What You Need to Know About the Baja 1000
The Baja 1000 is one of the most challenging off-road races around. Here's a handful of facts you may not know about this vast motorsports happening, racing through the desert.
1. Pinnacle of the SCORE season
It's hard to imagine something more vast and intense than a trek through the open desert. The Baja 1000 is the off-roading event of a lifetime, however, it's actually the last part of a year long series put on by SCORE. Preceded by the SCORE Desert Challenge, San Felipe 250 and the Baja 500, everything leads up to the Baja 1000, and racers are seldom disappointed by the challenging course.
2. Not always 1000 miles, but always a challenge
Since the earliest timed Tijuana to La Paz run in 1962 (as a promotion for the new Honda CL72 Scrambler), the Baja 1000 has kept people on their toes. The course is always the length of the Baja peninsula, but the specifics and the challenges change every year. The length is always meant to challenge a driver's endurance more than anything, but the extent of that length can vary a great deal. The point-to-point races tend to be the longer, generally extending past the 1000 mile mark. The loop (single lap) races generally vary between 600 and 850 miles. There have been some pretty major outliers when it comes to course length, but we'll get to that later on in the list.
3. The best in custom fabbed race machines
Everything from trucks, to bikes, to buggies, to bone stock VW bugs are known to participate on the Baja 1000. It's remarkably inclusive when it comes to classes of vehicles, which is part of the reason why it has attracted so many custom vehicles. Custom fabricators in the offroading community are known to make "Baja Customs" specifically catered to the punishing conditions of the series. Even Ford themselves have been known create specific trucks for use in the race.
4. A who's who of drivers
Baja has attracted plenty of celebrities over the years, from pop culture and other racing disciplines. At the ripe old age of 80, the classic Hollywood star Paul Newman became the oldest person ever drive in the race, specifically the 2004 event. Steve McQueen, James Garner, Patrick Dempsey, Mike Nesmith and Ted Nugent are just some of the actors and musicians who have competed. As for racers, Danny Sullivan, the Unser Family, Travis Pastrana, Don Prudhomme, Parnelli Jones, Jimmy Johnson, Robbie Gordon, and Mickey Thompson are just some of the drivers who went looking for new challenges in Baja.
5. Baja 1000, the movie
The off-road glory of the Baja 1000 is understandably hard to capture in its entirety, but documentary filmmaker Dana Brown somehow managed to do it. Filmed for the 2003 incarnation of the race, "Dust to Glory" provides a look at the general experience of racing in the event. If you like fast off-road dirt, dust, and rocks, you owe it to yourself to check it out. There may be a sequel in the near future.
6. Booby traps
A known issue with racing in Baja is for some of the local people to lay booby traps for the participating vehicles. By creating ramps, holes and other unforeseen obstacles, some spectators hope to get a better show when the racers drive through. This trap-laying is rarely done out of malice, however, it's proven to be potentially dangerous. Before beginning the race, drivers and navigators are warned to look out for large gatherings of spectators, as it may be a sign that a surprise is waiting for them. Because the Baja 1000 is a vast race, using public roads and the open countryside, it is impossible to patrol and enforce a no tampering rule among spectators.
7. The Baja 2000
The race committee decided to switch things up in the year 2000, running a first ever Baja 2000; from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas, a total of 1726 miles. The Ford-based team of Dan Smith and Dave Ashley took home the prize that year for four wheeled vehicles, clocking in at just 32:15:39 for the massive 1726 mile distance; the winning Honda motorcycle team did slightly better at 30:54:12. Both of those times would easily beat the original 1962 timed motorcycle run of 1000 miles in 39 hours. Where many participants are happy even to finish the regular Baja 1000, this special event really sought to separate the boys from the men.
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