thumb|300px|Team 12L – 1st TT Legend at the 2017 Baja 1000 finish line Mike Coleman, [[Gus Vildósola, Scott Bailey and Rodrigo Ampudia]]

The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula, with a course of up to about 850 or more miles. 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 Baja 1000 has various types of classes, including Trophy trucks, Dirtbikes, Truggys, Side-by-sides, Baja Bugs and Buggies, Ekins suggested the Tijuana to La Paz route (Federal Highway 1), which was of rocks, sand washes, dry lake beds, cattle crossings, and mountain passes, with few paved roads. Ekins declined to undertake the run because of his professional association with Triumph but suggested that his brother Dave Ekins and the son of another Southern California Honda distributor, Billy Robertson Jr., could accomplish the trip for American Honda. The event received coverage in the Globe, Argosy, and Cycle World magazines, earning awe and respect for Honda and the Baja run. The Globe and Argosy accounts also included close encounters with death and other dangers, which Ekins claims were "colorful additions".

Four wheels vs two wheels

Wanting to beat the existing motorcycle record and to help fuel sales of the Meyers Manx, Bruce Meyers used his original prototype buggy called "Old Red" for an attempt at breaking the record set by Ekins. After pre-running a course south to La Paz, Ted Mangels and Bruce Meyers started the record-breaking attempt back to Tijuana from La Paz at 10:00 pm on April 19, 1967. With a journalist from Road & Track magazine following the two to witness the attempt, the final official time was 34:45, beating Ekins' run by more than five hours. Upon returning to the United States, the journalist documenting the run sent out press kits with photographs and a news release with the headline "Buggy Beats Bike in Baja" to hundreds of magazines and newspapers. Soon, more stories of adventure, close calls, and broken speed records received media coverage around the world. Following the event, Bruce Meyers and his Meyers Manx became an overnight sensation, and the competition between four wheels and motorcycles for the fastest Baja run began.

In the following months, more attempts at breaking the record would take place. One of the attempts included a multiple vehicle run organized by Ed Pearlman that ended in an official four wheel record being recorded but with the overall time falling short of the record set by Meyers. On July 4, 1967, an American Motors Rambler American sedan would leave Tijuana at 9:00 am to successfully break the record set by Meyers with an overall time of 31 hours.

1967: The Mexican 1000

As the timed runs recorded via telegraph became popular, a need for an organized event to compete for the quickest Baja run was starting to grab the attention of other competitors. In response to Meyers' record setting run, Ed Pearlman convinced Dick Cepek, Claude Dozier, Ed Orr, Drino Miller and journalist John Lawlor to make the run to La Paz. In June 1967, Pearlman and group left Tijuana and immediately ran into mechanical troubles. This trip inspired Pearlman to organize an off-road race down the Baja peninsula by creating the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA).

  • 6: Andy McMillin
  • 5: Mark McMillin and Larry Ragland
  • 4: Larry Roeseler, Doug Fortin, Robby Gordon, Ralph Paxton, Dan Smith, Malcolm Smith and Ivan Stewart

Most overall motorcycle wins

  • 11: Johnny Campbell
  • 10: Larry Roeseler
  • 8: Steve Hengeveld and Kendall Norman
  • 7: Mark Samuels and Justin Morgan
  • 5: Ty Davis, David Kamo
  • 4: Quinn Cody, Ted Hunnicutt Jr., Jack Johnson, Justin Jones, Tim Staab and Colton Udall

Other notable drivers

  • Alan Ampudia
  • BJ Baldwin
  • Ron Bishop
  • Ken Block
  • Pete Brock
  • Jenson Button
  • Erik Carlsson
  • Kurt Caselli
  • Anna Jo Cody
  • Marc Coma
  • Justin Davis
  • Chuck Dempsey
  • Patrick Dempsey
  • Walker Evans
  • Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff
  • Elliot Forbes-Robinson
  • Roger Mears
  • Rhys Millen
  • Rod Millen
  • John Morton
  • Michael Nesmith
  • Travis Pastrana
  • Robbie Pierce
  • Christopher Polvoorde
  • Toby Price
  • Jeff Proctor
  • Don Prudhomme
  • Danny Sullivan