SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1542694
FOUR CONSECUTIVE CLASS CHAMPIONSHIPS Vildosola Sr. Earns 16 SCORE TT Legends Wins Story by Stuart Bourdon Photography by Get Some Photo’ When a SCORE International Off-Road Racing team wins a series championship, it takes a superbly maintained race vehicle, highly skilled drivers and navigators, a dedicated team effort, and a dash of good luck to accomplish it. When that team wins 16 races in a row and four consecutive class championships, it becomes a phenomenal achievement. That extraordinary feat was realized by the SCORE Trophy Truck Legends team of Gustavo Vildosola Sr. in the 2025 SCORE World Desert Championship. Not long after they clinched it all again, at the SCORE Baja 1000, drivers “Gus” Vildosola Sr., Ricky Johnson, and Mike Coleman said that preparation was the key to their ongoing victories. “Vildosola trains year-round and skis in the winter, making sure he is physically and mentally at the top of his game,” said Johnson. “In the beginning, when we talked about this, we decided not to worry about what anybody else was doing; we were all going to be the best we could possibly be.” As far as prepping the truck goes, Vildosola was quick to credit multi-time SCORE Mechanic Of The Year, Andres “Lechero” Rodriguez. Vildosola also paid tribute to Nico Ambriz (who rides with Gus) and Victor Valenzuela (who rides with Ricky). “These guys have the hardest job,” said Vildosola. “Both of them do an excellent job and are intense and very thorough with their notes. They are mechanics, navigators, and at times psychologists. They do all that at high speeds, trying to control and guide the driver. They are a big part of the reason this team has the kind of success we do.” Johnson told us that when it came to trying something new, whether it was going from one Dougan engine to another, the team is constantly looking for improvement. They worked with Javi Valenzuela (who assists with Gus’ and Tavo’s truck) and the guys at King to get the truck’s suspension perfectly dialed in. They had some minor transmission issues in those early races, but got that straightened out. Javi also has it set up so that when Gus gets in the truck, he can push a button to adjust the seat and the power level that he wants to race with.” Coleman comes in to help on the longest race – the SCORE Baja 1000. “What this team has going for it is cohesiveness,” said Vildosola. “It’s the same crew that’s been there since the beginning. That brings a higher level to everything that the team does. Everybody wants to do the best for each other. That’s true for the drivers as well. There’s no ego. They just want the best outcome for all of us.”SJ