'); doc.close(); })();

You reached our US 4WP resources center on The Dirt. We will be launching a Canada specific resources center in the future.

1 2022 baja 1000 preview
The Buzz

2022 Baja 1000 Preview

One action packed loop
The Dirt Staff
  |  11/17/2022
Photos courtesy of Score International and RJ Anderson

The final race of the SCORE International season is here, and it’s bound to be a tight action packed Baja 1000. There have been reports of the race course being extra rough this year, with a lot of exposed rocks and washed out roads, after a heavy storm season in September.

2 2022 Baja 1000 race course map

The BFGoodrich 2022 Baja 1000 Presented by 4 Wheel Parts race course is an 828.25 mile loop. The race starts on Friday November 18 at 10:00am for four wheeled vehicles. Be sure to follow Score International for a live stream, and Fishgistcs on Instagram and Facebook for live updates throughout the day.

3 ojos negros 2022 baja 1000

The Course

Baja 1000 will will start and end in Ensenada; shortly outside of Ensanda the race course will, as usual cross the highway in Ojos Negros, go through the mountains surrounding El Mezcal, just to dip back across the highway and head east towards the Gulf of California and then south towards San Felipe.

4 matomi wash san felipe baja 1000
Matomi wash (just south of San Felipe) tends to be a pretty rough and washed out section on a dry year, this year it’s bound to be rougher than usual. Following Matomi wash, the racers will head north in the valley on the other side of San Felipe, navigate a brief highway section and head towards Mike’s Sky Ranch where they will head west towards the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Ocean section is right past Race Mile 580 but most racers will not see the Ocean in daylight.
5 2022 baja 1000 race mile 580
After a short stint on the coast, drivers will jump onto the crossover road and head towards Valle De la Trinidad. Once through a brief speed zone through Valley T, drivers will jump on the famed Goat Trail and race through the mountains next to El Jamau for 20 or so miles. Next, they will jump back on the highway for another brief 5-10 mile highway speed zone section which can add to the difficulty of the race as all roads remain open to the public during the race. You definitely don’t want to get stuck behind an overloaded cattle truck that can let the competition stack up on the road.
6 ojos negros baja california baja 1000 race course
7 2022 baja 1000 ojos negros jumps
The race then veers off the highway shortly before Race Mile 715 at which point you’ll still have 105 race miles left as you get ready to cross the mountains surrounding El Alamo and race back towards Ojos Negos and follow the same tracks you blazed past at the start of the race. The pace is sure to pick-up as the remaining race miles tick down towards the finish back in Ensenada.
8 rj anderson racing a rzr turbo r 2022 baja 1000

Catching up with RJ

Our good friend and 4WP Official Athlete RJ Anderson is back in a UTV and ready to take on Baja. We managed to catch up with RJ before he takes on Baja along with the whole Anderson gang.

For 2022 RJ is splitting the driving duties with his brother Ronnie Anderson and his dad Randy Anderson. They’ll be racing in a brand new Polaris RZR Turbo R #2937 in the UTV Forced Induction class.

It’s the first time in 10 years that RJ has raced a RZR in the Baja 1000, when we asked RJ how he feels about racing a RZR in Baja, RJ said “I’m excited to get back down there with such a more capable platform.”

Coming from dominating the short course racing world, RJ is no stranger to what it takes to end up on the podium consistently, when we asked RJ how he is preparing for 800+ miles of Baja, here’s what he said “Coming from the short course world, the Baja 1000 takes a ton of planning. Short course is very short, all out races. In Baja anything can happen so you have to be prepared to race for over 24hrs straight! It takes a ton of planning and people to make it happen.”

Baja is no walk in the park, even in a dry year, the race course is challenging in itself, we asked RJ what he found interesting about this year’s race course and here’s what he said “There is a ton of San Felipe[race course] at this years 1000. I haven’t spent much time down there so I’m excited to see some new parts of the course”.

How to follow the Baja 1000

The best way to follow the 2022 Baja 1000 is through our good friend Fishgistics so be sure to give him a follow on Instagram and Facebook.

S.C.O.R.E. International does a great job live-streaming as well, so make sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you’re up to date when they’re live.

On behalf of 4 Wheel Parts we wish all the racers good luck and stay safe!

Related Stories

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *