SANTA ANA, CA – (Sept. 12, 2017) – Yokohama Tire Corporation (YTC) is Baja bound. YTC announced it has fortified its off-road racing ties as the title sponsor of the 2018 Yokohama National Off-Road Racing Association’s (NORRA) Mexican 1000. (more…)
“They bill it as ‘The Happiest Race on Earth’ and I think it really is,” quips Ron Stobaugh in describing the NORRA Mexican 1000. “It’s just as tough as the Baja 1000 – it uses the same dirt, same roads, some rocks, same cactus as the traditional 1000 – but instead of having to do it non-stop point-to-point it’s broken up into four days. You get all of the adventure, all of the terrain, all of the toughness of the Baja 1000, with a break each night to look your car over, work on it, visit with your co-racers, visit with your team, and enjoy a little bit of Baja instead of just racing through it.” (more…)
The 2017 NORRA Mexican 1000 came to an end on Thursday, 50 years after the first Mexican 1000 race from Tiajuana to Cabo. Over time the names have changed and the vehicles have become more capable, but in the end this race is still about man’s struggle to overcome nature; in this case the harsh environment of the desert. Ed Herbst was the first across the line in the Riviera Racing Trophy Truck, winning the Historic Class. “This truck has raced more Baja races than any other Trophy Truck out there,” owner Mark Post explained. “It was so far ahead of its time when Robby Gordon designed it in 1992.”
While Post and Herbst won the Historic Class, they came second overall to Cameron Steele in his Geiser Trophy Truck. Cameron’s victory at the Mexican 1000 removes some of the sting of his heartbreaking loss last month in San Felipe. “The race is awesome, and to win is great, but to me this is a spiritual place,” Steele shared at the finish line. “I cannot get enough of Baja. We wanted to just stay down here and run the Dos Mares 500 next week, but the engine started making horrible sounds as we crossed the finish line.”
Others were not so lucky as to have failure wait for the finish line; the desert got the best of them. But they were not necessarily the low hanging fruit you would expect to DNF a race in Baja. The Westafarian VW van finished the entire race, as did both Porsche 911 entries. Even the Triumph TR3 that was abandoned in Santa Ynez after breaking a crankshaft in the first Mexican 1000 finally made it to San Jose del Cabo.
Many of the teams whose never saw the finish line were in modern vehicles with a far different approach to the race than say, Rene Aguirre and his Ford Galaxy. Aguirre and his team know that they aren’t racing Cameron Steele and Mark Post, they are racing against the desert. And if you push too hard for 1300 miles, nature will win. The Mexican 1000 started in 2010 as a vintage race, but it has grown into an off-road race that encompasses so much more. Whether that is all-out racing for the win, having fun with friends, or just immersing yourself into the culture of Baja, the Mexican 1000 had something to offer every team that entered. After 50 years, that aspect hasn’t changed.
About Method Race Wheels
Method Race Wheels designs, develops and distributes high performance wheels and accessories for race and street applications. These products represent our commitment to quality, driven by the high standards of performance.
As racing enthusiasts and participants, we are driven to look beyond conventional ideas of industry standards. Engineering, rigorous testing, data collection and proven performance redefines what is possible in the creation of our wheels and accessories. The application of our race knowledge separates us from other wheel companies.
Method Race Wheels is committed to bring you the finest quality products with the most complete line-up of off road race wheels for trucks, buggies, rock crawlers, short course, rally, and UTV’s, as well as street wheels for truck, Jeep, and SUV applications. We pride ourselves on providing these products to our customers with fast and friendly service that you can count on.
Look for our banners, listen to our name, and watch our products in action. Method Race Wheels…Lighter. Stronger. Faster.
About Race-Dezert.com
Race-Dezert.com was created by off-road enthusiasts, giving off-roaders a place online to share information about the sport and culture of off-road racing. Based in Southern California, Race-Dezert.com highlights the off-road disciplines of desert racing, short course off-road, stadium truck racing, rally raid, rally racing and rock crawling.
Our goal is to connect the world of off-road racing globally, bringing people together through the common denominator of off-road culture. Whether you are a racer, a promoter, a chase team member, a casual fan, or just interested in learning about off-road, Race-Dezert.com is a place where you can learn about the sport and culture of off-road racing.
Day Four of the NORRA Mexican 1000 (from Loreto to La Paz) didn’t cover as many miles as the previous day, but it was no less brutal. Many teams arrived late into Loreto on Tuesday night, leaving little time for chase crews to make repairs or fatigued drivers to get some rest. That made for an early morning on Wednesday; a day that would feature bottomless silt beds on the 240 miles of timed special stage course. The Mexican 1000 shares a race course with the upcoming Dos Mares 500, and prerunning for that race has already started, increasing traffic along the route. (more…)
“We brought a gun to a knife fight…” Brandon Bailey quipped regarding bringing his Alumicraft Class 1 car to the vintage-themed Mexican 1000, “and I got stabbed!” A hard rock hit ripped the driver side rear arm off the car on Day Three of the NORRA Mexican 1000, ending the race for Stronghold Motorsports. The team can at least take solace that they are not alone, as the two special stages of Day Three provided more miles (over 300 miles in the dirt) than the previous two days combined. Walker Evans also had to retire due to mechanical failure, as did a host of other competitors. Many of those who were lucky enough to make it from Bay of LA to Loreto arrived well into the night.
Cameron Steele continues to battle with Mark Post for the overall lead, but the real stories are unfolding further back in the pack. David Hough is currently in the top ten overall standings in his Richer Racing-built 1400 Toyota pickup, well ahead of some big names with much bigger budgets. Also raising eyebrows are Travis Chase and Drew Belk, who are also in the top ten overall standings driving air cooled four cylinder cars with beam front axles. Troy Johnson was running up front with this group on Day Two, but fell way back in the standings on the way to Loreto.
Arguing over which classes are fastest (such as Class 10 versus 6100 or UTV versus Class 9) is one of our favorite past times on the RDC forums, and NORRA provides plenty of fodder for this discussion. In fact, NORRA uses the top overall finisher from each class to determine the starting order for Day One of the next year’s race (after Day One starting order is determined by the previous day’s finish order). This created some grumbling on Day One when the UTVs started ahead of the Ultra4 class, but things are shaping up for a repeat after Ultra4 drivers JT Taylor and Jason Shipman dropped out due to mechanical issues. That leaves Dave Cole and Andrew McLaughlin to carry the rock donkey torch, but they are both far behind PJ Jones and Bill Whittington, who are currently 28th and 29th overall in the standings.
“They used to call it Baja California,” Grand Marshall Eliseo Garcia recalls. “But now, the whole world knows us simply as Baja.” Eliseo worked for the tourism department and helped Ed Pearlman with the first Mexican 1000. Now Eliseo Jr. works with Mike Pearlman (Ed’s son) in planning the current Mexican 1000, which continues on Day Four from Loreto to La Paz. While shorter than Day Three, expect driver fatigue and parts failures to ramp up on the penultimate stage, which will separate the veteran teams from the less experienced.
About Method Race Wheels
Method Race Wheels designs, develops and distributes high performance wheels and accessories for race and street applications. These products represent our commitment to quality, driven by the high standards of performance.
As racing enthusiasts and participants, we are driven to look beyond conventional ideas of industry standards. Engineering, rigorous testing, data collection and proven performance redefines what is possible in the creation of our wheels and accessories. The application of our race knowledge separates us from other wheel companies.
Method Race Wheels is committed to bring you the finest quality products with the most complete line-up of off road race wheels for trucks, buggies, rock crawlers, short course, rally, and UTV’s, as well as street wheels for truck, Jeep, and SUV applications. We pride ourselves on providing these products to our customers with fast and friendly service that you can count on.
Look for our banners, listen to our name, and watch our products in action. Method Race Wheels…Lighter. Stronger. Faster.
About Race-Dezert.com
Race-Dezert.com was created by off-road enthusiasts, giving off-roaders a place online to share information about the sport and culture of off-road racing. Based in Southern California, Race-Dezert.com highlights the off-road disciplines of desert racing, short course off-road, stadium truck racing, rally raid, rally racing and rock crawling.
Our goal is to connect the world of off-road racing globally, bringing people together through the common denominator of off-road culture. Whether you are a racer, a promoter, a chase team member, a casual fan, or just interested in learning about off-road, Race-Dezert.com is a place where you can learn about the sport and culture of off-road racing.
The second day of the 2017 NORRA Mexican 1000 took competitors along the Sea of Cortez from San Felipe to Bahia de los Angeles (Bay of LA), splitting up what was traditionally a long day from Ensenada to Bay of LA into two days. (more…)