Luke McMillin, Rob MacCachren Win Baja 1000, Vildósolas 2nd and 3rd

The reliable pairing of co-drivers—one old and experienced, one young and experienced (the young Luke McMillin and seven-time Baja 1000 overall winner Rob MacCachren)—took a not-too-surprising win in this year’s SCORE Desert Racing finale. But a healthy share of glory must also go to the father/son entries of Tavo and Gus Vildósola, who finished second and third overall.

The senior, 71-year-old Gus Vildósola was running in the Trophy Truck Legends Class for drivers 50 and over and yet still managed to finish third overall surrounded by generally younger Trophy Truck pilotes. His son, Tavo, 42, finished second. Both are from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.

But first, the winners.

The 57th running of the BF Goodrich Tires SCORE Baja 1000 saw 39-year-old Luke McMillin win for his fourth time, with three of those wins paired with this year's co-driver MacCachren. Mac, who is 59, now has a record seven overall wins in what organizers call The Grandaddy of Desert Races.

MacCachren started the race at sunrise in Ensenada and ran the first 460 miles, handing the Chevrolet Trophy Truck over to Luke McMillin in the lead. Luke then drove all night, staving off challenges from Australian Toby Price and hometown hero Alan Ampudia of Ensenada in their own Trophy Trucks, to finish the 864.13-mile race in 15 hours 54 minutes and 38 seconds.

“Rob brought it to me in the lead, flawless, like you would expect Rob Mac to do, and we never looked back,” said McMillin at the finish line of the loop course in Ensenada.

Well, maybe he looked back once or twice.

“I knew Toby was back there and would be coming so we hit the dirt running and put a few minutes on him.”

But Price dropped out with a seized oil pump in his new 4WD Trophy Truck. The 1000 was the first race for Price and co-driver Paul Weel in the new truck. The pair won the Baja 500 earlier this year in a two-wheel-drive truck (which is now for sale, btw). But McMillin managed to keep the distance from the challengers for the win.

“Today the truck felt good, an effortless flow. Like Larry Roeseler says, you just gotta flow and keep momentum,” said McMillin.

Roeseler had paired with McMillin for another Baja 1000 win in 2020.

And this year’s podium finishers, the Vildósolas, also paired for a win in the 1000 back in 2010. But this year Tavo The Younger finished in second place just over five minutes behind race-winner McMillin.

“It had a lot of ups and downs,” the younger Vildósola said. “We started well. We positioned ourselves in the beginning going into the beach. We made a little mistake there and lost some time. Then the truck shut off on us around race mile 100. We picked ourselves back up and started picking people off again.”

But disaster is always lurking among the cacti.

“We were running second around race mile 300 and there was blinding silt and I ran into a tree. Stuck on it like Curious George for about 15 minutes and finally got unstuck.”

Tavo handed the truck over to co-driver Jason McNeil at race mile 380.

“He did an amazing job—got by Lofton, Walser, D. McMillin. Gave me the truck back and Alan (Ampudia, then running second) had an issue and I got by him and started hunting down Luke. The truck ran amazing. Pretty clean run. We fought all day long."

The Trophy Truck of Tavo’s father Gustavo “Gus” Vildósola crossed the line an hour later in 17 hours, one minute and 39 seconds, with help from co-drivers Mike Coleman, 58, and Ricky Johnson, 60, who each took driving stints over the 864 miles. All three drivers were over 50, which is the requirement for the Trophy Truck Legends class. It was the senior Vildósola’s 12th win in a row in Baja.

“Twelve in a row. What a feat. Hard to believe, but I believe it because we are here. It was raining at the end so we couldn’t see too well. My eyes got sand and water-blasted, but it was worth it.”

Honda Wins Again

On two wheels it was Honda that prevailed, the 33rd win for Ride Red in the 57 years the Baja 1000 has been held. This year it was riders Justin Morgan, Tyler Lynn, Brandon Prieto, and Ryan Surratt sharing a CRF450X who carried the red colors for Honda. The four finished two hours behind the winning Trophy Truck, circling back to Ensenada in 17:52:43.

“It was an awesome day,” said Lynn, whose race started at 1:00 am.

Lynn rode to race mile 260 and stretched out a 10-minute lead over the next-closest bike.

“Then Brandon Prieto extended that lead, even though we had some wire stuck in the wheel. We got that fixed. Then Justin Morgan jumped on and we got an even bigger lead. Then Tyler Surratt jumped on and got us an even bigger lead.”

The foursome finished almost an hour ahead of the next-closest motorcycle, another CRF450X ridden by Arturo Salas, Carter Klein, and Ciaran Naran. A Husqvarna FE450 took third, ridden by Eric Holt, Brian Whiteside, Daemon Woolslayer, and Cooper Austin.

“It was a near-perfect day,” Lynn said. “The bike never touched the ground (i.e. never fell over). No flaws. Nothing broke. Could not ask for a better day. To win the SCORE Baja 1000 on my first try is pretty cool. It was hot, it was cold. Sand to rocks. Every type of terrain.”

Polaris Wins Again

A Polaris RZR Pro R won again in PRO UTVs, piloted by Brock Heger and Justin Wilson.

“It was a good day today,” said Heger. “We went for it. I’ve never solo’d before. My co-driver killed it all day. We never got out once, never had to change a BFGoodrich tire. Just gas and go. Picture perfect day. Lots of rain coming in. It was slick. We just played it cool on the way in and bring it home. Thank you to SCORE for everything and Polaris for letting me come out here and compete. Thank you to all the Mexican fans cheering us on the side of the course. It was much appreciated, especially soloing and coming in to the end.”

The race was marred by the deaths of two spectators and injuries to two more during contingency in Ensenada, according to published reports. Numerous race entries were lined up in the street awaiting tech inspection before the race when one of the Trophy Trucks, the Buehler Motorsports team from Kansas City, Missouri, lunged forward in the crowded lineup, crushing the victims.

The two were identified as Fred Goff James and Esteban Velásquez, both American citizens. According to a report in Road & Track, they were transported to Velmar Hospital, a local private facility, and passed away due to injuries sustained by being crushed between two vehicles. The driver of the truck was arrested and, as of last reports, remains in custody in Mexico.

Next year’s season starts with the 2025 SCORE International San Felipe 250, usually held in March.