Baja 1000

Each year in November, a special breed of glory-seekers gather in Ensenada to participate in a contest. A motor race, around one thousand miles through the desert, circling or sprawling the length of the Baja peninsula. The event brings truckloads of people, cameras, and attention to the otherwise quiet area. These crowds come to see and do battle not only with one another, but with the land itself. Each year’s new race course is a fresh, unmet challenge. Half the teams that begin the Baja 1000 race won’t make it to the finish line. But they come from all around the world to try.

Winning this race is considered the pinnacle of off-road motorsports accomplishments, but what’s so special about a race through nowhere? The adage “if a tree falls in the woods, and no one’s around to hear it…” comes to mind. What’s the point of putting your neck and your vehicle on the line, just to run into a ditch at 3 a.m. miles from support in the wild? On the surface, yes, it sounds a bit insane. But every year, hundreds of talented drivers enter the race, hoping to skirt that fate for victory. Baja California, Mexico might as well be another planet.