SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1519409
SILT,SLOWING, AND SUCCESS Four-Wheel Car Classes Stick It Out To Finish By Dan Sanchez, Paul Hanson, & Isaac Flores Photos by Get Some Photo The silt on the course of the King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250 was tough on many of the four-wheel car classes. Then came the whoops sections which added torture, but several classes had a 100 percent finish rate. With their first win, Scott Brady in Class 7 took a brand new truck that had just had the wiring finished before the race and managed to win the class. “We didn’t even have a truck until last Friday,” said Scott Brady about his No. 703 truck. “They had just finished the wiring and the tuning. I didn’t even get to drive the truck until we crossed the border on Tuesday.” In the SCORE Lites class, Mario Alcala in the No. 1277 car finished first by driving a conservative race. “The course was very demanding and difficult,” he said. “You have to be very careful not to make mistakes because it’s really easy to get a flat or do some damage to your car. There were a lot of rocks and silt. We worked hard to go around the silt.” All three entrants in Class 1/2-1600 finished the race, but Raul Ojeda took the win with co-drivers Alonso Angulo and Ernesto Medina. “The car drove well, there was a lot of silt and that was our biggest problem,” said Ojeda. “The car was fantastic, we didn’t have any problems or inconveniences. We made a couple of adjustments and finished well. We’re going for the SCORE championship this year.” Former 1-/2-1600 Champion and 2023 Class 5 champion Eli Yee continued his domination of the class by winning the race ahead of five other competitors in this tough race. “We were the last car to start,” he said. “I think I passed all the cars by race mile ten. I didn’t have any problems. I didn’t have to get out of the car. We are very happy. I think this is my fifth or sixth time winning this race. Thank you to all the people who always help me and my team, my family, and SCORE.” Driving an early-model Ford pickup, Class 8 winner Josh Klenske drove solo and made it through some tough silt beds along the course. “The course was rough, but I liked it,” he said. “The silt scared me but I pre-ran it, and chose to skip some of that and miss some VCPs and I’m glad I did. The truck was only getting about 25 percent throttle and I barely made it through that area. I had to back up once but I didn’t get stuck. I’m not complaining; it is off-road racing. I spent about an hour trying to figure out what the carburetor issue was but couldn’t. It ran, so I just got in it and drove it.” All Zachery Woodruff from Bend, Oregon had to do to win in Class 5-1600 was finish the race, as he was the only competitor in his class. Fortunately, he withstood all the obstacles to finish with a time of 9:57:07 to win and lead the class going into the SCORE Baja 500. In the Baja Challenge Class, both the BC2 car of Frank Olagaray and the BC1 car of Joseph Koening finished the race, with the BC2 car finishing first nearly three hours ahead of Koeing and his team. Class 7F also had both teams finish with Cesar Gutierrez from Tijuana taking the win in the 719F truck, ahead of 2023 Champion Justin Park in the 700F truck. “The course was really fast and technical, and there were a lot of rocks,” said Gutierrez. “The first 200 miles were run very carefully, trying to take care of the car as best as we can. From race mile 200 to the finish line it was really fast. We just had one flat, but other than that, no issues. My co-drivers did an excellent job, and were essential in helping win.” Finishing first in Class 7SX was the Duron family from Mexicali, with Armando Duron Sr. and Israel Duron driving the No. 740 Ford. The race wasn’t all easy for them, however, as they had to take a slower pace than expected. “We had minor issues like San Felipe usually gives us,” said Duron Sr. “It is a backbreaker, but we persevered and here we are, in first place. We are tired but it is good.” In Class 11 it was a battle of the veterans with Oliver Flemate in the No. 1105 car and legendary Class 11 racer Eric Solorzano in his No. 1111 car. Flemate crossed the finish line in 9:01:10 for the win. Solorzano had some issues that put him at the finish line just before the allotted cut-off time and finished with a time of 12:22:00 for second place. “It was a real tough race,” said Flemate. “Antonio started in this car and I started in my SCORE Trophy Truck but I had an issue and had to DNF. After that, I took over here at about race mile 230. It was tough, especially after all the cars have come across, it is hard for these VWs to get through. Our transmission started to make noise. We only have 75 hp so this is challenging.” Click here to see the Official Finishers SCORE Four-Wheel Classes SJ