Baja 1000

The SCOREBaja 1000 is an off-road race that takes place in Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. The 2016 SCORE Baja 1000 is the final round of a four-race series, previous events are the SCORE Desert Challenge, the SCORE San Felipe 250 & the SCORE Baja 500. The 2016 round will be the 49th SCORE Baja 1000, occurring from November 16–20 over an 800-mile loop both starting and ending in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.

The Baja 1000 allows various types of vehicle classes to compete on the same course – from such small and large bore motorcycles, stock Volkswagen, production vehicles, buggies, Trucks, and custom fabricated race vehicles. The course has remained relatively the same over the years, about every other being either a point-to-point race from Ensenada to La Paz, or a loop race starting and finishing in Ensenada.

The name of the event can be misleading as the mileage varies for the type of event ("Loop" of 600 to 850 miles starting and finishing in Ensenada, or "Point to Point" also known as the 900. The first official race started in Tijuana, Baja California, on October 31, 1967, and was named the NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally. The course length that year was 849 miles (1,366 km) and ended in La Paz, Baja California Sur, with the overall winning time of 27 hours 38 minutes (27:38) set by Vic Wilson and Ted Mangels while driving a Meyers Manx buggy.

From 1967 to 1972, the race was organized by the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA) and grew in popularity with ABC's "Wide World of Sports" sending Jim McKay to cover the 1968 event, and attracting new participants like the late Mickey Thompson, Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones, movie actor James Garner, and Mary McGee, the first woman to compete in the event. By 1971, major sponsors such as Olympia Brewing Company and Minolta Cameras began to support Parnelli Jones in his Dick Russell designed and Bill Stroppe prepared "Big Oly" Bronco and Larry Minor in a similar Stroppe prepared Bronco.

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