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Race starts next Tuesday
Campbell, Hengeveld, Adams looking for 10th M/C
class wins,
Johnson 12th, Haines 13th at 40th Tecate SCORE
Baja 1000
1967 M/C winners Malcolm Smith & J.N. Roberts
return for epic
1,296.39-mile race down Mexico’s Baja California
peninsula
LOS ANGELES—Motorcycles
have been a major part of the legendary Tecate
SCORE Baja 1000 since it started in 1967, and
next week’s 40th anniversary of the granddaddy
of all desert races includes many of the
all-time top two-wheel racers, including the
first overall motorcycle champions--Malcolm
Smith and J.N. Roberts.
With pre-race activities starting Sunday,
this year’s historic 40th anniversary odyssey of
the world’s longest non-stop and most famous
desert race will be a grueling and memorable
1,296-39 mile adventure down Mexico’s mysterious
Baja California peninsula starting in Ensenada,
Baja California and finishing in Cabo San Lucas,
Baja California, Sur.
The season-finale of the six-race 2007 SCORE
Desert Series will feature nearly 450 entries
from 43 U.S. States and 16 countries competing
in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars,
trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.
And while Smith, Riverside, Calif., and
Roberts, who now lives in Helena, Mont., are
part of the No. 303x RacingForLife.org team in
Class 30 for motorcycle riders over 30 (though
they are both over 60), motorcycle stars like
Johnny Campbell, Steve Hengeveld, Craig Adams,
Jack Johnson and Chris Haines are racing to add
more class wins to their grown SCORE Baja
legacy.
Smith, 67, and Roberts 66, are celebrating the 40th
anniversary of their first win by racing in two
classes. Smith will also be a driver in
the Stock Full truck class (No. 867) and Roberts
will stay with motorcycles by riding a leg for
the No. 601x team in Class 60 (riders over 60).
The talented field of desert-racing veterans includes
138 racers who have combined for 358 class wins
in this race. In that group are 12 racers
who have combined for a total of 21 overall
4-wheel vehicle wins and 12 more riders have
combined for 26 overall motorcycle victories.
Campbell, San Clemente, Calif., and Hengeveld, Oak
Hills, Calif., are both part of the powerful
American Honda factory team riding on the No. 1x
Honda CRF450X. Campbell, won nine straight Class
22 and Overall titles from 1997-2006, and
Hengeveld, who has nine class wins, six overalls
including five straight, will share riding time
with teammates Robby Bell, Murrieta, Calif. and
Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif. Bell and
Norman have won the two SCORE races so far this
year.
Between them the formidable team has 19 class wins and
16 overalls in this race as Norman was part of
the 2004 overall winning team with Campbell and Hengeveld.
Team Honda has 17 overall motorcycle wins in this race,
including 10 straight.
A veteran co-rider who has helped nine teams to
two-wheel class wins, Adams, 50, San Clemente,
Calif., will be part of two teams this year. One
is the talented six-rider No. 405x team in Class
40, for riders over 40 years old, on a Honda
CRF450X.
The other is the No. 549x Honda XR650R Class 50 team
(riders over 50 years old), a team whose riders
have a total of 32 class wins in this event.
Team leader and rider of record Chris Haines, 56, Dana
Point, Calif., has 12 class wins, co-riders Jack
Johnson has 11 and Scott Pfeiffer, 50, Costa
Mesa, Calif., has four. The team’s fourth
rider, James Sones, Banning, Calif., was the
fastest solo-riding finisher in last year’s
race.
Another of the true SCORE Baja motorcycle icons,
Johnson, 54, Boulder City, Nev., has four
overall motorcycle wins, including three
straight (1980, 1981, 1982) with the legendary
Larry Roeseler, Hesperia, Calif., who has 15
class wins and 12 overalls, including a record
10 on motorcycles.
The team that appears to have the best shot to knock of
Team Honda is the factory KTM team.
Riding the purpose-built KTM 690Baja, rider of record
is Quinn Cody, Buellton, Calif. and his
co-riders are Las Vegas’ David Pearson and Cyril Despres of France.
Cody was part of the overall winning Honda team last
year of Steve Hengeveld and Mike Childress and
Despres won the overall winner in this year’s
Dakar Rally.
Team manager is former rider of record Chris Blais, who
was seriously injured in a pre-running accident
in August for a U.S. desert race.
Among the other very notable motorcycle entries is Ron
Bishop, Escondido, the only individuals who has
raced in all 39 previous Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
races on a motorcycle.
Bishop, 64, who will lead a five-rider team as rider of
record this year in Class 22 on a KTM 525XC
motorcycle.
Also of note is age-group rider Jim O’Neal, Simi
Valley, Calif., who has once again put together
talented multiple-rider teams. With five career
class wins, including a record three last year,
O’Neal will be leading age-group teams in Class
30 (No. 302x, Honda CRF450X) and in Class 50
(No. 502x, Honda CRF450X).
Richard Lancaster in Class 22 for open motorcycles drew
the pole positions for the 40th anniversary of
the desert racing classic at a ‘live’ drawing
for starting positions at the Lake Elsinore
(Calif.) Casino on Sept. 22.
Lancaster, 29, Santa Margarita, Calif., will lead 24
entries (to date) in Class 22 for open
motorcycles on the No. 2x Honda XR650R. His
additional riders are Peter Hardy, Pozo, Calif.,
John Kaisersatt, Los Osos, Calif., Fred Jowett,
Atascadero, Calif., and Chris Whalley, Topanga,
Calif.
Drawing the first start in the ATV classes is the
championship team led by Danny Prather, 27,
Ramona, Calif., who will ride the No. 1a Honda
TRX450R in Class 25. His teammates are
Mike Cafro, Bonsall, Calif., Levi Marana,
Ramona, Calif., and Marc Speath, Warner Springs,
Calif.
Winners of four straight SCORE races, Prather and his
team are the defending SCORE Baja 1000 Overall
ATV winners and the reigning Class 25 and SCORE
Overall ATV point champions.
Leading the challengers is the No. 51 Honda factory
team led by Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif. and
Chad Prull, Laveen, Ariz., who ride a Honda
TRX450R and were the last team to beat Prather
and company in a SCORE race. Riding with Matlock
and Prull for this race will be Wes Miller,
Keith Little and Harrold Goodman.
Mike Cafro’s brother Carmen Cafro, Vista, Calif., has
another talented ATV team riding the No. 7a
Honda TRX650R. With Carmen Cafro, who has three
class wins in this race, will be Lance
Schoomaker, Alpine, Calif./Earl Thigpen,
Murrieta, Calif./Allen Fox, Alpine, Calif./Scott
Callen, El Cajon, Calif./Mike Findlay, Temecula,
Calif.
Also entered in Class 25 on the No. 2a Bombardier DS650
is Josh Row and his father Greg Row, both of El
Cajon, Calif. Greg Row, who was the overall ATV
winner in 1991, has four class wins in this
race. They will be joined by Josh’s uncle Chris
Row, Ruldoso, N.M./Travis Dillon, Spring Valley,
Calif./Alfonso Cota, Alpine, Calif.
The motorcycle and ATV classes will start their journey
at 6:30 a.m. (PST) (Tuesday, Nov. 13) with the
car and truck classes starting at approximately
11 a.m. (PST), or three hours after the last ATV
leaves the line. The starting line will be on
Blvd. Costero in front of the Riviera del
Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada. Vehicles
will leave in 30-second intervals in the
elapsed-time race and while the fastest
finishers are expected to complete the course in
approximately 23 hours.
The finish line area in Cabo San Lucas will be inside
the Campos de Futbol “Yenecamu” soccer fields
next to the Villa del Palmar Resort, the
official SCORE race headquarters. The SCORE
Media Center and SCORE Race Operations will both
be located at the adjacent Villa del Palmar.
Passing times from all BFGoodrich Tires pit
locations, of all vehicles, will be posted there
as well to assist in monitoring the race
progress.
Pre-race festivities on Monday, for the Tecate
SCORE Baja 1000, including tech and contingency
and the SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway will be held
from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (PST) adjacent to Nico
Saad’s San Nicolas Hotel, the official SCORE
race headquarters in Ensenada. The
pre-race mandatory driver/rider briefing will be
held Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. (PST) at the Riviera del
Pacifico Cultural Center. Racer registration
will be held at the San Nicolas from 1 p.m. to 6
p.m. (PST) on Sunday, Nov. 11 and from 9 a.m.
until 5 p.m. (PST) on Monday, Nov. 12.
The post-race Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Award’s
Celebration will be held during the SCORE Fiesta
at the Playa Cascadas (adjacent to the Villa del
Palmar) at noon (PST) on Friday, Nov. 16.
The four-wheel vehicle classes with the most
entries to date are Class 1 (33), SCORE
Trophy-Truck (32), Class 1-2/1600 (25), Class
5/1600 (22), SCORE Lite (19), Baja Challenge
(18), Class 8 (14), Protruck (13), Stock Full
(12) and Class 5 (11).
The motorcycle classes with the most entries so far are:
Class 22 (24), Class 40 (16) and Class 30 (11).
Leading the six Sportsman classes in the race is
Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc which has 54 and
Sportsman ATV with 17 entries to date.
This year’s Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race will be
televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour NBC
Sports special for the fourth consecutive year,
airing on Dec. 30 on the NBC Television Network.
It will also air on a delayed basis outside of
the U.S. on ESPN International.
The 2007 SCORE Desert Series also includes the chase
for the $75,000 Kartek Off-Road contingency
bonus to be awarded to several 2007 SCORE Class
point champions along with the run for the
$12,000 Toyota True Grit and Toyota Milestone
Awards.
The race will also include the special $40,000 cash
contingency purse provided by Volkswagen of
America. Top finishers in all classes where VW
engines are required or allowed will be
eligible.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich
Tires-official tire, Sunoco Race Fuels/Bryant
Petroleum-official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official
shock, Volkswagen-official vehicle, Instant
Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto
insurance, American Racing ATX Series-official
wheel, Slime-official tire sealant, Red
Bull--official energy drink and Bosch Power
Tools-official power tool. Associate sponsors
are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas
Events, Terrible Herbst Inc., Blue C Enthusiast
Advertising, Kartek Off-Road, Fram, Autolite,
Prestone, Bendix, American Suzuki, NAPA Chassis,
SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s
Performance Products and Advanced Color
Graphics.
Additional associate sponsors, for the 2007 Tecate
SCORE Baja 1000 are: Cotuco de Ensenada,
Fideicomiso Publio para la Promocion Turistica
de Ensenada, the government of Baja California
Sur, the State Tourism Department of Baja
California Sur the city tourism fund of Loreto
and the city tourism fund of Los Cabos.
For more information regarding the series,
contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters
818.225.8402 or visit the official website of
the SCORE Desert Series at
www.score-international.com.
PRO ATVs
CLASS 25
(over 251cc)—
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1a Danny Prather, Ramona,
Calif./Mike Cafro, Bonsall, Calif./Levi
Marana, Hemet, Calif./Marc Spaeth, Warner
Springs, Calif./Dana Creech, Murrieta,
Calif., Honda TRX450R
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2a Josh Row/Geg Row, El
Cajon, Calif./Travis Dillon, Spring Valley,
Calif./Alfonso Cota,Alpine, Calif./Chris
Row, Ruldoso, N.M., Bombardier DS650
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3a Javier Beltran/San
Ysidro, Calif./Cesar Mercado/Cristian
Rojas/Jose Juares/Santos Perez, Tijuana,
Mexico, KTM XC525
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5a Wayne Matlock, El
Cajon, Calif./Chad Prull, Laveen, Ariz./Wes
Miller/Keith Little/Harrold Goodman, Honda
TRX450R
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6a Cody Mitchell/Jeff
McBride/Mike Dixon/Las Vegas/Wes Arnold,
Rancho Ccamonga, Calif./Curtis Sparks,
Bakersfield, Calif./ Shaun Moore, Pahrump,
Nev., Honda TRX450R
-
7a Carmen Cafro, Vista,
Calif./Lance Schoonmaker, Alpine,
Calif./Earl Thigpen, Murrieta, Calif./Allen
Fox, Alpine, Calif./Scott Callen, El Cajon,
Calif./Mike Findlay, Temecula, Calif., Honda
TRX650R
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8a Jeff Hancock, Salome,
Ariz./Josh Edwards, Peoria, Ariz./Kyle
Pethens, Salome, Ariz./Nick Nelson,
Tehachapi, Calif., Polaris Outlaw
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