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A few days ago I was in Baja with a bunch of racers who were participating in a rally where the keyword was fun. Even seasoned racers such as Robby Gordon made the trek for the sake of being part of an event without any chance of making money or gathering publicity for sponsors.
Old timers will remember with fondness how the first few Mexican 1000 off-road races, which were extensively covered by Road & Track at the time, were great fun and an opportunity to socialize with fellow competitors. However, like so many race series the big Baja races nowadays are ones that require a serious commitment of money, time and talent to win.
Three years ago Mike Pearlman, the son of Ed Pearlman who was one of the original founders of NORRA that organized the first Baja race back in 1967, brought the organization back to life and revived the Mexican 1000 Rally for vintage off-road race cars and others who wanted to run modern ‘non-race’ cars, such as pre-runners and rally cars.
Each year the event has grown in popularity and this year saw some 73 cars and trucks along with 20 bikes started the four-day event in Mexicali. Each day the competitors tackle two or three stages on dirt tracks where they are timed and then take transit sections on paved highways to the overnight stay at beautiful locations such as Bahia de Los Angeles, Loreto and La Paz on their way to the finish in San Jose Del Cabo.
Each night the racers and their support crews had an opportunity to socialize and bench race. On Sunday night, for example, old times showed up including Bruce Meyers with his original Meyers Manx and Vic Wilson who won the first race in a Meyers Manx. Neither of these old timers was actually competing this year but they still joined in the fun, sitting around a camp fire describing their adventures from four decades ago.
Other former winners did compete this year. Walker Evans, for example, returned to drive his 1977 Dodge pickup. Malcolm Smith, winner of the first race on a motorcycle, was helping his son compete on an old motorcycle. Bob Gordon another former winner, who along with Frank and Ryan Arciero won the revived Mexican 1000 the past two years in their 1988 Toyota-powered two-seat Chenowth buggy, did not fare so well this year as a broken transmission put an end to their hope of another repeat win.
Robby Gordon, also a three-time Baja 1000 winner, was down in Baja for “the fun of it” to help assist as a chase car for Clyde Stacy who was racing Gordon’s Dakar Hummer that was driven in the last Dakar Rally by Nasser Al-Attiyah. In case you’re wondering how a modern vehicle like this could run against vintage machinery it’s because there are several classes for modern vehicles and the Hummer is not as potent as a Trophy Truck. When we chatted with Gordon he said he wished he had entered the rally in his pre-runner buggy that he was using as a chase vehicle.
Bruce Meyers with his original Meyers Manx.
That’s the beauty of this event – it harks back to the days of old when you could literally bring any modified vehicle down to race on the roads and tracks of Baja. Heck, even people like SpeedTV’s Dave Despain took vacation time this year in order to enjoy the adventure. He hitched a ride with several teams to share in the adventure. Sadly you won’t be able to see a report on Speed as he was not covering it for the TV channel. However, a large contingent of top-notch cinematographers were filming the event using high-end HD cameras to make a film documenting the interaction between old and young racers. The crew was comprised of many who helped put together the Dust to Glory movie that was produced by Dana Brown (think Endless Summer) several years ago. It was certainly enjoyable to be with others on what can only be described as a “busman’s holiday.”
The campfire scene in Bahia de Los Angeles.
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Related posts:
- Monster Minis Triumph – 2012 Dakar Rally
- Dakar Winner Joins Robby Gordon’s Team for 2012 Dakar Rally
- 2012 Dakar Rally Starts on Sunday
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