It all starts now! The 54th annual running of the SCORE-International Baja 1000 will take place this week. Starting in Ensenada, Baja California the race will send competitors down a 1,227 Mile course to the finish line in La Paz Baja California Sur, Mexico. This 2021 edition of the Baja 1000 is special and titled the Grandaddy of all desert racing because it is a full pull, point-to-point, run down the Baja California Peninsula. Race organizers will sometimes run a closed loop race that starts in Ensenada and finishes at the same location.  

The Baja 1000 is the season finale of the four race SCORE World Desert Championship series. The event can be viewed live through online streaming coverage, complete with vehicle tracking at www.score-international.com or through the SCORE Racing App available on the Apple and Android apple stores. The live streaming race coverage will feature race activities and start activities, finish line interviews, live racing action along the race course, and aerial drones filming from above. 

Televised race coverage will include a one-hour special on ESPN2’s World of X Games programming.  First air date domestically is scheduled for January 9, 2022.

SCORE Baja 1000 Live Streaming Coverage

SCORE Baja 1000 Contingency Day 1

SCORE Baja 1000 Contingency Day 2

SCORE Baja 1000 Race Day

The schedule of events shows Contingency and Technical Inspection taking place on Tuesday November 16 through Wednesday November 17. The Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center presents a new sea-side location adding to the Baja flavor and festivities. Thursday November 18 marks the official start of the race with the first moto bike scheduled to leave the line at 2:00AM. For safety and to gap the moto bike and quad classes ahead on course, the 4-wheeled vehicles will begin later at 10:00AM. 

There are 281 entries pre-registered, at the time of publication, but Off Road Xtreme and SCORE-International expect nearly 300 competitors to take the start line. Racers come from 35 different U.S. States, the U.S. Territories of Guam and Puerto Rico and 18 other countries including Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, India, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Spain, and Sweden. 

SCORE’s premier division of Trophy Truck racers will enjoy thirty entries racing for the overall win. Pro UTV Forced Induction shows the second largest entry list with twenty nine competitors. Trophy Truck Spec has twenty six racers entered. Most teams have aligned to join efforts with other drivers, creating super teams, and are splitting up the 1,227 mile course into manageable legs. This will help the racers stay fresh and provide the most competitive effort possible.

SCORE Baja 1000 Tips for New Drivers

The SCORE Baja 1000 has always been known to attract major celebrities and motorsports legends. This year, sports car racing legend Romain Dumas along with Indy Car racing champ Alexander Rossi, rally racer Ken Block, NASCAR Cup race winner Casey Mears and motorcycle rally champion Toby Price are all among the large group of crossover/celebrity racers who are taking on the Baja 1000 challenge.

While the fastest vehicles are expected to finish the monstrous race in around 22 1/2 hours, all vehicles will have a 50-hour time limit to become official finishers in the elapsed-time race.

The race features a course of 1226.35 miles of diverse and rugged terrain. Encompassing all that Mexico’s majestic Baja California peninsula has to offer, racers will traverse over high-speed dirt trails, rocky roads, sandy wash canyons, and thick bottomless silt beds. The course will see elevations from sea level to over 3,000 feet, running for stretches along the Pacific ocean in the west, and cutting over to the Sea of Cortez in the east.

SCORE Baja 1000 Grandaddy Peninsula Run Race Course Route

From the start, the route will run east from Ensenada to Ojos Negros, south to Valle de Trinidad, down to Colonet. After that south to San Quintin. The course starts heading inland to Catavina then south to Coco’s Corner to Bahia de Los Angeles. From there it heads inland to San Ignacio and back to the Pacific Ocean at race mile 750. At about race mile 825 it heads east to the Sea of Cortez at race mile 880 and down along the Sea of Cortez past Loreto. After Loreto it runs southwest and back along the Pacific past Villa Insurgentes. From there they head towards Ciudad Constitucion until race mile 1180 where it turns southeast and finally finish in La Paz.

The historic race course features three physical checkpoints, 236 virtual checkpoints, including 23 speed zones (37 or 60 miles per hour) for a total of 196.18 miles. The three physical (full stop) checkpoints will be Checkpoint No. 1 at Chapala (race mile 421.30). The Checkpoint No. 2 is located at the Vizcaino road crossing (race mile 633.31). Checkpoint 3 is at Insurgentes (race mile 999.91).

Any racers attempting the Baja 1000 have tremendous courage. Any racers that complete the race within the allotted time, should be proud. For the racers that finish at the top, they will be praised and memorialized for their victory. Off Road Xtreme wishes all of the competitors safe travels and righteous wisdom.

Photography downloaded from Red Bull Media Content Pool