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StuckSucks
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In Defense of Shockingly Dangerous Desert Racing in Mexico
Wired: In Defense of Shockingly Dangerous Desert Racing in Mexico
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StuckSucks
Super Nomad
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"If you go to Baja and don’t fall in love with either its racing or the landscape, then you sat in a hotel in Cabo and never saw the real land."
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norte
Super Nomad
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Why do they have to do this kind of racing in Mexico? why not the USA if it is beneficial?
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David K
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It is done in the USA... and Africa... and Australia... and South America... but there is only one BAJA! That is where off road racing was born.
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MMc
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People were racing autos before they were paving roads. This is a list of some of the most important of there day.
http://listverse.com/2011/06/27/10-historic-car-races-that-s...
Here's some info on the first promoted auto race.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-auto-race-h...
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
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norte
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Quote: Originally posted by David K  | | It is done in the USA... and Africa... and Australia... and South America... but there is only one BAJA! That is where off road racing was born.
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Oh my goodness. I have never seen any thing in the news like this guy describes. They must keep it quiet for some reason. Where do they have an area
1000 miles long in the USA to do this?
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MMc
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There are a number of off road races in the world. The Baja 1000 is the longest point to point race, Dakar is the longest rally event, local there is
the Best of Desert and others, Oz has a bunch of off road events. Euros have a bunch of rally events on dirt roads.The euros come pretty close to
spectators all the time. DK is just spewing about the 1000 out of his love for it.
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
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gnukid
Ultra Nomad
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How dangerous is Football? Baseball? Boxing? Horse back riding? Car racing is the number #1 sport of Baja I doubt it is going anywhere soon.
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MMc
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My big fear for racing in Baja is the farmers and land holders don't allow racers across their land anymore. There are many places that no longer like
the race. Pre-runners not closing gates, hitting livestock, not caring about the land they cross. Most of the racers are good caring people that also
give back to the folks of Baja, (Racers & Ranchers). But the roads take a beating and more and more land is being closed down. I hate to say it
but I don't think we will still be watching this race in 15 or 20 years.
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
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AKgringo
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| Quote: Originally posted by norte | | Quote: Originally posted by David K | | It is done in the USA... and Africa... and Australia... and South America... but there is only one BAJA! That is where off road racing was born.
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Oh my goodness. I have never seen any thing in the news like this guy describes. They must keep it quiet for some reason. Where do they have an area
1000 miles long in the USA to do this?
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Well, the Iditarod trail race (AK) is over a thousand miles, but you have to wait for freeze up! We have lots of room for a long race, but we went
and paved the couple of roads that serve this huge state, so not much else to race on.
[Edited on 6-18-2015 by AKgringo]
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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MMc
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A bunch of lawyers also made it a bit more difficult to race in USA too.
| Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo | | Quote: Originally posted by norte | | Quote: Originally posted by David K | | It is done in the USA... and Africa... and Australia... and South America... but there is only one BAJA! That is where off road racing was born.
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Oh my goodness. I have never seen any thing in the news like this guy describes. They must keep it quiet for some reason. Where do they have an area
1000 miles long in the USA to do this?
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Well, the Iditarod trail race is over a thousand miles, but you have to wait for freeze up! We have lots of room for a long race, but we went and
paved the couple of roads that serve this huge state, so not much else to race on. |
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
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TMW
Select Nomad
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Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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| Quote: Originally posted by norte | | Quote: Originally posted by David K | | It is done in the USA... and Africa... and Australia... and South America... but there is only one BAJA! That is where off road racing was born.
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Oh my goodness. I have never seen any thing in the news like this guy describes. They must keep it quiet for some reason. Where do they have an area
1000 miles long in the USA to do this?
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Best In The Desert (BITD) will have the longest off-Road race in the U.S. in August. Las Vegas to Reno. It's 500+ miles. Same race vehicles as SCORE
has in Baja. More restrictions than in Baja. Not as spectator friendly as Baja. In the U.S. the BLM and Forest Service and other government agencies
place a lot of restrictions on the race promoter, especially in CA. BITD has several races a year some motorcycle/ATV only. I think it was 2000 that
BITD did a 2000 mile race rally style in NV. Went all around the state as I recall. Environmentalist have used the desert tortoise as an excuse to get
the government to close areas where racing use to be, such as the very popular Barstow to Vegas MC race.
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J.P.
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Off road Racing
In it's self it can be very entertain The Problem being the hype they put out is total B.S. all the Money they bring to the economy and the list
goes on The Cars and drivers are transported into the county and leave the same way The big problem being the Knuckle Dragging White Trash that tags
after them they are the ones that that display no respect for the Mexican People or their property and leave a bad taste long after the organized part
of the race is back home
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TMW
Select Nomad
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Location: Bakersfield, CA
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J.P. you don't have clue as to what you are talking about.
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J.P.
Super Nomad
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Clue
I have lived here 14 years and I admit I probably don't Have a Clue as to how bad it really is but as one small example please explain why a bunch of
drunks in high powered Pre Runners that aren't involved in the race should be allowed to trespass on private property and run the public roads with
complete disregard for public safety. I will admit it can be somewhat amusing to watch some of the locals act out during the frenzy with their
hatchet job trucks.
I am not Anti Race. the group needs to police it's self better or the same thing will happen to them that happened in the High Desert.
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 18111
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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| Quote: Originally posted by J.P. | In it's self it can be very entertain The Problem being the hype they put out is total B.S. all the Money they bring to the economy and the list
goes on The Cars and drivers are transported into the county and leave the same way The big problem being the Knuckle Dragging White Trash that tags
after them they are the ones that that display no respect for the Mexican People or their property and leave a bad taste long after the organized part
of the race is back home
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watch out! Now you have gone and offended the knuckle dragging white trash (surprisingly, a few of them can read), and they will soon be puffing up
their chests and fanning their peac-ck feathers! Pretty soon they will be spouting that tree huggers and liberals are socialists and fascists,...
[Edited on 6-18-2015 by mtgoat666]
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bajadogs
Super Nomad
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Registered: 8-28-2006
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Mister K, My great-grandfather was in the original Indy 500 in 1910-1912 on bricks. His name was Johnny Jenkins. Look him up. He was in an off-road
race from Santa Monica to Phoenix that went through San Diego and over where HWY 8 now exists and had to dip down into Mexico to avoid the sand dunes
before arriving back up in Yuma. Maybe the first automobile race ever in what is now Baja. Maybe 1914 (?). BUT, he had been racing off-road for many
years before that and I have his medals to prove it. Off-road Racing was not born in BAJA, though it may die there.
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vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | | It is done in the USA... and Africa... and Australia... and South America... but there is only one BAJA! That is where off road racing was born.
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African off road racing is mostly a club level sport on closed courses. WOMZA organizes a few 200 km. races a year, but the equipment wouldn't be
considered competitive for Baja. In Australia, the minimum length of a race is 150 km. and the longest is 250 km. these off road races are run on
closed courses that must be at least 15 km. per loop. no comparison with 1000 miles on public roads. Off road racing was certainly not born in Baja.
The racing is STILL done completely on roads. Some of them paved. People have been racing cars on dirt roads in organized events since the sunset of
the 1800's. Southern California off road racing does indeed owe a lot to the former lawlessness of Baja but I too predict that it will end pretty
soon. Spectating at the last three 1000 mile races/rallies, I didn't see ANY Mexicans making ANY money. NORRA is better than SCORE in that respect,
but still after finishing their day north of Vizcaino this year, the NORRA motorcycles headed right to San Ignacio to spend the night. The checkpoint
crew, ambulance drivers, race crews and pit people outnumbered the spectators 3 to 1. Vizcaino might have sold a little extra gas, some food and beer,
but that didn't put new shocks on anybody's ranch truck.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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A little more off-road racing history
Early off-road racing on an insane course!!
Panamint Valley
Here's more of the story..........
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/paris-or-bust-the-grea...
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64743
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Man has always raced... this is not new. To not push ourselves to the limits of our endurance (or our vehicles) would be un-natural.
So, yes, there was racing before there was paved highways. The 'modern' form of off road racing, using Jeeps, dune buggies and motorcycles was indeed
born in Baja with the organization of the 1967 NORRA Mexican 1000.
I do recall some short course off road events in Riverside, CA... called the Off Road Grand Prix, or something like that from the 1960's, as well. I
believe the first American long course off road race was the Mint 400, out from Las Vegas, a year or two after the first Baja off road race.
Working off my memory, as I was around 10 back then, and my dad got Four Wheeler Magazine, and I read them.
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