In less than one week, competitors from all over the world are going to Baja California for the 55th SCORE Baja 500, including 20-year-old Arturo Salas from Chula Vista.
“There are guys I looked up to, now, that I’m racing against and they’re good friends,” Salas said. “It feels good to be recognized by them.”
Salas is among droves of other riders and drivers who are continuing to prepare for the event in Ensenada despite the deadly shootout that killed 10 people earlier this month, including a young father and a 19-year-old, both from San Diego County.
“Unfortunately things like that happen, I hate to say, everywhere,” Salas said. “We’re familiar with that type of scenario. I mean it’s never something we want to hear because we’re going to be around the area pretty soon, in fact, for a whole week.”
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Salas has been riding motorcycles for almost as long as he has been going to Mexico. He grew up watching his dad compete on dirt bikes, and has family in Mexico who he visits often.
“I mean just this week itself, I’ve gone three times,” Salas said. “When it comes to Baja, I’m there for sometimes two weeks at a time.”
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This familiarity is what, Salas added, allows him to focus on the race rather than what happened or what could happen.
“Of course there’s things we should be aware of, but there’s things that we can’t control,” Salas said. “There’s no reason to be worried about it when you know you’re not doing anything wrong.”
Instead, his eyes are on the prize.
"I want to keep doing better, being better and racing at a harder pace," Salas said. "I want to keep growing, and not just that, I want to do it as a Mexican racer as well."
He has won the Baja 500 twice, including last year in 2022. He said he wouldn’t be able to do it without the support of his parents, Analicia and Arturo Salas Sr. Analicia Salas told NBC 7, like any parent, she does worry about his safety.
“I’m concerned,” said Analicia Salas. “We’re always concerned about those types of incidents taking place down there.”
However, she added that the thought of Arturo avoiding the race did not even cross their minds after the shootout because of the months of preparation and hard work that goes into it.
“Everybody that goes down there to race SCORE knows that if you don’t go to the wrong place at the wrong time, you’ll be ok,” she added.
For the Salas family, they said there are bigger things to be worried about.
“I think that’s more dangerous, him being on a bike at 100 miles per hour because anybody can get in his way, an animal, a car, a spectator or they can even do like booby traps,” Analicia Salas mentioned. “That’s more dangerous than being in the cartel’s way.”
SCORE International sent NBC 7 a statement in light of the tragedy:
SCORE International would like to express our deepest condolences to all the families that have been impacted by the tragic event that took place this past Saturday in the town of San Vicente, Baja California.
This activity was a private event that was in no way associated with SCORE International or the SCORE Baja 500 event activities. There were no teams racing or pre-running for the SCORE Baja 500 involved in this incident. The opening day of pre-running for the SCORE Baja 500 also took place without any incidents. At this time, there have been no teams withdrawing from the race because of this event and all the registered vendors are still displaying.
The SCORE Baja 500 will take place as scheduled from May 31 through June 4, with an estimated 250+ teams participating along with a full contingency vendor display area.
The security for race teams, sponsors and the attending fans continues to be a priority for SCORE international. There will be increased security measures applied under the coordination of the Baja California State Government. This will include the support of the Municipal Authorities, National Guard as well as the Mexican Army and Navy along several sections of the route during pre-running and the actual race time period.
"We know that we'll be ok as long as we stick together," said Analicia Salas.
