SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1542108
BLURTON’S BLITZ The Can-Am Factory Racer Digs Deep To Pull Off The Win By Larry Saavedra Photos by Get Some Photo While torrential storms and mechanical issues contributed to some downtime on course, Can-Am factory racer Phil Blurton Jr. put his head down to claim another victory in SCORE Pro UTV Forced Induction at the 58th BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 1000. While the victory was a welcome one, the SCORE 2025 Season has been rough for Blurton. First, he missed the SCORE Baja 500 due to an illness, and then he fell out of contention at the SCORE Baja 400 with a mechanical failure. Still, fans expected more from the multi-time UTV SCORE Champion. This time, however, he was able to deliver. This win at the SCORE Baja 1000 was huge for the team. “I started in the back of the class,” he said. “It’s fun to drive straight to the coast, but I also had to race through Uruapan, where the dust was terrible.” Blurton added that he came into the race knowing that they had to win because that’s the only thing they value. “Championships are cool, but I’d rather have big race wins like the SCORE Baja 1000. We have won three Baja 1000s with Can-Am, and that says something about the race cars.” “I knew we were in the top 5 early on in the race, and I wanted to pick more cars off before sunset and the driver change that was coming up near San Felipe,” he added. “I finally got the lead and held onto it.” According to his account of the race, there were two bottlenecks in the Uruapan area that gave him concern. “I ended up taking an uphill line I hadn’t pre-run, to get around the bottleneck, but it was a four-wheel drive line,” he laughed. “Then I had a few battles with former UFC fighter Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the No. 2949 Maverick, and that went on for a while. I also missed several VCPs, which placed some penalties against my time. I have never missed a VCP prior to this race.“ Blurton attributes the win to his work on nutrition and hydration while pre-running the course this year. “The long speed zone before San Felipe also gave us a breather,” he said. “I actually called my family at home while in the speed zone.” At race mile 550, Blurton handed the car over to co-driver Vito Ranuio. It was about that time that the sky darkened, and it began to rain hard. According to Ranuio, “It was the first time he’s raced in a downpour with all the mud.” He added that it was an experience he will remember for a long while. “The last 40 miles were extremely challenging because the rain started to come down harder.” Even with the weather, Ranuio was able to cross the finish line 90 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Kaden Wells. “I used the new live-valve system from FOX Shocks in the race car,” Blurton explained. “I believe it helped because of the distance and driver fatigue that happens at the Baja 1000. These live-valve systems from FOX adjust the suspension on-the-fly to the terrain, and it makes racing at speed much more comfortable.” SJ