Fifty years ago last week, Bruce Meyers and Ted Mangels pointed the nose of “Old Red,” Meyers’ very first Manx off-road buggy, southward out of Tijuana and set off on an adventure that would create an industry. Their destination was La Paz, well down the Baja coastline, their mission an informal feasibility study into the possibility of staging a race along the length of the peninsula.
Their “down” trip was not particularly quick as routes were explored and discovered, their pitfalls noted, but when they turned the little red Manx back toward home the bit was between their teeth. Thirty-four hours and 45 minutes later they rolled back into Tijuana riding a new elapsed time record for the journey. That fall, on Halloween weekend, the very first Baja 1000, then called the Mexican 1000, took its first steps into history from the parking lot of Tijuana’s Bullring by the Sea.
The organization that turned daring free-form dashes down the peninsula into a marketable contest of skill and daring was the National Off-Road Racing Association, and last weekend NORRA staged a 50th Anniversary commemoration of the historic event. It was a distinctly vintage affair featuring many of the cars and trucks with which the history of the race has been written.
As a prelude to that anniversary event, Marty Fiolka’s Rennsport Group organized an outing for its Baja Social Club, assembling at that very same Bullring and rallying gently down to Ensenada where the eighth running of NORRA’s legacy event was in progress. More than two dozen historic off-road machines — including Meyers’ original Manx and several Baja 1000 winners — enjoyed the highways winding through the coastal mountains on the long way to Ensenada, arriving in time to witness tech inspection of the racecars.
A small cadre of journalists was invited to ride along, happy to hang with true Baja legends like Meyers — driving Old Red! — three-time overall winner Ivan Stewart, double victors Mark Stahl and Bud Feldkamp and single winners Walker Evans and Mark Post. Long-time SCORE chief Sal Fish was also behind the wheel as everyone relished the chance to enjoy their favorite playground once again.
For additional information about NORRA and its 50th Anniversary Baja celebrations, please visit www.norra.com/mexican1000
