50 Years of the Baja 1000

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When you read this, a great number of buggies are chasing the sand in the legendary Baja 1000 race - taking place in Baja California, Mexico from 14 to 18 November. This year with no less than 37 classes for cars, buggies and trucks plus another 10 for motorcycles and quads, all of them both modern as well as classic.

As a matter of fact the event is in its 50th year running officially now, with the first Baja 100 taking place in 1967 – then called the Mexico 1000. That year Vic Wilson and Ted Mangels won the gruelling race with a Meyers Manx VW Buggy and that meant the breakthrough for these cars. They dominated the Mexican race for a long time, combining their ultra light weight and strong construction with VW reliability, as a thousand desert miles can be harsh on the mechanical components. Until the 4x4s made their entrance, the buggies were very hard to beat.

Original film footage from the 1967 Baya 1000 here; a recent interview with now 91-year old Bruce Meyers about the race here.

(Words editor, picture The Samba)

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