SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1519409
THE PERFECT RACE Class 1 and Class 10 Racers Needed A Perfect Race To Win By Dan Sanchez, Paul Hanson, & Isaac Flores Photos by Get Some Photo It is often pointed out that the difficulty and ruggedness of a SCORE race course changes on race day. After pre-running and with many SCORE Trophy Truck classes ahead of them, the Class 1 and Class 10 buggies found themselves in a much rougher course than what they pre-ran. The Class 1 racers with some power behind their buggies, managed to get through the course by being careful of large holes and rocks dug out by the truck classes ahead of them. Brad Wilson and Justin Munyon in the No. 153 Wilson Motorsports started near last in class, but drove a cautious race and ended up moving to the front and winning without any issues. Cody Reid in the No. 168 buggy started first in class and pulled away with a good lead at the beginning of the race. As they progressed on the course, they began leaking transmission fluid and other issues that set them back. “It was rough but a fun day,” said Reid at the finish. “We also lost our all-wheel drive and had to continue in 2WD.” Reid also hit a rock on the course which set them back from the lead, but driving solo, he was able to gain back some time and make it to the finish in second place. Following close behind him was the second Wilson Motorsports car, the No. 136 of Kyle Quinn, with John Herder co-driving. Quinn and Herder started the race with problems that continued throughout the race. “We broke an engine idler mount and we were down for about 10-15 minutes,” said Quinn. The team tried to catch up to the leaders and got beat up by the rough course. “It was like riding a bucking bronco,” said Quinn. “The course was rough but this car also gave us trouble, and it wasn’t set up correctly.” Nevertheless, they crossed the finish line in third place, getting both buggies on the podium. YEE TAKES A CLASS 10 VICTORY Having another perfect race in San Felipe, was Bruce Yee in the No. 1014 buggy, who pulled off a Class 10 victory. While they too had to deal with a rough course, the team had no issues and found their lines to beat 13 other competitors in their class. “The course was really complicated, and after all the trucks went through, it was all in pieces,” said Yee. “We had no mechanical issues or flats and this is a new car for us.” Yee raced the course solo and spent lots of time pre-running to find the best lines across the desert. “We spent about five hours at race mile 130, looking for the perfect line,” he said. “And it was worth it!” The rough course also messed with the team's fuel strategies, which is what happened to Stan Potter in the No. 1006 buggy. “To win this race you had to be perfect and we had fuel issues and kept nearly running out of it and having to stop,” said Potter. “I set out to race clean because in the last race, we made mistakes that cost us. But we did an awesome job and I thank SCORE for doing an awesome job.” Despite the fuel logistics, Potter managed to finish second behind Yee for a good start to the 2024 season. Following Potter into the finish line was 2023 Class Champion Francisco Vera in the No. 1000 buggy. Vera, along with co-driver Juan Sachotena had a flat tire and a broken rim around race mile 188. It was enough to set them behind Potter and Yee for a third-place finish. “The car was excellent and the course was fast,” said Vera. “This race had a lot of everything. It was different from what we were accustomed to, with pure whoops along the course, but we’re very satisfied with the finish.” Click here to see the Official Finishers SCORE Buggy Classes.SJ