SCORE San Felipe 250 A First In More Than One Way

Photo Credit: SCORE

The 2016 SCORE International off-road season kicked off this past weekend with the 30th San Felipe 250. The race was held on a technical 249.5-mile course during a sensationally sunning Saturday in Mexico that started and finished in San Felipe on the northeast portion of Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula.

This was more then the first race of the year, but the ending up being the first Trophy Truck win for Billy Wilson. He was first in class and the first four-wheel vehicle to finish the grueling race.

Billy Wilson the first four-wheel vehicle to cross the finish line, and the overall Trophy Truck winner in the 2016 San Felipe 250. Photo Credit: SCORE

“Starting 11th we thought we would be pretty far back in the dust and having issues. We had some navigational issues with the GPS and in the first 20 miles we were kind of running in the dark and blind. It is hard to run at race speed without the GPS. Right off the bat around race mile two we noticed we had some oil cooler failures so we were pacing ourselves so we wouldn’t end the race in the first few miles.”

“Obviously that paid off. This is my second race in SCORE Trophy Truck, but I’ve been racing in SCORE for about seven years. Matomi wash collapsed and was narrower than the truck at one point so we were scraping by. We were behind a few people swapping back and forth but you’ve got to keep a clear head, a straight face and don’t over do it or you’ll end up having issues,” and excited Wilson said after the race.

Wilson biggest challengers during the race were pre-race favorites Gus Vildosola Jr, Mexicali, Mexico and Las Vegas’ BJ Baldwin both had mechanical issues that put them out of the race. Vildosola, who was attempting to make history by winning the SCORE San Felipe 250 for the fourth consecutive year, was racing among the leaders when he was stopped at race miles 137.7 in the middle of the infamous Matomi Wash.

Ronny Wilson won Class 1 at the San Felipe 250. Photo Credit: SCORE

Baldwin, who has never won a SCORE San Felipe 250 and is a four-time SCORE Trophy Truck season point champion, was pulling into a commanding lead when he went out at race mile 220.9 where Wilson got by him and galloped to victory in his first race in SCORE Trophy Truck. It was only the second race for the Bevly Wilson Motorsports new Jimco-built Chevy Silverado.

Ronny Wilson came across the finish line fourth, but was the overall winner in Class 1. “The race went really well for us today. I ended up driving the whole thing because my nephew who was supposed to get in at race mile 150 got sick last night. I didn’t get to pre-run the last half of the race but my co-driver did a great job calling the turns. Everything was just perfect. The course was just brutal. I’ve been racing out here since 1987 so we know the terrain well and know that you have to drive at about 90 percent or you’ll tear a wheel off. It’s just that rough,” Wilson said after the race.

The course beat on vehicles all day with almost every car having an issue during the race. Teams get a few months to recover as the 2016 SCORE season continues June 1st to 5th for the 48th SCORE Baja 500.