Mexico’s Vildosola Jr leads SCORE Overall, SCORE Trophy Truck
season points in 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship
Brabec, Udall tied in Open Motorcycle points, Robles Jr leads ATVs; other class leaders include
Cody Reid, Smith/Ehrenberg, T. Mills, Burnett, Chamlee, Burman, Moss, Paige Sohren, Gera, Dizney,
Ostanik, Winkelman, Spinali, heading to 47th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in Baja California, Mexico
RENO, Nev.—Mexico’s Gus Vildosola Jr combined a second place finish with Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren’s uncharacteristic mishap at the recent Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge to catapult himself into first place in the SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck point lead after four rounds of the five-race 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship.
With tight battles in races on both sides of the border, most classes have at least two racers within 10 points for their class point lead and a total of just 30 points separate the top 10 SCORE Overall point leaders heading into this year’s season finale. Capping of another memorable SCORE racing season will be 47th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the iconic race that will cover approximately 1,292 miles of Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting it Ensenada, Baja California Norte and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur. This year’s Granddaddy of all Desert Races will be held Nov. 11-15 to decide season overall and class point champions with competition in 25 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and ATVs.
VILDOSOLA’S MARCH
Winner of the season-opener in March, Vildosola Jr, of Mexicali, as at the front of the pack in SCORE Trophy Truck points and SCORE Overall points with 300 in the No. 21 Branix Mexicana Logistics Ford Raptor.
Vildosola, who has three career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins also has finishes of seventh, 14th and second in class to move to the front of the talented SCORE Trophy Truck stable of thoroughbreds.
Vildosola Jr and his father Gus Vildosola became the first Mexican national team to win the SCORE Trophy Truck division as well as being the fastest four-wheel vehicle in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 when they won the iconic race in 2010 when it was a peninsula run from Ensenada to La Paz.
Vildosola Racing is no on the verge of becoming the first Mexican national team to win the SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck season point crowns.
But another peninsula run over an extremely rugged course of approximately 1,292 miles still awaits their challenge.
MACCHREN MISHAP
Leading the points after the second and third rounds of the 2014 SCORE World Championship, MacCachren, 49, a two-time SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion with 11 career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins and eight SCORE season class point titles, has slipped to fifth in SCORE Trophy Truck points after an accident on the first lap caused irreparable damage to the No. 11 Rockstar Energy MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150 and he could finish the first half of the Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge. MacCachren was unable to finish the first half of the two-day race and was the second-fastest during the second half, but was considered a did-not-finish for the race which pushed him back in the standings.
RULE REGS
SCORE point regulations this year require four-race minimum races count for final points and one of the four races in the five-race SCORE World Desert Championship that is mandatory for the driver/rider of record to start or finish is the upcoming Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 to qualify for a class season point championship.
SCORE points are calculated on a set amount of start points and finish points for a particular race along with a variable amount for placement points based on the number of starters within the racer’s class.
TOP TRIO
Second in SCORE Overall points is Class 10 leader Cody Reid, Apple Valley, Calif., with 293 points in a Chevy-powered Custom open-wheel race car and third in SCORE Overall points and leading Class 1/2-1600 in a Mirage-VW is the team of Kevin Smith, La Verne, Calif./Sammy Ehrenberg, Las Vegas with 290 points so far.
SCORE TOP 10
After four races, the top 10 in SCORE Overall points are separated by just 30 points. While Vildosola, Reid and the K. Smith/Ehrenberg team are the top three, the other top 10 SCORE Overall point leaders through round 4, include three other racers in SCORE Trophy Truck along with are one more each from Class 10 and Class 1/2-1600 and one each from Class 19 and the Trophy Truck Spec class.
Second is SCORE Trophy Truck points and fourth in SCORE Overall points after winning his class in the recent Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge is Steven Eugenio, El Centro, Calif., who has 288 points in the No. 7 Galindo Motorsports Chevy Silverado. Third in SCORE Trophy Truck points and fifth in SCORE Overall points is Clyde Stacy, Bristol, Va., with 286 points in the No. 5 RPM Racing Chevy Rallty Truck.
With two wins in four races this season, Class 19 point leader Marc Burnett, Lakeside, Calif., is sixth in SCORE Overall points with 285 in a Can-Am Maverick UTV.
Seventh in SCORE Overall points is Mike Lawrence, Sunset Beach, Calif., who is second in Class 10 points with one class win this season and 283 points in a Chenowth-Honda.
With 278 points, eighth in SCORE Overall points and fourth in SCORE Trophy Truck is two-time defending SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, who has also won the last two Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 races in the No. 1 Monster Energy Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado.
Leading the Trophy Truck Spec class with 271 points and ninth in SCORE Overall points is Taylor Mills, Corpus Christi, Texas, who has won race win this season in the No. 841 Chevy Silverado.
Tied in the 10th spot to complete the top 10 in SCORE Overall points and second in Class 1/2-1600 with 270 points are the team of Christian Celaya, 20, Paradise Valley, Calif./Aaron Ampudia, 21, Ensenada, Mexico, in a Currie-VW in Class 1/2-1600 and Derek Murray, Eastvalle, Calif., in a Can-Am Maverick, who is second in Class 19.
MATNEY HEADS CLASS 1
Currently 12th in SCORE Overall points is another RPM Racing driver, team co-owner Justin Matney, of Bristol, Tenn., who won the first two races this year in the unlimited Class 1 in a Chevy-powered Geiser open-wheel desert race car. He enters the season finale with 268 season points.
QUADRUPLE TANDEM
Two motorcycle racers have won their class in all four races on the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship. Giovanni Spinali, Dulzura, Calif. leads a team as rider of record that has won all for Class 40 races for riders 40 years and older on a Honda CRF450X) and Tony Gera, 19, Santa Cruz, Calif. has won all four races in the new SCORE Ironman motorcycle class for solo riders on a Honda XR650R.
TRIPLE TIMERS
Winners of three races out of four this season have been Class 5 point leader Jose Lopez, Mexicali, Mexico in a VW Baja Bug and Pete Sohren, Phoenix, who is second in Class 7 points in a Ford Ranger.
TWIN WINS
Besides Matney in Class 1 and Burnett in Class 19, other Pro class points leaders who have won two of the four races so far in the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship are: Ricky Brabec, Oak Hills, Calif. (Tied, Open M/C, Kawasaki KX450F), Colton Udall, Oceanside, Calif. (Tied, Open M/C, Honda CRF450X, James Burman, Heber City, Utah (Class 7SX, Ford Ranger), Mark Winkelman, Cedar Hill, Texas (Class 30, Honda CRF450X), Rick De La Pena, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Limited M/C, Honda CRF250X), Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif. (Class 3, Ford Bronco), Earl Roberts, Calexico, Calif. (Class 50, Honda CRF450X) and Jim Dizney, Alpine Calif. (Class 60, Honda CRF450X). Donald Harper is second in Class 5-1600 as he has won both races he has entered in a VW Baja Bug. Second in Class 8 but with two race wins in his class is Mike Meeks, Marion, Texas, in a Dodge Ram SRT10.
RPM ROCKIN’ THE DESERT
Based in Bristol, Tenn., prominent RPM Racing was in the hunt with five of the vehicles they enter in this season. While Matney, 29, leads Class 1 in points, Stacy, 69, and SCORE Young Gun Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, 19 of Tecate, Mexico is third in SCORE Trophy Truck points and Juan C. Lopez is fourth. Derek Fletcher, Abingdon, Va. is second in Sportsman Buggy and Jim Bunn, Bristol, Va. is leading SPT Unlimited Truck with two race wins. Racing part-time in the Trophy Truck Spec class Eduardo Laguna, Mexicali, Mexico who is fourth in class.
MORE PRO 4-WHEEL LEADERS
Among the other Pro car and truck class leaders are, (Emilio Salcido, Mexicali, Mexico. (Class 5-1600, VW Baja Bug), Dan Chamlee, Carpenteria, Calif. (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Paige Sohren, Phoenix (Class 3000, BajaLite-Chevy), Luis Martinez, Mexicali, Mexico. (SCORE Lites, Foddrill-VW) and Noah Ostanik, San Diego (Class 8, Ford F-150).
MOTORCYCLES & ATVs
Following four rounds of the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship, tied for the 2014 overall Pro motorcycle point lead with 280 points and four class race wins each are the age group team led by Giovanni Spinali, Lake Forest, Calif. (Class 40, Honda CRF450X) and SCORE Young Gun Tony Gera, 19, Santa Cruz, Calif. (SCORE Ironman, Honda XR650R). Leading the Pro ATV racers with two wins is the team lead by Javier Robles Jr, Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico (Class 25, Honda TRX450R).
SPORTSMAN
Winning the class in all four races so far in 2014, the top Sportsman 2-wheel point leader is the team led by Raul Hernandez, Tijuana, Mexico, (KTM 450EXC).
Leading the Sportsman 4-wheel point lead with three race wins is Jim Bunn, Bristol, Va. (SPT Unlimited Truck, Chevy Silverado).
season points in 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship
Brabec, Udall tied in Open Motorcycle points, Robles Jr leads ATVs; other class leaders include
Cody Reid, Smith/Ehrenberg, T. Mills, Burnett, Chamlee, Burman, Moss, Paige Sohren, Gera, Dizney,
Ostanik, Winkelman, Spinali, heading to 47th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in Baja California, Mexico
RENO, Nev.—Mexico’s Gus Vildosola Jr combined a second place finish with Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren’s uncharacteristic mishap at the recent Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge to catapult himself into first place in the SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck point lead after four rounds of the five-race 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship.
With tight battles in races on both sides of the border, most classes have at least two racers within 10 points for their class point lead and a total of just 30 points separate the top 10 SCORE Overall point leaders heading into this year’s season finale. Capping of another memorable SCORE racing season will be 47th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the iconic race that will cover approximately 1,292 miles of Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula, starting it Ensenada, Baja California Norte and finishing in La Paz, Baja California Sur. This year’s Granddaddy of all Desert Races will be held Nov. 11-15 to decide season overall and class point champions with competition in 25 Pro and 5 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, UTVs, motorcycles and ATVs.
VILDOSOLA’S MARCH
Winner of the season-opener in March, Vildosola Jr, of Mexicali, as at the front of the pack in SCORE Trophy Truck points and SCORE Overall points with 300 in the No. 21 Branix Mexicana Logistics Ford Raptor.
Vildosola, who has three career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins also has finishes of seventh, 14th and second in class to move to the front of the talented SCORE Trophy Truck stable of thoroughbreds.
Vildosola Jr and his father Gus Vildosola became the first Mexican national team to win the SCORE Trophy Truck division as well as being the fastest four-wheel vehicle in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 when they won the iconic race in 2010 when it was a peninsula run from Ensenada to La Paz.
Vildosola Racing is no on the verge of becoming the first Mexican national team to win the SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck season point crowns.
But another peninsula run over an extremely rugged course of approximately 1,292 miles still awaits their challenge.
MACCHREN MISHAP
Leading the points after the second and third rounds of the 2014 SCORE World Championship, MacCachren, 49, a two-time SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion with 11 career SCORE Trophy Truck race wins and eight SCORE season class point titles, has slipped to fifth in SCORE Trophy Truck points after an accident on the first lap caused irreparable damage to the No. 11 Rockstar Energy MacCachren Motorsports Ford F-150 and he could finish the first half of the Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge. MacCachren was unable to finish the first half of the two-day race and was the second-fastest during the second half, but was considered a did-not-finish for the race which pushed him back in the standings.
RULE REGS
SCORE point regulations this year require four-race minimum races count for final points and one of the four races in the five-race SCORE World Desert Championship that is mandatory for the driver/rider of record to start or finish is the upcoming Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 to qualify for a class season point championship.
SCORE points are calculated on a set amount of start points and finish points for a particular race along with a variable amount for placement points based on the number of starters within the racer’s class.
TOP TRIO
Second in SCORE Overall points is Class 10 leader Cody Reid, Apple Valley, Calif., with 293 points in a Chevy-powered Custom open-wheel race car and third in SCORE Overall points and leading Class 1/2-1600 in a Mirage-VW is the team of Kevin Smith, La Verne, Calif./Sammy Ehrenberg, Las Vegas with 290 points so far.
SCORE TOP 10
After four races, the top 10 in SCORE Overall points are separated by just 30 points. While Vildosola, Reid and the K. Smith/Ehrenberg team are the top three, the other top 10 SCORE Overall point leaders through round 4, include three other racers in SCORE Trophy Truck along with are one more each from Class 10 and Class 1/2-1600 and one each from Class 19 and the Trophy Truck Spec class.
Second is SCORE Trophy Truck points and fourth in SCORE Overall points after winning his class in the recent Rigid Industries SCORE Desert Challenge is Steven Eugenio, El Centro, Calif., who has 288 points in the No. 7 Galindo Motorsports Chevy Silverado. Third in SCORE Trophy Truck points and fifth in SCORE Overall points is Clyde Stacy, Bristol, Va., with 286 points in the No. 5 RPM Racing Chevy Rallty Truck.
With two wins in four races this season, Class 19 point leader Marc Burnett, Lakeside, Calif., is sixth in SCORE Overall points with 285 in a Can-Am Maverick UTV.
Seventh in SCORE Overall points is Mike Lawrence, Sunset Beach, Calif., who is second in Class 10 points with one class win this season and 283 points in a Chenowth-Honda.
With 278 points, eighth in SCORE Overall points and fourth in SCORE Trophy Truck is two-time defending SCORE Overall and SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion B.J. Baldwin, Las Vegas, who has also won the last two Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 races in the No. 1 Monster Energy Baldwin Motorsports Chevy Silverado.
Leading the Trophy Truck Spec class with 271 points and ninth in SCORE Overall points is Taylor Mills, Corpus Christi, Texas, who has won race win this season in the No. 841 Chevy Silverado.
Tied in the 10th spot to complete the top 10 in SCORE Overall points and second in Class 1/2-1600 with 270 points are the team of Christian Celaya, 20, Paradise Valley, Calif./Aaron Ampudia, 21, Ensenada, Mexico, in a Currie-VW in Class 1/2-1600 and Derek Murray, Eastvalle, Calif., in a Can-Am Maverick, who is second in Class 19.
MATNEY HEADS CLASS 1
Currently 12th in SCORE Overall points is another RPM Racing driver, team co-owner Justin Matney, of Bristol, Tenn., who won the first two races this year in the unlimited Class 1 in a Chevy-powered Geiser open-wheel desert race car. He enters the season finale with 268 season points.
QUADRUPLE TANDEM
Two motorcycle racers have won their class in all four races on the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship. Giovanni Spinali, Dulzura, Calif. leads a team as rider of record that has won all for Class 40 races for riders 40 years and older on a Honda CRF450X) and Tony Gera, 19, Santa Cruz, Calif. has won all four races in the new SCORE Ironman motorcycle class for solo riders on a Honda XR650R.
TRIPLE TIMERS
Winners of three races out of four this season have been Class 5 point leader Jose Lopez, Mexicali, Mexico in a VW Baja Bug and Pete Sohren, Phoenix, who is second in Class 7 points in a Ford Ranger.
TWIN WINS
Besides Matney in Class 1 and Burnett in Class 19, other Pro class points leaders who have won two of the four races so far in the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship are: Ricky Brabec, Oak Hills, Calif. (Tied, Open M/C, Kawasaki KX450F), Colton Udall, Oceanside, Calif. (Tied, Open M/C, Honda CRF450X, James Burman, Heber City, Utah (Class 7SX, Ford Ranger), Mark Winkelman, Cedar Hill, Texas (Class 30, Honda CRF450X), Rick De La Pena, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Limited M/C, Honda CRF250X), Donald Moss, Sacramento, Calif. (Class 3, Ford Bronco), Earl Roberts, Calexico, Calif. (Class 50, Honda CRF450X) and Jim Dizney, Alpine Calif. (Class 60, Honda CRF450X). Donald Harper is second in Class 5-1600 as he has won both races he has entered in a VW Baja Bug. Second in Class 8 but with two race wins in his class is Mike Meeks, Marion, Texas, in a Dodge Ram SRT10.
RPM ROCKIN’ THE DESERT
Based in Bristol, Tenn., prominent RPM Racing was in the hunt with five of the vehicles they enter in this season. While Matney, 29, leads Class 1 in points, Stacy, 69, and SCORE Young Gun Carlos ‘Apdaly’ Lopez, 19 of Tecate, Mexico is third in SCORE Trophy Truck points and Juan C. Lopez is fourth. Derek Fletcher, Abingdon, Va. is second in Sportsman Buggy and Jim Bunn, Bristol, Va. is leading SPT Unlimited Truck with two race wins. Racing part-time in the Trophy Truck Spec class Eduardo Laguna, Mexicali, Mexico who is fourth in class.
MORE PRO 4-WHEEL LEADERS
Among the other Pro car and truck class leaders are, (Emilio Salcido, Mexicali, Mexico. (Class 5-1600, VW Baja Bug), Dan Chamlee, Carpenteria, Calif. (Class 7, Ford Ranger), Paige Sohren, Phoenix (Class 3000, BajaLite-Chevy), Luis Martinez, Mexicali, Mexico. (SCORE Lites, Foddrill-VW) and Noah Ostanik, San Diego (Class 8, Ford F-150).
MOTORCYCLES & ATVs
Following four rounds of the 2014 SCORE World Desert Championship, tied for the 2014 overall Pro motorcycle point lead with 280 points and four class race wins each are the age group team led by Giovanni Spinali, Lake Forest, Calif. (Class 40, Honda CRF450X) and SCORE Young Gun Tony Gera, 19, Santa Cruz, Calif. (SCORE Ironman, Honda XR650R). Leading the Pro ATV racers with two wins is the team lead by Javier Robles Jr, Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico (Class 25, Honda TRX450R).
SPORTSMAN
Winning the class in all four races so far in 2014, the top Sportsman 2-wheel point leader is the team led by Raul Hernandez, Tijuana, Mexico, (KTM 450EXC).
Leading the Sportsman 4-wheel point lead with three race wins is Jim Bunn, Bristol, Va. (SPT Unlimited Truck, Chevy Silverado).
