Pancho Bio grew up in Ensenada, watching race cars come into the city preparing for the SCORE Baja races. “My dad would see the cars during school recess and watched the cars go by,” said Cisco Bio, son of the family patriarch. “In the 1980’s he raced with a friend in a buggy for three or four years, until he built his first car in 1985.” The car was a Class 9 Challenger equipped with VW components. “It took him five years of competition to win the SCORE Baja 500 in 1990,” said Bio.

Pancho Bio’s love for racing led him to more class wins at the SCORE Baja 500 and SCORE Baja 1000, as well as several class championships. When his son Cisco was old enough to see above the dashboard, it would lead to a second generation of the Bio family to get involved. “I began racing at 6 years old, riding motorcycles, and by 10, I was driving a stock Bug,” said Cisco Bio.

His first race was in a single-seat 1600 car in 1998 that ran from Ensenada to LaPaz. Cisco Bio’s first SCORE Baja 500 win was in 1999. “I turned 18 that year and I tried to win the championship,” said Bio. “We went on to win the Primm and raced the SCORE Baja 2000. It’s there that I broke the tranny right at the starting line.”

The Bio family also began running in Class 11 bugs as it was a popular vehicle to compete in local off-road races at the time. “Class 11 is a big class in Mexico,” said Bio. “Local races have 20 to 30 participants, and it’s an affordable vehicle to build and a way for locals to get into racing.”

As Pancho and son Cisco continued racing in Class 11, Cisco was also helping some of the veteran racers such as Robbie Pierce in their pit areas. “One time I saw Rob MacCachren pre-running by himself so I asked if I could ride with him,” said Bio. “That’s when I began racing with Rob.”

Cisco Bio has continued riding with MacCachren on an off since 2011 and from that, learned to view the terrain differently which he uniquely applies to racing Class 11 vehicles in Baja. “In SCORE racing, the challenge for Class 11 vehicles is to go across the course that the SCORE Trophy Trucks go through,” says Bio. “By the time the Class 11 vehicles get on the course, it’s completely different and the more powerful vehicles have dug up large rocks and ruts that weren’t there when we passed over it during a pre-run.” From his experience racing with his dad and veterans like Rob MacCachren, Cisco Bio developed winning tactics that have helped the family win in Baja.

The Racing Family Wins Together

The youngest of the Bio family who currently races in SCORE is Cisco’s younger brother Ramon. “My brother Ramon started driving at age seven, competing in local races,” said Bio. “Like me, veteran racers like Clyde Stacy helped out Ramon where he learned more and became a solid driver. Our close friend and Class 11 SCORE Champion Viry Felix, allowed Ramon to co-drive with her in his first SCORE race in 2014.”

In 2016, with Ramon as the driver of record, the two brothers competed in the 1/2-1600 class. They ended up winning the SCORE Baja 500 and SCORE Baja 1000. “That was one of my best racing memories,” said Cisco Bio. “During the SCORE Baja 500 race, I had Viry Felix ride with me on our section of the race and recall waiting all day in the extreme heat, for Ramon to come in. We were down about a half-hour and made up the time. My brother was 16 and it was his first big win.”

One of the great stories that my dad told me was during a SCORE Baja 500 race that I believe was in 1992 or 1993,” said Bio. “My dad told me it was a loop race that started in Ensenada. His day started by ripping out the front end but with his co-pilot, Sergio Gutierrez managed to repair it and get back on the course. It then started raining hard and there was a flash flood in San Matias. My dad recounted that racers stopped there because of the raging water through the area, including Willie Valdez who was taken away by the current. After waiting for more than two hours, my dad said they asked a guy to walk out into the middle. They tied a rope around him and wanted to see how high the water was. According to my dad, it was waist high and he decided to go across and made it through.”

A Passion For VW Powered Cars

The Bio family has stuck with racing the VW powered Class 11 and 1600 cars. Their love for these vehicles extends to more than just being an affordable race car. “It’s fun to race against everyone in a similar car,” says Bio. “Competing driver to driver is even more difficult in a SCORE race, so the relationships we have in these classes are unlike any other. We help each other out and those connections, along with family and friends in Mexico have earned respect for us and other racers here.

It’s definitely prestigious to say we won the SCORE Baja 500 and SCORE Baja 1000, and over the years we have a good formula for doing that. Being around Rob MacCachren for the past 10 years has taught me a lot. In addition, my dad knows everyone down on the peninsula and that separates us from the other teams.”