Defending SCORE Baja 1000 overall winner Christopher Polvoorde took Trophy Truck pole on Tuesday at qualifying. On a one-lap pass, Polvoorde beat Alan Ampudia by 1.610 seconds. The qualifying session was the last major speed check before Friday’s start of the 59th SCORE Baja 1000, the first running contested entirely inside Baja California Sur, starting and finishing in San José del Cabo. Adam Householder was third, followed by Kevin Thompson and Luke McMillin.
“Everyone’s like, oh, the race is fast and flowy, but dude, it’s technical, it’s tough. It’s no joke. I think it’s gonna be a long day”, said Polvoorde at qualifying. Polvoorde teamed up with Bryce Menzies at last year’s Baja 1000 and the duo won the overall trophy.
Bryce Menzies had led the earlier site-lap practice in with the fastest time, but faded to sixth during the actual qualifying session. In Trophy Truck Legends, Gustavo Vildosola Sr. will start up front in that class. Qualifying was delayed for an hour after a water truck became stuck on the course. Motorcycles and quads are set to start at 1:00 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, with four-wheel classes at 9:00 a.m., both local time. The 59th running is a Cabo-to-Cabo loop of nearly 1,000 miles, the first Baja 1000 held entirely inside Baja California Sur, with more than 700 miles never before used terrain in a SCORE Baja race. Racers leave the start ramp on Boulevard Centenario in San José del Cabo, drop into the San José Wash for the first 10 miles of dirt, then head up the East Cape past Cabo Pulmo, La Ribera and Los Barriles and into the Sierra del Carrizalito toward San Juan de los Planes. The counter-clockwise course has four full-stop checkpoints: El Centenario near La Paz at race mile 213.60, Ejido Ley Federal No. 2 at mile 405.39, Ejido Francisco Villa at mile 604.07 and Santa Fe at mile 781.49, before returning to the San José Wash and the finish on Centenario. The course ranges from sea level to over 4,000 feet, and every class has a 40-hour limit.