Wayne and Kristen Matlock claimed the Pro UTV Forced Induction and Normally Aspirated victories, respectively, from the SCORE World Desert Championship season-opening San Felipe 250 on Saturday. It marked the second year in a row that the Matlocks swept their respective classes in San Felipe, as well as Wayne Matlock’s third straight year atop the UTV FI standings.
“That was a rough SOB,” Wayne Matlock told SCORE after the finish. “We got our money’s worth out of that course. That was tough. I say it every year, but that was one of the toughest courses. I shouldn’t say one, that was THE toughest course I’ve ever done. I mean the SCORE Baja 500 is nothing compared to that. That was brutal. The rocks. My hands and wrists are aching. I haven’t been sore from a race in a long time. We pre-ran for about four days. We can’t say enough about the Polaris RZR. We got passed but then I put it in 4-wheel drive and passed him back and never saw him again.”
“At race mile 108 we lost power steering and it never came back,” added Kristen Matlock. “Almost 250 miles with no power steering today. That was crazy. My hands will never be the same. We earned our champagne today. We purposely start last because we like to know where we are at at all times. That way as we pass people as long as we are in front of them we know we are winning. Takes the guess work out of it. Our crew has so much to do already, it’s something that we can take away from them so that we don’t have to think about that too. They can just check out our car and put gas in it and go.”
After becoming the first UTV racer in SCORE history to win the overall World Desert Championship last year, Wayne Matlock kicked off his title defense by winning in San Felipe by over 25 minutes over Mike Cafro. Marc Burnett completed the Pro UTV FI podium, with Patrick Stone just over a minute behind Burnett for the third spot and Edgar Garcia in fifth. Each of the top five finishers drove solo except for Cafro, who split time with Jamie Kirkpatrick.
Travis Wells was the only other Pro UTV NA finisher behind Kristen Matlock, finishing 50 minutes off the winning pace. In Pro UTV Unlimited, Josh Herzing took the class victory to complete a sweep for Polaris RZRs, while Jesus Mendez was the only other finisher. 11 of the 30 UTV entrants who started the event did not make it to the finish.
Official finishers of the 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250 were as follows:
PRO UTV FI (two-seat Forced Induction, OEM engine UTVs) (21 Starters, 15 Finishers)
1. 2971 Wayne Matlock, 41, Alpine, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 08;23:51 (41.67 mph); 2. 2975 Mike Cafro, 49, Fallbrook, Calif./Jamie Kirkpatrick, 38, Olympia, Wash., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 08:49:10; 3. 2905 Marc Burnett, 48, Lakeside, Calif., Can-Am X3, 09:05:25; 4. 2919 Pat Stone, 49, Payson, Ariz. (DOR- Brandon Schueler, 29, Phoenix)/Trae Herman, 28, Phoenix, Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 09:06:32; 5. 2987 Edgar Garcia Leon, 31, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Nancy Garcia, Can-Am Maverick X3, 09:48:18; 6. 2977 Justin Ellenburg, 41, Mesa, Ariz./Ernesto Taylor, 32, Mesa, Ariz., Can-Am X3, 10:23:05; 7. 2930 Sean Cook, 52, Twain Harte, Calif./Ross Bohlin, Australia/Brendan Cook, Oroville, Calif./Carlos Diaz, San Diego/Eric Cook, Folsom, Calif., Can-Am X3, 10:50:52; 8. 2989 Wes Miller, 49, Las Vegas/Donny Powers, 30, Morgan Hill, Calif., Polaris RZR XP Turbo, 11:58:12; 9. 2938 Ian Black, 33, Holtville, Calif./Rafael Aros, 30, Calexico, Calif., Can-Am Maverick X3, 12:48:59; 10. 2964 Derek McGaughy, 39, Alpine, Calif./Marc Benhnke, 74, El Cajon, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 13:04:11; 11. 2995 Daniel Parker, 40, Gilbert, Ariz./Casey Parker, 34, Glendale, Ariz./Mike Podratz, 48, Polaris RZR XP Turbo, 13:05:05; 12. 2926 Christine Giampaoli Zonca, 25, Las Vegas (Italy/Spain) Can Am Maverick X3, 13:14:46; 13. 2949 Alonso Lopez, 45, Murrieta, Calif./Mario Amezcua, 45, Tijuana, Mexico/Sergio Lozano, 34, Tijuana, Mexico, Polaris RZR XP1000 Turbo, 13:42:45; 14. 2983 Nicholas Gurries, 34, San Jose, Calif./Kyle McLaughin, Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo, 15:50:01; 15. 2912 Tony Riggs, 50, Newhall, Calif./Tim Dunbar, 42, Huntington Beach, Calif./David Clay, 36, St. Lake City, Utah, Polaris RZR Turbo, 15:55:34
PRO UTV NA (two-seat Normally Aspirated, OEM engine UTVs) (6 Starters, 2 Finishers)
1.1954 Kristen Matlock, 38, Alpine, Calif., Polaris RZR XP4 1000, 09:12:55 (37.97 mph); 2. 1995 Travis Wells, 47, St. George, Utah(DOR- Kaden Wells/Ivan Gutierrez, 31, Ensenada, Mexico/Rory L’Hommedieu, 37, Mesquite, Nev./Michael Wells, 33, Idaho Falls, Idaho/Corbin Wells, 21, St. George, Utah, Polaris RZR XP1000, 10:03:23
PRO UTV UNLIMITED (two-seat unlimited UTV open-displacement) (3 Starters, 2 Finishers)
1.1877 Josh Herzing, 32, Cypress, Texas/Zach Johnson, 33, Cypress, Texas, Polaris RZR XPT1000, 11:35:53 (30.17 mph); 2. 1850 Jesus Mendez, Jr, 21, Mexicali, Mexico/Francisco Pimentel, 37, Mexicali, Mexico/Jesus Mendez Sr, 52, Mexicali, Mexico, Can-Am Maverick XRS, 16:05:40
The 2019 SCORE World Desert Championship resumes on May 29-June 2 with the 51st SCORE Baja 500. The 33rd SCORE San Felipe 250 can be seen on television later this year as part of ABC’s World of X Games series.
Words by: Chris Leone // UTVUnderground.com
