37th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500
Round 3, 2005 SCORE Desert Series
RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
Saturday, June 4-5, 2005

4-WHEEL VEHICLES

SCORE TROPHY TRUCK
Robby Gordon, 83: “We earned this one. The race was tough; it was a pretty slow average and a lot of rocks. It’s nice to win one – we’ve come so close so many times. It was a good run for us, I just drove at an easy pace. I am sick so my ears kept popping. We were tight with Jason (Baldwin, 1) but then he had a problem – I think he got a flat. They ran a great race, very smart and conservative. I paced what I thought would get me to the finish line. We race tomorrow in Dover, Delaware, so I have a long day ahead of me. The only bad news today was the private plane we were going to use is broken. I’ve got some good friends here, so I have to see what I can do.”

Gregg Till, 83 (co-rider): “We had zero problems all day. We never got out of the truck, we just had two pit stops. Robby drove a stellar race. I predicted eight hours and four minutes, and it was 9:08, so it was a little slower than we expected.”

Jason Baldwin, 1: “We had a good run except some flats. I got a front flat, and I never get my flats in the front so we must have hit some nails or something. We were close with Robby (Gordon, 83). I kept thinking as long as we stay together. That’s what it is all about. The first flat took five minutes to change. Then we lost time when we got to the pit and had two more flats. That made us ten minutes down of Robby.”

Mark Post, 3: “I was following those guys (Robby Gordon, 83 and Jason Baldwin, 1) all day. We were on Andy’s (McMillin, 102) tail for the last 150 miles. It was a very tough, technical race; lots of rain ruts and rocks, and many ways to end your day. Curt (LeDuc, co-driver) did a fabulous job in the middle of the race. It was a good, clean day. I got caught in the dust in the beginning. Those guys got a lead and we just couldn’t make it up.”

Marty Coyne, 5: “We started 26th, so we had to get by 22 other Trophy Trucks. Definitely, given where we started it was a great race. We bought it in second on time. I tangled with (Tim) Herbst at Santa Tomas and bumped a few guys. I am very proud of my sons. We lost the radio, other than that we had no flats or problems. Starting 26th and finishing where did, that’s a miracle. We didn’t have clean air all day.”

Josh Baldwin, 86: “That was longer than the Baja 1000. We had two flats and both were driver errors. I hit an embankment when I was chasing (Marty) Coyne. These (SCORE Trophy Trucks) are big girls to get around the track. This was definitely a technical motorcycle course. I went through faster on my dirt bike when I was pre-running the course. It’s only my second year full time on the tour and I am still learning. I’ve got to pick it up a little earlier in the race.”

Francisco Cervantes, 69: “We had no flats and were never stuck. I got the signature from all the other guys to race. All the guys passed me going really fast. I kept going slow, some parts just 20 miles an hour. The only part I went really fast was from before Trinidad to the finish. I had one problem with a belt, took about 45 minutes to get one.”

CLASS 1
Andy McMillin, 102: “We didn’t have too many breaks. We did have some trouble with first gear. It was a rocky course. I just let the race come to me. This is a dream season for me. My dad started the race and drove to mile 174, where I picked it up to the finish.”

CLASS 1-2/1600
Rob MacCachren, 1618: “I only drove this vehicle for the last twenty miles. Brian Freeman drove the rest of the time. I got in and had a 10 minute lead, that’s all I know. Bryan Freeman did almost the whole ride. The traffic was so bad coming into town, it’s bumper to bumper the last 12 miles into town. I drove the trophy truck from mile 142 to the finish. This course is so tight and twisty.”

Bryan Freeman, 1618: “The other cars were just falling off. I wasn’t driving hard, the race just came to us. I got to Simpson, around mile 205, and waited one hour. There were probably 15 cars ahead of me. I was leading physically right after mile 115, and they all caught up to me. I took it easy the whole day, just made sure not to do anything stupid. There are so many things that can get you out there.”

CLASS 7
Doug Siewert, 709: “With that traffic jam, there were just cars littered on the road. It was a great race. The last 50 miles I took it easy, and the last 12 miles it was flooded. At the pile-up, (Craig) Turner was four cars behind me. I had had a 10 minute lead on him. I had no flats on my BFG’s, these are the ones I started the race with. Actually, these are the same tires I started San Felipe with.”

Vince DiMaio, 709 (co-driver): “We went from ninth to last to a 10-minute lead. We had rolled it, but we gained ground on everyone. We figured we rolled the truck, we had to at least give it to Doug in first place.”

CLASS 10
Lobsam Yee, 1015: “For the last twenty miles of the race we were stuck in first gear. We built a new car, a two-seater, for this race and brought it down to test yesterday. We were up all night finishing it. We didn’t like it during testing in San Felipe, so we drove back home and brought back our single-seater to race in. It was a nice course. We lost the alternator at one point and had to change it.”

PROTRUCK
Jimmy Knuckles, 288: “You know what, give him (Al Hogan) the win. This is embarrassing (winning by a 22-second margin). I feel bad for him. I don’t even want to talk about it. We had four flats, other than that it went well. I started in the back. We pushed a little hard on the front side and had to back off a little bit. We stressed him (Hogan) out following him. I led until mile marker 175, then I got a flat. We got hung up a couple times. I really thought we were going to lose it coming out of Mike’s.”

Al Hogan, 226: “It was a fun great course. The last five miles we got stuck in the trench with a flat tire. This put us 15 minutes behind. It was a great run until then. We had a bunch of Mexicans helping us and finally got out of this rut. We were there a long time. We had the lead for a good part of the day and lost it in the last five miles. You can’t steer with a flat, and it steered me into the rut. The course had a lot of loose rocks. We tore a lot of tires, about five or six. I drove solo for the race.”

SCORE LITE
Arturo Honold, 1218: “It was a tough race. I drove without protective eyeware. The wind was so bad at Ojos Negros. Look at my eyes. They are covered in dirt. Ricardo Malo started the race and drove to mile 171 where I got in the car. 2001 was a hard year and so is this one. Our drive shaft broke and we were stuck for 1 ½ hours going up a steep hill at race mile 202.”

Mike Halloway, 1201: “We had a great run. I couldn’t get through the dust – I couldn’t see anything. We both missed a turn and hit a guide wire or something, I have no idea. 1211 (Stan Potter) got out first. I started going the wrong way, but luckily a local said ‘follow me’ and took me back to the course – I was so lost I had no idea where I was.”

CLASS 8
Todd Wylie, 800: I drove solo this race. I was eatin’ dust until we were out of the oceanside. At highway three our engine quit for a half an hour. Our distributer went and we had to change it. Then we got a flat. Nick Vanderway passed us then, but at the goat trail we passed him. Then we got a second flat and our brakes started fading. It was a hit and miss whether I had brakes. Then something starting coming lose on the suspension, but we managed to roll it in. This was a real good experience. I loved it.”

CLASS 5
George Seeley, 500: “We didn’t have any problems with the vehicle. No flats. When you drive carefully, you don’t get flats with BFG tires. We got stopped because rollovers and breaks in front of us and we had to shut the car off three times. The last climb to Mike’s was rough. You gotta just pick your way and let the dust clear.”

Bruce Anderson, 500 (co-driver): “I started the race and handed it over to George to finish at mile 280. We had a good run with the vehicle, but had to stop three times because of backups from broken vehicles and narrow passages so no one could pass. The first one was at Erindira, where we were stopped for 25 minutes. The second was at the top of Simpson’s. We were there for an hour. There were rollovers and broke vehicles and no way to pass. The protrucks were having a hard time up the steep grades. People were trying to clear them into the bush. The third was after El Coyote, where we were held up for twenty five minutes. A few times we got out during those stops to help others when we could, but we were so strapped in that we just sat around and told stories, drank red bull and waited for it to clear up. People are just camping-out out there. Overall, it was either real fast and stressful or slow, steep and rocky. I’ve been racing eight years with George and it has been great.”

MOTORCYCLES AND ATVS
CLASS 22
Mike Childress, 14x: “It was amazing – I loved it. It’s my first time ever to win a SCORE race. I’ve been doing this since I was 14 and it was a dream to win a race and now I did it. We were in fourth early on. Mike’s Sky Loop was the hardest part. I passed Johnny (Campbell, 1x) at Santa Tomas and never looked back. Mouse McCoy ran the 1000 all by himself and I thought what better guy to get than him to ride with.”

Mouse McCoy, 14x: “Mike was the last bike off the line and he passed everyone before he gave me the bike. Mike rode to 10 mile marker 171, then I took it to 273 and Mike finished it. Our strategy was there was a really tough stretch so if I was fresh through it, it would help. It was really a tough course – it was a true Baja course. We had a flawless ride. Johnny (Campbell, 1x) congratulated us on the race. Johnny is such a class act, he is a real competitor. We talked about strategy. They usually get out in the lead and control the race. This time we got the lead and we had a helicopter leading the way for us, it was beautiful. The helicopter kept us informed so we controlled the race.”

Steve Hengeveld, 1x: “I started and finished the race. Eight miles out I crashed. We lost time fixing the radiator. At Uruapan I stopped because I ran out of water. That’s where Johnny got on the bike. At the bottom of Mike’s road, I got back on the bike to the finish. Today didn’t go like we wanted it to, but at least we got the points.”

Johnny Campbell, 1x: “It was a tough day – I made some mistakes. In Baja you have a lot of different obstacles. The key to success is overcoming these obstacles. This is two times losing in a row. Nobody is the king forever. It was important for us (Honda) to beat KTM. We went from our first objective of winning the race to our second one – keeping the points lead.”

Andy Grider, 3x: “It was a horrible day. I went down two times. Once in between Tres Hermanos and Uruapan and the other by Laguna Hanson. I had to ride the last 30 miles for Chris. He was sick from something he ate last night and couldn’t ride. This course was the toughest ever. Sal did a good job. He caught us off guard. This was tougher than any Baja 1000 I have ever raced.”

CLASS 21
Alfredo Contreras, 101x: “It was pretty good, the bike was perfect. I had one small crash. Compared to last year this was a safer course. Tim (Morton) started the race, and there were five people riding, so it was a sprint for everyone. We led from the beginning, nobody passed us.”

CLASS 30
Gerardo Rojas, 300x: “No problems, it was very good.” Other riders were Francisco Real and Arturo Salas.

CLASS 40
Craig Adams, 400x: “We had a few problems but nothing too bad, it just cost us a little time. Around kilometer 77 it was really rough – it was a lot of fun. I fell a couple of times. I missed a turn and went through a barbed wire fence. I couldn’t get the bike started at first, but then got it going again. Three guys passed me up and I got stuck in their dust.”

Rich Binckley, 408x: “Everything went very good. We had two tire changes. The bike rode awesome.”

CLASS 50
Elizaburo Karasawa, 503x started and finished. Susumu Ishii rode in between.

CLASS 25
Josh Frederick, 10a: “We had no problems. The course was marked good. I started the race and finished. Levi (Marana) and Kyle (Chislock) rode in between.”

Wes Miller, 5a: “I started and rode to Valle do Trinidad. Dana picked up at K78. We lost 15-20 minutes at Mike’s Sky Ranch (because of hub problems). Later I had engine problems and had to ride half throttle to the finish.”

SPORTSMAN MOTORCYCLE
Robert Laughlin, 273x: “I rode the whole way myself. I fell into a creek and hit my head after the start, but I got out. I missed Honda pit 4 and ran out of fuel, but some locals helped me out and gave me some.”

Ned Suesse, 260x: “I have been riding bikes for five years and this is my first SCORE race. I decided to ride solo for the whole race and I did it. It was a challenging course especially at Mike’s loop. When I saw the finish line, I wanted a few more miles. I didn’t want it to end. I wanted it to keep going. What a feeling.”

NOTES
• There were a SCORE record three women who were drivers of record, and all finished. In addition, Bekki Wik, 121, drove half the race in Class 1 with Ronny Wilson. They finished sixth in their class and 26th overall. Michelle Bruckmann, 507, placed second in Class 5, while Sigal Greenberg, 901, was second in Class 9. Heidi Steele was the overall Sportsman Car champion.

• This year 180 of the 345 starters finished the race, which equates to 52%. Last year 181 on the 300 starters completed the course (60%). This year four classes had no official finishers; Class 3, Class 1, Stock Full, Stock Mini, and Sportsman Truck.

• In addition to stuck vehicles causing serious traffic jams, which occurred at various spots on the race course, several drivers had a difficult time with the last 40 yards of the 419-mile race, failing to successfully navigate the dirt ramp built leading into the stadium. At 10:30 pm on Saturday, a truck full of dirt backed through the finish line and dumped a big load of dirt. Adam Pfankuch, 1612, had to contend with the big mound of dirt before a front hoe could come and pack down the freshly dumped dirt.

For information contact:
SCORE International at its Los Angeles headquarters
(818) 225-8402 or visit
the official 2005 SCORE Desert Series website at:
www.score-international.com

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