Grand Marshal: Rodrigo Ampudia Sr.

BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500

by Dominic Clark, SCORE Historian

One of the most recognizable and admired figures in all of Baja California, entrepreneur, racer, and race team owner, Rodrigo Ampudia Sr has agreed to be the Grand Mashal for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires SCORE Baja 500, SCORE announced recently.

     Ampudia, 66, of Ensenada, Mexico, co-founder of the popular Papas & Beer night clubs in Ensenada and Rosarito Beach, a multi-time SCORE Baja racer winner, and he is the owner and leader of Team Papas, one of the premier desert racing teams in the SCORE World Desert Championship.

     “This is a unique privilege for SCORE to have an individual of Rodrigo’s stature in Baja California agree to be the Grand Marshal for this year’s BFGoodrich Tires 56th SCORE Baja 500,’ commented Jim Ryan, SCORE Vice-President of Marketing and Sales. “For 40 years, Papas & Beer has been a tradition in Ensenada and Rosarito Beach and Team Papas is one of the most respected teams in all of desert racing. We sincerely thank Rodrigo Ampudia Sr for honoring SCORE by being our Grand Marshal for this race that started the legacy of SCORE on July 26, 1974.”

     Ampudia Sr has earned seven class wins in his SCORE racing career, but will quickly tell you that he is proudest of his three sons and what they continue to accomplish in desert racing.

     “My brother (Rogerio) and I ran our first SCORE race in Class 1/2-1600 in 1986, and we have been a part of SCORE Baja racing ever since,” said Rodrigo Ampudia Sr. “God has blessed our family tremendously and now my three sons are the warriors of Team Papas. I am pleased to be the Grand Marshal for the SCORE Baja 500, an event that means so much to Baja California, Ensenada, and the Ampudia family.”

     In his racing career, Rodrigo Ampudia Sr had three wins in the SCORE Baja 500 (1992, 1994, and 2009), one in the SCORE San Felipe 250 (2009), and three in the iconic SCORE Baja 1000 (1990, 1994, and 2017).

     In his 2017 class victory, Ampudia Sr was the second driver for fellow Mexican patriarch racer Gustavo Vildosola Sr, in the SCORE TT Legend class (SCORE Trophy Truck Drivers over 50 years old), the peninsula race from Ensenada to La Paz that was part of the 50th SCORE Baja 1000 celebration.

     Team Papas second generation racers will all be part of this year’s SCORE Baja 500.  Oldest brother Rodrigo Ampudia Jr, 39, will race in the Pro UTV Open class, and brothers Alan Ampudia, 33, and Aaron Ampudia, 31, will split the driving in the Team Papas SCORE Trophy Truck.

     Together the three brothers won the 2019 SCORE Baja 1000 and this year Alan Ampudia drove solo to win the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck title in the King Shocks 37th SCORE San Felipe 250.