DRZ_Motorsports_119
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2017 Baja 500
Does anybody have any intel on the course for this years race?
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TMW
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Probably similar to last years, maybe in reverse. There is not a lot of change in the SF 250 and Baja 500 races due to limited areas to run. The Baja
1000 is either an expanded 500 loop or a run to La Paz or Cabo.
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mtgoat666
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Why do they run north to south?
Why dont they mix things up and run it south to north for a bit of variety?
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MMc
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A big part is cost. it cost a lot of money for these races and the racers to run. the more folks that need to farther south the more money the teams
need to spend.
The race was started running north to south. Before it was a race it was bragging rights. the time stamp at the toll gates to a time stamp in La Paz.
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
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David K
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Score tried once, but the Baja Sur 500 flopped... La Paz (or was it Cabo?) north to Loreto.
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StuckSucks
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Cabo to Loreto. Super fun race for everyone. I got to fly to Cabo, drive a chase truck, then fly home. Thanks John!
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TMW
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As MMc said the cost. To pre-run you have to go all the way south and run north. A lot of racers on a run south pre-run the top section several times
because the start is important to get out ahead. They usually only run once on the bottom section, maybe twice. As the race goes on they rely more on
the GPS especially since it's in the dark.
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DRZ_Motorsports_119
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SCORE International previews 2017 Baja 500 course
ENSENADA, Baja California, Mexico— The race will feature a course, being
finalized by SCORE CEO/President Roger Norman along with Race Director
Jose A. Grijalva, of approximately 515 miles. It will run in a counter clockwise
direction. The first and last 19.5 miles will be shared course outbound and
inbound.
Starting and finishing once again in the heart of Ensenada in front of the
Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center, it will quickly leave the pavement and
head up the spectator-friendly Ensenada Arroyo for two miles as it heads out of town.
The historic race course is another memorable example of all that
Mexico’s Baja California has to offer, including high-speed dirt trails, sandy,
rocky and silty natural terrain, majestic Baja washes and canyons, stretches
along the seashore with elevations from sea level to over 3,000 feet. The
course will be another jewel reflecting the stark beauty of Baja California.
This year’s course will have five physical checkpoints—North of
Johnson’s Ranch, Morellia Junction, North of San Felipe on Highway 5,
Nuevo Junction and El Mezcal before Ojos Negros.
This course is different than last year’s course. Last year it had much more
desert, it went up the Summit and this year it goes to the coast.
Reflecting on the course, Grijalva commented, “This course is tough and
very technical, more rain damage than other years and it's long with over 465 miles on the dirt, leaving less than 48 miles on pavement.
Other towns and landmarks the course goes through or near are Ensenada
Arroyo, Piedras Gordas, Ojos Negros, Uruapan, Santo Tomás, Erendira,
Johnson's Ranch, Colonet, Jaramillo, Hacienda Sinaloa on San Telmo Rd.,
Rancho El Coyote, Mike's Sky Rancho, San Matias, the Diablo Dry Lake bed,
San Felipe, Valle de Trinidad, The Goat Trail, Nuevo Junction and Santa
Catarina.
Baja 500 start draw is May 18. This challenging race course will cover nearly 512 miles;
Qualifying on May 31 for Round 2 of four race 2017 SCORE World Desert Championship
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TMW
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Well I guess the road from El Coyote to Mikes Sky Rancho will be open soon if not already.
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rts551
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I don't believe the baja 500 Sur "flopped". The race , run in April 2015 from Cabo San Lucas to Loreto was a huge success. Roger Norman could not
come to agreement with the Baja Sur government after that when it came to $$$$$$.
Were you there? I was. Baja Sur has other successful races (Campeonato off-road Baja Sur) and does not need Score.
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David K
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Ralph, I posted that over two weeks ago. You had to take that much time to come up with some anti-DK comment?
As TW said, the logistics and expense for American racers to travel so far to prerun and get home after, had to matter. Sad that government greed is
what killed it (according to you).
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rts551
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Quote: Originally posted by David K  | Ralph, I posted that over two weeks ago. You had to take that much time to come up with some anti-DK comment?
As TW said, the logistics and expense for American racers to travel so far to prerun and get home after, had to matter. Sad that government greed is
what killed it (according to you). |
I did not say whose greed. You assumed that. Most think it was Roger Norman's greed. Nope, had better things to do...was racing in the NORRA
Mexican 1000. Yes,
we had to come home after the race...the least of our expenses.
And it was not an anti DK comment....it was anti-stupidity comment. You had no idea whether it flopped or not.
[Edited on 5-5-2017 by rts551]
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rts551
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| Quote: Originally posted by TMW | | As MMc said the cost. To pre-run you have to go all the way south and run north. A lot of racers on a run south pre-run the top section several times
because the start is important to get out ahead. They usually only run once on the bottom section, maybe twice. As the race goes on they rely more on
the GPS especially since it's in the dark. |
Fact is we usually pre-run it...even if it is only once . Our expenses for the loop race are about the same for the peninsula race. Do you find
yours to be more?
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TMW
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You bet it was more, a lot more. How much of a pre-run to La Paz can you do on a weekend. That's what my racers were looking at. Like I said you get a
full run down to La Paz or Cabo then on the weekends you pre-run the top portion. We had a lot of volunteers that only had weekends off or had to take
vacation time. When you run a 6-12 race season it eats up a lot of peoples time. The only race we ran to La Paz was the 1000.
On a loop race only a minimum number of people are needed to pre-run. Duties and location of who is where can be set the weekend and week before the
race. On a run to La Paz those going to a certain location need to see it and be there on the pre-run.
Burn out from the volunteers was common so we tried to minimize it as much as possible.
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rts551
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We are not racing 6-12 races a season. That is a lot. When we raced the last peninsula 1000, our full contingent did not pre-run the
south....only the drivers for those sections.
The last time we raced the Dos Mares 500 or Cabo 500 we would prerun the 3-4 days before the race using pre-run vehicles or ATV's.
If you are racing 1 race a month, I can see how expenses would be an issue.
Most professional teams do not race that much.
[Edited on 5-5-2017 by rts551]
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ehall
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| Quote: Originally posted by TMW | | Well I guess the road from El Coyote to Mikes Sky Rancho will be open soon if not already. |
It's open. Jbstevens44 took his tundra across last week.
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TMW
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TnT Racing was started in 1992 racing 250 and 500 cc bikes. We raced the 5 race SCORE series, later reduced to 4 and the Baja Promotions GP and Desert
Series. The GP races were usually around a 12 mile desert trail running for 2 hours plus 1 lap. The desert series was usually between 200-250 miles
and consisted of 5-7 races. All BP races were in the Ensenada, Mexicalli, San Felipe and Tecate areas. The boys also raced a number of Motocross,
Mexican Supercross, Mickey Thompson stadium races and a few district 38 and BITD races.
Tim Morton and John Flores were the two primary racers. However we helped several others on both motorcycles and ATVs. Kawasaki became the primary
sponsor in 1994 and 1995 for the SCORE races. TnT continued thru the 1995 season for the non-SCORE races, afterward we disbanded.
It was a good run with several championships in both SCORE and Baja Promotions. We had a lot of sponsors that made it happen.
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rts551
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A lot has changed since 1995, not all for the better. Entrance fees are now through the roof.
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honda tom
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70 cars and a handful of bikes for the score Baja sur 500. Yes a FLOP for a major race. Too bad cause the people of Loreto love this stuff. The Loreto
400 is a great race.... but getting the teams from the US down there is a tough deal.
If it worked out SCORE would be back. Too bad.
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