Baja Racers Need a High Degree of Self- If a Broken Vehicle Is Parked on the Racers Came Back with a Lifetime of Assurance, a Well-Developed Sense of Course

discovery channel magazine.com . CaliforniaBaja desert the beautifulbutunforgiving justpit lanes, thechallengesof packed grandstands orhandy not toexpectsmoothroads, before they starttheirengines 500knowenter theBaja The menandwomen who

PHOTO: Boyd jaynes / transtock / corbis; filo; istock (dirt texture) Sand inthe Cracks

By judy smi th It’sBaja CaliforniaThestory beginsaroundmidnight. desert. madness. and theirvehicles over roughly800non-stop acrossthe kilometres E One oftheharshest tests for 500. man–andmachineistheBaja very year, thehundredsofdrivers therace attracts push themselves issue FIVE

99 “Which way? Which way?” shouts the driver, Luivan Voelker, as he wipes his face shield and peers into the foggy night. Through the darkness he sees shadowy figures silhouetted against roaring bonfires. Where’s the road he should be on? Why can’t he find any of the direction markers that will tell him where to turn? He can’t use the GPS Bugs to Bigs Cars racing the Baja 500 range from the Stock as it quit working after the water crossing, so he has to rely on the Volkswagen Class introduced in 1974 to the Trophy signs – but there aren’t any. Truck Class which started in 1994. The humble Bugs use standard Beetle parts, and allow entry He is trying to find his way to the one in 1967. He’s also raced in most level (read cash-strapped) racers to compete at finish line of the SCORE Baja 500, of the Baja 500s and has built up a relatively sedate speeds. The unlimited Trophy an annual event that has drawn as record number of victories. Since Trucks are built on tube frames, with massive many as 438 entrants to the Mexican 1970, he has compiled 18 wins in engines, huge amounts of wheel travel and top city of Ensenada in Baja California various classes in the Baja 500 – and speeds of over 220 kilometres per hour. Norte, the top half of the beautiful he has another 18 victories on record and mostly empty Baja peninsula. in the Baja 1000. The most recent The number in the title refers to was June this year, when he and his 500 miles (804 kilometres), but the partner, Mike Winkel, took the win course is sometimes shorter. in the Stock Mini class in their H3 From Ensenada, where the Hummer. “Baja opens up your eyes race starts, our frazzled driver has so much,” says Hall, “and once you driven his race car for about 640 get out in the open, you have the kilometres, through brush-covered complete feeling of freedom.” hills, searingly hot desert, chilly To prepare, drivers usually mountains, streams and seemingly spend three or four days in the While the organisation of the Baja races has improved since 1973 the going certainly still : t rackside c oop er; photo t i o n: emily endless silt. Then he hit the Pacific wilds of Baja, reconnoitering or gets rough. The 2008 edition of the Baja t ra coast where fog made it hard to see. “pre-running” the racecourse. They 500 took the racers on a 709-km tour of the Now, within a few kilometres of the drive their off-road vehicles (trucks, northern part of the peninsula. The drivers

had to pass four pitstops. ma p illus finish line he has discovered that the bikes, quads, pre-runner buggies) brightly coloured arrows that have around the racecourse at an easy been helping him find his way are no longer marking the route. They’ve been taken as souvenirs by race fans, y images the ones standing around those bonfires. The driver will just have to wing it, and trust the spectators to point out the right road. ck / alamy ge tt to

Adventure? Guaranteed “You’ve got to be a little adventur- ous. You’ve gotta be able to enjoy

rolling the dice a little bit – playing / Trans : t rackside hoto with the unknown a little,” says Rod Hall, the only racer who’s managed to compete in every Baja 1000 (the big brother of the 500) since the first

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pace, trying to memorise it, and give ation (NORRA), a US-based organisa- their navigators a chance to see it tion. Starting in Tijuana, just across before the going gets gritty. But even the border from San Diego in the US though the racers carry GPS units state of California, it finished in La to help them navigate, they have Paz, near the tip of the Baja Califor- : c o r b is P hoto limitations. For one thing, they can nia peninsula, a distance of some Tortoise and Hare quit working if they get wet. Besides 1,500 kilometres. The race generated that, GPS devices can’t tell the driver a huge amount of interest, and the Baja racers need a high degree of self- if a broken vehicle is parked on the racers came back with a lifetime of assurance, a well-developed sense of course. They can’t spot a wandering stories to tell. The class winners of the 1974 edition of the humour, patience to an extreme de- cow either. The promoters had no hesitation Baja 500 on parade (top left). Overall victor gree and a high threshold for personal Which is why – until they are in planning another race the next Bobby Ferro sits in his VW-powered Sand- discomfort. Baja legend Rod Hall says master Funco buggy (bottom). Judy Smith, taken for souvenirs – the entire November, and by 1969, interest had the author of this article, stands beside her deciding which of the 18 car and truck length of the course will have been grown to such a degree that NORRA broken-down vehicle during the 1981 edition classes to race in is the first challenge. marked with arrows, reflective decided to make it a twice-yearly of the race (top right). The next most tricky part is finding stickers, brightly coloured ribbons, event, except that the springtime race support, technical help and fund- danger warnings and mile markers. race, the Baja 500, would be shorter, ing. But the hardest choice is always: It’s hard to get lost, but there are with both the start and finish in “What’s fast enough?” plenty of other things that can hap- Ensenada. In all other respects it’s “You can’t let someone else deter- pen. “You challenge the desert, the the same type of race as the Baja mine how fast you’re going to run your vehicle and your common sense all 1000, but support crews (that can race,” says Hall. In this year’s Baja 500 at the same time,” smiles Hall, “and range from none – just the co-driver race, many competitors passed him you’re in a competition too – you – to eight extra trucks equipped with early in the day, but then had prob- have to have the desire to win.” spare parts and tools) have an easier lems and needed to stop and make time as the distance is shorter. extensive repairs. “At the end I won Forty Years of Madness Promoted by organiser SCORE In- because I didn’t have to stop and work The first Baja event, the Baja 1000, ternational since 1974, these two are ; Trackside S mi th ; Trackside ; J udy photo t rackside 2007 on my car.” was staged on October 31, 1967 by the landmark events but other races the National Off Road Racing Associ- have been established, such as the

Bugs, Bikes and Dirt Through the Years lef t ): © s (fr o m top P hoto 1967 1969 1970 1972 1974 1976 First Baja 1000, pro- NORRA launches Baja Rod Hall wins the Baja Larry Roeseler wins SCORE begins long-term New categories added, in- moted by the National 500, won by Bud Ekins 500 in a four-wheel drive his first Baja 500, on sponsorship. Bobby Ferro cluding Class 11 for Stock Off Road Racing Associa- and Guy Jones in the Baja vehicle. He continues to a motorcycle. He has a wins in a VW-powered VW Sedans. Class for mo- tion, began in Tijuana and Boot. race and now has 18 Baja total of 16 wins in motor- Sandmaster Funco torcycle racers over the ended in La Paz. Won by 500 victories. He current- cycle, truck and unlimited single-seat buggy. Course age of 30 added. Vic Wilson and Ted Man- ly races in a Hummer. classes. marked for first time. gels in a two-wheel drive VW buggy.

issue FIVE 103 San Felipe 250, which starts from the Gulf of California coast of Baja, to cater for the terminally addicted. From the start, the races were an exhilarating mix of speed and adventure. Much of the adventure centred on finding the quickest way to the finish line. The early courses were not marked, except for the occasional pile of rocks or cactus- speared beer can put there to remind racers that a turn or a hazard was just ahead. Adding to the adventure was also the possibility that the vehicles might break down, or hit something very hard, or fall into a hole. But the entries still came piling in year after year. “We love the challenge of coaxing a 40-year-old car hundreds of miles across the Mexico deserts,” says ck I nc. / A lamy to long-time VW racer Jim Graham, – if, say, I go too fast and the car Baja legend Rod Hall has raced in every Baja who like many drivers takes part breaks – it’ll be my responsibility to 1000 and most Baja 500s. The 38 years between these pictures being taken in 1970 to boost a deserving charity – in fix it and get going again,” says Hall. and this year have been kind to Hall, who : © Trans P hoto his case World Diabetes Day. “And Which means that despite technol- holds a record 18 Baja 500 class victories. the fans are always tremendously ogy having lightened the impact of While Hall’s latest victory came this year in a Hummer (above), drivers take on the desert supportive.” problems, racing in Baja continues in a variety of vehicles, including modified to be a mix of adventure and speed. pick-up trucks (opposite page top) and Again and Again GPS units combined with course buggies (opposite page bottom). Still, trying to pinpoint the reason markings make it hard to get lost. racers come back so regularly is Satellite and radio communica- difficult. Hall says that at the end of tions systems allow nearly instant a race all the drivers are tired, and tracking of every vehicle and permit usually feel they have “had enough.” racers to call for spare parts or assis- Never again, they say. But then, after tance. But the desert is still a harsh resting for a while, they start think- place. “When you leave the line your ing about next year’s adventure; whole spectrum changes. You find they just know it will be different you are quickly disintegrating your next time, he says. The car’s con- whole vehicle,” says Hall. dition, the weather and the other And technology can’t take away competitors: each has an impact on the magic of Baja racing. Watching the race, and will make things differ- the sunrise on the second day of ent and hopefully easier next time. racing is a memorable moment, and That’s what draws him, and count- there’s nothing quite like the glow less others back again and again. of moonlight on the empty desert as However, to be successful as a a terminally fatigued driver makes Baja racer you have to be aware of his way to the finish line. Even if he consequences. “If I make a mistake doesn’t exactly know the way. n

1978 1994 1990 2006 2008 Mexicans score first First year for Trophy Class 50 added for A record 438 starters Mark Lindsay in a wins: Mike Leon and Truck class – trucks drivers over 50 years of line up for Baja 500, Polaris RZR becomes ck I nc. / A lamy to Javier Tiznado in Baja built on tube frames age. Won by Al Guzman. with 222 finishing the first driver to finish Baja Bug class; Jesus Luna with big motors and race. Senior citizens get 500 in the UTV Class and Aurelio Alvarez in huge amounts of wheel their own Class 60. for small side-by-side VW sedan class. travel. Often produces vehicles.

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