Round 3 of the four-race 2022 SCORE World Desert Championship was held in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, located 80 miles south of the U.S. border near San Diego this past weekend, as FOX driver Bryce Menzies scored back-to-back victories in his Mason Motorsports-built All Wheel Drive No. 7 Menzies Motorsports Ford Raptor. He pulled off an error- and penalty-free winning time of 7:59:27, averaging 49.28 miles per hour over the challenging 393.82-mile course.
FOX drivers swept the Overall/Trophy Truck and TT Spec class podiums, the third consecutive SCORE Baja race overall podium sweep for FOX. FOX-equipped TTs claimed 8 of the top 10 spots overall.
How it happened
Menzies, 35, qualified second behind eventual runner-up Luke McMillin and got around him when McMillin flatted around race mile 65. Menzies maintained his lead to the finish despite losing his four-wheel drive and finishing with two-wheel drive.
“We lost our four-wheel drive at race mile 210,” Menzies said. “It tested my skills. I had to learn how to drive a four-wheel drive, then I had to re-learn to drive it with two-wheel drive. Overall, epic day. I could not ask for a better day.”
Menzies was the 2011 SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion earning the 2011 SCORE Rookie of the Year award as well. Saturday’s victory was not only his second straight in the SCORE Baja 400, Menzies earned his eighth career SCORE Trophy Truck race win.
Menzies led a parade of Mason Motorsports AWD SCORE Trophy Trucks to the podium as San Diego brothers Luke and Dan McMillin finished second and third overall on Saturday.
After starting first and giving up the lead following a flat tire, Luke, 29, finished second in his No. 83 McMillin Racing Chevy 1500 in a time of 8:02:54, averaging 48.93 mph. Claiming the final spot on the podium in third place, Dan, 34, finished in 8:08:30, averaging 48.37 mph.
TT Spec class winner Christopher Polvoorde finished 10th overall in 8:26:05. He drove in the dust of the physical leader for about 150 miles.
“It was a long day,” Polvoorde said. “It was a tough one for sure. We got a flat right off the start that put us behind right away. But we put our head down and caught (Ryan) Hancock and sat in his dust from race mile 250 all the way (to the finish). The dust was crazy. We got up to his bumper a couple times, but there at the end it got really technical and we couldn’t keep pushing through the dust. Overall it was super good. It set us up good for the SCORE Baja 1000.”
This first-place finish sets Polvoorde up to be first off the line for the Baja 1000 in November. He’s also currently in first place in the Trophy Truck Spec Championship and the SCORE International Overall points.
FOX class winners included Bryce Menzies (Trophy Truck), Christopher Polvoorde (TT Spec), Brian Parkhouse (Class 1), Jose David Ruvalcaba (Class 10), and Eli Yee (1/2-1600). Full race results here.
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