SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
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THE FASTEST BAJA RACE The King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250 Breaks Records By Dan Sanchez and Stuart Bourdon For those not familiar with the city of San Felipe, it is a beautiful and lively coastal town nestled along the eastern shoreline of Mexico’s northern Baja peninsula. It is a picturesque place where the waters of the Sea of Cortez lap against the shores of a desert and mountain landscape. It’s also where a SCORE off-road race has been taking place for almost four decades. The 2024 King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250, held March 20 to 24, 2024, featured a 285.69-mile racecourse that ran through much of the terrain that was familiar to veteran competitors of the event. It was also, in some ways, very different from previous events; here’s why. A RECORD-BREAKING WEEKEND Considered by many to be one of the toughest and most rugged racecourses in the SCORE World Desert Racing Championship series, the SCORE San Felipe 250 racecourse has for decades, held an almost legendary mystique. At the finish line of the 2024 race, dozens of drivers continue to describe the racecourse as rough, harsh, and treacherous. It’s a lot of silt, rocks, cactus, and three-foot whoops for 30 miles. It also has a reputation for its high speeds. The combination can destroy suspension systems and tires if you’re not careful. This year’s SCORE season-opener was not like any of the others. It produced some records and some firsts. Considering how many drivers had remarked about the course’s rugged nature, it’s somewhat of a surprise that one of those records was the highest finishing rate for a SCORE San Felipe 250. Of the 270 teams to take the green flag, 178 saw the checkered flag. That’s a finishing rate of 73.33 percent. In addition to a great finishing rate, the speeds of the top vehicle classes were also blistering. Many in the SCORE Trophy Truck classes averaged 70.73 miles per hour. In all, 15 racers from this class, three in SCORE TT Spec, two in SCORE TT Legend, and two in Class 1, all finished with a higher average speed over 60 mph across the tough course. 284.86-Miles Of Hell The fast pace of the course was all part of the challenge for racers which SCORE President/Race Director Jose A. Grijalva carefully routed through the Baja desert with co-race director Rodolfo Fernandez. The start and finish were on the Malecon in the center of town along the ocean, and the course featured one physical full-stop checkpoint at the Borrego Road Crossing at race mile 201.03. For safety reasons, SCORE added two separate sections on the course for motorcycles and quads only, but all Pro classes covered 285.69 miles of Baja terrain. All Sportsman classes ran a course of 284.86 miles. After the start on the Malecon, the course headed North to the Zoo Road crossing up to the El Chinero area, then looped through Laguna Saldana, the Arroyo Grande, Arroyo Arrajal, and South to Borrego. It then headed South through Laguna Diablo, past Morelia Junction, before turning East, finally heading east through the Chanate Wash. Afterwards, the course headed north for the final sprint to the finish back on the Malecon. OPENING CEREMONIES Some of the pageantry of SCORE International races happens before the start of the SCORE Trophy Truck classes. SCORE General Manager Juan Tintos Funke introduces and thanks the many Mexican Government officials for their efforts in allowing SCORE to continue racing in San Felipe and Baja Mexico. Both the Mexican and United States anthems are played by military bands, all of which start the festivities of the race before the thundering sounds of the SCORE Trophy Trucks starting and erupting from the green flag.SJ Watch The Opening Ceremonies Of The King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250 RACE DAY- Moto Start Of The King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250 Race Day Part 1 The King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250 Race Day Part 2 The King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250