WARRENVILLE, Ill. (October 9, 2001) - This November, a new sound will rumble up to the starting line of the longest-running desert race in history. The unfamiliar engine roar at the 2001 SCORE Baja 1000 will not be the high-pitched scream of a motorcycle or an open-wheel buggy, but will instead be the powerful rumble of a high-tech turbocharged Power Stroke(r) Diesel.

As part of a continuing effort to communicate the performance of the Power Stroke Diesel engine to a wide-ranging enthusiast market, International will partner with SMD Motorsports to field two special entries at this year's 34th running of the SCORE Tecate Baja 1000. Complete with a newly created Power Stroke Diesel graphics treatment, SMD Motorsports will field the first Power Stroke Diesel-powered SUV entry this year with a full-size Ford Excursion SUV in the desert racing classic.

Scheduled for Nov. 8-10 in the seaside port town of Ensenada, Mexico, this year's Baja 1000 will provide an international field of trucks, SUVs, motorcycles and dune buggies with the off-road racing's most difficult challenge. The event, expected to be comprised of one large 750-plus mile loop laid out in the northern portion of the rugged Baja peninsula, will offer drivers a wide variety of highly-demanding terrain. With its origins traced to the early 1960s when the sport's pioneers began their record runs from Tijuana to La Paz, the Baja 1000 is considered the oldest and most prestigious off-road races in the world.

Based in Heber, Calif., the SMD team will prepare two special Power Stroke Diesel-themed vehicles for the Baja 1000, extending a formal engineering and promotional relationship between International and SMD Motorsports that began earlier this season. Team owner and race veteran Steve Scaroni will pilot the team's Ford F-150 in the highly-competitive Protruck division, while son Matt Scaroni and Tom Watson will share the driving duties in the team's unique Ford Excursion SUV. The Excursion, built in cooperation with International and Ford to test ruggedness and durability of chassis and drivetrain components, features a fully race-prepared turbocharged Power Stroke Diesel engine designed and built by International. The unique 7.3-liter powerplant produces in excess of 400-horsepower and a ground-pounding 850-lb.-ft. of torque.