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Baja Racing
After crossing the creek at Mike's, the course turns south and starts a climb. It is 6 miles of whoops and rocks created by many previous races. Good workout after that freeway you just left going up to Mike's. After that 6 miles, the course turns right (west). If you go left, this road goes to Rancho Concepcion and the paved Observatory road. After the right turn, it is about 10 miles to Rancho El Coyote and downhill. There is a silt section in here that can be real nasty. Once at El Coyote, the course does a great 9 miles through Baja back-country, with varying types of terrain. Note the “Racers and Ranchers” sign, asking to close the gate – El Coyote owner Esteban Meling has installed a new cattle guard there and the gate no longer used. Coming out of the loop you will climb 2 rocky miles, then turn left down to Simpson's. If you go straight, you’ll be at Mike’s Sky Ranch in 3 miles. 4 very rocky and steep miles to the Simpson's creek crossing. It is actually called San Rafael and is the same creek you crossed at Mike's. The crossing is well hidden under trees and constant prerunning by 4 wheel vehicles will create two wheel ruts in the sand. To make it more fun, locals will dam the creek to force a nice deep pond to form. That 4 inches of water you crossed pre-running may be 2-3 feet deep on race day. And it will be at night. Posted 27. September 2009 |
Baja 1000 – here we are….
Next month Motorex KTM Off-Road racers Ben Grabham (Grabbo), and Brad Williscroft (Wonka), will take to Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula for the famed Baja 1000 with extra support from Force Accessories who have come on board as a major team supporter. Taking place from November 19 to 22 the Baja 1000 will see Grabbo and Wonka 2009 Finke Desert Race first and second podium holders, ride the KTM 530 EXC over a 631 mile (1000 kilometre) loop racing, starting and finishing in Ensenada. The duo have been trying to raise much needed funds to contribute to the entry fees and expenses required to enter Baja, which have now been eased with a welcoming donation from Force Accessories. Force Accessories develop and distribute specialty motorcycle products to enhance protection during racing with their primary products being radiator guards, bash plates and case savers. The company has supported riders in many of Australia’s leading off-road events including the Australian Safari, Finke Desert Race, Australian Four Day Enduro, Hattah Desert Race and Condo 750. Now setting their sights on Baja, Force Accessories, Director Brian Finn, said, “It’s a great privilege to Force Accessories to help out with the Team Australia assault on the Baja 1000. When we heard of the effort KTM was putting in to help out Grabbo and Wonka it was something we just had to be involved in, particularly when it includes two of the greatest Australian off-road riders, and we wish Grabbo and Wonka a safe and successful event.” Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing will feature Force Accessories on their racing uniforms for the Baja 1000 and also use their products on the KTM 530 EXC race bike. Posted @ 16. July 2009 |
San Felipe 250 2009
Second-generation veteran Las Vegas desert racer Brian Collins roared through the rugged trails and washes of Mexico’s Baja California desert Saturday, earning his second straight overall and SCORE Trophy-Truck victory in the No. 12 Collins Motorsports Mopar Dodge Ram1500 at the 23rd Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 desert race. Round 2 of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series was held in San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico, along the shores of the picturesque Sea of Cortez. Setting a blistering pace right from the start in San Felipe and driving solo, he covered the sandy, silty, rocky and dusty 232.4-mile course in just three hours, 47 minutes, 49 seconds, averaging a stellar 61.21 miles per hour. Overpowering a strong field of 226 desert racers and mastering the race course with blazing speed and power, Collins’ time beat not only the cars and trucks, but also the motorcycles and ATVs that competed in the popular ‘spring break’ event to earn his fifth class win in San Felipe including his third overall triumph and his sixth career SCORE Trophy-Truck race win in the 15-plus year history of SCORE’s marquee racing division for high-tech, 800-horsepower, unlimited production trucks. It was also just the second time since 1979 that a Dodge-powered vehicle won a SCORE race. Finishing second overall and in SCORE Trophy-Truck in the elapsed-time race, 11 minutes and 31 seconds behind the masterful Collins was NASCAR Cup team owner/driver Robby Gordon, Charlotte, N.C., who finished Saturday’s race in 3:59:20, averaging 58.26mph in the No. 77 Team Gordon Chevy CK1500. Finishing third overall while winning the unlimited Class 1 in Round 2 of the five-race 2009 SCORE Desert Series were brothers Ronny and Rick Wilson, Long Beach, Calif., with a time of 4:05:43 and an average speed of 56.75mph in the Wilson Motorsports Chevy-powered Jimco open-wheeled desert race car. The 226 starters from 17 States, 10 countries competed in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, truck, motorcycles and ATVs. The dramatic 232.4-mile course covered three of the legendary, picturesque and treacherous Baja washes: Matomi, Azufre and Huatomote before heading back to the finish line in the shadow of the landmark San Felipe Arches. The race featured the 14th-largest number of starters in the 23-year history of the event. A total of 162 adventurers completed the rugged course within the 10-hour time limit for an extremely high 71.7 percent finishing percentage. “It was just a perfect day, our BFGoodrich Tires kept us totally in the game all day long and we covered a brutally-rough course with absolutely no flats,” said the happy Collins at the finish line. “B.J. Baldwin was physically ahead until he broke down at race mile 190, but we had him covered on corrected time all day. The Dodge truck was absolutely awesome. Billy (Goerke, my navigator) did a great job because if you would have asked me earlier today if we were going to win, I would have said ‘I don’t know, it’s going to be a long day’.” Collins had plenty to say at the finish, adding “But I put a plan together, being patient, and I told Billy that’s what we were going to do and he monitored my speed all the time down the real rough sections so we didn’t have a flat or hurt our shocks and we just had a great day. It’s nice when you put a plan together and it works. There are a lot of places you can go race in the desert, but there is nothing anywhere in the world that comes even remotely close to these unforgettable SCORE Baja races we get to experience three times a year.” Winning the overall Motorcycle and Class 22 title was the talented team of Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara Calif., and Tim Weigand, Santa Clarita, Calif., on a Johnny Campbell Racing Honda CRF450X. Finishing fifth among all vehicles, the pair crossed the finish line in 4:09:27 with an average speed of 55.90mph. It was Norman’s third overall win in this race in the last four years and Weigand’s first as the pair defeated a group of 69 motorcycles that took the green flag. Norman started the race and rode to race mile 30, Weigand rode the section from race mile 30 to 166.9 and Norman brought it to the finish line from race mile 166.9. “It wasn’t a walk in the park, I got knocked silly for a second,” said Norman while celebrating at the finish line. “I was going very well for the first eight miles and I slowed down when it got super rocky and I tagged a rock and rode the front wheel for like 50 feet when I finally ate it. When I crashed I hit my head and when I went to get up I fell on the ground again. I got back up and going and the next 500 yards, the same thing happened, but this time I didn’t go down.” “We just had a solid ride,” Norman added. We were behind our JCR teammate Colton Udall and his riders, but when they came into the pit where I got on, they had radiator problems and we took over the lead again and just cruised it.” Wayne Matlock, El Cajon, Calif., led a team to the Overall ATV and Class 25 victory for the third time in the last four years and second consecutive year in this race on a Honda TRX700X. He split the riding time equally with co-riders Harold Goodman Jr., Brownstown, Mich., and Josh Caster, El Cajon, Calif. Goodman was part of last year’s winning team with Matlock while this was Caster’s first. Matlock started the race and rode to race mile 25 and finished the race, riding the final 62 miles. Goodman rode from race mile 25 to 93 and Caster rode from race mile 93 to 170. Finishing fourth overall and third in SCORE Trophy-Truck was the team of Mark Post, Laguna Beach, Calif./Rob MacCachren, Las Vegas, who crossed the line 20 minutes, eight seconds behind Collins in the No. 3 Riviera Racing Ford F-150. All four top car and truck finishers completed the course quicker than the top motorcycle team. MacCachren drove the first half of the race and Post the second. Returning to SCORE desert racing in the first time in over a year, Tim Herbst of Las Vegas drove solo to finish fifth overall among four wheel vehicles and second in Class 1 in the legendary Terrible Herbst Motorsports Smithbuilt-Ford open wheel desert race car. Tim Herbst, whose older brothers Troy and Ed Herbst debuted their new No. 19 Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck with a seventh-place finish in class, 7:34 behind Class 1 winners Ronny and Rick Wilson. Creative veteran age group motorcycle rider Jim O’Neal, 62, Simi Valley, Calif., won Class 50 for motorcycle riders over 50 years old, adding his race-record 10th class win in San Felipe. Splitting the riding on a Honda CRF450X with O’Neal, who finished second in Class 30 on another talented team, was Andy Kirker, Santa Ana, Calif./Dan Dawson, Agua Dulce, Calif. and Tim Withers, Pepeekeo, Hawaii. Eric Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico, picked up his ninth win in the Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in Class 11 for stock VW Sedans. Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif., won Class 3 in his sturdy Ford Bronco for the seventh time in the last eight years for his 30th career SCORE race win. They also remained undefeated in 2009 with their second win. Also winning their second consecutive race of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series were: Rick St. John, Encinitas, Calif./Adam Pfankuch, Carlsbad, Calif. (SCORE Lite, Duvel-VW), Kevin Carr, San Diego (Class 5, VW Baja Bug) and Gavin Skilton, Anaheim, Calif. (Honda Ridgeline). Among the other car and truck Class winners late Saturday were: Jose Canchola Jr., Mexicali, Mexico (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Mike Lawrence, Sunset Beach, Calif. (Class 10, Lothringer-VW), Dave Crinklaw, Reedley, Calif. (Class 8, Ford F-150), Norm Turley, Long Beach, Calif., (Class 7SX, Ford Ranger), Marc Burnett, Chula Vista, Calif. (Class 6, Ford Ranger), Marcos Nunez, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 5/1600, VW Baja Bug), Daniel Reyes Jr., Calexico, Calif., (Class 9, Venegas-VW) and Justin Smith, Capistrano Beach, Calif. (Class 1-2/1600, Fraley-VW). Among the other motorcycle class winners were teams led by Carlos Casa, Chula Vista, Calif. (Class 21, Honda CRF450X), Brian Campbell, Bakersfield, Calif. (Class 40, KTM 450XCF), Hector Castillo, Calexico, Calif., (Class 20, Yamaha WR250) and Ramon Isuarieta, Mexico City (Class 60, Honda CRF450X). Winning the ATV Class 24 was the team led by defending SCORE Desert Series point champion Craig Christy, Burbank, Calif., on a Honda TRX450R. The fastest overall Sportsman motorcycle was ridden by a team led by Jeff Leonard, Bakersfield, Calif., who rode a Honda CRF450X to win the SPT M/C>250cc class. The fastest Sportsman car or truck was driven by the team led by Peter Lang, Santa Rosa, Calif., who drove a Homebuilt-Chevy in the SPT Car class. Leading the Sportsman ATV classes was the hometown team led by Manuel Jimenez, San Felipe, Mexico, on a Honda TRX450R. SCORE Trophy-Trucks have now won 14 overalls in San Felipe in the 16-year history of the marquee SCORE racing division. Solorzano, Tijuana, Mexico, has eight wins in Class 11 for stock VW Sedans while Moss, Sacramento, Calif., has six wins in the last seven years in Class 3 in his sturdy Ford Bronco. Credits: SCORE Press Release 20.March 2009 |
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