony Putrino, along with co-riders Paul Piccolo, and Sam Hardy riding their KTM 500EXC. PRO MOTO LIMITED Fernando Beltran repeated his 2021 SCORE San Felipe 250 win with another, winning the class with co-riders Larry Serna, Luis Flores, and Mauri Herrera on the 180x Honda CRF450X. Finishing second in class was 2021 Class Champion Christopher Gill and the 100x team of Kevin Murphy. In third place was the 111x team of Carlos Castillo, Ramon Chaves, Juan Valencia, and Alfonso Castro. PRO MOTO 40 Also repeating a 2021 race win, was 2021 Pro Moto 40 Champion Ryan Liebelt on the 400x Yamaha WR450F. Liebelt was also a co-rider on the 300x Bardonnex team and managed to move up the class competitors for the win after starting near last place. “It was a rough course, but we were ready to bring it home and are stoked that we were the first to cross the line. It was a good day. We had no problems and can’t really complain. I started and handed the bike to Jason Turbey, then he handed it off to Justin Shultz who rode to the finish. He said he liked the new section for bikes a lot.” PRO MOTO 50 The Pro Moto 50 class brought back two of the toughest competitors in the class. 2020 Class Champion Vance Kennedy and 2021 Class Champion Giovanni Spinali once again battled it out in the Baja desert. Each had a team of great riders with Dennis Belingheri and Dave Mayer riding Kennedy’s 522x Husqvarna FX450, and John Griffin, Troy Pierce, Earl Roberts, and Champion Jim O’Neal riding Spinali’s 500x Yamaha YZ450X. While the two teams ended up passing each other back and forth, they conquered the desert with Kennedy finishing first. “My part of the section was great. I just got off course for a minute when I tipped over and broke the GPS but that was the worst of our problems. Everything else worked great for myself and the other two racers. The bike ran really well. We rode it hard and had some good passes. It’s great to be back at El Malecon and see all the people again.” Spinali and his team had an issue in the pits but were happy to finish in second place and are ready for the SCORE Baja 500. “Most of my section was part of the old SCORE San Felipe 250 course, so I didn’t get a feel of the new section for motorcycles. We had problems with water in our gas a couple of times in our pits and that really slowed us down. The other team rode great and we’re happy for being in one piece.” PRO MOTO 60 Scott McIntosh had the race all to himself in SCORE’s Pro Moto 60 class. He along with Mike Whitman and Harry Harris rode the 600x Honda CRF450X to the finish line to win the class. “What a great day,” said McIntosh. “It was challenging and the bike ran great all day. We had a couple of falls and I was stuck on a cactus, but it all went well for most of the time. It’s our 15th race and our first-ever podium here in San Felipe.” PRO MOTO IRONMAN Without the threat of Juan Carlos Salvatierra riding in the SCORE Pro Moto Ironman class, it was open for any of the ten competitors who came to challenge the 277-mile course. Among the riders was Fabricio Fuentes, KTM Bolivia’s teammate to Salvatierra who finished second last year, along with veteran SCORE Baja 1000 Ironman racer Larry Janesky. But it was Brandon Wright in the 750x Husqvarna FE501 who crossed the finish line in 7:21:20 to win the class. “It was really rough the whole way,” said Wright. “I did pretty well for most of the time and was just trying to decide what pace to keep as I wasn’t sure where my competition was. I was just trying to stay comfortable and everything was going well until about 15 miles to the finish when the whoops finally hit me. I thought I was done, I was just on survival mode at that point.” Finishing in second place was Aaron Richardson on the 739x KTM 500EXCF. “The race had a lot of speed and a lot of roughness as usual,” he said. “I had a little crash at about race mile 210 that tweaked up the bike a little bit but I’m fine. I’m happy that I made it to the end. The new bike section was fabulous, it was a lot of fun. I wasn’t able to make it down here the last two years and it’s great to be back.” Fuentes finished in third place, adding another podium finish for the KTM Bolivia team. “It’s my second time at the SCORE San Felipe 250 and it felt really good because we had no major problems,” said Fuentes. “The people here are really adorable and that makes me really happy and wanting to come back. I feel really great with the fans. It’s incredible what they do here at El Malecon. I come a long way from Bolivia and one of the things that bring me here are the fans. The course was really difficult and intense with whoops everywhere. We had to prepare really well for this race.” SPORTSMAN M/C A total of ten teams took on the King Shocks 35th SCORE San Felipe 250, and all the teams finished the race to bring home a tremendous accomplishment for their efforts. Among the teams, David Navarro of the 214x Yamaha YZ250FX finished first with co-riders Manuel Gomez, Ely Ramirez, and Gustavo Grijalva, all from Tecate, Mexico. Finishing second was the 245x team of Filiberto Garcia, followed by the 225x team of Jason Lopez. QUAD ClASSES Seven teams came to take on the course and the tough competition. After the start, they quickly found out how difficult the conditions on the course were. With due diligence, all the teams in the class finished the race with Luis Ernesto Villafana on the 7a Honda TRZX450R finishing first. “It was a very difficult course and we noticed that during pre-running,” said Villafana. “We had a very competitive and fast team and it all worked out great. All drivers did great and the bike ran excellent. The team prepared it really well and we had no problems at all.” Helping Villafana were co-riders Jose Luis, and Gilberto Perez. In second place was Danny Magdaleno and his team on the 11a Honda TRX450R, followed by 2021 Class Champion Ricardo Villafana on the 1a Honda TRX450R who finished in third place. Pro Quad Ironman racer Faelly Lopez only had himself to beat in his class, and although the course was tough, he managed to finish to take the win. “It was a very tough race and it seemed like I would never make it to the finish line,” said Lopez. “There were a lot of rocks since the beginning and the last miles were brutal. We didn’t pre-run at all and I just got to know the course today. The Mexican people are really special. They kept cheering on me and gave me a lot of energy. I’ll never forget that. The SCORE San Felipe 250 is a short race, but it’s extremely demanding. We feel like real champions now.” In the Sportsman Quad Class, Fidel Gonzalez on the 111a Honda TRX 450R finished first among a field of nine competitors. Gonzalez had co-riders Efren Vazquez, Efrain Vazquez, Carlos Lopez, and Jose Enriquez helping for the win. FINISH LINE TALK PRO MOTO LIMITED - Photos Jack Wright nMedia3. CHRISTOPHER GIL – 2ND PLACE: “We faced some adversity early on as one of our teammates went down yesterday and we scrambled last night to put on some more miles. We stuck to the plan and the bike really worked really well. The new section exclusive to bikes was really good, I enjoyed it. It was sandy and wiped out, but it was fun. Not having to worry about four-wheel vehicles was really great.” OFFICIAL FINISHERS PRO MOTO UNLIMITED (400cc or more) (Starters 8, Finishers 7) 1. 10x Juan Carlos Salvatierra, 40, Bolivia/Arturo Salas Jr, 19, Chula Vista, CA/Shane Logan, 20, San Diego, KTM 450SX-F, 06:01:34 (45.97 Miles Per Hour) 2. 4x Jason Alosi, 38, Reno, NV/Wyatt Brittner, 27, Reno, NV/Ray Dal Soglio, 31, Temecula, CA, Husqvarna FE501, 06:27:34 3. 1x Derek Ausserbauer, 28, Solvang, CA, Honda CRF450X, 06:28:33 4. 38x Ivan Delgadillo, 39, Chula Vista, CA/Brad Millikan, 42, AZ/Courtney Ludwin, 41, Pacific Beach, CA/Colton Bluth, 28, AZ/Tanner Engen, 24, AZ, Honda CRF450RL, 07:12:03 5. 20x Miguel ‘Sammy’ Pena, 46, Tijuana, MX/Jorge Carbajal C., Tijuana, MX/Jorge Carbajal A., Tijuana, MX/Angel Aguirre, Tijuana, MX/Jose Aguirre, Tijuana, MX/Austin Farley, San Diego, Honda CRF450X, 07:25:10 6. 3x Forrest Minchinton, 30, Huntington Beach, CA (Costa Rica)/Nick Lapaglia, 27, Murrieta, CA/Ciaran Naran, 22, Huntington Beach, CA, Husqvarna FE501, 08:43:27 7. 19x Drew Watson, 29, San Diego/Ehren Geersema, San Diego/Earl Vangorden, San Diego, Yamaha WR450F, 09:14:50 PRO MOTO 30 (Riders over 30 years old (Starters 4, Finishers 4) 1. 325x Jano Montoya, 50, Winter Garden, Fla. (Peru)/Bryce Stavron, 32, San Clemente, CA/Kyle Tichenor, 31, Mesquite, NV/David Zarate, 35, La Paz, MX, KTM 450EXCF, 06:03:54 (45.67 Miles Per Hour) 2. 300x Greg Bordonnex, 46, Visalia, CA/Shane Esposito, Lake Elsinore, CA/Shane Schorno, Discovery Bay, CA/Andrew Puckett, Simi Valley, CA/Ryan Liebelt, 41, Reedley, CA, Yamaha WR450F, 08:15:04 3. 377x Joseph Putrino, 37, San Diego/Anthony Putrino, 34, San Diego/Paul Piccolo, 49, San Diego/Sam Hardy, 33, San Diego, KTM 500EXC, 09:45:01 4. 319x David Smith, 35, San Diego/Kris Regentih, 37, Portland, Or., Honda CRF450X, 13:45:24 PRO MOTO LIMITED (less than 450cc) (Starters 5, Finishers 5) 1. 180x Fernando Beltran, 45, Ensenada, MX/Larry Serna, 26, San Diego/Luis Flores, 20, Mexicali, MX/Mauri Herrera, 23, Ensenada, MX/Fernando Taverez, 38, Ensenada, MX, Honda CRF450X, 06:51:07 (40.43 Miles Per Hour) 2. 100X Christopher Gil, 27, Buelton, CA/ Kevin Murphy, 41, Camarillo, CA, Honda CRF450X, 07:28:00 3. 111x Carlos Castillo, 32, Mexicali, MX/Ramon Chaves, 32, Mexicali, MX/Juan Valencia, 34, Mexicali, MX/Juan Ochoa, 20, Mexicali, MX/Alfonso Castro, 34, Mexicali, MX, Yamaha YZ450FX, 07:34:35 4. 121x Ana Rivas, 28, Mexicali, MX/Jhoan Sanchez, 35, Calexico, CA/Roberto Armena, 27, Erendia, MX/Raul Ortega, 22, Ensenada, MX/Victor Leyva, 26, Ensenada, MX, Honda CRF450X, 09:25:28 5. 103x Giovanni Aviles, 30, Tijuana, MX/Rodolfo Patron, 38, Tijuana, MX/Jose Enriquez, 19, Mexicali, MX/Esteban Patron, 18, Tijuana, MX, Honda CRF450X, 11:26:36 PRO MOTO 40 (Riders over 40 years old (Starters 5, Finishers 5) 1. 400x Ryan Liebelt, 42, Reedley, CA/James Justin Shultz, 40, Lake Forest, CA/Jason Trubey, 44, Henderson, NV, Yamaha WR450F, 07:14:59 (38.21 Miles Per Hour) 2. 432x Brad White, 40, Mesa, AZ/Clay Adams, 41, AZ/Mike Rynhard, AZ, KTM 450XCF, 07:45:44 3. 441x Alirio Amado, 44, The Woodlands, TX/Ryan Kaza, 49, New Jersey/Fernando Figueroa, 45, Houston, Yamaha YZ450FX, 08:20:54 4. 419x Jacob Neider, 46, San Diego/Michael Muller, 43, Houston/Nick Lanning, 49, Albuquerque, N.M., Kawasaki KX450, 08:27:17 5. 415x Quinn Cody, 45, Temecula, CA/Brad Baker, Dripping Springs, TX/Bub Klinefelter, Brookings, Or., KTM 500SCF-W, 10:11:08 PRO MOTO 50 (Riders over 50 years old (Starters 2, Finishers 2) 1. 522x Vance Kennedy, 52, Peoria, AZ/Dennis Belingheri, 52, Reno, NV/Dave Mayer, 53, Reno, NV, Husqvarna FX450, 07:14:16 (38.27 Miles Per Hour) 2. 500x Giovanni Spinali, 55, El Cajon, CA/John Griffin, 55, Lake Forrest, CA, CA/Troy Pearce, 55, Ramona, CA/Jim O’Neal, 75, Santa Barbara, CA/Earl Roberts, 59, La Jolla, CA, Yamaha YZ450FX, 07:23:15 PRO MOTO IRONMAN (Solo Riders) (Starters 10, Finishers 7) 1. 750x Brandon Wright, 45, Oak Hills, CA, Husqvarna FE501, 07:21:20 (37.66 Miles Per Hour) 2. 739x Aaron Richardson, 49, Canada, KTM 500EXC-F, 07:40:13 3. 785x Fabricio Fuentes, 45, Bolivia, KTM, 07:52:49 4. 733x Paul Hart, 37, Grass Valley, CA, Husqvarna FE501, 08:27:10 5. 711x Peter Eiland, 43, Houston, KTM 350EXC-F, 09:29:39 6. 704x Juan Pablo Valenzuela, 46, Ensenada, MX, Kawasaki KX450, 09:37:06 7. 747x Jose Lozada, 43, College Station, TX, Husqvarna FX450, 09:37:07 8. 714x Lawrence Janesky, 57, Middlebury, Connecticut, Honda CRF450X,10:13:07 PRO MOTO 60 (Riders over 60 years old (Starters 1, Finishers 1) 1. 600x Scott McIntosh, 61, Davie, Fla./Mike Whitman/Harry Harris, 60, Sanger, CA, Honda CRF450X, 09:14:05 (30.00 Miles Per Hour) PRO QUAD (Open engine displacement (Starters 7, Finishers 7) 1. 7a Luis Ernesto Villafana, 38, Mexicali, MX/ Jose Luis, 25, San Felipe, MX/Gilberto Perez, Honda TRX450R, 06:26:39 (42.98 Miles Per Hour) 2. 11a Danny Magdaleno, 24, Acton, CA/Jorge Lopez, 30, San Felipe, MX/Bennie Beltran, 32, Yuma, AZ/Ismael Hernandez, 42, Escondido, CAChris Avalos, 21, Yuma, AZ, Honda TRX450R,07:18:26 3. 1a Ricardo Villafana, 46, Calexico, CA/Jarrett Curley, 18, Paige, AZ/Julian Arce Jr, 19, Mexicali, MX/Julio Banda Jr, 24, Mexicali, MX/Julio Banda, 48, Mexicali, MX, Adrian Torres, 32, San Felipe, MX, Honda TRX450R, 08:05:18 4. 14a Luis Ortega, 33, Tijuana, MX/Jesus Osuna, Mexicali, MX/Rodrigo Mora, Ensenada, MX/Jose Montoya, 23, Mexicali, MX/Pedro Loya, Constitucion, Honda TRX450R, 08:40:03 5. 27a Carlos Napoles, 37, Mexicali, MX/Erick Farias/Sergio Jimenez/Gerardo Ruiz/Luis Sanchez, Honda TRX450R, 08:41:36 6. 31a Hector Chavez, 27, Tecate, MX/Efren Montoya, 28, Tecate, MX/Omar Murillo, 23, Tecate, MX/Pedro Montes, 26, Tecate, MX/Estevan Ramirez, 24, Tecate, MX, Honda TRX450R, 09:32:15 7. 5a Steven Lopez, 17, Juarez, MX/Edwin Lopez, 39, Juarez, MX, Honda TRX450R, 09:51:57 PRO QUAD IRONMAN (Open engine displacement, solo Rider (Starter 1, Finisher 1) 1. 83a Faelly Lopez, 38, Puerto Rico, Honda TRX450R, 09:47:10 (28.31 Miles Per Hour) SPT M/C (Starters 10, Finishers 10) 1. 214x David Navarro, 18, Tecate, MX/Manuel Gomez, 18, Tecate, MX/Ely Ramirez, 18, Tecate, MX/Gustavo Grijalva, 16, Tecate, MX, Yamaha YZ250FX, 07:07:02 (38.92 Miles Per Hour) 2. 245x Filiberto Garcia, 37, Los Angeles/Allan Caguiat, 38, Santa Clara, CA/Cody Vascak-Katchmar, 19, Canyon Country, CA/Shawn Oakley, 44, Santa Clarita, CA/Edwin Rosin, 51, Whittier, CA/Mauricio Patron, 18, Ensenada, MX, Honda CRF450X, 07:17:32 3. 225x Jason Lopez, 16, San Felipe, MX/Arnulfo Verdugo, 28, San Felipe, MX/Hector Ayala, 30, Jacume, MX/Damacio Maduena, 16, San Felipe, MX/Erick Ramirez, 16, San Felipe, MX/Dionicio Zavala, 16, Jacume, MX, Yamaha YZ450F, 07:27:19 4. 223x Chad Breedlove, 36, Sacramento, CA/Austin Cummings, 38, Phoenix/Buck Gerolamy, 40, Rio Linda, CA/Darrel Collins ,44, Yreka, CA, KTM 500EXC-F, 07:54:24 5. 218x Christian Espinosa, 45, Mexicali, MX/Miguel Rodriguez, 44, Mexicali, MX/Oscar Bernal, 36, Mexicali, MX/Daniel Meza, 35, Mexicali, MX, Honda CRF450L, 07:56:44 6. 212x Eduardo Larios, 21, San Diego/Brayan Avalos, 20, Palm Springs, CA/Esteban Luian, 26, Tijuana, MX/Ivan Ragosa, 22, Tijuana, MX, Honda CRF450X, 07:59:29 7. 244x Juan Miranda, 33, San Ysidro, CA, Honda CRF450X, 08:42:46 8. 217x Dustin Davis, 39, Mesa, AZ/Andy Boyd, 40, San Tan Valley, AZ/Tina Stinson, 36, Phoenix, Lynden Brench, 30, Mesa, AZ, Gas-Gas EX300, 09:10:11 9. 229x Joel Magallanes, 31, Mexicali, MX/Uriel Zuniga, 26, Mexicali, MX/Alonso Zuniga, 22, Mexicali, MX/Sergio Cortez, 24, Mexicali, MX/Santiago Cortez, 18, Mexicali, MX, Honda CRF450R, 09:43:07 10. 277x Louis Isabelle, 52, Richland, N.C./Brandon Knotts, 46, Park City, Utah/Chris Walters, 36, Salt Lake City, Utah, Honda CRF450X,10:51:09 SPT QUAD (Starters 9, Finishers 6) 1. 111a Fidel Gonzalez, 37, Vizcaino, MX/Efren Vazquez, 21, Guerrero Negro, MX/Efrain Vazquez, 29, Guerrero Negro, MX/Carlos Lopez, San Felipe, MX/Jose Enriquez, 42, Mexicali, MX, Honda TRX450R, 07:27:48 (37.11 Miles Per Hour) 2. 104a Juan Gonzalez, 41, Ensenada, MX/Luis Delfin, 42, Mexicali, MX/Joel Ruvalcaba, 27, San Luis Rio, MX/Benjamin Juarez, 36, San Luis Rio, MX, Honda TRX450R, 07:32:32 3. 126a Miguel Salas, 31, Mexicali, MX/Ricardo Salas, 30, Mexicali, MX/Cesar Lopez, 18, Mexicali, MX/Hector Trizon, 23/Erick Tulamontes, 22, San Diego/Alfonso Zuniga, 32, San Felipe, MX, Honda TRX450R, 08:16:11 4. 133a Julian Zepeda, 28, Chula Vista, CA/Julio Diaz, 35, Tijuana, MX/Luis Berumen, 45, Tijuana, MX/Mario Garcia, 25, Tijuana, MX/Jorge Martinez, 37, Tijuana, MX/Hugo Barreda, 17, Tijuana, MX, Honda TRX450R, 08:48:04 5. 122a Samir Garciayala Coy, 35, Juarez, MX/Alejandro Gonzalez, 40, Juarez, MX/Gabriel Vazquez, 38, Juarez, MX/Eliseo Esparza, 41, Juarez, MX/Adrian Hernandez, 43, Juarez, MX/Carlos Rocha, 27, Juarez, MX, Honda TRX450R, 08:49:10 6. 109a Brayan Alonso, 24, Rialto, CA/Gael de La O Ceballos, 17, Ensenada, MX/Julio Perez, 25, Tijuana, MX/Joel Torrecillas, 31, Tijuana, MX, Honda TRX450R, 12:09:57