2024 Manufacturer Point Leaders

SCORE World Desert Championship

by SCORE MEDIA OPERATIONS DIRECTOR: Gabriel Garcia, [email protected] and SCORE HISTORIAN: Dominic Clark, [email protected]

ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico—Following the season-opening King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250 in late March, five prominent companies are leading their respective divisions in the SCORE Manufacturer Point Standings after Round 1 of the four-race 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship.

   Leading their respective divisions in the 2024 SCORE Manufacturer point standings after the season-opening King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250 are Mason Motorsports, Major Performance Racing Engines, Can-Am Off-Road, Alumi Craft Race Cars, and Honda Motorcycles, names all very prominent in the international world of desert racing.

     The four-race 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship is being held exclusively in Baja California, Mexico for the ninth consecutive season. SCORE is known around the globe as the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Organization.

HOW THE POINTS ARE DETERMINED

     SCORE calculates Manufacturer points on a modified version of the formula used for individual racers. For manufacturer points, podium finishers, who have identified their manufacturer on their entry form, received manufacturer points based on the number of starters within each class in the specific category.

MAJOR PERFORMANCE—SCORE ENGINE BUILDER POINT LEADER

   Based in Jamul, Calif., Major Performance engines performed well in the season-opening King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250, taking the lead for the first time in several years in the SCORE Engine Builder with 112 total points among podium finishers.

     Major Performance engines totaled five class victories in San Felipe among eight podium finishers in Round 1 of the 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship.

     A five-time all-time winner of the SCORE Engine Builder of the Year award (1992, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008), Major Performance was led by a first place and a third place podium finish in Class 10.

     Winning Class 10 was Bruce Yee, Rosarito Beach, Mexico while third place was earned by defending class season point champion Francisco Vera, Rosario, Mexico.

     Besides Yee, the other Major Performance class winners in San Felipe were: Mario Alcala, Mexicali, Mexico (SCORE Lites), Raul Ojeda, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 1/2-1600), Zackery Woodruff, Bend, Ore. (Class 5/1600), and Oliver Flemate, Ensenada, Mexico (Class 11).

TSCO RACING—SCORE ORIGINAL TRUCK CHASSIS MANUFACTURER LEADER

    Founded in 2012 in El Cajon, Calif., by former SCORE champion racing brothers Gary and Mark Weyhrich, TSCO Racing has taken the early SCORE Original Truck Chassis 2024 point standings lead following some great results in San Felipe in March.

     TSCO has 98 points after Round 1 of the four-race 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship.

     Overseeing TSCO Racing since it started is veteran John Vance, who is the general manager and crew chief for the entire operation which is located adjacent to the SCORE shop in El Cajon.

     The spectacular start for TSCO in 2024 was made possible by three podium finishes by TSCO-built trucks, including one in SCORE TT Legend and two in Trophy Truck Spec.

     Finishing third in SCORE TT Legend in San Felipe was Greg Adler, Manhattan Beach, Calif., while second in Trophy Truck Spec in a SCORE-record field of 44 starters in the popular class was Justin Davis, Chino Hills, Calif., and third place in another TSCO truck was Santiago Creel, Mexico City, Mexico.

CAN-AM—SCORE UTV MANUFACTURER POINT LEADER

    Sweeping the podium in both the Pro UTV FI (Forced Induction) and the Pro UTV Stock classes in the season-opening King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe, Canada’s Can-Am Off-Road leads the 2024 SCORE UTV Manufacturer points after Round 1 of the four-race 20024 SCORE World Desert Championship,

     A subsidiary of Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), based in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada, Can-Am has 155 total placement points after the season-opener.

    Racers sweeping the Pro UTV FI class for Can-Am in San Felipe were Phil Blurton, Auburn, Calif. (first), Edgar Garcia, Trabuco Canyon, Calif. (second), and Matt Burroughs, Norco, Calif. (Third). All three drove the Can-Am Maverick R UTVs.

     The Can-Am sweepers in the Pro UTV Stock Class in the SCORE Opener were Kaden Wells, Hurricane, Utah (first), Jorge Cano, Culiacan, Mexico (second), and Jeremy Davis, Chino Hills, Calif. (Third).

     Can-Am has taken the early lead over Polaris RZR Industries, a nine-time UTV Manufacturer winner, who has 106 points after sweeping the Pro UTV Open class and getting a first and second-place finish in the Pro UTV NA (Naturally Aspirated) class in San Felipe.

     Polaris is the official UTV of the SCORE World Desert Championship.

HONDA—SCORE MOTORCYCLE MANUFACTURER POINT LEADER

    A perennial powerhouse in SCORE Baja motorcycle racing, Honda won the 2023 SCORE Motorcycle Manufacturer of the Year point title with 320 total podium placement points.

     With no fully-supported factory teams currently part of SCORE Motorcycle racing, Honda has been a desert racing standard for over 40 years in SCORE Baja racing as the winningest motorcycle manufacturer of all time in SCORE history.

     Honda has now won this award an unprecedented 29 times.

     To open the 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship at the King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250, Honda motorcycles won four classes and had a total of 10 podium finishes. Honda leads in their division with 155 placement points after one race.

     Leading the way for Honda in San Felipe was the team led by Arturo Salas Jr, 21, Chula Vista, Calif. (Tecate, Mexico) who was the Overall motorcycle and Pro Moto Unlimited class winner on his No. 11x Honda CRF450X. His co-rider was Carter Klein, 19, Agua Dulce, Calif.

     Also winning their respective classes in San Felipe were Honda racers Armando Ortiz, Tijuana, Mexico (Pro Moto Limited), Mike Prunty, Temecula, Calif. (Pro Moto 50), and Mike Kay, Sacramento, Calif. (Pro Moto 60).

     All four Honda class winners in San Felipe rode the ever-popular Honda CRF450X motorcycle. Including the other six podium finishers, all 10 racers raced on a Honda CRF450X.

ALUMI CRAFT—SCORE ORIGINAL OPEN-WHEEL CHASSIS MANUFACTURER POINT LEADER

     Based in Santee, Calif., Alumi Craft won the Open Wheel Chassis Manufacturer of the Year point championship for the fifth time in 2023, all in the last eight years.

     Founded in 2004, an increasing number of Alumi Craft vehicles continue to appear on SCORE race entry lists.

     With 66 total points after the opener in San Felipe, Alumi Craft swept the podium in Class 10 and secured a second-place finish in the Unlimited Class 1.

     Podium finishers for Alumi Craft in Class 10 were Bruce Yee, Rosarito Beach, Mexico, on top in first, followed by Stan Potter, San Marcos, Calif. (substitute driver for DOR Freddie Willert) while third place on the podium was secured by defending season class point champion Francisco Vera, El Rosario, Mexico.

SCOREscope

2024 SCORE SCHEDULE

    Here are the dates for the three remaining 2024 SCORE World Desert Championship which are being held in Baja California, Mexico for the ninth consecutive year:

·       BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500—

May 29-June 2, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

·       5th SCORE Baja 400, presented by VP Racing Fuels—

September 11-15, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

·       BFGoodrich Tires 57th SCORE Baja 1000—

November 11-17, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

SCORE SPONSORS…

     Official SCORE Sponsors: BFGoodrich Tires-Official Tire and Race Title Sponsor, Ford-Official Truck and SUV, King Shocks-Official Shock Absorber and Race Title Sponsor, Polaris RZR-Official UTV, VP Racing Fuels-Official Fuel and race presenting sponsor, Optima Batteries-Official Battery, Rugged Radios-Official Radio Communication, Sylvania-Official Light, Method Race Wheels-Official Wheel and Race Qualifying sponsor, Lasernut-Official Custom Metal Fabricator, Wide Open Excursions-Official Arrive and Drive Company, Crystal Bay Casino-Official Casino.

   SCORE Official Partners: The Satellite Phone Store, Instant Mexico Auto Insurance.

  Additional SCORE Associate Partners: Baja California Secretary of Tourism, MEXICO Secretary of Tourism, San Felipe Foundational Municipal Council, Ensenada Municipal Government, San Felipe Marketing Tourism Committee, Ensenada Marketing Tourism Committee, Ensenada Hotel and Motel Association, Proturismo Ensenada, and Cruz Roja Mexicana.

     For more information regarding SCORE, visit the official website of the SCORE World Desert Championship at www.SCORE-International.com.

2024 SCORE World Desert Championship

Manufacturer Point Standings

(Following Rd. 1—37th SCORE San Felipe 250)

Engine Builder

1. Major Performance                   82

2. Gibbs Racing Engines              54

3. Dougans Racing Engines         40

4. Kroyer Racing Engines            34

Original Truck Chassis

1. TSCO                                      98

2. Mason Motorsports                  90

3. 1 Nine Industries                      64

Original Open-Wheel Chassis

1. Alumi Craft                               66

2. Jimco Racing                            27

3. Fraley                                      15

3. Seagrove                                 15

UTV Manufacturer

1. Can-Am                                   155

2. Polaris Off-Road                       106

3. Honda                                     6

Motorcycle Manufacturer

1. Honda                                      155

2. KTM                                        61

3. Yamaha                                   19