Baja 1000

The Baja 1000 is a Mexican off-road motorsport race held each year on the Baja California Peninsula. The race was founded by Ed Pearlman in 1967 and is sanctioned by SCORE International,^[1][2] it is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, attracting competitors from Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Guam, Guatemala, Holland, Italy, Japan, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, Yugoslavia and from every state in the United States, as well as the host country of Mexico.^[2] The race is the final round of a four-race annual series, including the SCORE Desert Challenge, the SCORE San Felipe 250 and the SCORE Baja 500; the 2017 Baja 1000 marked the 50th anniversary of the race.^[3]

The Baja 1000 allows various types of vehicle classes to compete on the same course with classes for; cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs and buggies;^[2] the course has remained relatively the same over the years, about every other event being either a point-to-point race from Ensenada to La Paz, or a loop race starting and finishing in Ensenada. The name of the event can be misleading as the mileage varies for the type of event ("Loop" of 600 to 850 miles starting and finishing in Ensenada, or "Point to Point" also known as the 900.

Race history[edit]

1962: The first timed run[edit]

When Jack McCormack and Walt Fulton of Honda's American subsidiary decided to hold a long-distance run to prove the reliability of Honda's new Honda CL72 Scrambler motorcycle, they approached well-known off-road motorcycle racer and local Triumph and Honda dealer, Bud Ekins for suggestions.^[4][5][6] Ekins suggested the Tijuana to La Paz route (Federal Highway 1) which was 950 miles (1,530 km) of rocks, sand washes, dry lake beds, cattle crossings, mountain passes, with few paved roads. Ekins declined to perform the run because of his professional ties to Triumph but suggested that his brother Dave Ekins and Billy Robertson Jr. perform the trip for American Honda.^[4] After doing an aerial pre-run over the peninsula in Fulton's Cessna 180, they began the journey to La Paz just after midnight on March 22, 1962. While being followed by two journalists in an airplane and using telegraph offices at the Mexican border and in La Paz, Dave Ekins recorded the first official timed run in 39 hours 56 minutes (39:56) with a total distance of 952.7 miles (1,533.2 km).^[4][5][6][7] The event received coverage in the Globe, Argosy, and Cycle World magazines, earning awe and respect for Honda and the Baja run; the Globe and Argosy accounts also included close encounters with death and other dangers which Ekins claims were "colorful additions".

Four wheels vs two wheels[edit]

Wanting to beat the existing motorcycle record and to help fuel sales of the Meyers Manx, Bruce Meyers used his original prototype buggy called "Old Red" for an attempt at breaking the record set by Ekins. After pre-running a course south to La Paz, Ted Mangels and Bruce Meyers started the record-breaking attempt back to Tijuana from La Paz at 10:00 pm on April 19, 1967. With journalist from Road & Track magazine following the two to witness the attempt, the final official time was 34:45 beating Ekins' run by more than 5 hours. Upon returning to the United States, the journalist documenting the run sent out press kits with photographs and a news release with the headline "Buggy Beats Bike in Baja." to hundreds of magazines and newspapers. Soon, more stories of adventure, close calls, and broken speed records received media coverage around the world. Following the event, Bruce Meyers and his Meyers Manx became an overnight sensation and the competition between four wheels and motorcycles for the fastest Baja run began.

In the following months, more attempts at breaking the record would take place. One of the attempts included a multiple vehicle run organized by Ed Pearlman that ended in an official four wheel record being recorded but, with the overall time falling short of the record set by Meyers. On July 4, 1967, an American Motors Rambler American sedan would leave Tijuana at 9:00 am to successfully break the record set by Meyers with an overall time of 31 hours.

As the timed runs recorded via telegraph became popular, a need for an organized event to compete for the quickest Baja run was starting to grab the attention of other competitors. Once Ed Pearlman caught word of Meyers' run, he convinced Dick Cepek, Claude Dozier, Ed Orr, Drino Miller and journalist John Lawlor to make the run to La Paz. In June 1967, Pearlman and group left Tijuana and immediately ran into mechanical troubles; this trip inspired Pearlman to organize an off-road race down the Baja peninsula by creating the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA).^[4] After Pete Condos and Pearlman put up the funds to incorporate NORRA, the group announced an official recognition of the previous record setters and created classes that related to the type of vehicle used to break the record. During the later part of summer, NORRA named the event the "Mexican 1000 Rally" and announced the first official race from Tijuana to La Paz was to be held on the peninsula.

1967: The Mexican 1000[edit]

The first official race started in Tijuana, Baja California, on October 31, 1967, and was named the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally; the course length that year was 849 miles (1,366 km) and ended in La Paz, with the overall winning time of 27 hours 38 minutes (27:38) set by Vic Wilson and Ted Mangels while driving a Meyers Manx buggy. From 1967 to 1972, the race was organized by NORRA and grew in popularity with ABC's "Wide World of Sports" sending Jim McKay to cover the 1968 event, and attracting new participants like the late Mickey Thompson, Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones, movie actor James Garner, and Mary McGee, the first woman to compete in the event. By 1971, major sponsors such as Olympia Brewing Company and Minolta Cameras began to support Parnelli Jones in his Dick Russell designed and Bill Stroppe prepared "Big Oly" Bronco and Larry Minor in a similar Stroppe prepared Bronco.

1973 oil crisis and SCORE[edit]

In October 1973, the price for a barrel of crude oil shot up 70% overnight as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) launched the Arab Oil Embargo. With fear that competitors would abandon the idea of competing and stay home, NORRA cancelled the 1974 Baja race – despite assurances from the Federal government run Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) that fuel prices would remain stable – and announced they would instead hold an event in the state of Arizona.

It was at that time in history, Baja California governor Milton Castellanos handed over sanctioning of the event to a non-profit Mexican corporation called the "Baja Sports Committee" (BSC). BSC renamed the event the "Baja Mil" (Baja 1000) and scheduled the race to run on the original dates chosen by NORRA. Though NORRA held a competing event in the United States that same weekend, BSC successfully ran the race from Ensenada to La Paz like the years prior. Unaware of the challenges, BSC found promoting Baja races more difficult than anticipated.

Instead of giving up the race, the Mexican government requested help from SCORE International in hosting and promoting future Baja races. Through negotiations with Mickey Thompson and his SCORE organization, the Government agreed to give exclusive rights to SCORE to hold Baja races and also reluctantly allowed SCORE to cancel the event for 1974 (a year where motorsport was curtailed in the United States because of the oil crisis). SCORE hired Sal Fish as president and took control of the Baja 1000 from that year on with the Baja 1000 race resuming under new control in 1975.

The 1979 race was notable for Walker Evans’ overall win in a Dodge truck, the first truck to win the overall title of the race.^[2] In 2012, the racing organization was purchased by Roger Norman and continues to run under his presidency.

Vehicles[edit]

The Baja 1000 is open to entrants competing in several classes ranging from motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, stock Volkswagens, production vehicles, buggies, trucks, and custom fabricated race vehicles. Race teams consist of factory-supported groups that build custom fabricated vehicles and provide chase vehicles via helicopter, to the much smaller and less glamorized sportsman teams competing in an all-stock vehicle with no chase vehicle support at all. Stock Volkswagen Type One Beetles are modified for use in off-road terrain, known as Baja Bugs, have been a common sight throughout the event duration, but the factory-supported, all-spaceframe Trophy Truck entries are the most visible.

In contrast to the current factory EX supported modern race vehicles that overall the car and truck classes, Erik Carlsson drove a basically stock front wheel drive Saab 96 V4, finishing third in 1969 and fifth in 1970.

Baja course[edit]

• Point-to-point: A point-to-point race is one that starts and ends in two different locations. The start is traditionally held in Ensenada but has been held in Tijuana and Mexicali as well; the course length varies for a point to point but is often over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) and ends in La Paz.
• Loop race: A loop race is one that starts and finishes in the same location. Traditionally the race starts and ends in Ensenada but has started/finished in Mexicali as well; the course length varies from 600 to 850 miles, depending on the course route.

Qualifying[edit]

The starting order is generally determined by a random draw, except when preferential starts are given to those who finished in top positions in the previous race/season, or when qualifying is held. For Trophy Trucks & Class 1 vehicles, qualifying for the Baja 1000 is now held during SEMA at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Sabotage and booby-traps[edit]

Each year there are reports of spectators sabotaging or booby-trapping the course by digging holes, blocking river flow, or burying and hiding obstacles. Racers are warned to beware of large crowds of spectators in remote parts of the course since it may indicate hidden traps or obstacle changes. Many of the booby traps are not created to intentionally injure the contestants but are created by the local spectators as jumps or obstacles for spectator entertainment and intriguing moments to be caught on videotape; the haphazardly designed jumps, created by the spectators, are very dangerous as the contestants may inadvertently enter the booby-trap at unsafe speeds, resulting in damage to the vehicles or injuries to competitors or spectators. Awareness of booby traps and course alterations are often part of race-day strategy and convey an advantage to the best prepared teams – nonetheless given the danger the traps pose, it is customary for competitors to quickly communicate course hazards to other competitors through on-board radio communications and radio relay.

In popular culture[edit]

• In the film Timerider (1982), the hero Swann is competing in the Baja 1000 when he inadvertently stumbles on to a time warp experiment and is sent back to the Old West in the 1870s.
• The documentary Dust to Glory (2005) follows contestants of the Baja 1000
• The follow-up documentary to Dust to Glory, Dust 2 Glory follows contestants over the 2016 season before being released in-time for the 50th anniversary Baja 1000 in 2016.

Overall winners[edit]

Year	Route	Cars & Trucks			Motorcycle
		Drivers	Vehicle	Time	Riders	Vehicle	Time
1967	Tijuana-La Paz	Vic Wilson Ted Mangels	Meyers Manx VW	27:38	J.N. Roberts Malcolm Smith	Husqvarna	28:48
1968	Ensenada-La Paz	Larry Minor Jack Bayer	Ford Bronco	21:11:32	Larry Berquist Gary Preston	Honda	20:38:28
1969	Ensenada-La Paz	Larry Minor Rod Hall	Ford Bronco	20:48:10	Gunnar Nilsson J.N. Roberts	Husqvarna	21:35:52
1970	Ensenada-La Paz	Drino Miller Vic Wilson Miller	VW	16:07	Mike Patrick Bill Bowers	Yamaha	18:31
1971	Ensenada-La Paz	Parnelli Jones Bill Stroppe	Ford Bronco	14:59	Malcolm Smith Gunnar Nilsson	Husqvarna	16:51
1972	Mexicali-La Paz	Parnelli Jones Bill Stroppe	Ford Bronco	16:47	Gunnar Nilsson Rolf Tibblin	Husqvarna	19:19
1973	Ensenada-La Paz	Bobby Ferro Johnny Johnson	Funco VW	16:50	Mitch Mayes A.C. Bakken	Husqvarna	18:42:51
1974	No Race
1975	Ensenada-Ensenada	Malcolm Smith Dr. Bud Feldkamp	Hi-Jumper VW	18:55:49	Al Baker Gene Cannady	Honda	18:22:55
1976	Ensenada-Ensenada	Ivan Stewart	Chenowth VW	12:17:28	Larry Roeseler Mitch Mayes	Husqvarna	11:30:47
1977	Ensenada-Ensenada	Malcolm Smith Dr. Bud Feldkamp	Funco VW	15:10:42	Brent Wallingsford Scot Harden	Husqvarna	14:37:07
1978	Ensenada-Ensenada	Mark Stahl	Chenowth VW	12:55:42	Larry Roeseler Jack Johnson	Husqvarna	14:37:07
1979	Ensenada-La Paz	Walker Evans Bruce Florio	Dodge Pickup	20:48:27	Larry Roeseler Jack Johnson	Husqvarna	19:48:04
1980	Ensenada-Ensenada	Mark Stahl	Chenowth VW	13:33:55	Larry Roeseler Jack Johnson	Yamaha	12:45:13
1981	Ensenada-Ensenada	Mark McMillin Thomas Hoke	Chenowth VW	20:29:14	Scot Harden Brent Wallingsford	Husqvarna	17:14:05
1982	Ensenada-La Paz	Mickey Thompson Terry Smith	Raceco VW	19:40:23	Al Baker Jack Johnson	Honda	17:25:27
1983	Ensenada-Ensenada	Mark McMillin Ralph Paxton	Chenowth VW	20:29:14	Dan Smith Dan Ashcraft	Husqvarna	14:48:10
1984	Ensenada-Ensenada	Mark McMillin Ralph Paxton	Chenowth VW	16:27:09	Chuck Miller Randy Morales	Honda	14:34:34
1985	Ensenada-Ensenada	Steve Sourapas Dave Richardson	Raceco VW	17:54:55	Randy Morales Derrick Paiement	Honda	17:44:42
1986	Ensenada-La Paz	Mark McMillin Ralph Paxton	Chenowth Porsche	18:26:28	Bruce Ogilvie Chuck Miller	Honda	18:05:52
1987	Ensenada-Ensenada	Bob Gordon Malcolm Smith	Chenowth Porsche	13:15:04	Dan Ashcraft Bruce Ogilvie	Honda	12:02:14
1988	Ensenada-Ensenada	Mark McMillin	Chenowth Porsche	18:07:09	Paul Krause Larry Roeseler Danny LaPorte	Kawasaki	17:53:16
1989	Ensenada-La Paz	Robby Gordon	Ford Pickup	18:04:07	Larry Roeseler Danny LaPorte Ted Hunnicutt Jr.	Kawasaki	17:53:16
1990	Ensenada-Ensenada	Bob Gordon Robyn Gordon Robby Gordon	Chenowth Chevy	12:30:45	Larry Roeseler Ted Hunnicutt Jr. Danny LaPorte	Kawasaki	11:11:45
1991	Ensenada-Ensenada	Larry Ragland	Chevrolet Pickup	16:37:35	Larry Roeseler Ted Hunnicutt Jr. Marty Smith	Kawasaki	13:35:25
1992	Ensenada-La Paz	Paul Simon Dave Simon	Ford Ranger	16:53:02	Danny Hamel Garth Sweetland Paul Ostbo	Kawasaki	16:50:12
1993	Mexicali-Mexicali	Ivan Stewart	Toyota SR5	13:29:11	Danny Hamel Larry Roeseler Ty Davis	Kawasaki	13:57:23
1994	Mexicali-Mexicali	Jim Smith	Ford TT	10:28:56	Danny Hamel Larry Roeseler Ty Davis	Kawasaki	10:20:47
1995	Tijuana-La Paz	Larry Ragland	Chevrolet TT	20:14:12	Paul Krause Ty Davis Ted Hunnicutt Jr.	Kawasaki	19:31:19
1996	Ensenada-Ensenada	Larry Ragland	Chevrolet TT	14:38:59	Paul Krause Ty Davis Greg Zitterkopf	Kawasaki	14:11:02
1997	Ensenada-Ensenada	Larry Ragland	Chevrolet TT	13:53:46	Johnny Campbell Tim Staab Greg Bringle	Honda	13:19:59
1998	Santo Tomás-La Paz	Ivan Stewart	Toyota	19:08:20	Johnny Campbell Jimmy Lewis	Honda	18:58:48
1999	Ojos Negros-Ojos Negros	Larry Ragland	Chevy	14:26:36	Johnny Campbell Tim Staab	Honda	14:15:42
2000**	Ensenada-Cabo San Lucas	Dan Smith Dave Ashley	Ford	32:15:39	Johnny Campbell Tim Staab Craig Smith Steve Hengeveld	Honda	30:54:12
2001	Ensenada-Ensenada	Doug Fortin Charlie Townsley	Jimco Chevy	14:35:42	Johnny Campbell Tim Staab	Honda	13:51:40
2002	Ensenada-La Paz	Dan Smith Dave Ashley	Ford	16:19:03	Steve Hengeveld Johnny Campbell Andy Grider	Honda	16:17:28
2003	Ensenada-Ensenada	Doug Fortin Charlie Townsley	Jimco Chevy	16:24:02	Steve Hengeveld Johnny Campbell	Honda	15:39:52
2004	Ensenada-La Paz	Troy Herbst Larry Roeseler	Smithbuilt-Ford	16:18:14	Steve Hengeveld Johnny Campbell Kendall Norman	Honda	15:57:37
2005	Ensenada-Ensenada	Larry Roeseler Troy Herbst	Smithbuilt-Ford	15:06:19	Steve Hengeveld Johnny Campbell Mike Childress	Honda	14:20:30
2006	Ensenada-La Paz	Andy McMillin Robby Gordon	Chevy	19:15:17	Steve Hengeveld Mike Childress Quinn Cody	Honda	18:17:50
2007	Ensenada-Cabo San Lucas	Mark Post Rob MacCachren Carl Renezeder	Ford	25:21:25	Robby Bell Kendall Norman Steve Hengeveld Johnny Campbell	Honda	24:15:50
2008	Ensenada-Ensenada	Roger Norman Larry Roeseler	Ford	12:40:33	Robby Bell Kendall Norman Johnny Campbell	Honda	12:29:10
2009	Ensenada-Ensenada	Andy McMillin Scott McMillin	Chevy	14:19:50	Kendall Norman Timmy Weigand Quinn Cody	Honda	13:27:50
2010	Ensenada-La Paz	Tavo Vildosola Gus Vildosola	Ford F-150 TT	19:00:04	Kendall Norman Quinn Cody	Honda	19:20:52
2011	Ensenada-Ensenada	Andy McMillin Scott McMillin	Ford Raptor TT	14:51:36	Kendall Norman Quinn Cody Logan Holladay	Honda	14:14:25
2012	Ensenada-La Paz	BJ Baldwin	Chevrolet TT	20:00:59	Colton Udall Timmy Weigand David Kamo	Honda	20:09:30
2013	Ensenada-Ensenada	BJ Baldwin	Chevrolet TT	20:00:59	Colton Udall Timmy Weigand David Kamo Mark Samuels	Honda	18:29:14
2014[8]	Ensenada-La Paz	Rob MacCachren Andy McMillin Jason Voss	Ford TT	22:31:27	Ricky Brabec Robby Bell Steve Hengeveld Max Eddy Jr.	Kawasaki	24:24:01
2015	Ensenada-Ensenada	Rob MacCachren Andy McMillin	Ford TT	15:38:33	Colton Udall Mark Samuels Justin Jones	Honda	16:29:08
2016	Ensenada-Ensenada	Rob MacCachren Jason Voss	Ford TT	17:12:58	Justin Jones David Kamo Mark Samuels Daymon Stokie Colton Udall	Honda	18:16:42
2017	Ensenada-La Paz	Juan C. Lopez Apdaly Lopez	Ford TT[9]	19:53:36	Francisco Arredondo Shane Esposito Justin Morgan Max Eddy Jr. Ty Davis	Honda	21:07:16
2018	Ensenada-Ensenada	Cameron Steele Pat Dean	Ford TT	16:24:02	Justin Morgan Mark Samuels Justin Jones	Honda	16:23:26

**Officially the race was called the Baja 2000 (1726 miles) for the year 2000.

Notable competitors[edit]

Current and past classes[edit]

Cars and Trucks[edit]

• SCORE Trophy Truck: Open Production Unlimited Trucks.
• SCORE Class 1: Unlimited open-wheel single-or two-seaters.
• SCORE Class 1/2-1600: open-wheel single-or two-seaters to 1600cc.
• SCORE Class 2: Unlimited 2.2-liter buggy.
• SCORE Class 3: Short wheelbase 4x4.
• SCORE Class 4: Unlimited 2.2-liter open wheel.
• SCORE Class 5: Unlimited Baja Bugs.
• SCORE Class 5-1600: 1600cc Baja Bugs.
• SCORE Class 6: V6 powered tube chassis trucks
• SCORE Class 7: Open mini trucks.
• SCORE Class 7S: Stock mini trucks. (3000cc)
• SCORE Class 7SX: Modified mini trucks. (4000cc)
• SCORE Class 8: Full-sized two-wheel drive trucks.
• SCORE Class 9: Short wheelbase, open-wheel single- or two-seaters.
• SCORE Class 10: Open-wheel single or two-seaters to 2000cc.
• SCORE Class 11: Stock VW Sedans.
• SCORE Lites Class 12: VW limited open-wheel single-(1776cc) or two-seaters(1835cc).
• SCORE Class 17: Jeepspeed
• SCORE Stock Full: Stock full-sized trucks.
• SCORE Stock Mini: Stock mini trucks. (4300cc)
• SCORE Baja Challenge: Limited, identical open-wheel Baja touring cars.
• SCORE Sportsman Buggy:
• SCORE Sportsman Truck:
• SCORE Sportsman UTV:
• ProTruck: Limited Production Trucks governed by the Baja ProTruck Off-Road Race Series

Motorcycles[edit]

• SCORE Class 20: 125cc or smaller two-stroke and 250cc or smaller four-stroke motorcycles.
• SCORE Class 21: 126cc to 250cc.
• SCORE Class 22: 250cc or more.
• SCORE Class 30: Riders over 30 years old.
• SCORE Class 40: Riders over 40 years old.
• SCORE Class 50: Riders over 50 years old.
• SCORE Class 60: Riders over 65 years old.
• SCORE Sportsman MC > 250cc: Sportsman riders 250cc (2-stroke) or 450cc (4-stroke) or greater.
• SCORE Sportsman MC < 250cc: Sportsman riders 250cc (2-stroke) or 450cc (4-stroke) or less.

ATVs[edit]

• SCORE Class 21: Honda.
• SCORE Class 25: 251cc or more.

See also[edit]

• Chasing the Horizon
• Dust to Glory, the documentary about the 2003 race
• Mini-Baja
• Timerider

References[edit]

• Fiolka, Marty (2005). 1000 Miles to Glory. Arizona: David Bull Publishing. ISBN 1-893618-36-6.
• Ekins, Dave. "A Ride Down the Peninsula". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
• SCORE International (2006). "2006–2010 Off-Road Racing Rules and Regulations".
• SCORE International. "2009 New Classes & Existing Class Rule Amendments
• 2009 Baja 1000 Press Release

Notes[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official SCORE International website
• Official SCORE International Journal
• Official SCORE International Carbon TV channel
• 1967 Baja 1000 ( Twenty Seven Hours To La Paz – Video )
• General description of 4-wheeled off-road classes.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baja 1000.

Coordinates: 31°52′05″N 116°38′01″W / 31.86806°N 116.63361°W / 31.86806; -116.63361