Victory And Sweep For Alumicraft Racers At The SCORE Baja 400

Ensenada, Baja California Mexico

The name of the game for the 2023 SCORE-International Baja 400 was to earn a top finish that will reward competitors with a good start position for the Baja 1000. That was the strategy for some of the 230 off-road racers at this year’s Baja 400, 12 starting in the Class 10 buggy division. The race was a testing challenge and only 9 of those Class 10 racers would finish. First, it was Francisco Vera in the # 1091 Alumicraft for the victory. Behind him were seven other Alumicraft racers to sweep the podium and Top 5.

The Baja 400 treated competitors to a 384.66-mile race course that ran clockwise around northern Baja California. The route was primarily located on the West side of Highway 3. The farthest South the course would go was Race Mile 150, just past Mike’s Sky Rancho. From there, racers would sail north along the coast with a stunning stretch of more than 10 miles along the coast of the Pacific Ocean past Erendira. At Race Mile 280, the route worked inland and pushed challengers northward to the finish.

The race course featured all that Mexico’s Baja California has to offer, including high-speed dirt trails, sandy, rocky, and silty natural terrain, majestic Baja washes and canyons and stretches along the seashore with elevations from sea level to 4,741 feet.

Leading the Class 10 division was Francisco Vera and co-driver Alexis Vera, who had a total time on course of 8 hours, 56 minutes, and 43 seconds. Francisco Vera started and drove to Race Mile 220. Alexis took over and went from Race Mile 220 to the finish.

“My section was very beat up,” stated Francisco. “The big trucks leave the course on a very tough condition for those coming after them, but we played it smart and got a good result. We kept pushing with patience and found our way to the finish line. I had a little issue as the car went off and didn’t want to turn back on. But we didn’t waste more than a few minutes because of that.” Co-driver AlexIs Vera continued, “I had a constant battle with the big trucks and it’s always hard to do it. We wanted to keep pushing and had a lot of cars chasing us but got here in first place and with the car in great shape, which is awesome.”

The all-Alumicraft podium saw the 2022 Class 10 champion David Ruvalcaba in the #1000 car take 2nd place. He finished the race in 8 hours, 58 minutes, and 28 seconds. The #1011 buggy of Cesar Cuevas brought it across the line for 3rd.

We should also note Class 1 racer Cody Reid earned a 2nd place finish in his #168 unlimited Alumicraft buggy. “The race was going fantastic until about Race Mile 225. We were down for a few hours but got the car flipped back over. I got to give SCORE a lot of credit for checking in and ensuring we were fine. Then we took off and here we are. I didn’t have many issues with Mike’s Sky Ranch and the coast was fast. I expected the course to be much worse, but it was fun.”

All Baja races are unique. There is nothing else on earth that can really compare. The SCORE Baja 400 is special because it sets each competitor up for the biggest race of the year, the Baja 1000. If you want to be at the finish line or race for the win, starting with an Alumicraft race car is the first step. Call Alumicraft Race Cars at 619-596-9841 for an expert consultation on what it takes to race and win, or go to drivealumicraft.com to learn more about our race products and services.