Winning The San Felipe 250: Off-Roading With Christopher Polvoorde

Winning the San Felipe 250 is as tough as it gets in desert racing. Revered as the most brutal and fast-paced event, it is one of the sport’s greatest challenges. The desert is rugged rough and unforgiving. And in today’s world of elite competition, the talent is stacked and the equipment is pressing seven-figure programs. Optima Batteries and Ford-backed off-road racer Christopher Polvoorde made the investment, had what it took, and raced to the big win in the Trophy Truck Spec class. 

“It was a short race, but such a long day, with so many variables,” explained Christopher at the finish line. “We started off horribly and I thought that our day was over at about mile 50. To be here now, it does not seem real. I screwed up big and when they told me I was in contention, it was hard to believe. This is my first SCORE San Felipe 250 and they were not lying about the whoops, those things are insane. I got some flats and had some issues with cactuses and had a little crash with another truck. It was an eventful day but luck was on our side today.

Winning The San Felipe 250 With Christopher Polvoorde

Winning The San Felipe 250 Is Polvoorde’s second Big Win Of The Year!

This victory was Polvoorde’s second huge win of the year after finishing 2nd overall, and taking 1st place in class at the King Of The Hammers Toyo Tires Desert Challenge. Since Christopher took position of the new Mason Motorsports machine, he teamed up with Toyo Tires starting last year with great results. With 2021 being a warm up rookie season, Polvoorde turned heads and has become one of the divisions most competitive racers.

Read about that victory in our last episode of the Off-Roading With Christopher Polvoorde Series: Desert Challenge Champion.

Desert Challenge Champion: Off-Roading With Christopher Polvoorde

Back down in Baja, California in early April, the San Felipe 250 was the first event in 2022 SCORE-International Desert World Championship series. Not only did Christopher dominate the Trophy Truck Spec class winning the San Felipe 250, he finished 11th overall. This achievement was the highest any TTS class competitor (limited by sealed 525 horsepower V8 engines) has ever finished in a SCORE event. He also beat 17 competitors from the unlimited Trophy Truck Class, which competes without horsepower or drivetrain restrictions.

Polvoorde’s Winning San Felipe 250 Time On Course

Polvoorde drove his #204 Optima Batteries Ford Raptor for the entire event as the lone driver. He crossed the finish line physically first place in class and event organizers determined that no penalties were incurred. His official time on course was 4 Hours, 53 Minutes, and 34 Seconds for an average speed of 56.6 mph.

To determine starting positions, SCORE required several classes to participate in the Qualifying session. This included the Trophy Truck, Class 1 Unlimited, and Trophy Truck Spec divisions. As a professional off-road racer, Christopher Polvoorde made quick work of the short qualifying course scored the 4th fastest run of his class which was a strategically perfect position.

2022 San Felipe 250 Qualifying | Christopher Polvoorde

https://youtu.be/ce29gnrQKDE

Making special preparations for this event beforehand, the next generation driver Polvoorde and his team outfitted their state-of-the-art Mason Motorsports 6100 / Spec Trophy Truck with Fox Shocks taking advantage of the new live valve system. It appeared to make the difference during the race as the 2nd place Trophy Truck Spec competitor finished over 10 minutes behind.

Winning The San Felipe 250 With Christopher Polvoorde

Christopher shared these parting thoughts on winning the San Felipe 250. “The first SCORE Baja race of 2022, The San Felipe 250, has come and gone. After putting in nearly 2 weeks of pre running and countless man hours to plan and prep, it feels amazing to have it all pay off with a hard fought 1st place finish. San Felipe was such a brutal course with endless whoops that put our new FOX Shocks through their paces for 5 hours straight! “

Polvoorde continued, “I have to give a huge shout out to my whole team who worked on the truck, pit plans, race strategy, chase crews, my crew chief Jimmy, and my co-dawg Bryce Romine. There is so much that goes into a race like this so it is awesome to have it pay off. Next up… the Baja 500!”

2022 San Felipe 250 Testing NEW FOX Shocks | Christopher Polvoorde

https://youtu.be/5VMPA_WT8tg

Big victories like these do not come without tremendous effort and investment. For two weeks prior to the actual race starting, Christopher Polvoorde planted himself in San Felipe to practice and prerun the desert course. Along with his co-driver Bryce Romine, the two spent countless hours making themselves familiar with the complicated 277-mile multi-line trail system that makes up the San Felipe desert. 

Winning The San Felipe 250 With Christopher Polvoorde

Besides many days in the dirt, Polvoorde physically trained through a rigorous workout program to prepare mentally and physically.

2022 San Felipe 250 PRERUN – Day In The Life | Christopher Polvoorde

https://youtu.be/rudZL0Y8_xE

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Images Furnished by Kahn Media. Photo Credit: Bink Designs

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About the author

Micah Anderson

Micah is a 20 year authority in the off-road industry with extensive experience founded on marketing, events, and racing. Professionally skilled in all things creative, Micah is passionate about faith, freedom, and anything powered by adventure.
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