SCORE International has released the final 2021 SCORE World Desert Championship class and overall standings. Held over four rounds, the Baja California desert racing series crowned twenty-eight different class champions and an overall victor, the latter among twenty-nine eligible entries.
Headlining the bunch is Pro UTV Forced Induction driver Phil Blurton who won the overall World Desert Championship, the Pro UTV FI class title, and the overall in SCORE UTV. He and team-mate Beau Judge enjoyed a strong maiden campaign of SCORE competition that was headlined by winning their class in the Baja 1000 by over forty seconds. They finished fourth in the season-opening San Felipe 250 in April followed by a pair of runner-ups in the Baja 500 and Baja 400 in June and September, respectively. Blurton also clinched his fourth UTV World Championship in October.
The Blurton/Judge duo’s 1000 win allowed them to finish the season with 534 total points, twelve more in the overall standings than the second-placed #234 Trophy Truck Spec of Jason McNeil and his team. McNeil’s 2021 campaign was a sandwich as he began and finished sixth in the San Felipe 250 and Baja 1000, with back-to-back victories at the 500 and 400 in between; while Elijah Kiger took the 1000 Spec win, he finished sixth in points. McNeil’s overall finish also made him the highest of the trucks and therefore earned him the Overall Truck championship.
Rob MacCachren, the Baja 1000 and Mint 400 overall winner, takes his fourth Trophy Truck title after previously winning in 1994, 2007, and 2018. The winningest TT driver in SCORE history and a ten-time SCORE champion, he watched as Larry Roeseler and Bryce Menzies won the first three races of 2021 before capitalising on the latter’s mechanical failure in the 1000 to win the overall for the fifth time. Partner Luke McMillin, whom MacCachren beat for the Mint 400 after a late wreck, won the SCORE TT championship last year.
MacCachren’s son Cayden finished one spot ahead of his father in the overall standings as he and Brandon Schueler placed fourth with a win at San Felipe. The duo was third in Pro UTV FI behind Blurton/Judge and Austin Weiland, the latter winning the Baja 400.
Class 1 was claimed by Cody Parkhouse for the fourth time (2012, 2013, 2020), but he also notched his maiden Overall Open Wheel crown. He and father Brian Parkhouse, who served as co-driver, finished fifth at San Felipe and failed to do so at the 500 before bouncing back with a win in the 400 and runner-up to Brad Wilson in the 1000.
Menzies won the overall at San Felipe and 400, while Roeseler claimed the Baja 500. Roseler and Menzies respectively finished third and eighth in the Trophy Truck division, with the former also placing eighth overall. While it might seem surprising for unfamiliar viewers to see drivers who won overall races make little impact in the World Desert Championship, SCORE’s points system is based on multiple factors including the number of checkpoints and entries per class in each race.
At the Baja 1000, Class 11’s Volkswagen Beetles were a feel-good story when eight of eleven cars finished to mark one of the highest completion rates for the class ever. Finishing third in the 1000 was Alex Gonzales, who took home the class title. Gonzales started his career in Class 1 and Trophy Trucks before “sort of going backward” to Class 11 as he enjoyed the Beetles’ spartan nature, and he made his celebration known by changing his Instagram profile’s bio to read, “STARTED AT THE TOP, NOW WERE [sic] HERE #1196 2021 SCORE CLASS 11 CHAMPION”. He and navigator German Melendez, joined by driver Tim Sletten and co-driver Pete McLeod, and Clyde Stires and his navigator Nelson Fonte, rebounded from a retirement at San Felipe to win the 500 and 400.
“What a season..What a team..what an experience..what an accomplishment.. our strategy, preparation, perseverance and passion to win is unmatched,” read an Instagram post by Gonzales. “Thank you to @scoreinternational for putting on a phenomenal racing series. Thank you to every single team member, product partner, vendor and beyond. Too many people to thank in one post. Biggest thank you to my family for putting up with my crazy addiction for racing. LETS RUN IT BACK!!!”
Among the motorcycles, Derek Ausserbauer won the Pro Moto Unlimited class for his first SCORE title. He ran the full distance on his own at San Felipe en route to victory before scoring a third and two seconds. Among the Unlimited’s other race winners Jason Alosi (Baja 500), Shane Redline (Baja 400), and Mark Samuels, only Redline was eligible for points as he ranked runner-up to Ausserbauer. Colton Udall, who shared the #5x bike with Ausserbauer, is now a six-time SCORE champion.
Juan Carlos Salvatierra concluded 2021 with his second consecutive Pro Moto Ironman crown. After placing second in San Felipe, he won out the rest of the season. As the Ironman class, he rode alone for 2,366.55 miles (3,808.59 km).
Five entries won their class in all four rounds. Rolf Helland and Rick D. Johnson took the Trophy Truck Legend title, while Mike Cafro and Justin Elenberg respectively claimed the Pro UTV Stock and Open. The other two came on bikes with Ryan Liebelt (Pro Moto 40) and Giovanni Spinali (Pro Moto 50); Spinali recorded his third Pro 50 championship, and he also won the overall in 2014. Jim O’Neal, one of Spinali’s co-riders, was also on Scott McIntosh‘s Pro Moto 60 team to give him two in 2021 and increase his career titles to a SCORE record twenty-three.
2020 SCORE overall champion and Pro UTV FI competitor Matt Burroughs, the Senior Vice President at Monster Energy when not racing, did not launch a title defence but ran three of four races (skipped the 400) with a best class finish of tenth at San Felipe. The 2022 season will begin at San Felipe on 29 March.
Overall standings
| Position | Number | Driver(s) | Class | Points |
| 1 | 2944 | Phil Blurton, Beau Judge | Pro UTV FI | 534 |
| 2 | 234 | Jason McNeil, Tyler McNeil, Kyle Dodson, Chad McNeil | Trophy Truck Spec | 522 |
| 3 | 2954 | Austin Weiland | Pro UTV FI | 517 |
| 4 | 2919 | Brandon Schueler, Cayden MacCachren | Pro UTV FI | 514 |
| 5 | 11 | Rob MacCachren, Luke McMillin | Trophy Truck | 507 |
| 6 | 21 | Tavo Vildosola Jr., Ricky Johnson | Pro UTV FI | 494 |
| 7 | 2989 | Wes Miller, Donny Powers | Trophy Truck | 492 |
| 8 | 43 | Larry Roeseler | Trophy Truck | 491 |
| 9 | 200 | Jorge Sampietro, Santiago Creel | Trophy Truck Spec | 485 |
| 10 | 1046 | Ethan Hagle | Class 10 | 482 |
| 11 | 2970 | Francisco Beltran, Francisco Beltran Jr., Diego Beltran | Pro UTV FI | 481 |
| 12 | 3955 | Mike Cafro, Jamie Kirkpatrick | Pro UTV Stock | 480 |
| 13 | 1006 | Fred Willert | Class 10 | 479 |
| 14 | 1016 | Hiram Duran, Evan Duran, Eric Duran, Marco Duran | Class 10 | 476 |
| T-15 | 1081 | Matt Winslow, Todd Winslow | Class 10 | 469 |
| T-15 | 261 | Jeff Bader, Dan Fresh | Trophy Truck Spec | 469 |
| 17 | 1995 | Kaden Wells, Travis Wells | Pro UTV NA | 467 |
| 18 | 1870 | Justin Elenburg, Ernesto Taylor, Michael York, Mike Jeluso | Pro UTV Open | 466 |
| T-19 | 205 | Joe DeLucie | Trophy Truck Spec | 464 |
| T-19 | 2976 | Jesus Mendez Jr. | Pro UTV FI | 464 |
| T-21 | 100 | Cody Parkhouse, Brian Parkhouse | Class 1 | 462 |
| T-21 | 37L | Rolf Helland, Rick D. Johnson | Trophy Truck Legend | 462 |
| 23 | 1621 | Kevin Sanchez, Fernie Padilla | Class 1/2 1600 | 461 |
| 24 | 1600 | Eli Yee | Class 1/2 1600 | 457 |
| T-25 | 1062 | Roberto Romo | Class 10 | 454 |
| T-25 | 758 | Armando Duron | Class 7SX | 454 |
| 27 | 2929 | Jose Lopez | Pro UTV FI | 448 |
| 28 | 1965 | Kristen Matlock | Pro UTV NA | 445 |
| 29 | 3950 | Scott Trafton, Marc Behnke | Pro UTV Stock | 444 |
Class champions
| Class | Driver(s) | Points |
| Baja Challenge | Edward Muncey | 299 |
| Class 1 | Cody Parkhouse | 377 |
| Class 1/2 1600 | Kevin Sanchez, Fernie Padilla, Alan Zavala | 461 |
| Class 10 | Ethan Hagle, Ben Hagle | 482 |
| Class 11 | Alex Gonzales | 397 |
| Class 5 | Greg Sullivan | 295 |
| Class 5 1600 | David Heredia, Marco Robles, Pedro Avalos, David Valenzuela | 376 |
| Class 7 | Daniel Chamlee | 440 |
| Class 7F | Justin Park, James Tigilio, Josh Tieman | 400 |
| Class 7SX | Armando Duron, Israel Duron, Armando Duron Jr., Sergio Duron Jr., Pedro Duron, Ivan Padron | 454 |
| Pro Moto 30 | Greg Bardonnex, Shane Esposito, James Justin Shultz, Francisco Septien, Shane Schorno | 456 |
| Pro Moto 40 | Ryan Liebelt, Shane Esposito, Jason Trubey, Brandon Wright, Greg Bardonnex | 460 |
| Pro Moto 50 | Giovanni Spinali, Earl Roberts, John Griffin, Jim O’Neal, Earl Roberts | 315 |
| Pro Moto 60 | Scott McIntosh, Don Whittington, Sergio Campo, Mike McIntosh, John Johnson, Jim O’Neal | 315 |
| Pro Moto Ironman | Juan Carlos Salvatierra | 466 |
| Pro Moto Limited | Christopher Gil, Jacob Hanberg, Travis Frolich, Nathan Frolich, Shon Hepler | 442 |
| Pro Moto Unlimited | Derek Ausserbauer, Colton Udall, Nic Garvin | 446 |
| Pro Quad | Ricardo Villafana, Fernando Gomez, Carlos Napoles, Juan Flores, Luis Villafana, Oscar Rojas | 285 |
| Pro UTV Forced Induction | Phil Blurton, Beau Judge | 534 |
| Pro UTV Naturally Aspirated | Kaden Wells, Arnie Wells, Travis Wells | 467 |
| Pro UTV Open | Justin Elenburg, Ernesto Taylor, Michael York, Mike Jeluso | 466 |
| Pro UTV Stock | Mike Cafro, Adan Ibarra | 480 |
| SCORE Lites | Doug Satterfield | 443 |
| Sportsman Moto | Scott Borden, R. Hank Salyer, Josh Scott, Chris Welch, Dan Mastrude, Mike Mettler | 449 |
| Sportsman Quad | Daniel Gaytan, Gilberto Perez, Carlos Servando, Jose Enriquez, Danny Magdaleno, Chris Avalos | 436 |
| Trophy Truck | Rob MacCachren, Luke McMillin | 507 |
| Trophy Truck Legend | Rolf Helland, Rick D. Johnson | 462 |
| Trophy Truck Spec | Jason McNeil, Tyler McNeil, Kyle Dodson, Chad McNeil | 522 |
