The Baja peninsula is synonymous with off-road racing and is a place I have always wanted to visit. As part of the planned “trifecta” of doing the 3 major North American rallies back to back, number two on the list was the Baja Six Days Rally in Baja.
My trip to Baja started with a flight to Phoenix, Arizona where I hopped on a shuttle to Prescott to meet up with David Pearson, Jordan Reed, and the Freedom truck. David had also competed (and secured 1st place) in the Cotah Rally. Jordan, at this point, was an unknown, referring to himself as an Albertan rather than a Canadian.
We left early the next morning and drove all day. Before we crossed at Tecate, we managed to get some truly authentic southern BBQ food at a “literal” hole-in-the-wall eatery, and then carried on into Mexico.
The Tecate border crossing was fairly straightforward. Rome Haloftis was in front of us with his van, so when we pulled up at customs, we were just like - “ We are with that guy” and were pretty much waved through, except for me who had to go and get my visitor's card at immigration.
I was really surprised by the number of wineries as you cross into Mexico on the way to Ensenada. I had to suppress the urge to taste some wine, as we still had very far to go.
We hit Ensenada, the home of the Baja 1000 and the racing capital of North America, at rush hour on a Friday night. It took us hours just to get through the city. At some point, we all developed the urgent need to pee, but David, being at the wheel, and at that point in control of the situation, refused to stop (because we were so close, according to him, to our final destination). Our destination did not appear to get any closer, it felt like we were suspended in time, the GPS kept saying 2 hours away, even after 4 hours. Our whining, moaning, and eventually begging, softened David’s heart and he pulled over for us to pee.
When we finally arrived at the Mision Santa Maria Hotel in San Quintin, long after dark, and immediately hit the bar. After a few drinks, realizing we only have 2 double beds for the night, a game of pool commenced between David and Jordan, the loser having to sleep with me.
The next morning we started preparing the bivouac, getting ready for the team’s arrival later that afternoon. By the time the team arrived, we were all set up and ready to go. By now some teams have rolled into the bivouac, but we were expecting the bulk of the people the following day.
The next day, Sunday, was registration and technical inspection. We spent the day affixing Rally Comps to our bikes, drinking margaritas, and helping other riders sort out their bikes. That afternoon we had a riders briefing and a satellite phone check.
The Orga is very laid back and wants riders to have a good experience. This is a good time to mention how much I loved this aspect of the Baja 6 Days Rally. The Orga actively tries to remove roadblocks and hassles for the entrants, and as a result, this is the race with the least paperwork and administrative effort I have ever been to. Needless to say, I loved this aspect of the race. From an administrative aspect, it is very very easy to do the Baja Rally.
At the race briefing, Scott Bloom, the promoter made it very clear that although this is a race, there is no nothing to win, and that safety is paramount. As the race organizer, he wanted us to experience Baja to its fullest, in a safe and responsible manner. Mauricio Aguilar gave us a rundown of the logistics and plans for the coming days, and after most of us had an early night.
Having just done the Cotah Rally, the nerves were not quite as bad as it is normally before the first stage of a rally. It was nevertheless the first stage of a 6-day rally, and there was plenty of anticipation and excitement in the air.
Stage 1 started on a beach, the classic rally set up and scene, going flat out down the beach (something I have always wanted to do). I was enjoying myself so much that it took me a while to realize I had missed the very first waypoint of the race!!!!!! Because the beach was so wide and the tide was out, many riders, including me, did not collect the first waypoint.
Since I was not too far down the route, I decided to rather turn back and collect the waypoint than skip it, and be penalized.
All of this confusion straight out of the gate caused me to lose focus. “Tulip 4 - triple caution, a big step down”, a special warning by Orga the night before. Well, having just gone back to collect a waypoint, I kind of forgot about Tulip 4, and the result was, not only did I miss a waypoint, but I also crashed, within the first 5 tulips of the first stage, real classy.
After the beach, we headed into some soft sand dunes that transitioned into fast sand tracks, and eventually onto hardpack. By this time I had recovered my focus and was able to enjoy myself, I even managed to overtake some fellow riders.
The missed waypoint at the start of the stage plagued many riders that day, some not realizing they missed it until way too late, causing some serious time penalties.
The stage ended in Catavina, where we would stay at a central bivouac for most of the rally.
Just before the end of the stage, my tower started vibrating a lot more than usual. Upon closer inspection, it transpired that some of the bolts holding the tower flush against the neck of the bikes had sheared off, and the remaining ones were stripped. Removing these proved to be quite the challenge, but with the help and determination of Jake Metteer, we managed to fix the problem.
Stage 2 was a loop around Catavina to the west, touching the Pacific Ocean coastline a few times. It was super fast and super fun, with lots of dry river beds. I really enjoyed the high speeds of stage 2. After the refuel, the stage became very rocky and fairly challenging, but I still managed to keep a good pace and catch some guys.
Stage 3 was the start of the marathon stage. We left Catavina for Bahia de los Angeles (Bay of LA) . It was a super gnarly and dangerous day, mainly due to weather conditions and recent hurricane/flooding damage to the area. The stage started heading south along the Pacific Ocean, winding through fishing villages along the coast (where I was chased by dogs several times) and crossing deep valleys, and then heading east across the Baja peninsula to the Sea of Cortez, ending up at Bay of LA.
The day started out clear and sunny so I decided to go with tinted goggles. Within minutes of starting the stage fog started rolling in and it became impossible to see.
I decided to stop and change to clear goggles, but that did not help either. With moisture forming on the goggles it was impossible to see and wiping off the moisture all the time was super dangerous because of the rough terrain. I had a very near miss with a parked/broken-down grader that just materialized out of nowhere in the fog.
After the recent hurricane, the roads were in terrible condition with massive washouts everywhere. Add to that that there were just rocks everywhere, I decided to take goggles off and just dial it down and be safe. Reasoning that it's more dangerous to take a hand off the handlebar to wipe my goggles than to ride without goggles.
Being chased by dogs in a speed zone gets interesting. You either have to risk life and limb or risk a speed penalty. I risked the former, and resorted to swearing and shouting at the dogs in Afrikaans.
After snaking south along the coast for most of the day we turned east, inland towards the finish of the special. From the end of the special we had a long (unintended) liaison to the Bay of LA, as most of the rest of the route was washed away.
The marathon stage bivouac was at Hotel Villa Vitta in Bay of La. For the marathon stage, we had to work on our own bikes, using only spares/parts that we carried with us. Furthermore, we shared rooms with fellow competitors. I am assuming the room assignments were random. I really liked this aspect, as it created a scenario where you had to bunk with fellow competitors, in the process, getting to know them, and becoming friends.
The highlights of the stay at Hotel Villa Vitta were definitely the pool and the food, as well as the authenticity, Bahia de Los Angeles felt like real Mexico.
Stage 4 was an early start with a 6:30 departure from Bay of LA. Getting to the start of the special we had a very cold 90km ride. The special took us through some spectacular terrain. With amazing cactus plants, valleys, and many many rocks. This was a “new” stage for Baja Rally veterans, or as Scott put it, “You will go into areas that not even the “Lords of Baja” have been to”
The rockiest and most rutted stage of the rally for sure with many people having multiple offs.
I had one big crash, destroying the screen of the tower in a cartwheel, but luckily was flung away from the bike, so I walked away without any injuries. At the end of stage 4, we were back in Catavina.
That night there was a very special ceremony honoring an event moto medic (Patrick), who had passed away. Listening to how everybody spoke about Patrick and seeing how the ceremony was conducted, touched me, and I realized that I was part of something bigger than just the race, I had become part of a tight-knit group of people, the Baja Rally family. They love rally, but they also care deeply for one another, and they honor the spirit of adventure and rally through their actions, something truly special.
Every helper and volunteer that was at the Baja Rally WANTED to be there, they were super helpful, always friendly or ready with a joke or a kind word, loving life, sacrificing time off work, time with their families, etc. A huge shout out and gratitude to each and every helper and volunteer at the Baja Rally you guys were awesome.
Stage 5 - day of destruction. By far the most brutal stage for riders and bikes. It was another loop stage out of Catavina, heading North, then West, and turning East back to Catavina.
The morning started with tight twisty navigation (what I love), then it transitioned to loose rock climbs and broken hills into the refuel.
From the refuel, it was wide open roads, flat taps, until the road deteriorated to solid rocks, then opening up again for flat out to the finish.
The starting order was changed up with Rookies starting first and then Rally 1 and Pro following 30 mins later. I opened for the Rally 1 and Pro and started catching some Rookies.
At about km 80 I overshot a corner and Mike Johnson managed to pass me. I followed Mike to the refuel, where David Pearson caught me just before the refuel.
After refueling it was flat taps and I was not able to catch Mike. David had a mechanical so I passed him and after a lot of hard work managed to catch Brett Fox, the Tiger King on his Tiger. All in all a great day for me.
Many riders had navigation issues and some had serious crashes, day 5 definitely took a toll on the mind and body. Most notably Paull Neff, who had a high-speed crash, burst his air vest, bent his wheel, and still finished the stage.
Stage 6 was officially only a 190 km stage with a 70km special, but for me, it turned out to be a 1000km nonstop trip.
It had rained the night before so the soil was nice and damp but the riding required a lot of concentration due to washouts. The stage was super fast, muddy and very slippery After 6 days bodies and minds were tired.
After finishing the special we did a 120 km liaison back to San Quentin where we had the awards ceremony lunch and from there we had to head straight back to Arizona.
I managed to secure first place for the Rally 1 class and 8th overall so I was super happy with that result.
We had to leave straight after the awards, one to bring our friend and teammate Paul Neff to a doctor after his crash (Paul is OK and won the Rally Pro Class, with a broken neck it turns out) and two, to turn bikes around for the Sonora Rally the following week.
This resulted in the most entertaining 20-hour cross-country car ride I have ever had in my life. David, Jordan, and I made turns driving, while we tried to keep Paul entertained.
The border crossing at Tijuana took almost 3 hours, late in the evening, and then we enjoyed a 24h Denny’s diner for our dinner/breakfast while debating everything from aliens to sexual orientation at 1:30 am in the morning.
We decided to push on rather than get a hotel and arrived in Prescott, AZ around 9 am. (As it turns out, this part of the trip was more dangerous than anything we had done during the race)
The Baja Rally was amazing. Thank you to the Baja Rally organizers (In Scott and Mauricio) and all volunteers.
What I loved most about the race was how laid back and relaxed it was. The aim of the organizers is for everybody to just have a good time while enjoying the riding and surroundings of Baja, and they certainly succeeded in this. I also really liked the bivouac setup and camaraderie that was so prevalent at this event. The way the event is set up forces people to integrate and spend time together, rather than everybody doing their own thing.
A massive thank you and appreciation to Freedom Rally Racing for making this all possible. Freedom secured first-place spots in Rally 1 (me), Rally Pro (Paul Neff), and Rally Rookie (Kansas native Nick Brawner). Thanks, Jake Metteer, Jordan Reed, and Robert Mann for all your help and support.
I also ran the entire rally with my ERS Rally Tab digital roadbook. The tablet held up superbly, with not a single issue over the course of the rally. What's more, the tablet itself is the original demo unit I built and is over 2 years old. It also survived a major cartwheel crash without any issues.
Stages overview:
Stage 1
🚩➡️ San Quintín - Cataviña 🏁🔚⛺
📏290km
Stage 2
🚩➡️ Cataviña - Cataviña 🏁🔚⛺
📏223km
Stage 3
🚩 ➡️Cataviña - Bahía de los Ángeles 🏁🔚⛺
📏347km
Stage 4
🚩➡️Bahía de los Ángeles - Cataviña 🏁🔚⛺
📏267km
Stage 5
🚩➡️Cataviña - Cataviña 🏁🔚⛺
📏236km
Stage 6
🚩➡️Cataviña - San Quintín 🏁🔚⛺
📏191km