BAJA’s little brother Mexico 1000 “You know what this means, right?” the competitor asked, and there seemed to be three exclamation marks on his head, “Death.” TG shook his head helplessly... TG was at the moment Baja, Mexico, where California and Mexico face each other across th

2025/01/1923:24:32 hotcomm 1534

BAJA’s little brother

Mexico 1000

"You know what this means, right?"

The competitor asked, there seemed to be three exclamation marks on his head

"Death."

TG shook his head helplessly...

TG was currently in Brazil, Mexico. Baja, where California and Mexico face each other across the sea. The plan for this trip is simple. TG plans to travel 1,400 miles from Enceda (the top of the Baja Peninsula) in a car that can shoot TG out, and finally complete the Mexico 1000 challenge. The destination is of course Del Cabo in San Jose, which is the southernmost point. Anyone with a bright mind will definitely think that this game has almost never crossed this land. However, here comes the problem - TG's navigation ability is basically 0. After seeing the magical Mayan characters-like symbols on the road book, he completely threw it aside...

The first step is that TG should first introduce Mexico 1000. history. This competition is actually an orthodox, completely non-hybrid Baja-affiliated event. In fact, it all originated from a man named Ed. Pearlman's young man's idea, he just wanted to prove whether a four-wheeled car would run better than a two-wheeled one, so this competition was born in 1967. At the same time, there is an unwritten rule: after the competition, Every party has to throw a hundred dollars to the organizer...

This competition has been held every year since then, until another event organizer called SCORE officially took control of the competition, and it has since become It became the Baja 1000 Challenge. But in 2010, in an effort to inject some fun and energy into the intense annual Baja race, Ed Pearlman's son brought the race back, and the Mexico 1000 returned to the spotlight.

Compared to Baja 1000, which was a tense and life-threatening journey from beginning to end, Mexico 1000 is much better. It still has trophies to collect and the same ranking system, but the intensity is probably only half as intense as its brother Baja. What you can see here are more silly racing cars, laughter, and fun things happening along the way.

Baja is a very dangerous place, even notorious. Racing here is very dangerous and there are a number of fatalities every year. Although these things are a constant threat to racers and spectators, they also make this race very special. Some of the routes are very narrow and rugged, and there is no phone signal, but this tests the ability and patience of the contestants, so this is still a place worthy of respect.

Looking at cars, trucks, Desert Beetles and motorcycles appearing here at the same time, it is also a hodgepodge like DKR, where cars and drivers from different fields can show their style. This place is simply like a messed up Tamiya model factory or the filming set of "Mad Max". All kinds of strange racing cars from across generations and categories appear here, although the goal of the competition is to be faster, faster, faster, Faster, but it seems the competitors are always thinking retro, retro, and more retro.

In this game, TG has to go through a series of complicated road sections and the torture of racing. At the beginning, I was all ears to listen to the explanation meeting to tell me how to deal with the problems encountered and the possible catastrophic consequences, but the most important thing is to learn first Leading the way - teaching TG is none other than 6-time Baja 1000 and 2-time Dakar winner Darren Skilton.

Interestingly, unlike Dakar where the use of navigation is prohibited, here you can use the GPS positioning system. Although you will not go the wrong way, GPS will never tell you where there is a pit, where you need to fly uphill, or where your suspension may be completely destroyed. Therefore, the pilot still needs a detailed road book to report the dangers the driver will face.

The day before the competition, TG stayed up all night to think about every problem that might be encountered, in detail, because no one wanted to cause a big mess because of their own mistakes. Fortunately, the coach around me has been patiently explaining and giving suggestions, which makes TG feel more at ease.But even if there is a big problem or even a serious injury, a helicopter will take you to the best hospital as soon as possible to save your life, so we saw our tank - a red, white and blue one Black and white Nissan Hardbody.

The HardBody appeared in 1990. It was undoubtedly a huge failure in terms of concept and design at the time, but the R&D cost of US$1 million was a great success. This truck is almost completely computer designed, with a mid-mounted engine, weird independent suspension, and a four-wheel drive system that makes it very reliable. Wait, is it really reliable? If it were reliable, it wouldn't be exiled by Nissan.

The picture above is the Mexico 1000 racing car that TG rides on. "Remember, as long as you are happy!", the conductor told TG in the communication. After saying this, the driver nailed the accelerator. After saying this, the car was like bullets sprayed from a shotgun. In the first mile, TG was almost panicking. I forgot to mention that the driver I was traveling with was none other than the great American racing driver Gordon.

When I wasn't paying attention, the GPS had been set to the north-south direction. This was not the direction I was used to. It took my brain 10 minutes to sort out my thoughts and rewire my thinking before I realized it. Only then did I realize that many things were upside down. After following the car in front of me and leaping over a huge rock, I realized that I should pay attention to the road conditions, and then started to overtake the slow car in front of me little by little.

Before we knew it, we had gone a long way, and the back of the pickup truck was billowing with dust, and the 4.0L engine was roaring. The first 100 miles are pretty much a hodgepodge of fast driving and Mexican scenery. You can see the huge cacti and boulders on the roadside with the words on them, the creeks and rivers, the villages and the billboards made of wooden boards. On the bumpy open road for several miles, TG's brain was in a state of confusion and he wanted to change to a more comfortable car.

For the integrity and safety of the TopGear department, I decided to pay more attention to my own safety. "No one in this world cherishes myself more than myself!" TG reminded himself. The veteran NASCAR driver in front smiled and said, "You'll be fine." He showed amazing composure in front of TG. He lost a lot of time due to the transmission shaft failure, so this game is not about winning or losing, but just having fun.

NASCAR veteran’s Buggy racing car has gone through a lot of ups and downs. This 2003 lightweight race car uses a 6-speed sequential transmission and a 600-horsepower Corvette engine with 24 inches of front suspension travel. It seemed that this car was a strong competitor to our Nissan, and TG started gesticulating like a sniper hoping to kill it.

Our GPS has given us the wrong route countless times due to communication failures, and riders have banged their fists on the steering wheel countless times due to various issues. The two of us were like two deaf-mute people gesturing to each other to convey information. The scene was awkward and funny.

Although the suspension adjustment technology is like witchcraft or magic, it is obvious that no matter how powerful the skill is, there is no room to display it here. The bouncing of the car continuously compresses your lungs, and continuously compresses your internal organs and bones through the two lumps of flesh on your butt. When you wake up the next day, you may find blood in your urine and even crush injuries on your internal organs. Driving at 120 mph in a place like this is a living hell.

Gordon is a rally veteran. TG can't use his brain to calculate the true strength of a car, but he can basically tell the true level of this car and its ability on this track just by looking at it a few times. What did it look like? We rushed into a quarry, flying at a speed of 100 miles over dense dinosaur egg-like rubble. TG's brain seemed to be pulled out of his skull.

When we completed today's race and crossed the finish line, TG realized that we had finally completed the damn race. Standing on the podium, TG looked like a liar. The people of Mexico must think that TG and Robbie Gordon accomplished this great feat together, but TG knows that he is almost a soy sauce.After the game, TG took photos and signed autographs with various people, looking like a real hero.

If the Baja 1000 is a race that makes you go crazy with nerves and make you jump out of the car, take off your racing suit and vomit at any moment, then the Mexico 1000 is about camaraderie, determination and a smile on your face. On the road, I saw a team of people helping injured teammates, which showed the connotation of this game. No matter what, as long as we live to the end and still smile, it is already a legend. Maybe next time TG will go back to participate in it, who knows? TG wants to experience this charming and dangerous game through more deeds, but now, TG is just enjoying the tequila of victory...