NORRA Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary in the Wilds of Baja, Mexico Chris Collard - FourWheeler.com
go to original August 16, 2017

2017 NORRA Mexican 1000 Contingency; The Funnest Race on the Planet (NORRA Racing)

This year, which marked NORRA’s 50th anniversary, was expanded to five days and encompassed 1,300 miles of Baja’s best. As is tradition, if you want to race, whether it be in a Ural sidecar, Porsche 911, ’57 Bel Air, or Triumph “desert sled” Scrambler, they will find (or create) a class for you. All are welcome.

Although it is known as the “Funnest race on the planet,” it is still a race and competition within classes is fierce. However, unlike other events, nerfing is strictly prohibited (vintage parts are hard to replace), teams tip cold ones together in the nightly bivouac, and the atmosphere is one of camaraderie. Drivers will stop to help another out of a ditch, and organizers support this by deducting good-Samaritan time from their overall score.

While today’s 1000 incorporates GPS trackers and route books, and nearly all teams have chase crews, there were a who that gravitated toward old-school Baja tradition. An example is Ned and Kat Bacon, who piloted their ’60 Willys with no support, buying fuel at Pemex stations, and relying on their own moxie when things went sideways. To top it off, after 1,300 miles of racing they turned around and drove it home.

... So you might ask, “who won?” Well, everyone did. If they rolled under the green flag in Ensenada they became forged in the annals of racing history. Most of those who suffered game-ending mechanical failures loaded their rigs on a trailer and followed the race south, joining the party each night at the bivouacs. The Mexican 1000 is about the experience: the campfire yarns to be spun about bottomless silt beds, endless sandy beaches, and midnight snafus in a forest of cacti.

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