The San Felipe 250 had been a staple of the SCORE calendar since 1982, and the city is understandably not pleased about its move to Mexicali and transformation into the Baja 250 for 2027. Although the race began as the Mexicali 300 in 1978, losing such a long-standing date will naturally lead to questions for San Felipe and SCORE.

Both gave their sides of the story, focusing particularly on the role of landowners in the San Felipe area. Most of them operate on ejidos, which are communal lands used for farming and are officially owned by the state.

Jose Abelardo Grijalva, the president and race director of SCORE, explained the sanctioning body was charged roughly $5,000 per ejido to let the race go through the land. He noted the landowners “agreed among themselves to charge even more for next year and it got impossible”, and that they threatened to boycott the race if the state didn’t agree to demands like for a larger water tank and better infrastructure. Consequently, as Grijalva stated, SCORE ended up in a political gridlock for no good reason.

Even once that saga was resolved, protesting fishermen prevented drivers from getting to the course for qualifying.

“With all honesty, dealing wih the landowners in San Felipe has been a big issue and it got worse last race,” Grijalva said.

In a statement released following the schedule reveal on Monday, San Felipe’s city council pointed out it had held negotiations that led to fees charged by private landowners being reduced by up to 50%. The council added an “even more competitive proposal” was in the works for 2027.

The statement also outlined the city’s contributions when organizing the 250. For example, San Felipe fully covered the costs of maintaining the course, public safety and infrastructure like restrooms, and cleanup. The council also handled payment for 120 nights of double-room hotel arrangements for SCORE staff.

An economic brief produced for Q1 2026 by the Organización de Impacto Económico de Baja California found that each SCORE race provides roughly $10–12 million in tourism revenue for Baja California. However, most of this value comes from global brand exposure and hotels rather than GDP; for this reason, the organization stressed that “SCORE remains the peninsula’s most recognizable global marketing asset.”

“San Felipe made the necessary preparations to host the SCORE International San Felipe 250 and reaffirmed its willingness to continue hosting this important event. However, the organizers decided the following edition would be held at a different location,” the council stated. “We respect SCORE International’s decision to hold its race somewhere else, even though San Felipe provided all the necessary institutional support and made a significant effort to keep this event in our municipality.

“San Felipe will continue working to establish itself as a leading motorsports destination. Our municipality remains open to national and international off-road championships interested in organizing races in our stunning desert and offering participants and visitors a unique experience in one of the world’s most spectacular natural settings.

“San Felipe is a destination that everyone wants to visit. Let us work together, society and government, to attract more and better events that boost the economic development of our municipality and consolidate our port as an international benchmark for tourism, sports, and adventure.”

Luke McMillin and Tyler Lynn are the final overall winners of the San Felipe 250, respectively taking the Four-Wheeler and Moto wins in March. The result of what was ultimately the last SF 250 would eventually be overshadowed by Toby Price’s disqualification.

Featured image credit: Bink Designs