Event: Mexico - Ensenada

Score Baja 1000 Desert Race

When:	Nov 2007 (annual)
Where:	Ensenada
Costs:	Various - membership fees & entrance fees

This extraordinary endurance race has taken place every November since the late 1960s and attracts diehard international competitors. If you have a preference for cross-country driving, you can join them to race over 1000 miles (1600km) of Baja California's peninsula.

The race begins at Ensenada just over the Mexican border from California and meanders on a dirt road beside the emerald waters of the Pacific coast, across the dry and rocky mountain range La Giganta, and finally through the El Vizcaíno desert and dried-up river beds to end at La Paz at the southern end of the peninsular. Any vehicle can be raced in various different classes, including motorbikes and small cars (even 2CVs have taken part), rally cars and big trucks.

The road surface is at best bumpy, at worst downright awful, so bikers always drive in relay, covering five or six pit stops which are spaced 50 miles apart before handing the bike on to the next team member.

Competitors have been known to ride with broken legs, arms, ribs and fingers after tumbling in the dust to reach their designated pit stop. A legendary figure of the Baja 1000 drove a truck, not a bike, and in 1998 he won the race by driving the entire 1000 miles alone in just 20 hours. Retired Ivan "Ironman" Stewart lived up to his nickname.

If you want to enter Baja 1000, contact Score International, or just head down there as a visitor to check out the electric atmosphere surrounding this crazy race.