ENSENADA, Mexico—Southern California’s Larry Roeseler, the all-time winningest active racer in all of desert racing, enters this week’s 44th Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 500 with 16 class wins, including 11 overall victories in this race. Roeseler will pace over 275 expected entries, including 90 racers who have combined for 244 class wins in this popular summer classic.

The second-oldest desert race in the world, Round 4 of the five-race 2012 SCORE Desert Series, the World’s Foremost Desert Racing Series, will feature over 275 entries, competing in 36 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs. The event will be held Wednesday through Sunday in Ensenada, Mexico.

SCORE is in its 39th year as the world’s foremost desert racing organization. This race is traditionally one of the most popular events on the SCORE schedule, and most of the world’s best desert racers will be in action at this year’s 44th anniversary of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, the original desert race produced by SCORE on July 26, 1974.

With late entries accepted up to race morning in the 450-mile race, entries to date have come from 34 U.S. States from Hawaii to New York and the U.S. Territory of Guam along with the additional countries of Mexico, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan and Spain.

The green flag will drop for the race at 6 a.m. on Saturday for the motorcycle and ATV classes in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500, followed by the car and truck classes three hours after the last ATV at approximately 10 a.m. The elapsed-time race, with one vehicle starting every 30 seconds, will start and finish in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center on Boulevard Costero in the heart of Ensenada, leaving and returning into the city through the Arroyo Wash. All vehicles will have a 22-hour time limit from the time each starts to become an official finisher, but the fastest vehicles are expected to finish in approximately nine hours.
Roeseler racing with Tim Herbst

Roeseler, 55, of Boulevard, Calif., is the second driver this year for Las Vegas’ Tim Herbst in the No. 19 Terrible Herbst Monster Energy Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy Truck. Tim Herbst, whose younger brother Troy races with Ryan Arciero, Foothill Ranch, Calif., in the No. 49 Terrible Herbst Monster Energy Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy Truck, finished fourth in March’s MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 in SCORE Trophy Truck, the marquee SCORE racing division for high-tech, 850-horsepower, unlimited production trucks.

Tim Herbst is the all-time winningest driver in the 18-plus-year history of SCORE Trophy Truck with 11 race wins while Roeseler has three career SCORE Trophy Truck race victories. Roeseler also teamed with Troy Herbst to capture the overall victory in this the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 in both 2002 and 2003 in a Ford-powered Smithbuilt open-wheel desert race care in the unlimited Class 1.

Roeseler is the only other competitor besides the legendary SCORE Baja racer Malcolm Smith, who has won the overall title in both a four-wheel vehicle and on a motorcycle in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500. Roeseler’s incredible SCORE Baja racing record for the three races SCORE produces annually in Mexico has him with 39 class wins including 26 overall victories. Roeseler has earned 11 career SCORE season class point titles.

In the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 Roeseler’s 11 overall wins (nine on motorcycles and two in 4-wheel) are the most in race history. His 16 career class wins in this race are third all-time behind semi-retired Rod Hall’s 18 and retired Ivan Stewart’s 17.

LIVE TRACKING/REAL TIME COVERAGE
To follow this race, live vehicle tracking will be at www.racetheworld.net.

OTHER MULTI CLASS WINS
Besides Roeseler, the other racers entered this year with the most class wins in this race are: Jim O’Neal-Class 21 and Class 60 (15), Richard Jackson-Class 60 (13), Steve Hengeveld-Class 22, Troy Herbst-SCORE Trophy Truck, Donald Moss-Class 3, Arnoldo Ramirez-SCORE Lites and Eric Solorzano-Class 11 (7 each), Scott McMillin-SCORE Trophy Truck and Nick Vanderwey-SCORE Trophy Truck (6 each), Mike Cafro-Class 25, Johnny Campbell-Class 40, Dan Chamlee-Class 7, Rick D. Johnson-SCORE Trophy Truck, Jeff Kaplan, Class 40, Rob MacCachren, SCORE Trophy Truck, Mark McMillin, SCORE Trophy Truck and Kendall Norman-Class 22 (5 each) and Robby Gordon-SCORE Trophy Truck, John Holmes-Class 7SX, Eizaburo Karasawa-SPT M/C>450cc and Adam Pfankuch-SCORE Trophy Truck (4 each).

The racers entered with three career class wins each in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 are: Robby Bell-Class 22, Vic Bruckmann-SCORE Lites, Brian Collins-SCORE Trophy Truck, Steven Eugenio-SCORE Trophy Truck, Mike Julson-SCORE Trophy Truck, Wayne Matlock-Class 25, Greg Row-Class 25 and Hector Sarabia-Class 1/2-1600 (3 each).
2011 OVERALL WINNERS RETURN

Last year’s overall race champions are also entered in this year’s race. The overall 4-wheel winner in 2011 was Las Vegas’ Bryce Menzies, who drives the No. 1 Red Bull Menzies Motorsports Ford F-150 SCORE Trophy Truck. Recording the fastest overall time while leading all motorcycles in last year’s race was Kendall Norman, Santa Barbara, Calif. and Quinn Cody, Buellton, Calif., on a Honda CRF450X while the fastest ATV was the Honda TRX450R team led by Brandon Brown, Umatilla, Ore. Norman will be riding solo this year on another Honda CRF450X while Cody is injured but still scheduled to be the second rider for Mike Brown on a KTM 450SX-F.

RUGGED SCORE BAJA COURSE
The rugged 450-mile course, which runs in a clockwise direction, resembles a deflating balloon, winding east to Ojos Negros, down to near San Felipe, back West to the Pacific Ocean below San Vicente and back north east through Santo Tomas on the way back to Ojos Negros and then Ensenada.

The only pre-running that will be allowed on the first 41.04 miles of the course will be outbound only and only this Thursday and Friday. No inbound pre-running on the last 41.04 miles of the course will be allowed. Pre-running of the rest of the course is starting and finishing in the Ojos Negros area.

The four official race checkpoints, where all vehicles are required to make a quick stop, will be located at race mile 88.56 (Santa Catarina), rm219.72 (South San Matias Wash), rm314.13 (Northwest of Colonet near the Pacific Ocean) and rm402.90 (West of Ojos Negros).  The course will also have 52 virtual checkpoints. All vehicles are also required to run International Rally Consultants tracking devices and live vehicle tracking will be available during the race at www.racetheworld.net.

The course will also have five short controlled-speed pavement sections that total 13.67 miles where the speed limit for the race vehicles is 60 miles per hour, subject to time penalties for exceeding that speed in those very limited pavement sections.

Not only is there a significant variety of terrain on this desert race course, elevations will range from sea-level to the 4,155-foot summit at race mile 110.47 with temperatures fluctuating between the low 50s to the 100s Fahrenheit between the Pacific Coast, summit, dry lake beds, washes and Sea of Cortez.

CHAMPIONSHIP RACERS FILL FIELD
Including last year, the overall race winners returning are 21 drivers who have combined to win 19 overall car/truck titles and 14 riders who have combined to win 19 overall motorcycle titles, including drivers and riders from the last 11 4-wheel overalls and 11 of the last 12 motorcycle overall winners.

While just about any of the 40 SCORE Trophy Trucks entered is capable of winning the overall 4wheel vehicle title this weekend, the motorcycles and ATV overall winners seem to be hard to predict as well.  Two Las Vegas racers have won the first three races in SCORE Trophy Truck though, with B.J. Baldwin winning Round 1 in Laughlin and Rob MacCachren winning Round 2 in Laughlin and Round 3 in San Felipe, Mexico.

MOTORCYCLE MANIA
While Honda motorcycles have dominated this race since 1997, winning 15 straight overalls, Johnny Campbell’s JCR Honda team will have three factory-supported teams who are attempting to pull off the victory, two from KTM and one from Kawasaki.

KTM has returned to the SCORE Baja desert series with two teams and the team of Kurt Caselli/Ivan Ramirez were the overall motorcycle winners in San Felipe.  In an attempt to unseat Honda on the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 throne, the No. 7x KTM 450SX-F has added a surprise rider in Spain’s three-time Dakar rally champion Marc Coma for his first attempt at a SCORE Baja race. Caselli is also the defending series champion in two US series—WORCS and the AMA Hare & Hound.

KTM’s second team, No. 2x has Mike Brown as the rider of record and he has also been added to the 7x bike in case he is needed. With Brown’s teammate Quinn Cody, who won the last two years in this race with Kendall Norman on a JCR Honda Honda CRF450X, injured and uncertain for this weekend’s race, added to this time has been another SCORE Baja rookie with loads of experience in Mexico’s five-time National Enduro champion Homero Diaz.

Robby Bell, who won this race three times (2006, 2007, 2008) when riding for American Honda, is rider of record on the No. 4x Kawasaki KX450F with David Pearson and Steve Hengeveld. Pearson is an experienced SCORE Baja racer and Hengeveld won six overall motorcycle titles (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007) in this race on an American Honda motorcycle.

ATV ALERT
Also on paper at least, the battle for the overall ATV title appears to be a four-horse race between two entries from Honda, one from Can-am and one from Yamaha.

All with varied levels of factory assistance, the two Honda riders of record are Wayne Matlock and Brandon Brown while the Can-Am leader is Josh Frederick and the Yamaha ROR is veteran Greg Row.

Matlock, El Cajon, Calif., has won Class 25 three times in the last four years while Brown, Umatilla, Ore., won Class 24 last year as well as the overall ATV title. Both Matlock and Frederick race on Honda TRX450R ATVs and both are entered with their respective multi-rider teams in Class 25 this year.

Frederick, Moapa, Nev., was the 2005 SCORE Class 25 point champion and has returned to SCORE Baja racing on a Can-Am DS-450 and was the fastest ATV in this year’s San Felipe race.

Row, who was the overall ATV winner in this race for three consecutive years (1990, 1991 and 1992), has a couple of very special riders on his team this year, both of whom are regular racers in US ATV series.  Among the riders with Row on a Yamaha YFZ450 will be his son Josh and Dustin Nelson, a six-time QuadCross series point champion.

ENTRIES STILL CLIMBING
While late entries will be accepted up to race morning, as of today, the Pro 4-Wheel vehicles classes with the most entries are: SCORE Trophy Truck with a near SCORE-record 40 entries, the unlimited Class 1 (21), Class 1/2-1600 (16) and Class 10 (14).

Leading the pro motorcycle classes is the open Class 22 with nine entries to date.

Class 25 and Class 24 lead the ATV classes so far with seven entries each and leading the Sportsman classes is the SPT M/C>450cc motorcycle class with 20 to date.

BFG MILESTONE
In March’s San Felipe race, Las Vegas’ Rob MacCachren was the overall and SCORE Trophy Truck winner. His victory earned the 75th all-time SCORE Baja overall race win for noted tired manufacturer BFGoodrich. BFG Tires have now been the tire of choice for the overall 4-wheel vehicle winners in 22 MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 races, 28 in the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 and 25 in the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000.
PRE/POST RACE SCHEDULE

For the fifth straight year and just the fifth time in the 44-year history of the Tecate SCORE Baja 500 desert race, the colorful pre-race Manufacturer’s Midway and Contingency, the start and finish line will all be located in the heart of Ensenada, Mexico on Boulevard Costero adjacent to the historic Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center. It will be the fifth time in race history that both the pre-race activities and the finish will be held on this historic boulevard.

The SCORE Manufacturer’s Midway will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, June 1 on Blvd Costero. Racer registration will again be held in the Grand Ballroom of the San Nicolas Hotel. Registration hours will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 31 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday June 1.

The awards celebration will be held poolside at the San Nicolas Hotel on Sunday, June 3 at 11 a.m.

CONTINGENCY & MILESTONES
In addition to season class point championships, the racers are also competing for part of the nearly $400,000 in cash purse and contingency postings each race. Drivers in the Pro car and truck classes are also attempting to earn prestigious SCORE Toyota Milestone Awards given to all car and truck class drivers who complete every required mile of the five-race season.  Being presented by Toyota Motorsports for the 27th consecutive year, a total of 31 drivers are still in the hunt for the awards for the 2012 SCORE Desert Series after the first two rounds in the five-race series.

Racers are also competing for the annual SCORE Off-Roadsman of the Year awards, including the MasterCraft Safety SCORE Rookie of the Year award. All categories, except Engine Builder and Original Buggy Chassis Manufacturer, will be determined by public on-line voting while Engine and Buggy awards are determined by season points.
SCORE SPONSORS

Tecate Beer is the title sponsor of the three SCORE Baja races.

MasterCraft Safety is co-title sponsor of the 26th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250.

Official Sponsors of the SCORE Desert Series are:
-BFGoodrich Tires, Official Tire
-Volkswagen of America, Official Vehicle
-Sunoco Race Fuels, Official Race Fuel
-Slime, Official Tire Sealant
-Symons Ambulance Company, Official Ambulance
-Bilstein, Official Shock Absorber
-Instant Mexico Auto Insurance, Official Mexican Auto Insurance

Official Sponsors of the SCORE Baja 1000 are:
-Coca-Cola, Official Soft Drink
-Volaris Airlines, Official Airline
-Lightforce Performance Lighting, Official Driving Light

Additional SCORE Sponsors are – Proturismo Ensenada, Baja California Secretary of Tourism, COTUCO Mexicali/San Felipe, Las Vegas Events, Blue C Advertising, SignPros, PCI Race Radios, McKenzie’s Performance Products and Advanced Color Graphics.

For more information, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2012 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.

Tecate SCORE Baja 500
All-time Overall winners
Year—DRIVERS/RIDERS, VEHICLE (4Wheel, Motorcycles)
1969–Bud Ekins/Guy Jones, Baja Boot-Olds
Doug Douglas/Jim McClurg, Ducati
1970–Parnelli Jones, Ford
Bill Silverthorn/Gene Fetty, Husqvarna
1971–Bobby Ferro, Funco-VW
Malcolm Smith/J.N. Roberts, Husqvarna
1972–Bobby Ferro, Sandmaster-VW
Gene Fetty/Bill Silverthorn, Honda
1973–Parnelli Jones, Ford
Howard Utsey/Mickey Quade, Husqvarna
1974–Bobby Ferro, Sandmaster-VW
Mitch Mayes/A.C. Bakken, Husqvarna
1975–Ivan Stewart, Funco-VW
Larry Roeseler/Bruce Ogilvie, Harley-Davidson
1976–Bobby Ferro/Ivan Stewart, Funco-VW
Larry Roeseler/A.C. Bakken, Husqvarna
1977–Ivan Stewart, Chenowth-VW
Larry Roeseler/Jack Johnson, Husqvarna
1978–Bud Feldkamp/Malcolm Smith, Funco-VW
Brent Wallingsford/Scot Harden, Husqvarna
1979–Malcolm Smith/Bud Feldkamp, Funco-VW
Jack Johnson, Husqvarna
1980–Bob Gordon, Chenowth-Chevy
Bruce Ogilvie/Chuck Miller, Yamaha
1981–Malcolm Smith/Bill Newbury, Chenowth-Chevy
Larry Roeseler/Bruce Ogilvie, Yamaha
1982–Larry Ragland, Funco-VW
Larry Roeseler/Chuck Miller, Yamaha
1983–Corky & Scott McMillin, Chenowth-VW
Dan Ashcraft, Husqvarna
1984–Larry Ragland, Chaparral-VW
Dan Smith/Dan Ashcraft, Husqvarna
1985–Ron Gardner/Bud Feldkamp, Funco-VW
Kurt Pfeiffer/Scot Harden, Husqvarna
1986–Corky & Scott McMillin, Chenowth-Porsche
Garth Sweetland/Scot Harden, Husqvarna
1987–Bob Gordon/Tim Crabtree, Chenowth-Porsche
Larry Roeseler/Ted Hunnicutt Jr., Kawasaki
1988–Mark McMillin, Chenowth-Porsche
Dan Ashcraft/Kurt Pfeiffer, Yamaha
1989–Robby Gordon, Ford
(no motorcycles)
1990–Robby Gordon, Ford
Larry Roeseler/Danny LaPorte, Kawasaki
1991–Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Garth Sweetland/Paul Krause, Kawasaki
1992–Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Larry Roeseler/T. Hunnicutt Jr./P. Krause, Kawasaki
1993–Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Danny Hamel/L. Roeseler/T. Hunnicutt Jr., Kawasaki
1994–Ivan Stewart, Toyota (Trophy-Truck)
Dave Ashley/Dan Smith, Ford
Paul Krause/Ted Hunnicutt Jr., Kawasaki
1995–Curt LeDuc, Jeep (Trophy-Truck)
Mike Julson/Bob Lofton, Jimco-VW
Paul Krause/Craig Smith, Kawasaki
1996–Rob MacCachren, Ford (Trophy-Truck)
Troy Herbst, Smithbuilt-Porsche
Paul Krause/Ty Davis, Kawasaki
1997–Ivan Stewart, Toyota (Trophy-Truck)
Mark McMillin, Jimco-Porsche
Johnny Campbell/Bruce Ogilvie, Honda
1998–Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Johnny Campbell/Bruce Ogilvie, Honda
1999–Ivan Stewart, Toyota
Jonah Street/Torsten Borstrom, Honda
2000–Larry Ragland, Chevy
Jonah Street/Steve Hengeveld, Honda
2001–Mark McMillin, Jimco-Chevy
Steve Hengeveld/Jonah Street, Honda
2002–Troy Herbst/Larry Roeseler, Smithbuilt-Ford
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda
2003–Troy Herbst/Larry Roeseler, Smithbuilt-Ford
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda
2004–Alan Pflueger, Chevy
Steve Hengeveld/Johnny Campbell, Honda
2005–Robby Gordon, Chevy
Mike Childress/Mouse McCoy, Honda
2006–Brian Collins/Larry Ragland, Chevy
Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Honda
2007–Larry Ragland/Brian Collins, Chevy
Robby Bell/Kendall Norman/Steve Hengeveld, Honda
2008–B.J. Baldwin, Chevy
Robby Bell/Kendall Norman, Honda
2009–Rick D. Johnson, Ford
Bill Boyer/Donnie De Arman/Nicholas Blais/Rudy Iribe, Honda
2010–Andy McMillin/Scott McMillin, Ford
Kendall Norman, Quinn Cody, Honda
2011–Bryce Menzies, Ford
Kendall Norman, Quinn Cody, Honda