A Baja 1000 race truck on the malecón during the 2023 race (representative image; not the 2026 course). Photo: Andy Blackledge via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Bryce Menzies and Christopher Polvoorde went from teammates to rivals this week, and the first big timing board of the SCORE Baja 1000 has handed Menzies the early word. At race mile 340, his No. 7 truck led the SCORE Trophy Truck class on the SCORE LIVE broadcast graphic, with Luke McMillin’s No. 83 just 6.2 seconds behind.
Here’s the take: 6.2 seconds is not a lead, it’s a rumor. The number that matters more is the size of the hole behind those two. Polvoorde, the pole-sitter, was fourth and 4:37.4 adrift. This looks like a two-truck race, and the truck in front has more reason to gamble than the one behind it.
What the timing board shows
Confirmed first. The 59th SCORE Baja 1000 is a point-to-point loop that starts and finishes at Boulevard Centenario in San José del Cabo. SCORE’s latest course figure is 950.70 miles, and cars, trucks and UTVs left at 9 a.m. Friday. The broadcast graphic listed this Trophy Truck order:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Gap at RM 340 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | B. Menzies | 5:38:38 |
| 2 | 83 | L. McMillin | +6.2 |
| 3 | 1 | A. Ampudia | +2:42.4 |
| 4 | 94 | C. Polvoorde | +4:37.4 |
The graphic also showed Dodge Poelman’s No. 62 at RM 315 (+25:10.4) and Kevin Thompson’s No. 70 at RM 275 (+1:31.6). Those gaps were taken at earlier mileposts, so they can’t be lined up directly against the RM 340 times above.
Why six seconds is the wrong headline
Now the interpretation. Menzies started sixth, so he spent the morning moving forward. The graphic can’t tell us whether that came from passing or from other trucks losing time, but either way, a sixth-place starter leading at mile 340 means he has found a pace that qualifying didn’t suggest.
A bit of arithmetic, mine and not SCORE’s: 340 miles in 5:38:38 works out to roughly 60 mph if race miles track ground covered. That’s a punishing average over Baja terrain, and it’s why this class is as much a suspension story as a horsepower one. Honda’s hybrid Passport Baja Spec, pictured below, hangs dual FOX shocks at each corner for exactly that reason.
The two men up front may also not be racing for the same thing. SCORE’s late-October update listed McMillin atop the Trophy Truck standings, and this race is the finale of the four-race World Desert Championship. SCORE also named Menzies among the crossover drivers for race week. A driver protecting points and a driver chasing a trophy won’t always make the same call on a rocky section at night.
Polvoorde is the other half of the story. He and Menzies won last year’s Baja 1000 together, and he took pole this year. Being 4:37 back after 340 miles isn’t fatal in a race this long; it is roughly one flat tire and a slow stop. But chasing in Baja means pushing the rough sections, and that is exactly where races end.
Pro Stock UTV: the gaps open early
The Pro Stock UTV board came from RM 95. Sergio González Mejía’s No. 3924 led at 1:24:31.5, with E. Durán (+1:14.2), J. Meek (+2:44.2), L. Alonso Elizondo Ramírez (+6:21.5), V. Lozano (+11:15.9) and D. Acton (+13:25.6) behind. That is more than 13 minutes between first and sixth before the class is even a tenth of the way through, a reminder that stock-class racing is often settled early by who avoids trouble, not by who finds extra speed.
What to watch next
SCORE expects the fastest finishers to need about 15 hours, so the Trophy Truck winner should come home late tonight. Watch how McMillin and Menzies handle the night sections, and whether Polvoorde closes the 4:37 or has to settle for damage control. Official results will be posted at score-international.com. The order above reflects one broadcast graphic and will have changed by the time you read this.
Lead image: Andy Blackledge via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Representative image of a Baja 1000 race truck on the malecón during the 2023 race; not from the 2026 race. Timing data: SCORE LIVE broadcast graphic.
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