Red Bull Team Wins Baja 1000

Have you heard of Gus Vildosola and Gus Vildosola Jr? If so, it’s probably because you saw their name when they won the Baja 1000 in 2010. Well, they’ve done it again. In a time of 19 hours and 45 minutes, the Vildosola team, sponsored by Red Bull, won the Pro Car & Truck overall title. BJ Baldwin was second with a time of 20 hours and one minute. He was followed by team Weyhrich in third, Herbst/Arciero in fourth, and Dan & Mark McMillin in fifth. Last years winner, Andy & Scott McMillin, finished seventh.

Vildosola Jr said, “I drove really hard at the start (of the 2011 Tecate SCORE Baja 500) and it didn’t get me anywhere. At the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 in 2010 I drove extremely smart and went really hard when I could and I just laid back when there was no visibility. I did the same thing this time and it ended up working out for us. ”

BJ Baldwind, who finished second, recapped what went wrong, “We had a couple of mishaps with our pits that cost us quite a bit of time. One of the fuel fillers was not working right. They had to change that and then on the very last fuel pit we had a similar problem with the fueling system. It was just stuff that we slipped up on and stuff we need to lace up for next year.” Another reminder that it’s key to stock your truck with quality products, otherwise it may cost you down the road.

All-in-all, just to finish the Baja 1000 is a milestone. It’s pretty amazing that the Vildosola team won in 2010 and 2012 and the Andy/Scott McMillin team won in 2009 and 2011. These two teams are quickly becoming the Michael Jordan and Larry Bird match-ups of 21st century off-road desert racing. Let’s see if Baldwin, Menzies and some of the other guys can de-throne them next year. For now, enjoy the accompishment of finishing one of the most grueling desert races in the world.

The SCORE Baja 1000 is the seaon-finale of the five-race 2012 SCORE Desert Series and includes over 300 entries for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs. Drivers compete in 35 Pro and 6 Sportsman classes in a race that spans Mexico’s magnificently mysterious Baja California peninsula. With the bone-jarring 1,121.55-mile course traveling on both sides of the peninsula, the world’s most famous desert race starts in Ensenada and finishes all the way down the peninsula in La Paz, Baja California Sur.