Baja Racing News.com EXCLUSIVE!
UPDATED!
Baja 250 Spring Break CANCELED!
San Felipe, Mexico- In a stunning development late this afternoon, the regional tourism department and chamber of commerce in San Felipe Mexico, met behind closed doors to allow the local business community to cancel the date of the previously announced Baja 250/ SPRING BREAK GROUPS.
There just is not enough rooms in San Felipe for both events at the same time! The decision means no 'spring breakers' will be in town during the race. At least from the big organized spring break groups.
The race is scheduled for March 14-15. SCORE had announced the March 14-15 dates without the knowledge that much of San Felipe had been booked already, by Spring Break groups! When the community found out about the scheduling conflict, the meeting that just ended in San Felipe, was called by the local CANACO (Chamber of Commerce) to address the conflicts.
The changes to the announced dates would have caused havoc to the schedules of offroad racing throughout the West.
The reason for the changes. According to the Tourism Department of Baja California, the dates of the 14-15 conflicted with previously scheduled Spring Break activites in town and the even larger Holy Week in Mexico, scheduled for the following weekend. The meeting ended moments ago.
UPDATED!
SCORE Press Release Issued
Moments After the Meeting!
SAN FELIPE THREE YEAR DEAL
"Sal Fish finalizes Agreement
Returning to San Felipe, Baja California, for March race
Finalizes six-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series Schedule
22nd Annual Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 to be held March 14-15, 2008
Along the picturesque azure waters of the Sea of Cortez
LOS ANGELES—Following lengthy negotiations, SCORE International has officially announced that the location for the popular ‘Spring Break’ desert race held annually in March in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula will return to San Felipe for 2008. The 22nd Annual Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250 will be held March 14-15 in the quaint fishing village on the East coast of Baja California along the tranquil Sea of Cortez.
Because of significant political situations beyond its control, SCORE was forced at the last minute to move the 2007 event to the West coast of the peninsula, where it started in Ensenada and finished in Santo Tomas.
With the location finalized for the March race, SCORE International is ready to launch its six-race 2008 SCORE Desert Series.
Keeping the same venues and all but one of the same race weekends for its five open desert races and one stadium-style short-course event as the past three years, the 2008 SCORE Desert Series will again feature three races in Southern Nevada and three in Mexico.
“We were forced to move the 2007 spring race on less than 10 days notice and we are confident that the issues that affected us have all been resolved,” said Sal Fish, CEO/President of SCORE, which is based in Los Angeles. “We never wanted to leave San Felipe in the first place so we are obviously very excited to return to San Felipe where we have had such great races over the years. We are finalizing details with Mexican authorities that will enhance some of the spectator areas for the race.”
In confirming the commitment of the Mexican authorities to bring this popular race back to San Felipe, Rodolfo Valdez, Mayor of the city of Mexicali that has jurisdiction over San Felipe, expressed complete cooperation from all parties involved to execute the final permits for the event.
“We want this race to return to our area where it has grown to be one of our very best special events and the economic impact of the race speaks for itself,” said Valdez. “We have the full support of state and federal authorities. We are committed to have this spectacular event in San Felipe for the full three years of our term in office and into the future beyond that.”
In 2006, the last time the race was held in San Felipe, there were a race-record 341 starters. That number was topped in 2007 in Ensenada when a new record of 394 starters took the green flag in the race."
Baja Racing News.com