Toyota Awards update 2007-10-11

24 SCORE racers still in hunt for special Toyota Awards heading into November's 40th Tecate SCORE Baja 1000

LOS ANGELES--Heading into November's season-ending 40th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in Mexico and following five of six races in the 2007 SCORE Desert Series, 24 of SCORE's toughest drivers are still in the hunt to earn 2007 SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards. In addition, three of those racers could split this year's $12,000 SCORE Toyota True Grit Awards.

Open pre-running starting at race-mile 37.67 begins Saturday. Practice on the first section of the course will be allowed Nov. 9 through Nov. 12. This year's race course will feature 10 outlying checkpoints where each vehicle is required to quickly stop before continuing on.J

To be held Nov. 11-16, this year's historic 40th anniversary odyssey of the world's most famous desert race will be a grueling and memorable 1,296.39-mile adventure down Mexico's mysterious Baja California peninsula starting in Ensenada, Baja California and finishing in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, Sur.

An amazing total of 392 vehicles from 40 U.S. States and 13 countries are entered to date and the length of the course is second only to the SCORE Baja 2000, the over 1,700-mile journey that started the new millennium that also was the only other time the race finished in Cabo San Lucas in its storied history.

The four-wheel vehicle classes with the most entries to date are SCORE Trophy-Truck (31), Class 1 (30), Class 5/1600 and Class 1-2/1600 (22 each), Baja Challenge (18), SCORE Lite (17), and Protruck (12).

The motorcycle classes with the most entries so far are: Class 22 (24), Class 40 (16) and Class 30 (11).

Leading the six Sportsman classes in the race is Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc which has 46 entries to date.

This year's memorable internationally-televised adventure will cover the length of the rugged and tortuous Baja California peninsula, starting on the Pacific Ocean side and stretching across and down the majestic peninsula to the Sea of Cortez side and back to the Pacific before hugging the coastline to the finish line on the southernmost tip of Baja.

Over 400 entries from 40 U.S. States and 15 countries, competing in 28 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs are expected to be part of this year's 40th anniversary tribute to the world's richest and most famous desert race. The granddaddy of all desert races is the season-finale of the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series, the world's foremost desert racing series.

The motorcycle and ATV classes will start their journey at 6:30 a.m. (PST) (Tuesday, Nov. 13) with the car and truck classes starting at approximately 11 a.m. (PST), or three hours after the last ATV leaves the line. The starting line will be on Blvd. Costero in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center in Ensenada. Vehicles will leave in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race and while the fastest finishers are expected to complete the course in approximately 22 hours.

The finish line area in Cabo San Lucas will be inside the Campos de Futbol "Yenecamu" soccer fields next to the Villa del Palmar Resort, the official SCORE race headquarters. The SCORE Media Center and SCORE Race Operations will both be located at the Villa del Palmar. Passing times from all BFGoodrich Tires pit locations, of all vehicles, will be posted there as well to assist in monitoring the race progress.

This year's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour NBC Sports special for the fourth consecutive year, airing on Dec. 30 on the NBC Television Network. It will also air on a delayed basis outside of the U.S. on ESPN International.

Toyota is presenting these prestigious awards to the world's toughest desert racers for the 22nd consecutive year. The Toyota Milestone awards will go to those drivers who finish every required mile of every race in the six-race 2007 SCORE Desert Series, the World's Foremost Desert Racing Series.

"Toyota is proud to honor the world's best desert racing drivers," said Les Unger, national motorsports manager at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. "For over two decades, we have had the privilege of presenting the SCORE Toyota True Grit and Milestone Awards to the toughest racers on the planet."

The $12,000 SCORE Toyota Truce Grit bonus purse will be split among the point champions in the non-factory supported classes of Class 1-2/1600, Class 5, Class 10 and SCORE Lite. A total of nine drivers in three of those four classes are still eligible to receive an equal share of the $12,000 SCORE Toyota True Grit bonus purse for 2007.

After five races over rugged desert terrain in the U.S. and Mexico, 24 total racers in nine classes are still in the hunt for 2007 SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards.

Class 1-2/1600 has six drivers still eligible for 2007 SCORE Toyota Milestone awards while SCORE Trophy-Truck and the unlimited Class 1 each have five heading to Mexico.

Pre-race festivities on Monday, Nov. 12, for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, including tech and contingency and the SCORE Manufacturer's Midway will be held from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (PST) adjacent to Nico Saad's San Nicolas Hotel, the official SCORE race headquarters in Ensenada. The pre-race mandatory driver/rider briefing will be held Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. (PST) at the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. Racer registration will be held at the San Nicolas from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (PST) on Sunday, Nov. 11 and from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. (PST) on Monday, Nov. 12.

The post-race Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Award's Celebration will be held during the SCORE Fiesta at the Playa Cascadas (adjacent to the Villa del Palmar) at noon on Friday, Nov. 16.

-credit: score