National Off-Road Racing Association

Last updated

The National Off-Road Racing Association (usually abbreviated NORRA) is a desert off-road racing association.

Contents

History

It was founded in 1967 by Ed Pearlman and Don Francisco. [1] [2] At the time it was the first racing sanctioning body devoted solely to off-road racing. The first event, the Mexican 1000 (1967), began in Tijuana, went through Ensenada, and finished in La Paz. This first event laid the groundwork of vehicle classes and rules that shaped off-road racing in Baja for the next 40 years. The involvement of the Mexican government and other issues eventually lead to NORRA no longer hosting the races and SCORE International took over and the event became the Baja 1000. After that NORRA was defunct for several years.

In 2010, NORRA returned to the Baja California Peninsula. [3] The race again was called the Mexican 1000, although with a different flavor and structure. [3] The race was now run in a rally style, [3] with special stages and transit sections, and is focused on historic racing vehicles. Racing vehicles must be motorcycles and automobiles from prior to 1998. [4]

In 2011, NORRA added an "alternative fuel" racing class including diesel, electric, ethanol, propane, etc. [4] which allowed modern racing vehicles to participate. The door to modern vehicles was opened all the way in 2012 with the introduction of the "Evolution" category. Robby Gordon and Clyde Stacy were the first winner of this new category. [5]

A small section of the Mexican 1000 was featured in the seminal motorcycling film On Any Sunday . There, famous rider Malcolm Smith is shown racing through Baja desert.

Related Research Articles

Motorsport(s) or motor sport(s) are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms automobile sport, motorcycle sport, power boating and air sports may be used commonly, or officially by organisers and governing bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baja 1000</span> Off-road race that takes place on Mexicos Baja California Peninsula

The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pearlman in 1967 and is sanctioned by SCORE International. The race is the final round of a four-race annual series, which also includes the San Felipe 250, the Baja 400 and the Baja 500. The 2017 Baja 1000 marked the 50th anniversary of the race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parnelli Jones</span> American racing driver (1933–2024)

Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones was an American professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race, and the Trans-Am Championship series. In 1962, he became the first driver to qualify over 150 mph (240 km/h). He won the race in 1963, then famously broke down while leading the 1967 race with three laps to go in a turbine car. During his career as an owner, he won the Indy 500 in 1970–1971 with driver Al Unser.

The Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame dedicated to notable competitors and contributors of off-road racing in North America. ORMHOF has an extensive digital collection of off-road related materials and maintains a collection of off-road vehicles that are on display at major automotive museums around the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorcycle racing</span> Racing sport using motorcycles

The motorcycle sport of racing includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert racing</span> Racing through desert in an off-road vehicle

Desert racing is the act of racing through the desert in a two- or four-wheeled off-road vehicle. Races, which generally consist of two or more loops around a course covering up to 4,660 miles (7,500 km), can take the form of Hare and Hound or Hare scramble style events, and are often laid out over a long and harsh track through relatively barren terrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Hall (racer)</span> American racing driver (died 2019)

Rod Hall was an American professional off-road racer. He was inducted in the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005. He has spent his entire adult life around four-wheel-drive vehicles. He competed in fifty straight Baja 1000 races and had class wins in 25 of them. At his death, he had the most desert off-road race wins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rally raid</span> Long distance, multiday, off-road racing

Rally raid is a type of off-road motorsport event for automobiles and motorcycles. Along with shorter baja rallies, rally raid constitutes cross-country rallying. Both the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) co-organise a common World Rally-Raid Championship featuring the same events for both types of vehicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob MacCachren</span> American racing driver

Rob MacCachren is an American off-road racer from Las Vegas, Nevada. MacCachren won over 200 off-road races including six editions of the Baja 1000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Best in the Desert</span> American off-road racing association

The Best In The Desert Racing Association (BITD) is an American desert off-road racing association, based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Casey Folks in 1984, and is currently owned by his sons Daryl and Bryan Folks. The BITD was originally a motorcycle-only series, until the Vegas To Reno, the longest off-road race in the United States, was introduced in 1996 with four-wheel classes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SCORE Class 5</span>

SCORE Class 5 is described as "open wheel unlimited Baja Bug class that competes in the SCORE off-road race series races including the Baja 1000, Baja 500, San Felipe 250, Baja Sur 500 and the SCORE Desert Challenge.

The SCORE San Felipe 250 is a 250-mile Mexican off-road motorsport race that takes place near San Felipe on the Baja California Peninsula. It was first held in 1982 and is sanctioned by SCORE International.

Vildosola Racing is the professional SCORE Trophy Truck #21 off-road racing team based in San Diego, California. It is owned and operated by Gus and Tavo Vildósola. The team races in numerous off-road circuits, including SCORE/Tecate Baja series and Best In The Desert (BITD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gus Vildósola</span>

Gustavo Vildósola Ramos is a Mexican off-road racer and entrepreneur.

Gustavo Vildósola Perez Tejada, better known as Tavo Vildósola, is a Mexican off-road racer and entrepreneur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Off-road racing</span> Format of racing

Off-road racing is a form of motorsports consisting of specially-modified vehicles including cars, SUVs, trucks, motorbikes, quadbikes and buggies racing in off-road environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Can-Am Off-Road</span> Canadian recreational vehicle manufacturer

Can-Am is a Canadian subsidiary of Bombardier Recreational Products, once part of Bombardier Inc. Its products include ATVs and side-by-side vehicles. It was founded in 1942 as L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée by Joseph-Armand Bombardier in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada.

The Baja XL is a biennial off-road charity rally and road trip organized by the creators of the largest amateur rally in the world, the Budapest-Bamako. It is the successor of the Baja 4000. It's a low budget, amateur version of the famous Baja 1000 and Dakar Rally. The first edition was held in January 2017. The rally started in Los Angeles and traveled 4000 kilometers on the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. In 2018 before the second edition of the event organizers changed the event's name from Baja 4000 to Baja XL. From Jan 29-Feb 7, 2019 the second edition was held with 120 teams entering the event.

Ricky Brabec is an American professional off-road and rally raid motorcycle racer. He is prominent for being the first American competitor to win the motorcycle division of the Dakar Rally in 2020. He won the Dakar again in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baja (cross-country rally)</span> Type of cross-country rally for automobiles or off-road race for motorcycles

A baja, or baja rally, is a motorsport event conducted using various types of vehicles. Along with the similar rally raids and marathon rally raids, the three event types are collectively considered as types of cross-country rallies by the international governing body for automobile sport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

References

  1. ↑ NORRA website
  2. ↑ "Baja legends: the historic characters, events, and locations", by Greg Niemann, 2002, ISBN   0-932653-47-2, p.120
  3. 1 2 3 Guise, Curtis. "NORRA Mexican 1000 Rally – Contingency". race-dezert.com. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  4. 1 2 Fish, Sal. "NORRA Announces Dates for 2011 Mexican 1000 Rally". race-dezert.com. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  5. ↑ Breauxman, Scotty. "GENERAL TIRE NORRA MEXICAN 1000 WRAP UP".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.