LOS ANGELES, California — Southern California’s Larry Roeseler, the all-time winningest active racer in all of desert racing, enters this week’s 43rd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 with 16 class wins, including 11 overall victories in this race. Roeseler will pace over 250 vehicles expected entries, including 82 racers who have combined for 191 class wins in this popular summer classic.
" A combined 191 class victories at Tecate SCORE Baja 500"
Round 3 of the five-race 2011 SCORE Desert Series, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series, will feature over 250 entries, competing in 28 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs, Saturday and Sunday in Ensenada, Mexico.
SCORE is in its 38th year as the world’s foremost desert racing organization. This race is traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule, and most of the world’s best desert racers are expected to be in action at this year’s 43rd anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, the original desert race produced by SCORE on July 26, 1974.
With late entries accepted up to race morning in the 454.69-mile race, entries so far have come from 30 U.S. States from Hawaii to New York and the U.S. Territory of Guam along with the additional countries of Mexico, Canada, Finland, Germany, Guatemala and Japan. The green flag will drop for the race at 6 a.m. on Saturday for the motorcycle and ATV classes in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, followed by the car and truck classes three hours after the last ATV at approximately 10 a.m. Vehicles will start in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race and will start and finish in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Boulevard Costero in the heart of Ensenada, leaving and returning into the city through the Arroyo Wash. All vehicles will have a 23-hour time limit from the time each starts to become and official finisher, but the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in approximately nine hours.
Roeseler, 54, who has returned to Boulevard, Calif., in his native San Diego area after living several years in Hesperia and Huntington Beach, is listed as the second driver this year for both the Tim Herbst and Troy Herbst Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Trucks. Running the three SCORE Baja races last year and this, Roeseler and Tim Herbst finished 10th in SCORE Trophy-Truck, the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 850-horsepower, unlimited production trucks in the No. 19 Terrible Herbst Motorsports Monster Energy Ford F-150 in March’s MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250.
“It is an honor that I cherish dearly to be able to race with such an incredible team like Terrible Herbst Motorsports and to be able to do it twice in my career is nothing short of amazing,” said Roeseler, who said he is prepared to drive in either one or both of the Terrible Herbst SCORE Trophy-Trucks as needed. “I have always been committed to significant prerunning and I can promise you that this will be one of the toughest, most technical SCORE Baja races I have ever had the pleasure to race in all my years in the sport.”
Besides the legendary SCORE Baja racer Malcolm Smith, Roeseler is the only active competitor in this race who has won the overall title in both a four-wheel vehicle and on a motorcycle. Roeseler’s incredible SCORE Baja racing record for the three races SCORE produces annually in Mexico has him with 39 class wins including 26 overall victories. Roeseler has 11 career SCORE season class point titles.
In the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 his 11 overall wins (nine on motorcycles and two in 4-wheel) are the most in race history. His 16 career class wins in this race are third all-time behind semi-retired Rod Hall’s 18 and retired Ivan Stewart’s 17.
After running parts of two seasons as a second driver in SCORE Trophy-Truck with Roger Norman, Roeseler has returned to Terrible Herbst Motorsports. Roeseler has three career SCORE Trophy-Truck race wins, including two with Norman. Roeseler’s two Tecate SCORE Baja 500 overall 4-wheel victories came in 2002 and 2003 as the second driver for Troy Herbst in the unlimited Class 1.
Tim Herbst is the all-time SCORE Trophy-Truck race winner with 11 career race wins in the featured SCORE racing division. Troy Herbst has seven Class 1 race wins in this race.
For the fourth straight year and just the fourth time in the 43-year history of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert race, the colorful pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and Contingency, the start and finish line will all be located in the heart of Ensenada, Mexico on Boulevard Costero adjacent to the historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. It will be the fourth time in race history that both the pre-race activities and the finish will be held on this historic boulevard.
The SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway and SCORE Coningency will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, on Blvd Costero. Racer registration will again be held in the Grand Ballroom of the San Nicolas Hotel. Registration hours will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdayand from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.
The awards celebration will be held poolside at the San Nicolas Hotel on Sunday, June 5 at 11 a.m.
Besides Roeseler, the other racers entered this year with the most class wins in this race are: Jim O’Neal (13), Steve Hengeveld, Troy Herbst and Arnoldo Ramirez (7 each), Scott McMillin, Donald Moss and Nick Vanderwey (6 each), Johnny Campbell, Dan Chamlee, Rick D. Johnson and Rob MacCachren (5 each) and Robby Gordon, Jeff Kaplan and Kendall Norman (4 each).
The racers entered with three career class wins in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 are: Brian Collins Jim Dizney, Mike Julson, Adam Pfankuch, Greg Row and Hector Sarabia.
Last year’s overall race champions are also among the entries in this year’s race. The overall 4-wheel winner in 2010 was the son/father team of Andy and Scott McMillin, National City, Calif., who drive the No. 31 Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy-Truck. Recording the fastest overall time while leading all motorcycles in last year’s race was the JCR Honda Racing Team riders Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif./Quinn Cody, Buellton, Calif., on a Honda CRF450X while the fastest ATV was the Honda TRX700X riding by Wayne Matlock/Josh Caster, El Cajon, Calif./Wes Miller, Los Angeles.
Including last year, the overall race winners returning are 16 drivers who have combined to win 14 overall car/truck titles and 26 riders who have combined to win 19 overall motorcycle titles, including drivers and riders from the last nine 4-wheel overalls and 12 of the last 14 motorcycle overall winners.
The rugged 454.69-mile course is a very similar to the last three years, although it is about 16 miles longer and the terrain has changed because of natural weather patterns that impact both sides of the race course on the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez and in the middle in the summit section. The course, which runs in a clockwise direction, resembles a deflating balloon, winding east to Ojos Negros, down to near San Felipe, back West to the Pacific Ocean below San Vicente and back north east through Santo Tomas on the way back to Ojos Negros and then Ensenada.
The only pre-running that will be allowed on the first 36.83 miles of the course will be outbound only and only this Thursday and Friday. No inbound pre-running on the last 36.83 miles of the course is allowed. Pre-running of the rest of the course starts and finishes in the Ojos Negros area.
While late entries will be accepted up to race morning, the Pro 4-Wheel vehicles classes with the most entries are: SCORE Trophy-Truck (29), the unlimited Class 1 (26), and Class 1-2/1600 (15) and SCORE Lite (11).
Leading the Pro Motorcycle classes in entries so far is Class 22 (9).
Class 24 leads the Pro ATV classes with 11 entries to date.
Among the Sportsman classes, SPT Motorcycles 450cc and over has the most with 23 entries.
In addition to season class point championships, the racers are also competing for part of the nearly $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings each race. Drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are attempting to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all car and truck class drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season. Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 26th consecutive year, a total of 38 drivers remain eligible after Round 2 of the 2011 SCORE Desert Series. Racers are also competing for the annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards, including the MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Year award.
Current SCORE official annual sponsors are: BFGoodrich Tires-official tire, Volkswagen of America-official vehicle, Sunoco Race Fuels -official fuel supplier, Bilstein-official shock, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance-official Mexican auto insurance and Slime-official tire sealant. Associate sponsors are: Tecate Beer, Coca-Cola of Mexico, Las Vegas Events, Blue C Advertising, SignPros, P.C.I. Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.
While Tecate is title sponsor of the 43rd Tecate SCORE Baja 500, additional race sponsors are the Office of the Secretary of Tourism of Baja California and ProTurismo de Ensenada.
For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2011 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.
Tecate SCORE Baja 500
All-time Overall winners
Year—DRIVERS/RIDERS, VEHICLE
1969--Bud Ekins/Guy Jones, Baja Boot-Olds
Doug Douglas/Jim McClurg, Ducati
1970--Parnelli Jones, Ford
Bill Silverthorn/Gene Fetty, Husqvarna
1971--Bobby Ferro, Funco-VW
Malcolm Smith/J.N. Roberts, Husqvarna
1972--Bobby Ferro, Sandmaster-VW
Gene Fetty/Bill Silverthorn, Honda
1973--Parnelli Jones, Ford
Howard Utsey/Mickey Quade, Husqvarna
1974--Bobby Ferro, Sandmaster-VW
Mitch Mayes/A.C. Bakken, Husqvarna
1975--Ivan Stewart, Funco-VW
Larry Roeseler/Bruce Ogilvie, Harley-Davidson
1976--Bobby Ferro/Ivan Stewart, Funco-VW
Larry Roeseler/A.C. Bakken, Husqvarna
1977--Ivan Stewart, Chenowth-VW
Larry Roeseler/Jack Johnson, Husqvarna
1978--Bud Feldkamp/Malcolm Smith, Funco-VW
Brent Wallingsford/Scot Harden, Husqvarna
1979--Malcolm Smith/Bud Feldkamp, Funco-VW
Jack Johnson, Husqvarna
1980--Bob Gordon, Chenowth-Chevy
Bruce Ogilvie/Chuck Miller, Yamaha
1981--Malcolm Smith/Bill Newbury, Chenowth-Chevy
Larry Roeseler/Bruce Ogilvie, Yamaha
1982--Larry Ragland, Funco-VW
Larry Roeseler/Chuck Miller, Yamaha
1983--Corky & Scott McMillin, Chenowth-VW
Dan Ashcraft, Husqvarna
1984--Larry Ragland, Chaparral-VW
Dan Smith/Dan Ashcraft, Husqvarna
1985--Ron Gardner/Bud Feldkamp, Funco-VW
Kurt Pfeiffer/Scot Harden, Husqvarna
1986--Corky & Scott McMillin, Chenowth-Porsche
Garth Sweetland/Scot Harden, Husqvarna
1987--Bob Gordon/Tim Crabtree, Chenowth-Porsche
Larry Roeseler/Ted Hunnicutt Jr., Kawasaki
1988--Mark McMillin, Chenowth-Porsche
Dan Ashcraft/Kurt Pfeiffer, Yamaha
1989--Robby Gordon, Ford
(no motorcycles)
1990--Robby Gordon, Ford
Larry Roeseler/Danny LaPorte, Kawasaki
1991--Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Garth Sweetland/Paul Krause, Kawasaki
1992--Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Larry Roeseler/T. Hunnicutt Jr./P. Krause, Kawasaki
1993--Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Danny Hamel/L. Roeseler/T. Hunnicutt Jr., Kawasaki
1994--Ivan Stewart, Toyota (Trophy-Truck)
Dave Ashley/Dan Smith, Ford
Paul Krause/Ted Hunnicutt Jr., Kawasaki
1995--Curt LeDuc, Jeep (Trophy-Truck)
Mike Julson/Bob Lofton, Jimco-VW
Paul Krause/Craig Smith, Kawasaki
1996--Rob MacCachren, Ford (Trophy-Truck)
Troy Herbst, Smithbuilt-Porsche
Paul Krause/Ty Davis, Kawasaki
1997--Ivan Stewart, Toyota (Trophy-Truck)
Mark McMillin, Jimco-Porsche
Johnny Campbell/Bruce Ogilvie, Honda
1998--Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Johnny Campbell/Bruce Ogilvie, Honda
1999--Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Jonah Street/Torsten Borstrom, Honda
2000--Larry Ragland, Chevy
Jonah Street/Steve Hengeveld, Honda
2001--Mark McMillin, Jimco-Chevy
Steve Hengeveld/Jonah Street, Honda
2002--Troy Herbst/Larry Roeseler, Smithbuilt-Ford
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda
2003--Troy Herbst/Larry Roeseler, Smithbuilt-Ford
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda
2004--Alan Pflueger, Chevy
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda
2005--Robby Gordon, Chevy
Mike Childress/Mouse McCoy, Honda
2006--Brian Collins/Larry Ragland, Chevy
Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Honda
2007--Larry Ragland/Brian Collins, Chevy
Robby Bell/Kendall Norman/Steve Hengeveld, Honda
2008--B.J. Baldwin, Chevy
Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Honda
2009--Rick D. Johnson, Ford
Bill Boyer/Donnie De Arman/Nicholas Blais/Rudy Iribe, Honda
2010--Andy McMillin/Scott McMillin, Ford
Kendall Norman, Quinn Cody, Honda
