MENZIES MOTORSPORTS Races away with SCORE Trophy Truck Championship

Posted on Monday, November 28, 2011

Everything for the Menzies Motorsports team boiled down to one last race and what may be the biggest race of their 2011 season. Their first ever SCORE Baja 1000 took place just over a week ago and they continued right where they left off and that is by letting the fans, sponsors and fellow drivers know that they are an unstoppable team.

The 44th annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 was said to be one of the toughest Baja 1000's to date, but that didn't stop Bryce Menzies and Co-Driver Peter Mortensen from taking to the start line. The race was set to start with the first Trophy Truck off the line at 11:30am but with racing and staging ahead of schedule, the race started roughly 15 minutes ahead of the planned start time. Jesse James was the first Trophy Truck to take the green flag followed by Tavo Vildosola, Kory Scheeler and then points leader BryceMenzies in the #70 Menzies/Red Bull truck. Adrenalin took over as Bryce saw the flag drop for him and he knew it was time to go.

With rain sweeping through the streets of Ensenada just days earlier, it was impossible to avoid the puddles and the now mud filled washjust off the start. After blasting through the mud and returning to paved roads, Bryce and Pete found themselves coming to a complete stop just 4 miles into the race. Officials had stopped all the trucks due to a local vehicle blocking the course. The safety of the drivers and locals were the main concern taking place and after careful thought, the SCORE officials brought the remaining trucks up to mile 4.75 and after the course was cleared a complete restart took place.

Timing for all the Trophy Trucks was reset, but the adrenalin rush for Bryce had worn off after waiting almost an hour to start the race again. With a calm driver behind the wheel the #70 set a consistent pace and held down the 4th truck on the road but never let the other trucks to far out of sight.

Also racing to try and claim the Championship was long time racer Rob MacCachren who had his sights set on catching Bryce. With the top ten trucks being so close together after the restart, it was crucial that the Menzies Trophy Truck and driver made no errors. That is exactly what took place and before Bryce and Pete knew it they were already coming up to race mile 80 where the pit crew gave a quick splash of fuel to the truck and within 22 seconds they were back on the road.

Speeds picked up as the trucks made it out of the summit and through the wash with speeds over 90mph Bryce was quickly gaining on Kory Scheeler and just miles up the course both trucks came up to the dry lake bed where the #70 truck held nothing back and reeled in Cory at speeds now reaching 120 mph. In order to not get swallowed up by the clouds of dust coming off of Cory, Bryce went for the pass and after racing side by side down the lake bed the Red Bull truck came out in front and didn't look back.

With Tavo down back at race mile 98 Bryce was now the second truck on the road and didn't slow down. Coming off the dry lakebed and back into the washes leading into San Felipe, he spotted Jesse James up ahead pulled to the side of the course changing a tire. After passing the stopped downedtruck Bryce now was first on the road, but coming up fast would be another young driver and 2-time Baja 1000 winner Andy McMillin.

Battling to keep the lead position and not wanting to be in Andy's dust, Bryce pushed hard but after miles of Andy staying right on his bumper the decision was made to let him pass and not risk making any errors by letting the pressure of the blue McMillin truck get the best of Bryce. Coming up to their first fuel pit just miles later, the refreshed truck and driver were stopped for less then 50 seconds and with fresh BFGoodrich tires, a full tank and fuel and food to hold Bryce and Pete over till the next pit, it dawned on them that they were not even to the half way point of the race.

Over 4 hours into the race the sun started to set on what would be the roughest part of the 700-mile course. The San Felipe loop ended the night for a lot of the racers, but the calm Bryce Menzies guided the truck through the dark terrain with Baja Designs lighting the way. Now back to first truck on the road after passing Andy and Jesse while pitting, Bryce and Pete continued with their game plan and set a steady pace making sure to hit every line they mapped out during prerunning. Making it out of San Felipe with no errors put the #70 truck in the lead and now it was time to head back towards Ensenada.

With Rob MacCachren behind by over 30 minutes Bryce knew he needed to continue driving how he had been the last 460 miles and he can still pull of a possible win and claim the 2011 Championship, but in Baja, you never know what lies ahead for you and you are never in the clear until you reach the finish. Continuing with the lead, it was at mile 470 when Bryce knew something wasn't right with the truck. After going miles and still feeling a vibration, the decision was made to stop and check the driveline. With nothing visiblywrong they got back to the race, but the problem was still there. Calling ahead to their pits to let them know something was wrong and to prepare for anything, it wasn't long before the truck pulled into the pit at race mile 474 and realized it was just a loose wheel. With the problem fixed quickly it still was not fast enough to hold off 2nd and 3rd place trucks on the road, McMillin and Vanderwey.

Bryce got back on the course following in the dust of the top 2 drivers and only something like a flat tire on their end would allow Bryce to regain the lead. A quick drivers change at race mile 540 where Bryce Menzies switched driving duties with short course teammate Ricky Johnson went flawless and the Red Bull truck was on the final stretch back to the start/finish.

The slowest part of the race lied ahead of Ricky as he took the truck through the cold air coming off of the pacific and into the tight, twisting, silt and rock filled hills of Urapan. Flawless driving on Ricky's end saw the truck through the dark night terrain and he continued to stay within minutes of the two leaders.

Coming back into Ensenada through the now dark and ghost town like washes the Kroyer powered #70 Menzies/Red Bull Trophy Truck made its way back to the heart of town and came around the last turn to see the checkered flag and team members awaiting its arrival. With no Rob MacCachren in sight, Bryce, Pete, Ricky and the team celebrated as they realized they hadjust won their first ever SCORE Championship in their rookie year. At 3:27am Saturday morning the truck crossed the finish line and completed the 2011 Baja 1000, and along with finishing the biggest and longest race of the year, the truck and team completed every race mile that was thrown at them this season.

This years racing has now wrapped up for the Menzies Motorsports Team, walking away with 3 championships and now they will focus their attention to what the upcoming 2012 racing season will bring. Make sure to follow Menzies on facebook and twitter to see just what 2012 has in store for them.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Menzies-Motorsports/120551174645163
http://twitter.com/#!/MenziesRacing
Www.menziesmotorsports.com

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