Baja. Its rugged desert landscape is speckled with villages, small towns, extinct volcanoes, lava rock, sand, silt, and palm tree oasis. It is not for the faint of heart and yet the people are friendly, the lifestyle is simple.
Once a year, the Baja Mil happens, or to those of us north of the border, the Baja 1000. The Baja 1000 is celebrated in full force in Mexico, it’s a school holiday and kids get two days off to watch the race and enjoy contingency festivities in Ensenada.
READ MORE: Apdaly Lopez Wins the Trophy Truck Class at the 2017 Baja 1000
This year is the 50th anniversary of SCORE-International Baja 1000, and had a record number entries at 412 total for the 1134 mile peninsula run from Ensenada to La Paz. Of the 405 vehicles that officially started the race, just 238 finished. It’s part of racing in Mexico. It’s what makes us addicted to Baja: some you win, some you lose.
With 48 hours to finish the race, the 50th Baja 1000 race course was strewn with silt beds, sandy washes, whoops, g-outs, foggy mornings, marshy canyons with reeds, rocky goat trails and crazy fans lining the course all the way down the peninsula.
This year, because of the peninsula run, the bikes and ATVs left ten hours before four-wheeled vehicles, starting at 12:01 AM on Thursday, Nov.16 and Trophy Trucks starting at 10:00 AM the next morning. The streets of Ensenada were lined with fans to watch the race start, which has a massive man made jump in the wash where Trophy Trucks fly for two to three hundred feet for the fans. The pandemonium created by fans can only be compared to superfans at a concert.
READ MORE: Quotes from Racers that Prove How Insane the Baja 1000 Really Is
The 50th Baja 1000 proved to be one of the hardest courses in history. “You never said it would be easy, but it will be worth it,” said Jason Steingraber of the 525 VW bug with 16-inch suspension. His first 400 miles were rough. During their trek he and his driver rebuilt the CV shafts three times, were high-centered, slashed a tire, and were stuck in silt and sand for a while. They called their race around 10:00 AM as they were not going to make it to check point two before it closed. Baja won, this time.
This was also the 50th time that Rod Hall competed in in the Baja 1000. He is the only driver still alive that has raced every single Baja 1000. And he won his class this year for his 25th win at the Baja 1000. He is the most winningest driver ever to date in the deserts of Mexico, though Hall says that after this race he is planning on retiring and spending time with his family.
From steering to alternators to engines, roll overs, and even a vehicle that burnt to the ground this year, you can never be quite sure what is going to do wrong at Baja. Sometimes, it’s just a tiny part that ends the whole race.
Jessi Combs plan to iron[wo]man the race in a Trophy Truck was cut short at race mile 362 because the ram cylinder on the steering shaft broke and she was unable to turn the steering right. She was attempting the 1134-mile course as the only driver for her Trophy Truck. Unfortunately, a small part took her out of her race. She drove smart, to that point wanting to conserve the truck and get it to the finish line, but Baja didn’t want her to win this attempt. “We were kicking ass until we weren’t,” said Jessi as she was sitting roadside with her crew and Trophy Truck 80 just outside the Bahia de Los Angels. “Its sad that a small part cost me the race.”
She needed another ram for the steering rack, and no spares could be found after a 7-hour search. Her team worked relentlessly to rebuild the rack, only to find the ram was the issue once they tore it apart. At this point she had technically timed out by not making it to check point 3 within its limit, but BFGoodrich Pits were going to leave the team fuel at each pit if they could fix the Trophy Truck and continue down race course so she could cross the finish line. Unfortunately, Jessi called it at 5:40 PM on Friday of the race (they started at 10:32 AM on Thursday) as there was no fix for the Trophy Truck’s steering ram issue within a few hundred miles.
Every team has a story that races in Baja. With over 1000 miles for this year’s race, the Trophy Truck drivers teamed up for a chance to win the overall time. The team of Apdaly Lopez and his father Juan Lopez edged out the others to win the 50th Baja 1000. Their race was not easy. They started twelfth in the race behind desert champions like Rob MacCachren and Robby Gordon, but MacCachren would end up not finishing due to a blown engine while Gordon did finish the race, but much later as he also suffered from mechanical issues. Two-time Baja 1000 winner BJ Baldwin also did not finish.
The Score International 50th Baja 1000 proved to be a tough battle that some won, and some lost, but that’s racing. For the love of desert racing, once you get bit by the “Baja bug” you always come back.
Photos by GETSOMEphoto.com