Tavo Vildosola
Driver
| Date of birth: | February 1, 1982 |  |
| Married to: | Leticia | |
| Children: | Ximena, Valeria & Gustavo | |
| Occupation: | Operations Director Mexicana Logistics | |
| Hobbies: | Skiing, Scuba Diving and Off Road Racing |
Gustavo Vildosola Jr. (Tavo) grew up in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. Off-road racing has been part of Tavo´s upbringing, many times pre-running with his father, Gus, and also riding dirt bikes out in the desert since the age of three. Tavo´s first racing experience was in 2000, when he co-rode with Charlie Watters at the San Felipe 250 in Vildosola Racing´s class one buggy. At the Baja 2000 he was also a co-rider for the class one and shortly after drove a 1/2 1600 in a local Ensenada race. He raced 1/2 1600 the following year in selected races and then a full season in 2002 gaining invaluable experience. In 2003 he stepped up to a single seat class 12 buggy with Arturo Honold. Later that year Tavo teamed up with class 12 points leader Brian Ickler for the Baja 1000 where the duo took the class win and sealed the championship for Brian.
The next year, 2004, did not see Tavo race, he was taking a sabbatical from the sport to concentrate on school and by the end of the year waiting for his Toyota Tundra Protruck to be assembled. 2005 was only the second full season for Tavo, except that now it was in a V8 powered truck. It was a year of adjustment, learning the new truck and how to manage it, #204 had a decent season finishing third in the coveted Protruck championship and second in the SCORE championship. In 2006, Tavo invited Bryan Freeman to join Vildosola Racing and share driving duties in the Protruck. Throughout this whole time Tavo was shuffling school, work and racing, but in May 2006, Tavo graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in business administration." The protruck #204 won 2 consecutive ProTruck Championships and one SCORE Championship.
In 2007, Rob MacCachren left the team and Tavo joined forces with his dad so they could make the Trophy Truck team better and stronger. It was an time of intensive learning for Tavo, but once again he proved to the fans that he was born to race when he finished second overall in the Baja 1000. 2008 and 2009 brought many technical, mechanical and physical changes to the team. In 2010 Tavo renewed his contract as a Red Bull athlete, formalizing the union between the team and the company. In March 10, 2010, Vildosola Racing let the public see its new image, performing with blue and silver, a very noticeable change to its traditional red and white. In April of 2010 year, Tavo and the Trophy Truck were special guests at the RedBull X-Fighters in Mexico City, opening the show for more than 40,000 spectators.
Fortunes started to turn halfway through the 2010 season where TT #21 placed 2nd overall at the Baja 500 and 3rd overall at Vegas to Reno. It had always been Gus and Tavo‘s dream to win first place overall in a Baja 1000 together, and to be the first Mexican team to win such a legendary race. It was in November 2010 in the Bicentennial of Mexico‘s Independence and Centennial of the Mexican Revolution, that Vildosola Racing also made history taking home the pride of being the first Mexican team to win the overall in a Baja 1000.
With an outstanding performance by Tavo and Gus behind the wheel, Javi’s copiloting skills and the crew’s logistics, Vildosola Racing won the Baja 1000 for the second time in 2012, this time on the 45th edition, with a race time of 19 hours and 44 minutes, consolidating its leadership in SCORE as the best Mexican team in the Off Road world.
In 2014, Vildosola Racing went back to it’s traditional red colors. This season showed a very bright side for Vildosola Racing, with a 2nd place at the Parker 425, 1st place in San Felipe for the second consecutive year, 2nd place at The MINT 400 and 2nd place at SCORE Desert Challenge and although they did not win the SCORE Championship, their trophy truck #21 did have a total of 4 podium finishes in USA and Mexico, maintaining the team amongst the top contenders in off road racing,