Building on a winning performance in June at the Baja 500, ITP and parent Carlisle Tire & Wheel Company will be putting their products to the ultimate test at the upcoming Baja 1000. ITP and Carlisle have partnered with DragonFire Racing to tackle this historic event in a specially prepared Kawasaki Teryx. The driving team is composed primarily of ITP/Carlisle employees, competing in the UTV Sportsman class. Their car, #1801, will be using ITP's rugged BajaCross tires mounted on ITP's new T-9 Pro Mod spun aluminum wheel. This wheel was developed as a direct result of experience gained in the Baja 500. Additional backing for this entry comes from Black Rock off-road wheels and Ultimax performance belts. A similar car, #1803, is being fielded by the same Team Green Kawasaki DragonFire Racing crew that won the Baja 500. The teams will share pits, equipment and other resources.
This 42nd Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 consists of a rugged 672-mile/1000-kilometer course that starts and finishes in Ensenada and travels much of the northern half of the majestic Baja California peninsula. More than 275 entries are expected, from 34 states and 12 countries.
The motorcycle and ATV classes will start their journey at 6:30 a.m. (Friday, Nov. 20) with the car and truck classes starting at approximately 10:30 a.m., or three hours after the last ATV leaves the line. The UTV Sportsman class will be the last to start, and will certainly have a considerable amount of night driving in store later in the event. Vehicles will leave in 30-second intervals in the elapsed-time race and the fastest finishers are expected to complete the course in approximately 13 hours. All vehicles will have a 31-hour time limit to become official finishers in the legendary adventure. The ITP/Carlisle #1801 entry will be carrying a GPS tracking system, so the team's progress can be followed at this web page: http://www.trackinginternational.com/site/score/tracking/.
Pre-race festivities are on Thursday, Nov. 19, including the vastly popular tech and contingency of all vehicles and the SCORE Manufacturer's Midway, to be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Boulevard Costero in front of the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center.
This year's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour NBC Sports special, in association with SCORE and Aura360, for the sixth consecutive year, scheduled to air at 2 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, Dec. 19, on the NBC Television Network. It will also air on a delayed basis outside of the U.S. on ESPN International.
For more information regarding the series, contact SCORE at its Los Angeles headquarters 818.225.8402 or visit the official website of the 2009 SCORE Desert Series at www.score-international.com.
For more information on ITP's BajaCross tires, T-9 Pro Mod wheels and the complete line of the brand's award-winning products, visit www.itptires.com.