2026 NORRA Baja 1000

Another year, another pilgrimage to Baja.

It seems like our year doesn’t truly begin until we arrive in Ensenada for the start of the NORRA Mexican 1000. Every year we make our way south to reunite with friends, competitors, and our Baja racing family at Guillermo Quintero’s compound, our race headquarters in Mexico.

The excitement is hard to contain as final preparations and tuning take place before heading into the heart of town for technical inspection. Race cars line the streets. Engines fire to life. Crews scramble through last-minute details while racers from all over the world prepare for another adventure down the Baja Peninsula.

Every year in Baja is different. Different people. Different cars. Different courses.

But one thing always stays the same:

Baja throws something at you. Obstacles. Problems. Adventure. Sometimes all at once.

This year felt especially meaningful for our team. Our head of race operations in Mexico, Baja legend Guillermo Quintero, also known as “Jefe Mayor”, was able to track down the very race car he built 40 years ago.

Historical Photos from the Quintero Family

Car “560” is a Class 5-1600 car that Guillermo originally built and raced from 1986 through the late 1990s. Over the years, the car passed through several owners before eventually ending-up in La Paz with Gustavo Nava. With Guillermo’s help, we were able to purchase the car back and begin restoring it to its original vintage style.

As Found in La Paz

The restoration became much more than just another race car build. We returned to exactly how it looked in 1986. This car carried decades of history with it.

Chassis and Paint Restoration

From 1986 through the late 1990s, Guillermo Quintero campaigned 560 throughout the SCORE and Baja Promotions race series across Baja and the American Southwest. Over the years, the car earned numerous podium finishes and race victories in some of the most iconic desert races of the era.

Some of 560’s accomplishments include:

• 5th Place — 1986 SCORE Baja 1000 (Ensenada to La Paz)

• 1st Place — 1987 Gran Carrera de Campeones

• 1st Place — 1988 San Felipe Triple Corona

• 2nd Place — 1988 Gran Carrera de Tecate

• 2nd Place — 1988 San Felipe 350

• 1st Place — 1989 Gran Carrera de Campeones

• 1st Place — 1989 Baja Triple Corona Champion

• 5th Place — 1989 SCORE Baja 1000

• 2nd Place — 1991 SCORE Baja 1000

• 3rd Place — 1992 SCORE Baja 500

• 2nd Place — 1993 SCORE San Felipe 250

• 2nd Place — 1994 SCORE Baja 500

• 2nd Place — 1994 Gold Coast 300

• 2nd Place — 1997 SCORE Primm 300

  
  

Throughout its racing career, 560 also earned several major season championships and special awards, including:

• Overall Champion for highest accumulated score across all racing classes during the 1988 season

• 1988 Class 5-1600 Season Champion

• 1988 Team Championship Winner

• Multiple top-three SCORE season championship finishes throughout the 1990s

• Recipient of the prestigious “Governor’s Trophy” in both 1992 and 1993, awarded to the Mexican driver and team with the highest overall season score

• Recipient of the SCORE Toyota Milestone Award for completing every mile of the entire SCORE championship season

  
  

One of the most remarkable accomplishments in the car’s history was completing every mile of an entire SCORE season, something almost unheard of in desert racing.

Guillermo's Trophy Room in Ensenada

Now, four decades later, he would once again climb behind the wheel. Guillermo and his son Carlos would pilot 560 alongside another father son team; our own Cole Bradburn and his father Kevin.

Emotions were high all week, but especially on the start line. Guillermo fired off like no time had passed. Despite nearly 28 years away from the driver’s seat, he drove 560 as if his last race had been yesterday.

Our second car, the Class 11 Beetle “1199,” would be driven by longtime friend Tom Unke from Wisconsin and our own Franz Muhr. Tom and Franz came into this year determined to have a clean run. After the struggles and chaos endured during the 2025 NORRA, the car was rebuilt with the refinements you learn from vetting a car in race conditions. Months of preparation and testing in Utah’s West Desert had 1199 feeling better than ever. Now it was time to see what Baja had planned for us.

Day 1

Day One took teams from the historic wash of Ensenada to the sandy shores of San Felipe. For both cars, it was mostly a smooth start to the week. Both 560 and 1199 finished the day on time, before sunset, and in one piece, something that never goes unnoticed or unappreciated in Baja.

560 performed well throughout the day but encountered a close call in a technical section when another competitor rear-ended the car in heavy dust, sending it off course and into a ditch. Luckily, the car stayed rubber side down. The team recovered quickly, got pulled back onto the course, and continued on without significant delay.

1199 had exactly the kind of day the team hoped for: clean, consistent, and trouble-free. A perfect start to a very long week in Baja.

Day 2

After a short night of prep and inspection in San Felipe, both cars lined up for Day Two, heading south through the rugged terrain and towering cactus forests before dropping into Bahía de Los Ángeles.

1199 continued its smooth run through Baja. Near the final transit before the third and last stage of the day, one of the front shocks blew apart. Luckily, the issue was spotted during a fuel stop and quickly repaired before any major damage occurred. The team replaced the shock and carried on to Bahía without losing significant time.

560’s day was... considerably more adventurous. An early issue with the GPS unit forced navigator Hector Flores, a Baja native and racing veteran, to rely entirely on the paper route book. No GPS. No moving map. Just old school navigation. During the confusion, the team made a wrong turn and unknowingly headed back north toward San Felipe… about 30 miles north. Which meant they accidentally ran a major loop section of the course twice. As driver Julian Heppekausen joked afterward, “We definitely were faster on our second lap.” That’s Baja. You have to laugh, or else you’ll cry.

Eventually the team found their place in the route book and continued south, but the chaos wasn’t over yet. Shortly after reconnecting with the chase trucks, the starter failed. After bump starting the car to continue onto the transit section, a major oil fitting cracked, instantly covering the back of the car in smoke and causing a complete loss of oil pressure. Thankfully the engine was shut off immediately before any damage occurred. 560 was then flat towed down the highway by strap until reaching the chase trailer, where it was loaded up and hauled into Bahía de Los Ángeles for repairs.

Late that night, after repairs, cleaning, and troubleshooting, 560 fired back to life around 1 a.m.. All oil leaks fixed. Ready for Day Three.

"Bay of LA" Pit

Day 3

Day Three traveled from Bahía de Los Ángeles along the Sea of Cortez to the oasis town of San Ignacio, one of the longer days of the event.

Cole and Kevin started the morning in 560 and had an excellent first two stages. The car felt fantastic, especially during the fast second section where they spent most of it charging through Baja in third and fourth gear.

At a pit stop in Vizcaíno, however, the team discovered that three of the four CV boots had cracked open to the elements. Both axles were removed. The CV joints were cleaned and regreased, and all the boots were replaced before sending the car back out for the final stage.

Sawyer Valentine and Spencer Slocum took over driving duties as the sun began dropping below the horizon. They headed off into the desert and into the dark. The final stage was going smoothly until a silt trench/corner came up faster than expected. 560 bicycled up on two wheels and gracefully tipped onto its side "Just a nap”, like many of the team needed. Thankfully the damage was minimal. The team hooked up a tow strap and waited for another competitor to come pull the car back to its wheels (Thanks). The engine was re-filled with oil, and 560 was back on course. The car pushed through the brutal boulder-filled wash outside of San Ignacio and crossed the finish line well before closing time. Another successful day in Baja.

Day 4

Day Four took teams from San Ignacio to the Pacific side near Scorpion Bay and San Juanico before climbing over the brutal Sierra de la Giganta mountains and dropping into Loreto. Both cars launched from the beautiful Misión San Ignacio Kadakaamán, founded in 1728, and made excellent time to San Juanico without issue. One of our chase trucks had left San Ignacio the night before, and drove nearly five hours to San Juanico, so that our team could support and fuel both race cars halfway through the day.

Our longtime friend from Colorado, Bubba, once again opened his surf shack to race operations in San Juanico. Thanks Bubba!

The mountains on the way to Loreto after La Purisima fought back hard. 1199 blew apart another front shock and had to limp nearly 40 miles without one before reaching a highway crossing where the chase crew could install a replacement. 560 suffered a broken shift rod coupler (pin rattled out) and became stuck in first gear. The team carefully limped the car another 40 miles through the mountains until they reached the same highway crossing where a quick repair restored the gears.

After repairs, the cars pushed hard to Loreto and safely finished another day in Baja.

Day 5

Day Five started in Loreto and crossed back over the Sierra de la Giganta mountains past the beautiful Mission San Francisco Javier, founded in 1699, before eventually reaching La Paz.

Tom and Cole drove 560 through the first two stages, while Franz and Kevin piloted 1199. Both cars were fast. Both cars were having fun. And for most of the day, both cars stayed trouble-free. 1199 had an excellent run. 560’s only issue was yet another pair of blown CV boots. In true Baja fashion, the team wrapped the destroyed boots in microfiber towels, duct tape, and zip ties. And somehow... it worked. In Baja, sometimes all you need is what you have.

Sawyer and Spencer then jumped back into 560 for the final stage of the day. (Why do these types of stories always start with those two names? Ha.) Roughly halfway through the section, they contacted our chase trucks, saying the passenger-side torsion bar had broken. Odd, but we had a spare. Still, it was a failure none of us had foreseen.

As they began disassembling the suspension in preparation for the spare torsion bar, they realized the real problem: the entire rear trailing arm had snapped in half. The road leading to the car was too rough for the trailer, so the chase crew loaded up a 10,000 watt generator and a MIG welder and headed into the desert.

With special approval from NORRA, 560 was towed a few miles by NORRA sweeps to a road crossing where repairs could begin by our crew.

Patrick Kendall welded the rear arm together well enough to limp the car out before rushing it into La Paz. From there, the car was driven across the finish line to avoid taking the maximum time penalty for the day.

La Paz Finish after a big day in Baja!

Back in La Paz, the team sourced 3/8-inch steel plate, cut reinforcement sections, and welded the rear arm back together late into the night. The repair worked beautifully.

La Paz Pit Scenes

Day 6

The final day took teams from La Paz across to Todos Santos and then over the rugged Sierra de la Laguna mountains before finally reaching San José del Cabo. Tom and Franz drove 1199 all the way with yet another smooth and consistent run. It appeared their first place position would hold, as long as they survived the brutal final mountain stage where many competitors break suspension parts or destroy tires. They stayed calm, drove smart, and brought 1199 safely to the finish line.

First place.

After everything 1199 endured in 2025, it was an incredible feeling to finish the event cleanly and stand on top of the podium.

560 started the morning with Cole and Kevin behind the wheel. Their goal was simple:

Get the car safely to Todos Santos. It was important that Guillermo and Carlos got the opportunity to finish what Guillermo had started 40 years earlier. Carlos climbed behind the wheel of 560 for the first time, the same car he had spent years seeing in old photographs hanging on the walls of his father’s shop.

Now he was driving it.

Todos Santos. Final Pit Stop

With his father navigating beside him. The two had a great final section and crossed the finish line shortly after 1199.

The entire team gathered at the finish, exhausted and ecstatic.

Both cars stood on the podium in their classes:

1199 — 1st Place.

560 — 3rd Place.

An unforgettable ending to another unforgettable adventure in Baja.

Finish Line!

The NORRA Mexican 1000 is never just a race. It’s about friendship, perseverance, problem solving, late nights, broken parts, and the people you share it with. This year especially reminded us why we continue coming back. Watching Guillermo drive the car he built 40 years ago alongside his son was something none of us will ever forget.

Huge thanks to our families, friends, chase crews, Mexico, National Off-Road Racing Assoiciation, and everyone who helped make this event possible. Events like this simply do not happen without an incredible team behind them.

NORRA Awards Ceremony

And now... the excitement continues. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of NORRA in 2027, the organization has announced something absolutely legendary:

The Baja 2000.

A full peninsula run from Ensenada to San José del Cabo... and back to Ensenada.

Ten days of racing.

April 23 – May 7, 2027.

Preparation has already begun. If you’ve ever wanted to experience Baja with us, now is the time. We will offer options to run either the entire event or half the race with a rest day in Cabo, making the adventure more accessible for those who can’t disappear for two full weeks. Reach out to us at adventure@vervemotorworks.com if you’d like more information about joining us next year.

See you in Baja.

Thank you to Nevin Pontious, Sawyer Valentine, Monti Smith and the Quintero Family for the photos.