2006 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000
Off-Road.com gets invasive and digs up the pre-race landscape.

These clowns take the award for most...?

It’s not unlike a city giving birth to a race – chaos and confusion, nothing according to plan, lots of drama and screaming, and the outcome is inevitable. Ensenada, Mexico: not a small town, not a big city on the northern end of the Baja peninsula, and the logical and historic launch pad for thousands of racers (reports pin it at 440 this year) running the 2006 SCORE Baja 1000. If you haven’t seen this magical, violent bundle of organized insanity in person (not unlike the delivery room), it’s got to go on your list. This race is a spectacular thing, one of the more accessible wonders of the world – on display for the 39th time tomorrow morning.

Tyler Fox and brother Zack Stephens will be fighting for a class win in 7S

“Contingency is always a zoo…” shouted Jaime Hernandez, Off-Road.com’s omnipresent editor, who was on doom patrol all day long (between doses of tacos and churros), hunting the whats and what-not from every pit he could enter. Baja 1000’s contingency is the ultimate gathering of off-road racers, more numerous than even the vaunted Paris-Dakar. Drivers and riders who’ve run both say this race is more grueling, but the setting is the somewhat idyllic Baja California peninsula, and that draws thousands of American (and thousands more from all over the world, including an estimated quarter-million locals) to pre-run, post-run, support and spectate (and unfortunately, booby-trap the course). And race - 1,050.83 miles. Contingency is where that all comes to life.

This truck made it through Tech Inspection with no problems

With dozens of Trophy Trucks (36 this year!), Class 1 and varying other hi-po desert-race meatballs backing from trailers and out of enclosed rigs (and chortling into and out of Tech Lord Bill Savage’s purview), the cacophony of horsepower (salted by hundreds of smaller displacement buggies, ultra-prepped factory bikes and quads) left the air juiced with race gas vapors and sparkling with sound. It’s about enough to distract attentions from the jiggling Tecate girls (Tecate being the King-Kong corporate presence for the Baja 1000), and other well-apportioned suppliers like Bilstein Shock Absorbers, Off-Road Warehouse, American Racing, PCI Radio and McKenzies.

Who Did or Didn’t Do What
Unfortunately for SCORE International president Sal Fish (but easy on the back of countless necks), the sun was bounced from this morning’s press conference by the popular Baja Fog & Drizzle assortment pack. Blame the weathermen (in English or Spanish), because they all predicted sunshine and dry hair. We’re cool with mud, really, and this sort of soggy weather is what we expect from a dozen other Bajas, but the “newsmen” with the plastic hair on television have about as much chance of being right about the weather here as the chicken does crossing the road with a Herbst bearing down on him.

B.J. Baldwin Stalks Big Trophy in Trophy Truck

Ballistic B.J. Baldwin is leading points in Trophy Truck class and wants the win

For a guy named Ballistic, this guy takes time to give his fans what they like. On hand to coax his championship-contending rig (leading in points as of today) through the glacial tech line, BJ Baldwin signed autographs for fans and talked to every supporter (and detractor) who stopped by. Though deemed a threat by lots of the long-time Trophy Truck racers, this Baldwin was at ease all day.

Cameron Steele
Speaking of desert guys, Cameron Steele – Desert Assassins El Jefe – is going for what may be a SCORE first, driving and riding in four different classes in this year’s race. Besides running a stint in his personal Trophy Truck, he plans to join wife and driver Heidi Steele in her 7SX rig for a spell, ride a big Honda 650R (endless wheelies, anyone?) and finish in DIRTsports’ own Class 11 VW Bug, built as a promotional device and charitable undertaking with CAN – Cure Autism Now. The CAN Class 11 Bug has been a part of Steele’s ’06 Baja 1000 plan since he had one, but because it’s likely to among the later finishers, Steele will be able to take the wheel himself to cross the line in La Paz. Several other racers will jump into two and three vehicles during the race.

Girl Power - Jarvis Stalks Ivan’s Nickname

Kathy Jarvis and Alan Pflueger

Ivan Stewart’s Pro Truck class is joined by stuntwoman Kathy Jarvis this year (Team Femefatale), and she’s planning to run the whole 100 yards by herself. Not content to race in SCORE’s Baja 1000, Jarvis wants to be the first Ironwoman. We honestly doubt the moniker will morph from Ironman, but this does nothing to douse the importance of Jarvis’ effort, and underline the consequence of the growing contingent of female racers lodged in the professional off-roader universe. Rumored to have gotten a little too cozy with Trophy Truck regular Alan Pfluegger during pre-running, it’s likely Pfluegger gave her a tip or two while they were caught chatting in the tech line this morning.

Evie Baldwin will debut in SCORE-Lite

On a similar note, Anna Cody is hunting the “Ironbutt” rep by conquering the Baja countryside solo on a Class 22 motorcycle.

Evie Baldwin is also joining the female racers at this year's Baja 1000. She will debuts in her PrettyMuddy Pro-Lite class. Evie Baldwin is a CORR racer, and wife of the late Jason Baldwin.

Mark Miller Missing

Ricky Johnson joins Mark Miller and Ryan Arcierro - NITTO Trophy Truck team

The 2006 Baja 1000 racecourse will not be graced by Mark Miller, as he’s wrapped up in gearing up for the overseas desert extravaganza/North African Fright March otherwise known as the Paris-Dakar. He’s on-site as team owner, and plans to chase his Miller/Arcierro Trophy bomber to the finish via helicopter (sounds like a nice way to do the 1000 to us…). His seat will be filled by CORR standout and Baja 1000 killer Ricky Johnson, for whom he’s got big hopes. “I’m confident Johnson will do a good job.”

Millens or Mitsubishi?
Our man Hernandez tried to scoop the skinny on father and son participants Rod and Rhys Millen, but they did their best to remain invisible. Rod, overall record-holder at Pike’s Peak and long time wicked hot-shoe, will be hunting the finish in an uber-prepped Toyota FJ (smells like factory support), while his son Rhys (who splits time between drifting a semi-factory GTO and spinning his Goodyears in the desert) will take part as one of the skills guys in the tourist-friendly Wide Open Baja buggy class. Also on the Scarce List was a partial factory effort by Mitsubishi, who’ve fielded one of their mid-size Raiders this year.

Pastrana Joins Jeffries in Class 1

Travis Pastrana and Damen Jefferies take on the Baja 1000 - Red Bull Class 1

More motorcycle stuff: he’s been on television, and won some metal in the X-Games (out-rallying some WRC pros in the process), and now Travis Pastrana is sitting in with desert veteran Damen Jeffries in the #116 Class 1 buggy. Though Pastrana continues to claim the need for adjustment – “I’m still getting used to being able to hit whoops six-feet high at over 100mph,” – we think he’s sandbagging. His transition from two wheels to four has been impressive by most-any standard.

Honda vs. Honda
If you’re one of those who thinks four wheels is too many, take heart. We caught big-race Mr. Nice Guy Johnny Campbell and Steve Hengeveld sorting themselves out for a run at Honda’s 10th-straight Baja win. These guys are teammates under the Honda banner (Ride Red!), but racing is racing when the course is in front of ‘em, and multi-champ Campbell and Hengeveld have produced some of the best head-to-head competition ever seen on the peninsula.

BMW Powa, Bilstein & Boris Said

Martin Christensen from All German Motorsports is ready for a Class 1 win

AGM (All-German Motorsports) has been developing their M5-powered Jimco Class 1 for several years. Suspended on a rather radical Bilstein-boinged 9300 Series Black Hawks, this exotic rig has been in the dirt all year finding itself, and the 2006 Baja 1000 was the point of it all. Class 10 champ Martin Christensen is going to shine this year. “We’re due for a win,” he barked from his pit. Just to make sure, road-course gem (and NASCAR celeb) Boris Said will cycle the wheel with Christensen on the way to La Paz.

Rock Crawlers Try On the Long Haul

RockCrawling Champion Shannon Campbell will be racing the new Donahoe Racing FJ Cruiser in the Baja 1000

UROC champion Shannon Campbell is going to make a concerted effort to crawl over more than the one monstrous rock he’s used to in UROC, banding up with fellow crawler Johnny Guilleland to race a Donohoe-prepped FJ Cruiser in the Baja 1000 this year. Campbell was outright beaming in Sal Fish’s morning press conference, ecstatic to be involved in the long-haul race universe that SCORE provides.

Team Can-Am/EPIC will take on the Baja 1000 in their customized quad equiped with Bilstein Shocks Absorbers

Make sure to check out our LIVE coverage of the Baja 1000 starting tomorrow at 6:30am as the first motorcycles leave the START.