SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1522709
SHAKEN AND STIRRED Fog, Dust, And A Technical Course Made This SCORE Baja 500 Tricky Story by Stuart Bourdon, Paul Hanson, Isaac Flores, and Guilherme Torres Photos by GET SOME PHOTO The BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500 was the second round in the four-event 2024 SCORE World Desert World Championship. The race lived up to its reputation for being tough and treacherous in its own way. While the SCORE San Felipe 250 – the first race on the SCORE International calendar – is known for high speeds and long stretches of suspension-stressing whoops, the SCORE Baja 500 delivered some of that, but mixed in with a tighter and more technical racecourse featuring tire-biting rocky obstacles and deep silt beds that devoured race trucks. It was on this year’s 482.97-mile racecourse that three classes of SCORE Trophy Trucks and their drivers, navigators, and support teams accepted the daunting challenge. One of those teams was the driving duo of Toby Price and Paul Weel. Both Price and Weel traveled from Australia to Mexico, bringing with them decades of experience in motorsports and a deep fascination with racing in the open desert of Baja California. SCORE TROPHY TRUCK After a week of pre-running, testing, and qualifying for race-day start positions, Team Australia of Toby Price and Paul Weel in the No. 46 truck led the pack to their first overall and SCORE Trophy Truck class win. Price and Weel co-piloted their all-wheel-drive Mason Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado to the finish with an official time of 9:20:22. The two-time Dakar Rally moto winner, Toby Price, talked about the team’s very first Baja race win. “The race went really well for us. It was a nice, smooth day, which was really good. We just wanted to maintain a good speed and keep everyone behind us. Basically, we just tried to keep the wheels on the truck, and our BFGoodrich Tires were exceptional. We had a good, clean run, with no issues and no drama. We were fighting with Tavo all day. Getting this win is a box ticked for us. It’s a big effort to come from Australia and compete with these guys, so I’m very proud of the team for their efforts.” Teammate Paul Weel, who has successfully competed in the Australian version (V8 Supercars) of stock cars as well as down-under Stadium Super Trucks and off-road racing, told us, “Toby did an amazing job qualifying us in first place and getting the truck to me at race-mile 360. We had one little incident with a spectator truck that was stuck in the middle of the course. Other than that, it was a pretty good day. We tried so hard for the last two years and we knew it was coming, but it’s fantastic to finally get the win.” Finishing about seven minutes behind the Price/Weel team was Gustavo “Tavo” Vildosola Jr. of Mexicali, Baja California in the No. 21 truck. Vildosola Jr. was right on the Aussie’s tail throughout most of the day and ran with no major mechanical issues, securing the second-place spot in the SCORE Trophy Truck class. Vildosola Jr. finished with a time of 9:27:09, and remarked, “It was a long day. We kind of expected it, but it was super tight, rocky, and nasty. It’s probably one of the toughest courses we’ve run in a while. It really wasn’t meant to showcase these 1,200-horsepower beasts. It was super technical. We averaged under 50 miles an hour. We knew there was going to be a lot of attrition and that trucks would be all over the place out there. However, this is the second podium in a row for us with this truck and we’re very proud.” Filling out the class podium in third place was Christopher Polvoorde from Hemet, California in the No. 94 Optima Batteries truck. Polvoorde was happy to have a good finish, but said, “It’s definitely not where we wanted to be. I hit a pretty big rock at around race mile 100 but was still able to hold our position. We were running second or third (elapsed time) all day and had a few issues in the San Felipe area (race mile 220) that slowed us down. It was a long day, and I learned a lot. I’m proud of my team; they were very fast in the pits and with tire re-racks.” SCORE TT LEGEND Heading toward a place in the off-road racing history books with their 10th consecutive class win, Gustavo “Gus” Vildosola Sr. of Mexicali, Baja California, and Ricky Johnson from El Cajon, California, finished the 56th SCORE Baja 500 with the race’s fifth fastest overall time of 9:51:48 in their No. 1L Ford Raptor Mason AWD. “It was a great, clean day,” said Vildosola Sr. “Ricky started the race, had absolutely no problems, and handed the truck to me in perfect shape. I didn’t have any flats or mechanical issues either. It was just one of those days when everything runs how it’s supposed to.” Johnson added, “The race went great for us. Our team had the truck in a perfect condition for this race. We qualified eighth and got up to fourth among all the SCORE Trophy Trucks. Gus had a pretty good lead among the SCORE TT Legends, so he didn’t push it too hard and kept it smart. Everybody did their job. We had no flats and just had a blast. It was an awesome SCORE Baja 500 for our team.” Second-place TT Legend competitors Clay Lawrence and Larry Roeseler in the No. 85L truck ran what they called an “uneventful race” with just a few glitches. “We had to change a tire without a jack and that set us back a little bit, but that’s one of those times you have to persevere and just get to the finish line,” said Lawrence. It was a very challenging course and I’m sure that’s going to show in the finishing rate. Larry had a couple of flat tires, but we got it done. It’s been a really good week and having courses like this is what makes it worth coming down here.” Placing third in the TT Legends field was Rolf Helland of Morris, Illinois, and his regular driving partner Rick D. Johnson of Barstow, California, in their No. 37L Mason-built AWD Chevy Silverado with an elapsed time of 12:09:38. This championship team has a consistent record of podium positions in the SCORE TT Legends class and were glad to be among the top three finishers in what was a tough run through nearly 500 miles of brutal Baja terrain. TROPHY TRUCK SPEC Competing in the Trophy Truck Spec class, Justin Davis of Chino Hills, California, got his first SCORE class win of the year. He was second in class at the San Felipe 250 and finished the 2024 Baja 500 with an official time of 10:06:08 in the No. 285 Green Army Team TSCO-Chevy. “It was as good as any day (racing) can go,” said Davis. “Things were pretty much perfect all day. We played it smart in the beginning and didn’t get in too much of a hurry. Over the summit, we got around the leader, kind of set the pace, and just held it all day.” Second in the SCORE Trophy Truck Spec class was Thor Herbst with help from brother Pierce Herbst, both out of Las Vegas, Nevada. At the 2024 SCORE San Felipe 250, Thor Herbst drove solo to take first place in class, but the two brothers shared driving duties in this race in the No. 219, 1 Nine Industries Chevy, bringing the truck in for elapsed time of 10:20:23. Leading the TT Spec class field much of the day, they fell behind Davis late in the race, but did an admirably consistent job, and kept running strong to successfully put themselves on the podium again. Brent Fox (driver of record), Brook Beckstrom, and Trevor Rasmussen, all hailing from Highland, Utah, piloted their No. 282, 1 Nine Industries Chevy to the third-place spot. Brent said, “It was a long day. We lost our GPS in the second half of the race and weren’t able to push things as hard as we wanted. After Uruapan (race mile 420), cars just started stacking up behind us in the dust, and we got passed. It was a rough course, and it was very hot on the San Felipe side. The area around Mike’s Sky Ranch is always interesting and we’ve had some trouble up there in the past. We played it safe and took it easy this time to make sure we didn’t get a flat, but looking back, I think we might have played it a little too safe today.” Bryce Menzies was looking for another win, but had to deal with three flats, a broken radiator fan, and no radio to finish fourth Alan and Aaron Ampudia were close to Price, but lost their front-wheel drive and several flats, pushing them to 10th place Luke McMillin had all kinds of problems that cost them lots of time to finish 13th Rob MacCachren continued to have issues with the Fastball truck and finished 17th