For those of you who think rockcrawling competition is limited to the U.S., you'd better think again. We've received letters, invites, and photos from Italy, Africa, and even stranger places, but when the info was out on an event in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in January, we just had to go. Located at the southern tip of Baja California, the area is not only a vacation paradise but holds some of the gnarliest collection of rock canyons and unbelievable obstacles that we knew would test the best competitors around.
Long-time wheeler and former competitor Dan Brown started the Baja International Rockcrawling Association, and the premier event attracted some of the top names on the circuit for a potential $50,000 First Place purse. With attractive payouts for the other top finishers, more than a dozen hard-core competitors and a few locals battled the course designed by Phil Collard. Huge cliffs, massive semi-dry waterfalls, and shear ledges let everyone know that this would be a challenging and exciting event.
Set 20 miles from the nearest real civilization, BIRCA provided food, drinks, sanitation, security, and judging for the event. But alas, Mexico is still Mexico, and various unnatural obstacles and the maana attitude of the local population challenged the organization of the staff. Untrained judges, an extremely difficult access wash with many stuck spectator's vehicles, thousands of local spectators, and the event running into the night combined to raise the stress level of the competition. However, after two days of action the top places were decided. First Place was handily won by Tracy Jordan, with Second Place snatched by Jason Paule, and Third Place garnered by Randy Ellis.
Gaining credence on the rockcrawling circuit is a tough job, and when it's done in a foreign country even more problems can be encountered. However, just being in Baja with the sun, rocks, and quality competition can more than make up for many of the problems. It's all a question of attitude. We hope that the series evolves and prospers, and we plan to cover the next event. For more information, visit www.bajarocks.com and check out the action.