Did you know the Baja 1000 was originally the Mexican 1000 Rally put on by NORRA?
The 1967 Mexican 1000 Rally (Oct 31st) was the first official event for NORRA and NORRA was the first official sanctioning body devoted exclusively to off road racing. 68 vehicles started that first race, in four classes. The race ran from 1967 to 1973. In 1974 the Oil Embargo shook things up, so NORRA held a race in Arizona instead. Not wanting to lose the race altogether, Baja’s California’s governor asked Mexican non-profit “Baja Sports Committee” to take over. BSC renamed the race the Baja Mil (baja 1000) and ran it for 1974. But the work was more than they had anticipated, so they tapped the newly formed SCORE to take over and gave them exclusive rights. The NORRA organization sat idle for a number of years after that.
In 2010 Mike Pearlman, the son of the founder Ed Pearlman brought the race back and turned it into what it is today, multi day rally style racing with special stages and transit or liaison sections. Originally focused on the heritage of the race, all cars had to be built before 1998.
Other dates of interest. In 2011 they created the “alternative fuel class” allowing diesel, electric, ethanol, propane, and others to join the fun. Now special builds or manufacturers looking to test their concepts in the harshest conditions have the ability to do so. In 2012 the Evolution class was created allowing all modern race vehicles to participate. In 2013 NORRA added the 500 to the schedule, which at the time was a 3 day event. In 2019 when the 500 returned again, it was shortened to a 2 days stage race. Prior to the 2023 Norra 1000 Robby Gordon became an owner, helping to increase the reach of the brand and cross-promoting it alongside his other brands.
Both events continue to this day, drawing ever larger crowds. If you want to check out the action of the next week's Norra 1000 just google the Norra live stream and you'll land on their website or YouTube channel.
1967 race recap video - https://youtu.be/vpNlLzwxY4U?si=GIWajCzRUG5zAt_A
