BFGoodrich Tires and Vildosola Racing Capture Tecate SCORE Baja 1000

BFGoodrich Tires, the official tire of the SCORE International Off Road Racing Series, today captured its 26th overall SCORE Baja 1000 title in 27 years with Mexico’s own Vildosola Racing behind the wheel becoming the first-ever Mexican national team to have ever won the SCORE Baja 1000 for the second time.  Vildosola Racing’s Gustavo Vildosola, his son Tavo Vildosola along with co-driver Javi Valenzuela finished the grueling 1,121.55 mile race on the tough 39 inch BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR tires with a time of 19 hours and 44 minutes with an average speed of 56.787 miles per hour, one of the fastest completion times on record. BFGoodrich Tires also claimed nine of the top 10 overall finisher positions.

“We started in 24th position with a lot of trucks in front of us and passing them was near impossible, but this team did it and I am so proud of what they put into this race and season. We’re taking home this victory for Mexico but couldn’t do it without our sponsors and our incredible BFGoodrich tires which took us home to the finish line,” said winning BFGoodrich Driver, Gustavo Vildosola.

Vildosola Racing and their BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR tires battled their way through the rugged terrain but the fight with BJ Baldwin kept fans exited right down to the final minutes of the iconic race. Baldwin gave a solid effort but he proved no match for the Mexican national Trophy Truck No. 21.

“We congratulate all of the drivers who competed in this year’s exciting race and are especially proud of our BFGoodrich drivers who conquered one of the most challenging races in years,” said Silvia Mammone, motorsports marketing manager, BFGoodrich Tires. “Winning our 26th Baja 1000 title is a true testament of how the toughness of our tires and the skill of our drivers form a true championship combination.”

Another dominant performance at the finish line this year was BFGoodrich driver Luke McMillin, sweeping all of the Mexican SCORE Baja races in 2012 including the 250, 500, and 1000, capping off another year of excellence for him and his McMillin Homes team. For the second year in a row, all six of the legendary McMillin family members raced with finishing places within the top 10 amongst four-wheeled vehicles.
Team BFGoodrich Baja Challenge Car victory:
The Team BFGoodrich Baja Challenge Car piloted by Hollywood TV producer Bud Brutsman, custom-car builder Kyle Tucker, 2012 TORC Pro Lite Champion Brad Lovell, his brother and pro-rock racer Roger Lovell, accompanied by SCCA Runoff Champions Luke Wilwert and Michael Crawford.  After CV joint issues plagued the team towards pit eight, the team was able to make a critical repair and comeback thanks to an amazing chase crew. A first place finish in the Baja Challenge Class with a respectable finishing time of 28 hours and 48 minutes was the result.
“We assembled this team only a few weeks ago and played up everyone’s strengths to get us across the finish line. The terrain was grueling and our team made it work when it counted and I couldn’t imagine running on anything other than these incredibly tough BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM2 tires. They stood up to everything this this course threw at us today,” said Brad Lovell, Team BFGoodrich driver.

“I’ve raced Baja plenty of times but not much compares to the performance our team put on today. BFGoodrich gave us an incredible opportunity to experience this race and despite extreme conditions we came out on top, together. I’d race with these guys any day,” said Bud Brustman, Team BFGoodrich driver of record.

BFGoodrich Tires drivers earned nine of the top 10 overall four-wheel spots:
SCORE Trophy-Truck - #21 Gustavo Vildosola Jr./Tavo Vildosola/Javi Valenzuela
SCORE Trophy-Truck - #9 Mark Weyhrich/Gary Weyhrich
SCORE Trophy-Truck - #49 Ryan Arciero/Troy Herbst
SCORE Trophy-Truck - #23 Dan McMillin/Mark McMillin/Chuck Hovey
SCORE Trophy-Truck - #23 Steve Strobel/Dale Ebberts/Gay Smith
SCORE Trophy-Truck - #31 Andy McMillin/Scott McMillin/Jessica McMillin
SCORE Trophy-Truck - #1 Bryce Menzies/Jesse Jones
Class 1 - #103 Luke McMillin/Justin “Bean” Smith
SCORE Trophy-Truck - #84 Nick Vanderwey/Curt LeDuc/Larry Vanderwey

45th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Information
In this year’s event, more than 300 entries from 34 US states and 23 countries competed in 35 Pro and six Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs. Since 1967, the preeminent desert race has been run over the mysterious and challenging Baja California peninsula, except in 1974 when the international fuel crisis forced a cancellation.